Extremes on Earth

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This article describes extreme locations on Earth. Entries listed in bold are Earth-wide extremes.

Contents

[edit] Extreme elevations and temperatures per continent

Continent Elevation (height above sea level) Temperature (recorded)
Highest Lowest Highest Lowest
Africa
5,895 meters (19,340 feet)
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania		 −156 meters (−512 feet)
Lake Asal, Djibouti		 57.7 °C (135.9 °F)
Al 'Aziziyah, Libya
13 September 1922		 −23.9 °C (−11.0 °F)
Ifrane, Morocco
11 February 1935
America, North
6,194 meters (20,320 feet)
Mount McKinley (Denali), Alaska, U.S.A.		 −86 metres (−282 feet)
Death Valley, California, U.S.A. (compare the Deepest ice section)		 56.7 °C (134.0 °F)
Death Valley, California, U.S.A.
10 July 1913		 −63.0 °C (−81.4 °F)
Snag, Yukon, Canada
3 February 1947
−66 °C (−87 °F)
Northice, Greenland
9 January 1954
America, South
6,962 metres (22,841 feet)
Aconcagua, Mendoza, Argentina		 −105 metres (−344 feet)
Laguna del Carbón, Argentina		 49.1 °C (120.4 °F)
Villa de María, Córdoba, Argentina
2 January 1920[1]		 −33.0 °C (−27.4 °F)
Sarmiento, Argentina
1 June 1907
Antarctica
4,892 metres (16,050 feet)
Vinson Massif		 0 meters (0 feet)
(compare the Deepest ice section)		 14.6 °C (58.3 °F)
Vanda Station
5 January 1974		 −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F)
Vostok
21 July 1983
Asia
8,848 metres (29,028 feet)
Mount Everest, Nepal - Tibet, China [A]		 −418 metres (−1,371 feet)
Dead Sea shore, Israel - Jordan		 53.9 °C (129.0 °F)
Tirat Tzvi, Israel (then part of the British Mandate of Palestine)
21 June 1942[2][C]		 −67.8 °C (−90.0 °F) Measured
Verkhoyansk, Siberia, Russia (then in the Russian Empire)
7 February 1892 [3]
−71.2 °C (−96.16 °F) Extrapolated
Oymyakon, Siberia, Russia (then in the Soviet Union)
26 January 1926 [4]
Australia
2,228 metres (7,310 feet)
Mount Kosciuszko, New South Wales		 −15 metres (−49 feet)
Lake Eyre, South Australia		 50.7 °C (123.3 °F)
Oodnadatta, South Australia
2 January 1960[B]		 −23.0 °C (−9.4 °F)
Charlotte Pass, New South Wales
29 June 1994
Europe
5,642 metres (18,506 feet)
Mount Elbrus, Russia		 −28 metres (−92 feet)
Caspian Sea shore, Russia		 50.0 °C (122.0 °F)
Seville, Sevilla (province), Spain
4 August 1881		 −58.1 °C (−72.6 °F)
Ust-Schugor, Russia
31 December 1978 [5]
Oceania
4,884 metres (16,023 feet)
Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya), New Guinea		 Sea level 42.4 °C (108.3 °F)
Awatere Valley and Rangiora, New Zealand
7 February 1973		 −21.6 °C (−6.9 °F)
Ophir, New Zealand
3 July 1995

[A]: Height above sea level is the usual choice of definition for elevation. In terms of the point farthest away from the centre of the Earth, Chimborazo in Ecuador (6,267 m) can be considered the planet's most extreme high point. This is due to the Earth's oblate spheroid shape, with points near the Equator being farther out from the centre than those at the poles.
[B]: A temperature of 53.1 °C (128.0 °F) was recorded in Cloncurry, Queensland on 16 January 1889 under non-standard exposure conditions and is therefore not considered official. Transcript of report on the highest temperature
[C]: This is the highest recorded air temperature. Higher surface temperatures have been measured, for example, 70.7 °C (159.3 °F) in 2005 in the Lut desert, Iran.[6][7][8]

[edit] Greatest vertical drop

Greatest purely vertical drop
1,250 metres (4,100 feet)
Mount Thor, Auyuittuq National Park, Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada
Greatest nearly vertical drop
1,340 metres (4,400 ft)
Trango Towers, Pakistan (summit elevation 6,286 metres/20,608 feet)

See also List of mountains and Seven Summits.

[edit] Subterranea

Deepest mine 3,581 metres (11,748 feet)
East Rand Mine, South Africa
Deepest cave 2,140 metres (7,021 feet)
Voronya Cave, Arabika Massif, Abkhazia, Georgia.
Deepest pitch (single vertical drop) 603 metres (1,978 feet)
Vrtoglavica Cave, Slovenia

See also List of caves.

[edit] Greatest oceanic depths

Atlantic Ocean 8,648 metres (28,374 feet)
Milwaukee Deep, Puerto Rico Trench
Arctic Ocean 5,450 metres (17,881 feet)
Litke Deep, Eurasia Basin
Indian Ocean 8,047 metres (26,401 feet)
Diamantina Deep, Diamantina Trench, South East Indian Basin
Mediterranean Sea 5,267 metres (17,280 feet)
Calypso Deep, Ionian Basin, 45 miles SW of Pylos, Greece
Pacific Ocean 10,923 metres (35,838 feet)
Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench
Southern Ocean 7,235 metres (23,690 feet)
South Sandwich Trench (southernmost portion, at 60°S)

[edit] Deepest ice

Ice sheets on land, but having the base below sea level. Places under ice are not considered to be on land.

Bentley Subglacial Trench −2,555 meters (−8,383 feet) Antarctica
−963 meters (−3160 feet) Central North Greenland

[edit] Coldest and hottest inhabited places on Earth

Hottest inhabited place Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia and Wyndham, Western Australia whose average maximum temperatures are 35.6 °C (96 °F)
Coldest inhabited place Eureka, Nunavut, Canada daily average temperature is −19.7 °C (−3.46 °F) [9]

[edit] Northern and southernmost points of land on Earth

Northernmost point on Earth Kaffeklubben Island, east of Greenland (83°40′N, 29°50′W)
Various shifting gravel bars lie further north, the most famous being Oodaaq
Southernmost point on Earth The geographic South Pole

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.smn.gov.ar/?mod=biblioteca&id=94 Servicio Meteorólogico Nacional (Argentina)
  2. ^ Highest Recorded Temperatures, Infoplease Alamanac. Accessed on line May 9, 2008.
  3. ^ Average conditions for Verkhoyansk from the BBC
  4. ^ Life Is a Chilling Challenge in Subzero Siberia from the National Geographic
  5. ^ Global Weather & Climate Extremes | ASU World Meteorological Organization
  6. ^ Satellites seek global hot spots | csmonitor.com
  7. ^ The Ceaseless Buzzing of Kinetic Energy, Daniel Engber, May 30, 2007, Discover, on line; accessed May 9, 2008.
  8. ^ New Images - The Hottest Spot on Earth, news, Earth Observatory, NASA. Accessed on line May 9, 2008.
  9. ^ Canadian Climate Normals 1971-2000 - Eureka