100 Records & Extremes Facts, Each One Checked and Sourced

All 100 Records & Extremes facts

• The Challenger Deep is the deepest known point in the ocean
• The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean on Earth
• Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain on Earth from base to peak
• The Great Barrier Reef is the largest structure built by living organisms
• The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the longest mountain range on Earth
• The Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water by area
• Lake Baikal is the deepest and oldest lake on Earth
• The Dead Sea shore is the lowest exposed land area on Earth
• Angel Falls is the tallest uninterrupted waterfall in the world
• Mount Everest is the highest peak above sea level
• Mount Chimborazo summit is the farthest point from Earth's centre
• The Andes form the longest continental mountain chain on Earth
• The Nile River is widely recognised as the longest river
• The Antarctic Ice Sheet is the largest single mass of ice
• The Lambert Glacier in Antarctica is the world's largest glacier
• Veryovkina Cave is the deepest explored cave on Earth
• Hang Son Doong is the largest cave passage by volume
• Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flat in the world
• The Sahara is the largest hot desert on Earth
• Antarctica is the largest and driest desert in the world
• The Atacama Desert is the driest non-polar region on Earth
• Furnace Creek holds the highest reliably recorded air temperature
• Vostok Station recorded the lowest natural surface temperature
• Mawsynram in India receives the highest average annual rainfall
• Commonwealth Bay is recognised as the windiest place on Earth
• Barrow Island recorded the fastest non-tornado wind gust
• Oymyakon is the coldest permanently inhabited settlement on Earth
• Dallol recorded the highest average year-round temperature
• Mauna Loa is the world's largest active volcano by volume
• Mount Tambora produced the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history
• The Vredefort Crater is Earth's largest verified impact structure
• The Bay of Fundy experiences the highest tides in the world
• Kilauea is one of the world's most active shield volcanoes
• Lake Titicaca is the highest commercially navigable lake on Earth
• Tristan da Cunha is the most remote inhabited island group on Earth
• Point Nemo is the farthest oceanic point from any land mass
• Lake Vostok is the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica
• The blue whale is the largest animal known to have ever existed
• The saltwater crocodile is the largest living reptile on Earth
• The African bush elephant is the largest living land animal
• The giraffe is the tallest living terrestrial animal on the planet
• The wandering albatross possesses the largest wingspan of any living bird
• The peregrine falcon is the fastest animal in the kingdom
• The cheetah is the fastest running mammal on land
• The black marlin is among the fastest swimming fish species
• The colossal squid is the heaviest known invertebrate animal
• The ostrich is the largest and fastest running bird species
• Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system
• The deepest hole ever drilled reached 12,262 metres
• The tallest known tree is a coast redwood called Hyperion
• Some bristlecone pines are nearly 5,000 years old
• The largest single organism may be a fungus
• Greenland is the largest island in the world
• Sweden has more islands than any other country
• The Ganges-Brahmaputra delta is the largest river delta
• The heaviest hailstone on record weighed just over a kilogram
• The longest lightning flash stretched 768 kilometres
• The most rain in 24 hours was 1,825 millimetres
• One Washington mountain holds the deepest snowfall record
• The fastest wind ever measured in a tornado topped 480 km/h
• The strongest earthquake ever recorded struck Chile in 1960
• The tallest active geyser is Steamboat in Yellowstone
• La Paz is the highest seat of government in the world
• Baku is the lowest capital city in the world
• A Peruvian gold-mining town is the highest permanent settlement
• The highest tsunami ever recorded ran up 524 metres
• Greenland sharks may live for 400 years
• A clam dredged off Iceland was about 507 years old
• An ostrich egg is the largest laid by any living bird
• The bee hummingbird is the smallest bird alive
• The giant weta is heavier than a sparrow
• The longest insect measures over 60 centimetres
• Some tiny midges beat their wings over 60,000 times a minute
• A snailfish filmed at 8,336 metres is the deepest fish recorded
• The goliath birdeater is the largest spider by mass
• The reticulated python is the longest snake in the world
• Rafflesia produces the largest single flower on Earth
• Some bamboo grows almost a metre a day
• The coco de mer produces the largest seed in the plant kingdom
• The Great Wall of China measures over 21,000 kilometres
• The Burj Khalifa is 828 metres tall
• The longest bridge in the world runs for 164.8 kilometres
• The Trans-Siberian Railway is the longest railway line
• The highest railway in the world climbs over 5,000 metres
• A French TGV reached 574.8 km/h on rails
• The Gotthard Base Tunnel is the longest railway tunnel
• Norway's Ryfylke Tunnel dips 292 metres below the sea
• The Three Gorges Dam is the largest power station in the world
• The tallest dam in the world is 305 metres high
• The longest ship ever built was 458 metres long
• The Antonov An-225 was the heaviest aircraft ever flown
• The SR-71 remains the fastest air-breathing aircraft
• The longest scheduled flight runs about 15,300 kilometres
• The tallest statue in the world is 182 metres high
• The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world
• The highest motorable road passes 5,700 metres
• Yuma, Arizona, is the sunniest city on record
• Ulaanbaatar is the coldest capital city in the world
• Mount Thor has the greatest vertical drop on land
• Kilimanjaro is the largest free-standing mountain in the world

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How many records & Extremes facts are there?

100, each with a named source and a link to it. Biggest, fastest, deepest, oldest and most extreme.

Where do these facts come from?

Mostly primary sources: NASA, the ESA, museums, universities and peer-reviewed papers. A fact is only published here once a source can be linked, and the wording is written fresh rather than copied.

Can I read them in one sitting?

The page lists the newest first and the search box narrows by word. Every fact links onward to a quiz, game or calculator on the same subject, so it works as a browse or as a jumping-off point.