There's a saying, "Learning has no bounds." The world is vast, with many places we haven't been to and much knowledge we don't yet understand. What we need to do is maintain a humble attitude and make progress through continuous learning. Below, we've compiled 16 little-known geographical facts for you to learn together. 1. South Africa is one of the few countries in the world with three capitals. Its administrative capital (seat of the central government) is Pretoria, its legislative capital (seat of parliament) is Cape Town, and its judicial capital (seat of the Supreme Court) is Bloemfontein. 2. Kiribati is the only country spread across four hemispheres. Kiribati is an island nation in the central Pacific Ocean. Although its land area is only 811 square kilometers, smaller than an average Chinese city, and its population is only 116,000, it straddles the equator and is located at the intersection of the International Date Line, thus having a presence in all four hemispheres.

3. There are mountain ranges under the Antarctic ice sheet. For example, the Gamburzev Mountains are a subglacial mountain range, about the same size as the European Alps, stretching for 1,200 kilometers, with the highest peak reaching nearly 4,500 meters. However, the entire mountain range is buried under the Antarctic ice sheet, which is more than 600 meters thick.

4. Diomede Island and Diomede Grove are two islands located in the Bering Strait. Diomede Grove belongs to Russia, while Diomede Grove belongs to the United States. These two islands are only 3.8 kilometers apart, but their time zones differ by 21 hours. Why is this? Because they are separated by the International Date Line. Diomede Grove is almost a day ahead of its neighbor, Diomede Grove, so it is also known as the "Island of Tomorrow," while Diomede Grove is called the "Island of Yesterday."

5. Because the Greater and Lesser Diomede Islands are relatively close to each other, theoretically, it's possible to walk directly from Russia to the United States when the road between them freezes in winter, and vice versa. Of course, this could involve legal risks.

6. Over the past century, Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, has sunk 9 to 11 meters, and is sinking at a rate of 8 to 40 centimeters per year. This is because Mexico City is built on a huge aquifer, and more than 70% of its water supply is pumped from the city's underground aquifer. Over-extraction of groundwater has led to subsidence. In recent years, Mexico has implemented many control measures to slow down the subsidence.

7. The time zones of each country are determined by the Prime Meridian, which is the zero-degree meridian. It is a meridian that passes through the original site of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, England. The Prime Meridian is the zero time zone, and there are time zones every 15° of longitude to the east and west.

8. After reading about the Prime Meridian, many people might assume it's the dividing line between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, but that's not the case! The actual dividing line is between 160°E and 20°W. Why? Because the 0° meridian passes through too many countries (especially the UK). To avoid dividing a continent or country into different hemispheres, it was shifted slightly to 160°E and 20°W. This only affects Russia, Iceland, and some small islands.

9. The Sargasso Sea is the only sea that is not connected to land, and the only body of water within an ocean to be named a "sea." It is named a sea because of its unique location; the Sargasso Sea is surrounded by four major ocean currents, causing the water to flow slowly in a clockwise direction, giving it a distinctive appearance. In the past, ships that relied on wind and ocean currents for propulsion often lost power and became trapped if they accidentally entered this area. Furthermore, the large amounts of Sargassum seaweed floating on the surface could easily entangle ships, earning it the nickname "Sea of ​​the Demonic Seaweed."

10. The world's shortest flight is only 1.7 miles long, with an average flight time of just 90 seconds. This is the flight from Westray to Papa Westray in Scotland, both remote islands off the northeast coast of Scotland, and passengers include teachers, doctors, students, and more.

11. Yellowstone National Park is located beneath an active supervolcano. If Yellowstone were to erupt, all of human civilization would face a severe test. Geologists have analyzed that Yellowstone has experienced three major eruptions in its history, the most recent one occurring approximately 640,000 years ago. It was this eruption that created the landscape of Yellowstone today, with volcanic ash covering much of the United States.

12. The Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean is the deepest known part of the ocean, and the Challenger Deep is the deepest part of the Mariana Trench, with a depth of approximately 11,000 meters.

13. Antarctica is a continent without cities or permanent residents, but many countries maintain permanent research stations there. The number of researchers living in Antarctica varies throughout the year, with approximately 1,000 in winter and 5,000 in summer. Interestingly, at least 11 children have been born on the Antarctic continent.

14. The Pacific Ocean shrinks every year, while the Atlantic Ocean expands. The Earth's tectonic plates are not static; they are constantly in motion. As the American Plate continues to drift westward, the Pacific Ocean shrinks by approximately 2 to 3 centimeters each year, while the Atlantic Ocean widens accordingly.

15. Ayers Rock is a mysterious megalith located in Australia. It is approximately 300 meters long, 9.4 kilometers in circumference, and reaches a maximum height of 348 meters above the ground. Its overall color is reddish-brown. This mysterious rock rises miraculously from the flat Australian desert and can be seen from tens of kilometers away. Scientists still have no answer regarding the origin of this megalith and have proposed many hypotheses, such as the geological movement theory and the meteorite theory.

16. We all know that the world's highest peak is Mount Everest, with an altitude of 8,848 meters. However, this is only the highest peak measured from altitude. The world's highest peak can be determined by different methods of measurement. For example, if measured by the relative height from the foot to the summit, the world's highest peak is Mauna Kea in Hawaii, with a height of 10,203 meters. If measured by the farthest distance from the summit to the Earth's center, the world's highest peak is Chimborazo in South America. This is because the mountain is located near the equator, and its summit is 6,384.1 kilometers from the Earth's center, making it the thickest part of the Earth.

Have you learned a lot from these little-known geographical facts?