Geography & Earth
Countries, landscapes, oceans and the physical shape of the planet — ranked by the numbers that define them.
42 lists in this topic.
Top 10 US States by Mean Elevation
The ten states with the highest approximate mean elevation in the USGS booklet Elevations and Distances in the United States (1980 edition): from Colorado (6,800 ft) to Hawaii (3,030 ft).
geographyTop 10 Largest Rivers in the United States by Average Discharge
The ten rivers with the greatest average flow at the mouth in the USGS table Largest Rivers in the United States (rev. May 1990), which counts the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes system: from the Mississippi (593,000 ft³/s) to the Copper (59,000 ft³/s).
geographyTop 10 Most-Visited U.S. National Parks
The ten U.S. national parks with the most recreation visits in 2025, from Great Smoky Mountains National Park's 11,527,939 to Glacier National Park's 3,136,557, per National Park Service counts.
geographyTop 10 Tallest Buildings in the United States
One World Trade Center, at 1,776 feet, is the tallest completed building in the United States, ahead of Central Park Tower and Willis Tower, per Wikipedia's list as of October 2026.
geographyTop 10 Most Populous U.S. States
The ten U.S. states with the most residents in the Census Bureau's July 1, 2025 estimates, from California's 39,355,309 to Michigan's 10,127,884.
geographyTop 10 Countries by Total Forest Area (sq km)
Russia has the world's largest forest area at 8.15 million square kilometres, followed by Brazil (4.94 million) and Canada (3.47 million), according to FAO data for 2022.
geographyTop 10 Countries with the Most Lakes
Canada has about 879,800 lakes larger than 0.1 km² — some 62% of the world's total and more than the other nine countries on this list combined — followed by Russia and the United States.
geographyTop 10 Countries with the Most UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 2026
Italy leads the world with 62 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, ahead of China with 61 and France with 56, after the World Heritage Committee's July 2026 session.
geographyTop 10 Deepest Ocean Trenches
The ten deepest ocean trenches on Earth, ranked by the depth of each trench's deepest known point, from the Mariana Trench's Challenger Deep at 10,925 m to the South Sandwich Trench at 8,266 m.
geographyTop 10 Highest Mountains in the United States
The 10 highest mountain peaks in the United States, ranked by elevation above sea level — all located in Alaska.
geographyTop 11 Highest Waterfalls by Height
The tallest waterfalls on Earth ranked by total height, led by Venezuela's 979 m Angel Falls; a three-way tie for ninth place stretches this top ten to eleven.
geographyTop 10 Largest Archipelagos in the World by Number of Islands
Finland's Archipelago Sea has an estimated 50,000 islands and skerries, ahead of Canada's Arctic Archipelago with 36,563 - but every count depends on whose definition of an island is used.
geographyTop 10 Largest Deserts by Area
The world's ten largest deserts by area, polar deserts included: Antarctica and the Arctic both outsize the Sahara.
geographyTop 10 Largest Lakes by Area
The 10 biggest lakes on Earth by surface area, from the Caspian Sea (389,000 km² including its Garabogazköl lagoon) to Canada's Great Slave Lake (27,200 km²).
geographyTop 10 Largest Lakes by Volume in the World
The ten largest lakes on Earth ranked by water volume, from the Caspian Sea to Great Bear Lake.
geographyTop 10 Largest Seas in the World
The ten largest seas on Earth by surface area, from the Philippine Sea at about 5.7 million km² down to the Bering Sea at about 2 million km².
geographyTop 10 Largest U.S. National Parks by Area
The biggest U.S. national parks by gross acreage in the National Park Service's 2023 acreage report: seven of the ten are in Alaska, led by Wrangell-St. Elias at 8,323,146 acres.
geographyTop 10 Largest U.S. States by Area
The ten biggest U.S. states by total land-and-water area in the Census Bureau's 2010 measurements, from Alaska's 665,384 square miles to Wyoming's 97,813.
geographyTop 11 Largest Waterfalls by Flow Rate
The world's largest waterfalls by average flow, from Inga Falls on the Congo at 25,768 m³/s to the Caniapiscau River's tied Limestone and Pyrite Falls at 1,464 m³/s.
geographyTop 10 Longest Cave Systems in the World
The ten longest cave systems on Earth by documented passage length, from Kentucky's Mammoth Cave at 685.6 km to a 218-km network in Spain.
geographyTop 10 Longest Mountain Ranges in the World
The ten longest above-water mountain ranges on Earth, ranked by approximate end-to-end length as given in Wikipedia's list of longest mountain chains: the Andes lead at about 7,000 km, with two pairs of ranges tied.
geographyTop 10 Most Densely Populated Countries and Territories in the World
Macau leads the world with about 21,826 people per square kilometer, followed by Monaco and Singapore, in a ranking of countries and dependent territories dominated by city-states and small islands; Bangladesh is the only large country in the top ten.
geographyTop 10 Most Populated Cities in the United States
New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago lead the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 estimates of city populations, while Texas holds four of the top ten spots and Fort Worth grew fastest since 2020.
geographyTop 10 Most Visited Countries by International Tourists
France, Spain and the United States were the world's most-visited countries in 2024, ranked by international tourist arrivals in UN Tourism's International Tourism Highlights, 2025 Edition.
geographyTop 10 Rivers by Discharge in the World
The ten rivers that carry the most water to the sea, ranked by mean discharge near the mouth, from the Amazon (209,000 m³/s) to the Mekong (16,010 m³/s).
maritimeTop 10 Biggest Submarine Classes of All Time by Submerged Displacement
The ten largest submarine classes ever commissioned, ranked by submerged displacement, from the 48,000-tonne Soviet Typhoon down to China's Type 094.
climateTop 10 Hottest Air Temperatures Ever Recorded on Earth
The ten highest officially recorded air temperatures on Earth, one per country, from Death Valley's 56.7 °C in 1913 down to Mexicali's 52.0 °C.
maritimeTop 10 Countries by Exclusive Economic Zone Area in the World
The ten countries with the largest exclusive economic zones, where scattered overseas islands let France, New Zealand and the UK claim more ocean than giants like Canada and Brazil.
geographyTop 10 Busiest Airports by Air Cargo Tonnage in the World
Hong Kong moved 5.07 million tonnes of freight in 2025 to stay the world's busiest cargo airport, while Memphis — the long-time champion — fell to sixth after the steepest drop in the top ten.
natureTop 10 Deepest Lakes in the World by Maximum Depth
Lake Baikal bottoms out at 1,642 meters — here are the ten deepest lakes on Earth, ranked by maximum depth.
geographyTop 10 Highest Mountains in the World
The ten highest summits on Earth, ranked by surveyed elevation above sea level.
geographyTop 10 Most Populous Countries in the World
India leads with 1.43 billion people — ranked by the U.S. Census Bureau's mid-2026 population estimates.
geographyTop 10 Tallest Buildings in the World
The ten tallest completed buildings on Earth, ranked by CTBUH architectural height — from the 828-metre Burj Khalifa to Beijing's China Zun.
climateTop 10 Most Intense Atlantic Hurricanes by Minimum Central Pressure
Ranked by the lowest barometric pressure ever measured in their eye — the meteorologist's yardstick for hurricane strength, led by Wilma's 882 millibars.
maritimeTop 10 Largest Aircraft Carriers in the World by Full-Load Displacement
The ten largest aircraft carrier classes in commission, ranked by full-load displacement in tonnes.
maritimeTop 10 Largest Superyachts in the World by Length Overall
The ten longest private motor yachts afloat, ranked by length overall in metres.
geographyTop 10 Countries by Coastline Length
The ten countries with the longest coastlines in the world, ranked by total shoreline length — from Canada's staggering 202,080 km down to Chile's 6,435 km.
geographyTop 10 Longest Rivers
The ten longest river systems on Earth, ranked by total length from most distant headwater to mouth.
geographyTop 10 Most Populous Cities
Under the UN's newly harmonised 2025 methodology, Jakarta has overtaken Tokyo as the world's most populous urban agglomeration — and nine of the top ten are in Asia.
geographyTop 10 Tallest Volcanoes
The ten highest volcanic mountains on Earth, ranked by summit elevation above sea level — every one of them in the high Andes of South America.
geographyTop 10 Largest Islands
The ten biggest islands on Earth by land area, from ice-capped Greenland down to the far-northern Ellesmere Island.
geographyTop 10 Largest Countries by Area
The ten biggest sovereign nations on Earth ranked by total area, from Russia's continent-spanning expanse down to Algeria's Saharan bulk.