Enduring Facts About Earth

If is said that knowledge multiplies when it is passed on. The more we delve into a subject, the more understanding we get about it.

1. The Earth was formed 4.6 billion years ago. This is the age of the Earth.

2. The Earth is a part of Solar System. It is the fifth largest planet located at the third position from the Sun.

3. The Earth appears blue from the cosmos due to the oceans which cover a major part of its surface. Due to this, Earth is also referred to as Blue Planet.

4. The Earth has the highest density among all the planets in the solar system.

5. The Earth is not a perfect sphere. It is flattened at the poles.

6. The Earth moves around the sun. This is called Revolution. The revolution causes the seasons to change on the Earth.

7. The sun's rays reach the Earth at a speed of 8 minutes and 3 seconds.

8. The Earth has only 1 moon, the Jupiter has nine.

9. The average diameter of the Earth is 12,742 kilometers.

10. The Earth is 70% water. Water is the elixir of life. The cultivable area of the Earth, where food can be grown is only  11%.

11. About 1/3 of the Earth is desert. Food can be grown on only 11% of the surface on earth.

12. year is period during which Earth completes one revolution around the sun. A year is 365.25 days long in Earth.

13. 
     Hottest place on Earth: El Azizia, Libya
     Dried place: Chile, Africa
     Coldest, driest and highest: Antarctica
     Note- Vostok in Antarctica is the      coldest place on earth with a recorded temperature of -89 degree Celsius.
  
      Wettest place: Lloro, Colombia
     (Recorded rainfall of 523.6 inches,
      with the highest temperature of 57.8         degree Celsius).
    
      Windiest place: Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica
      Longest River: Nile, Africa (4,160 miles)
     Highest Mountain: My Everest
     Largest Ocean: Pacific Ocean (64 million square miles).
     Largest desert:  Sahara Desert, Northern Africa.

14. The average depth of Earth's crust is 5 miles, while the average depth of oceans is 2 miles.

15. More than 75% of the Earth's surface is of volcanic origin. It is scientifically proven that more than 1 million earthquakes occur on an average during a year. However most of these are not recorded due to low intensity.

16. There are about 4,000 minerals in the earth surface are known.

17. The oldest fossils are bacteria. They are about 3,500 million years old. The precursor of life on Earth are Cynobacteria, also called the Blue Green Algae.