Fun Facts: Earth

1)      The earth is the third planet from the sun

2)      The earth is constantly moving and it moves around the sun at 67,000 miles (107,826 km) per hour

3)      The earth is about 4.54 billion years old

4)      Life came into existence on earth about 4.1 billion years ago

5)      More than 95% of the oceans of the earth are still unexplored

6)      The earth has just one moon, whereas Jupiter has up to 67 moons

7)      About 99% of all the species that ever existed on earth are now extinct

8)      The speed at which the earth rotates is gradually slowing down and there are indications that by the next 140 million years, the length of a day on Earth would be 25 hours

9)      The inner core of the earth is hotter than the surface, with a temperature between 5400 and 6000 degrees Celsius

10)    The first 11 km from the Earth’s surface has 75% of the atmosphere

11)    The largest earthquake in the United States occurred in Alaska in 1964

12)    The hottest spot on earth is in  El Azizia, Libya

13)    The coldest place on earth is in Antarctica, where winter temperatures can drop to below minus 100 degrees

14)    The earth is the only place in the solar system where water can exist in all three forms (solid. Liquid and gas)

15)    More than 70% of the earth is made of water

16)    The different seasons of the earth are caused by its tilt against the sun

17)    The earth is the fifth largest of the 8 planets in terms of size and mass

18)    The ozone layer of the earth protects it from the harmful ultraviolet ray from the sun

19)    Light can reach the earth from the sun in approximately 8 minutes and 20 seconds

20)    The driest place on earth is the Dry Valleys in Antarctica. It has not had rainfall for 2 million years

21)    The flattest country on earth is the Maldives, with an average highest above sea level of 2.4m

22)    According to scientists, there are more than 1500 minerals that are still undiscovered in the Earth

23)    Some of the rocks on earth move by themselves

24)    The highest point on earth is the peak of Ecuador’s Mount Chimborazo, which is located just one degree south of the Equator

25)    The earth doesn’t have many craters on the surface like other planets