10 Most Extreme Places on Earth

10 Most Extreme Places on Earth

Here is a list of the most extreme places on Earth! From the hottest to the coldest place, from the highest to the lowest and many more!

Lut Desert (Iran): hottest place on Earth at 159 °F (71 °C)

There is a big discussion about the hottest spot on Earth. Many believe it is in Al Azizyah, Libya, with a recorded temperature of 136 degrees Fahrenheit (57.8 Celsius), and the second hottest place being in Death Valley, California, USA, where it got up to 134 Fahrenheit in 1913. But according to other sites, a NASA satellite recorded surface temperatures as high as 71 °C (159 °F) in the Lut desert of Iran, supposedly the hottest temperature ever recorded on the surface of Earth. This region, which covers an area of about 480 kilometers, is called Gandom Beriyan (the toasted wheat).
Mt. Chimborazo (Ecuador): highest point above Earht's center at 20,703 feet (6,310 m) above sea level

Almost everyone knows that Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. Climbers from everywhere travel to Everest hoping to earn the distinction of climbing the "World's Highest". The peak of Mount Everest is 8,848 meters (29,028 feet) above sea level. This high elevation gives Mount Everest the distinction of being the mountain with the highest altitude.
But not many people know about Mt Chimborazo in Ecuador with an altitude of 6,310 meters (20,703 feet), which is less than Mount Everest; however, Chimborazo has the distinction of being the highest mountain above Earth's center. This is because Earth is not a sphere - it is an oblate spheroid. As an oblate spheroid, Earth is widest at its equator. Chimborazo is just one degree south of Earth's equator and at that location it is 6,384 kilometers from Earth's center or about 2 kilometers farther from Earth's center than Mount Everest.
Ecuadorians find pride in this interesting fact. Nonetheless, Chimborazo cannot compare in difficulty, lack of oxygen, nor in fame, to Mount Everest. (Link | Photo)
Tristan de Cunha (UK): most remote inhabited archipelago on Earth at 2,000 miles from the nearest continent

The most remote inhabited island group in the world, Tristan de Cunha in the southern Atlantic Ocean, is so tiny its main island has no airstrip. Home to 272 people sharing just 8 surnames, inhabitants suffer from hereditary complaints like asthma and glaucoma. Annexed by the United Kingdom in the 1800s, the island's inhabitants have a British postal code and, while they can order things online, it takes a very long time for their orders to arrive. But then, that's the trade off for having your own island settlement some 2,000 miles from the nearest continent. (Link | Photo)
Angels Falls (Venezuela): Earth's highest waterfall with 3230 feet (984 m) in height

Angel Falls (Salto Ángel) in Venezuela is the highest waterfall in the world. The falls are 3230 feet in height with an uninterrupted drop of 2647 feet. Angel Falls are located on a tributary of the Rio Caroni. The falls are formed when the tributary stream falls from the top of Auyantepui (a tepui is a flat-topped structure surrounded by cliffs - similar to a mesa).
Oymyakon (Russia): coldest inhabited place on Earth at −96.2 °F (−71.2 °C)

Oymyakon is a village in Oymyakonsky Ulus of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located along the Indigirka River, 30 kilometers (20 mi) northwest of Tomtor on the Kolyma Highway. The population is 800 people. Oymyakon is known as one of the candidates for the Northern Pole of Cold, because on January 26, 1926, a temperature of −71.2 °C (−96.2 °F) was recorded there. This is the lowest recorded temperature for any permanently inhabited location on Earth. It is also the lowest temperature recorded in the Northern hemisphere.
The lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth was -129 °F in 1983, at the Russian Base Vostok in Antarctica.
The Dry Valleys (Antarctica): driest place on Earth

One interior region of the Antarctic is known as The Dry Valleys. These valleys have not seen rainfall in over two million years. With the exception of one valley, whose lakes are briefly filled with water by inland flowing rivers during the summer, the Dry Valleys contain no moisture (water, ice, or snow). The reasons why the Dry Valleys exist are the 200 mph Katabatic down winds which evaporate all moisture. The dry valleys are strange: except for a few steep rocks they are the only continental part of Antarctica devoid of ice. Located in the Trans-Antarctic Range, they correspond to a mountain area where evaporation (or rather, sublimation) is more important than snowfall, thus all the ice disappears, leaving dry barren land.
Another driest place is the Atacama Desert in Chile, some parts of which have received absolutely zero precipitation in centuries. Parts of the Atacama Desert may actually exceed the dryness of most of Antarctica, though data from the latter is insufficient to tell.
Marianas Trench (Indonesia and Japan): lowest point on Earth at 35,840 feet (10,924 m) below sea level

Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench (or Marianas Trench) is the deepest point in Earth's oceans. The bottom there is 10,924 meters (35,840 feet) below sea level. If Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth, were placed at this location it would be covered by over one mile of water. The only people to have ever explored this trench were Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh. At the bottom they were seven miles down and all around them eight tons of pressure. They observed fish, shrimp and other creatures living on the bottom of the sea floor. (Link | Photo)
Cherrapunji (India): wettest place on Earth

Cherrapunji, North-Eastern India is thought for many years to be the wettest place in the world. Here 10,820mm rain falls on average in a year. Unlike Colombia where the rain falls throughout the whole year, Cherrapunji gets most of its rain during the 'south-west monsoon', or wet season, between June and August. Cherrapunji does hold the record for the wettest month on record, recording 9,296mm in July 1861. Actually, between 1860 and 1862 Cherrapunji was incredibly wet; between August 1st 1860 and July 31st 1861 (which overlaps parts of 2 wet seasons) 26,467mm rain fell. In the calendar year 1861 22,987mm rain fell, of which 22,454 fell between April and September.
Mount Thor (Canada): Earth's greatest vertical drop

Mount Thor, in Auyuittuq National Park on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada, presents a 4,100 foot pure vertical drop. Mt. Thor is Canada's most famous peak, and it's made of pure granite. It's a favorite of thrill seekers and climbers. Mount Thor was first climbed in 1953 by an Arctic Institute of North America team. There have been a few recent rappel expeditions, with one fatality in 2006. (Link)
Dead Sea (Jordan): Earth's lowest elevation at 1,385 ft (422 mt) below sea level

The Dead Sea is the lowest elevation on Earth's surface on dry land, its surface and shores are 422 meters (1,385 ft) below sea level. On the border of Jordan and Israel, the road around the Dead Sea also happens to be the lowest road on Earth. Famous for its salinity (over ten times that of the Mediterranean Sea), the Dead Sea is said to be home of the first health retreat. Because of the extreme salt content, no life can survive in the sea, hence the name. 

Haiti earthquake survivors blockade roads with piles of corpses in protest at lack of aid

• Hundreds of criminals on the streets after prison collapses
• 7,000 corpses are dumped in Haiti's first mass grave
• Aid workers pour on to island as emergency fund launched
• Fears for British woman Ann Barnes who worked in collapsed building

• Britain pledges £10m in aid as Brown describes 'tragedy beyond imagination'

Desperate Haitians have set up roadblocks with corpses in Port-au-Prince to protest at the delay in emergency aid reaching them after the devastating earthquake.

Thousands of injured people spent a third night twisted in pain, lying on pavements waiting for help as their despair turned to anger.

'We've been out here waiting for three days and three nights but nothing has been done for us, not even a word of encouragement from the president,' said Pierre Jackson, nursing his mother and sister who lay whimpering with crushed legs.

'What should we do?'

Bodies fill the front yard of the morgue in Port-au-Prince. Angry survivors have started using corpses as road blocks

Despair: Shocked crowds throng the ruined streets, many homeless, many simply afraid to go into any building

An aerial view shows a ruined cathedral after Tuesday's earthquake. Troops and planeloads of food and medicine streamed into Haiti to aid a traumatised nation

Desperate Haitians blocked streets with corpses in one part of Port-au-Prince to demand quicker relief efforts following Tuesday's catastrophic quake, which flattened buildings and killed tens of thousands, leaving countless others homeless.

Bodies lay all around the hilly city, and people covered their noses with cloth to block the stench of death.

Corpses were piled on pickup trucks and delivered to the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, where hospital director Guy LaRoche estimated the bodies piled outside the morgue numbered 1,500.

The first British search and rescue workers to enter earthquake-ravaged Haiti were beginning to scour the rubble for survivors today as logistical problems continued to hamper the massive international relief effort.

Supplies and aid workers - including 64 search and rescue staff from UK fire services - were held up yesterday as Port-au-Prince' s airport struggled to handle the influx of flights.

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Survivors gathered around bodies in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince photographed during a joint Red Cross Red Crescent/ECHO (European Community Humanitarian Organization) aerial assessment mission

Thousands of homeless people have set up tent cities as they wait for aid to arrive

People gather around a petrol pump seeking fuel. Petrol shortage is causing long queues and angry customers

Shanty towns on the outskirts of the Haitian capital were flattened by the earthquake - the worst to strike the island nation in 200 years

More than 48 hours after disaster struck, masses of people demanded food and water, as well as help in digging out relatives still missing under the rubble.

Shaul Schwarz, a photographer for TIME magazine, said he saw at least two roadblocks formed with bodies of earthquake victims and rocks.

'They are starting to block the roads with bodies. It's getting ugly out there. People are fed up with getting no help,' he said.

Angry survivors staged the protest as international aid committed by 30 countries began arriving in Port-au-Prince in dozens of planes that clogged the city's small airport.

The Haitian Red Cross said it believed 45,000 to 50,000 people had died and 3 million more - one third of Haiti's population - were injured or left homeless by the major 7.0 magnitude quake that hit its impoverished capital on Tuesday.

'We have already buried 7,000 in a mass grave,' President Rene Preval said.

The Haitian Red Cross said it had run out of body bags.

 

James Girly, 64, of the US is brought out of a destroyed building of the Montana Hotel where he was trapped for 50 hours in Port-au-Prince

Richard Santos, 47, of Washington, DC, speaks to a journalist in Port-au-Prince as he is attended to by a French military rescuer from the Securite Civile after being brought out of the Montana Hotel. French rescuers pulled seven Americans and one Haitian survivor

Doctors in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, were ill-equipped to treat the injured.

Relief workers warned that many more people will die if the injured, many with broken bones and serious loss of blood, do not get first aid in the next day or so.

'The next 24 hours will be critical,' said U.S. Coast Guard officer Paul Cormier, 54, a qualified emergency worker who has triaged 300 people since Tuesday.

Planes full of supplies and search and rescue equipment began to arrive at Port-au-Prince airport on Thursday faster than ground crews could unload them, jamming the limited ramp space and forcing arriving aircraft to circle for up to two hours before landing.

U.S. President Barack Obama pledged an initial $100 million for Haiti quake relief on Thursday and enlisted former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to help raise more, vowing to the Haitian people: 'You will not be forsaken.'

The United States was sending 3,500 soldiers, 300 medical personnel, several ships and 2,200 Marines to Haiti.

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An injured man in a wheelchair looks at the collapsed Haitian Governmental taxation building

A Spanish rescuer carries two-year-old Redjeson Hausteen after he was rescued from a collapsed home

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Gladys Loiuis Jeune is pulled alive from the rubble of her home in Port-au-Prince nearly 43 hours after Tuesday's earthquake

The U.S. Navy said its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson will arrive on Friday to serve as a 'floating airport' for relief operations by its 19 helicopters.

The United States pledged long-term help for the crippled Haitian government. The presidential palace, the parliament, the cathedral and many government buildings collapsed.

The main prison also fell, allowing dangerous criminals to escape.

Nations around the world pitched in to send rescue teams with search dogs and heavy equipment, helicopters, tents, water purification units, food, doctors and telecoms teams.

But aid distribution was hampered because roads were blocked by rubble and smashed cars and normal communications were cut off.

Relief agencies' offices were damaged and their staff dead or missing. The port was too badly damaged to handle cargo.

Many hospitals were too battered to use, and doctors struggled to treat crushed limbs, head wounds and broken bones at makeshift facilities where medical supplies were scarce.

Sarlah Chand ,65, smiles as search and rescue workers tend to her after they rescued her from under the rubble of what is left of the Hotel Montana more than 50 hours after the massive earthquake

Ppolice officers from the Philippines search for colleagues who may be trapped in the rubble of the UN Police Headquarters in Port-au-Prince

Makeshift tents were strung everywhere and Haitians at one informal camp approached journalists shouting 'water, water.'

'Please do anything you can. These people have no water, no food, no medicine, nobody is helping us,' said Valery Louis, who organised one of the camps.

Haitians clawed at chunks of concrete with bare hands and hammers, trying to free those buried alive.

From time to time, aftershocks shook the city, sending panicked people running away from buildings.

A 35-year-old Estonian, Tarmo Joveer, was freed from the rubble of the United Nations' five-story headquarters early Thursday, and told journalists he was fine.

The U.N. said at least 36 members of its 9,000-strong peacekeeping mission had been killed and scores remained missing.

Brazil said 14 of its soldiers were among the dead.

Fourteen people were pulled alive on Thursday from the landmark Montana Hotel, which was largely flattened.

Chilean Army Major Rodrigo Vazquez, who was directing the rescue, said: 'We estimate 70 more inside. This is devastating. '

THE GOOGLE IMAGES THAT SHOW SCALE OF DISASTER

Google have also released satellite images of the devastation caused in Haiti, after being asked by relief organisations and users to provide up to date images of the country.

The pictures show the amount of damage caused to building in the Port-au-Prince, as well as thedestruction caused to the national palace.

Before (left) and after satellite images released by Google Maps and GeoEye after the earthquake

Satellite images show the damage caused to a large section of the National Palace in the 7.0 quake

In a blog post, Dylan Lorimer and Jessica Pfund of the Google Map Maker team wrote: 'We hope that Google Map Maker can also play a role in disaster relief efforts.

'Today, we have made this Map Maker data for Haiti available to the UN in its raw form for the earthquake relief efforts.'

These before and after pictures of the Sylvio Cator Stadium in Haiti show the earthquake has destroyed part of the building and left the ground strewn with debris

Villagers build railway station without Govt support

Gurgaon: After the project was discarded by the government for 25 years, residents of Tajnagar village near Gurgaon built a railway station in the village on their own by spending Rs.21 lakh. On January 5, 2010, the station started its operations with seven local trains being scheduled to stop, reports Economic Times.
A villager said, "We have hired a vehicle to spread the message that the station is getting functional. It's no less than a festival for us and we are organizing a puja at the station. All passengers will get prasad."

It all started two years back when the Panchayat passed a resolution saying that since the Railways was not able to build a station for them, they would do it themselves. Soon, an 11-member 'gram seva samiti' was constituted and it started collecting money from villagers. Most of the people in this village are agriculturists, but everybody came forward and contributed according to their capacity. Ranjeet Singh, Former Village Sarpanch said, "Ranging from Rs.3,000 to Rs.75,000 they donated money for the station and we started construction in January, 2008."
After the final draft was laid, the Panchayat asked the railway if it would agree to stop a few trains at the station if they constructed a station with their own resources. To their surprise, the Railways agreed to make seven passenger trains (in both directions) halt at the station if it was built according to its specifications. Anant Swaroop, Northern Railways Spokesperson said, "The Railways decided to make it a halt station because a number of people would benefit from it. Financially too, the idea looked viable."
The station has two platforms. It has a kachcha platform, water, electricity and a ticket counter. It would be inaugurated by Gurgaon MP, Rao Inderjeet Singh. Villagers are requesting the government to help in making a concrete platform, a waiting room and an overhead shed.

Best Hotels (Breathtaking Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas)

Breathtaking Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas

The Fountains of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas (USA) are a vast, choreographed water fountains with performances set to light and music. The performances are visible from numerous vantage points on the Strip, both from the street and from neighboring structures. The fountain's show takes place every 30 minutes in the afternoons and early evenings, and every 15 minutes from 8 PM to midnight. The Fountains are set in a nine-acre man-made lake. The fountain display is choreographed to various pieces of music; current pieces include "Fly Me To The Moon" (Frank Sinatra), "Time to Say Goodbye" (Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli) and "My Heart Will Go On" (Celine Dion).

Earthquake in Haiti

Tuesday afternoon, January 12th, the worst earthquake in 200 years - 7.0 in magnitude - struck less than ten miles from the Caribbean city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The initial quake was later followed by twelve aftershocks greater than magnitude 5.0. Structures of all kinds were damaged or collapsed, from shantytown homes to national landmarks. It is still very early in the recovery effort, but millions are likely displaced, and thousands are feared dead as rescue teams from all over the world are now descending on Haiti to help where they are able. As this is a developing subject, I will be adding photos to this entry over the next few days, but at the moment, here is a collection of photos from Haiti over the past 24 hours. (40 photos total)

A Haitian woman is covered in rubble on January 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince after a huge earthquake rocked the impoverished Caribbean nation of Haiti, toppling buildings and causing widespread damage and panic, officials and AFP witnesses said. A tsunami alert was immediately issued for the Caribbean region after the earthquake struck at 2153 GMT. (DANIEL MOREL/AFP/Getty Images)

2

People seek safety in the aftermath of a severe earthquake on rue Capois in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti on January 12th, 2010. (Tequila Minsky for The New York Times) #

3

A body lies amid rubble on January 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince after a huge earthquake. (DAVID MOREL/AFP/Getty Images) #

4

A fire breaks out near a building, which was damaged after a major earthquake struck, in Port-au-Prince in this January 12, 2010 video grab. (REUTERS/Reuters TV) #

5

This photo provided by Carel Pedre shows people running past rubble of a damaged building in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010. The largest earthquake ever recorded in the area shook Haiti on Tuesday, collapsing a hospital where people screamed for help. (AP Photo/Carel Pedre) #

6

Buildings are seen damaged in the neighborhood of Petionville, Port-Au-Prince shortly after an earthquake hit Haiti, January 12, 2010. The 7.0 magnitude quake rocked Haiti, killing possibly thousands of people as it toppled the presidential palace and hillside shanties alike and leaving the poor Caribbean nation appealing for international help. (REUTERS/Nabil Hijjawi via Your View) #

7

Anthony Guarino, a seismic analyst at the Caltech Seismological Laboratory, shows the 7.0 earthquake peak from the Haiti earthquake at the laboratory in Pasadena, California on Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) #

8

A quake-destroyed building in the streets of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti on January 12th, 2010. (Tequila Minsky for The New York Times) #

9

A man calls for help while being trapped at the Port-au-Prince University, after a major earthquake struck, in Port-au-Prince in this January 13, 2010 video grab. (REUTERS/Reuters TV) #

10

Haitians walk past damaged buildings on January 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince Haiti after a huge earthquake. (LISANDRO SUERO/AFP/Getty Images) #

11

People walk along a street lined with buildings, which were destroyed after a major earthquake struck, in Port-au-Prince in this January 12, 2010 video grab. (REUTERS/Reuters TV) #

12

Criss-cross cracking and other damage to a building is seen on January 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti after a huge earthquake. (Clarens Renois/AFP/Getty Images) #

13

A view of the badly damaged presidential palace - the center portion formerly 3 stories tall - after an earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 13, 2009. (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz) #

14

A Haitian woman is helped from the rubble of a damaged building on January 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince after a massive earthquake struck the Caribbean nation. (DANIEL MOREL/AFP/Getty Images) #

15

A woman is helped to safety after being trapped in rubble on January 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (DANIEL MOREL/AFP/Getty Images) #

16

A person sits on the ground in front of a destroyed building in Port-au-Prince after a huge earthquake on January 12, 2010. (LISANDRO SUERO/AFP/Getty Images) #

17

Residents wait for medical treatment after an earthquake in Port-au-Prince January 13, 2010. (REUTERS/Kena Betancur) #

18

A injured child receives medical treatment after an earthquake in Port-au-Prince January 13, 2010. (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz) #

19

People come to the aid of a wounded man on January 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Frederic Dupoux/Getty Images) #

20

Residents search for victims after an earthquake in Port-au-Prince January 13, 2010. (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz) #

21

This Jan. 12, 2010 photo shows an injured person being tended to at Hotel Villa Creole in Port-au-Prince, Haiti after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the Caribbean nation. (AP Photo/Montreal La Presse, Ivanoh Demers) #

22

Injured women wait on the floor at the emergency clinic of Petionville on January 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Frederic Dupoux/Getty Images) #

23

Residents sleep in the street after the earthquake in Port-au-Prince January 13, 2010. (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz) #

24

Displaced people carry a wounded man out of a clinic as aftershocks occur, following a major earthquake on January 13, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Frederic Dupoux/Getty Images) #

25

A man with two broken legs sits in the street amongst other wounded people, following a major earthquake on January 13, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Frederic Dupoux/Getty Images) #

26

People search for survivors amongst the ruins of the children's hospital, following a major earthquake on January 13, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Frederic Dupoux/Getty Images) #

27

Earthquake survivors sit on a bloody floor in an emergency clinic in Petionville on January 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Frederic Dupoux/Getty Images) #

28

A woman faints in the arms of a medic in an emergency clinic in Petionville on January 12, 2010 in earthquake-stricken Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Frederic Dupoux/Getty Images) #

29

People search for survivors amongst the rubble of the Caribbean Super Market in Delmas on January 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Frederic Dupoux/Getty Images) #

30

Elie Isaac, left, and Caleb Roseme, both of Norwich, Connecticut, pray for the people of the Caribbean Islands, at the First Haitian Baptist Church of Norwich, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010. Both men have family and friends in Haiti, one of the countries hit by the largest earthquake to ever hit the Caribbean Islands. (AP Photo/The Day, Abigail Pheiffer) #

31

A father carries his duaghter after a major earthquake on January 12, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Frederic Dupoux/Getty Images) #

32

An injured person is seen in the street after an earthquake hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Jorge Cruz) #

33

Venezuelan rescuers load medical equipment onto a plane heading to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on January 13, 2010 at the Simon Bolivar international airport in Caracas, following a huge quake which rocked the impoverished Caribbean nation, toppling buildings and leaving hundreds of people missing and feared dead. (JUAN BARRETO/AFP/ Getty Images) #

34

British Search and Rescue teams prepare to leave Gatwick airport, West Sussex to provide assistance to relief and rescue teams in Haiti, on January 13, 2010. (CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images) #

35

Taiwan rescue teams stand by at the fire department in Taipei on January 13, 2010 as they prepare to head to Haiti to help with the rescue effort following an earthquake. (SAM YEH/AFP/Getty Images) #

36

Los Angeles County Fire Department urban search and rescue team load equipment in the Pacoima area of Los Angeles January 12, 2010. The team will travel to Haiti to help with rescue efforts after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the capital Port-au-Prince. (REUTERS/Gus Ruelas) #

1st Update, 11:55 am

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38

A view of a damaged neighborhood in the Canape-Vert area on January 13, 2010, after an earthquake the day before in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz) #

39

A girl reacts in the street shortly after a large earthquake struck in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on January 12th, 2010 (Tequila Minsky for The New York Times) #

40

Residents search for survivors among the debris after an earthquake in Port-au-Prince January 13, 2010. (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz) #