*The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the world’s largest reef system and the largest living structure in the world!
*The waste hierarchy or 3 R’s are (in order of importance) reduce, reuse and recycle!
*The largest ocean on Earth is the Pacific Ocean!
*The largest individual flower on Earth is from a plant called Rafflesia arnoldii. Its flowers reach up to 1 metre (3 feet) in diameter and weigh around 10kg!
*Plants on the surface of the Earth have existed for around 400 million years!
*Bamboo can be a fast growing plant. Some types can grow almost a meter (3.28 feet) in just one day!
*The Giant Sequoia is not only tall, it is also wide. Because of its amazing size, some believe that the Giant Sequoia is the largest living organism in the world!
*Some plants are carnivores, gaining nutrients by eating various small insects and spiders!
*Around 2000 different types of plants are used by humans to make food!
*Natural gas doesn’t have an odor. Strong smells are added to it by humans so it can be detected when there are leaks!
*Hawaii is moving towards Japan at the speed of 10 cm a year. This is because they are on different tectonic plates!
*The world’s largest desert (outside of the Polar Regions) is the Sahara. It covers about one third of Africa!
*Stretching out to an impressive length of 6696 kilometers (4160 miles) long, the Nile River is the longest river on earth!
*The volcanic rock known as pumice is the only rock that can float in water!
*Mt Everest is the highest mountain on Earth. Its peak reaches 8,848 meters (29029 feet) above sea level!
*On average the Atlantic Ocean is the saltiest of Earth’s major oceans!
*The Earth isn’t perfectly round. It is slightly flattened at the north and south poles!
*Scientists have the dated the Earth as being between 4 and 5 billion years old!
*The Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest on Earth!
*Talc is the softest mineral found on Earth, reaching just 1 on Mohs scale of hardness, it is often used to make talcum powder!
*Rock found at the bottom of the Grand Canyon is around 2 billion years old!
The word volcano originally comes from the name of the Roman god of fire, Vulcan!
*The Japanese word tsunami literally means “harbor wave!”
*A fossilized object has the same shape as the original object, but is chemically more like a rock!
*The damage caused by earthquakes also depends on their depth and fault type!
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