Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
The town that sits below sea level
The California farming town sits below sea level, and nearby levees help protect it from flooding.
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Parts of Antarctica look more like bare desert than snowfield
The McMurdo Dry Valleys have exposed rock and soil despite being surrounded by an icy continent. Very low moisture and mountain barriers help keep much of the…
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This Alaskan town spends about two months without sunrise
In Utqiagvik, the Sun stays below the horizon from roughly mid-November until late January. The Earth's tilt keeps this far-northern town turned away from…
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The world's highest lake for large ships
At about 12,500 feet in the Andes, Lake Titicaca is high enough to make large commercial ships’ ability to navigate it an unexpected sight.
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The sea with no shores
The Sargasso Sea has no land borders; swirling currents define its boundaries and trap floating seaweed.
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To drive into this part of Minnesota, you cross Canada
The Northwest Angle lies above the rest of the state on Lake of the Woods. Its land connection runs through Manitoba, so a road trip there from the main U.S.…
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America's geographic center is in a Kansas field
The center is the geographic midpoint of the lower 48 states, not the population center. A small monument marks the spot.
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Key West is closer to Havana than Miami
Key West lies closer to Havana than to Miami, even though Miami is on the Florida mainland.
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Andes strictly outstretch all terrestrial mountain chains
At about 4,300 miles long, the Andes run down South America’s western edge, stretching farther than the Rockies or the Himalayas.
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Reno is farther west than Los Angeles
California's curved outline bends eastward as it runs south, leaving Reno west of Los Angeles despite being in Nevada.
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The giant river that never leaves China
It runs nearly 4,000 miles without leaving China.
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Lake Baikal holds a staggering share of Earth's lake water
The Siberian lake reaches about 1,700 meters deep and contains roughly a fifth of the world's unfrozen surface fresh water. Its immense depth matters as much…
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Montana’s tiny Roe River is just 201 feet long
It bubbles up from a spring and flows straight into the Missouri River.
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North America's deepest lake is in Canada
It reaches 2,014 feet deep, deeper than any other lake in North America.
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Yuma gets sunshine during about 91% of its possible daylight hours
Guinness lists an annual average of roughly 4,055 sunny hours for the Arizona city. The percentage matters: it compares actual sunshine with the hours the Sun…
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Lake Superior holds more water than the other Great Lakes combined
Its broad surface is only part of the story: the lake reaches about 1,332 feet deep. That gives it an enormous volume despite being smaller on the map than…
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Nunavut stretches across three time zones
Its scattered communities span three time zones, so traveling between them can mean changing your watch.
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Australia's largest salt lake spends years waiting for water
Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre is usually a salt-crusted basin. Major rains far away can send floodwater into it, transforming the landscape into a wetland full of…
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Japanese households demand strict shoe removal
Outdoor shoes come off at the entryway, where indoor slippers are often waiting. Some households keep a separate pair just for the restroom.
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Why you should say Bonjour in a French bakery
Greeting the shopkeeper before asking for bread is considered basic courtesy; skipping it can come across as rude.
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South Korean hikers dress for Everest on easy trails
On some easy, paved trails in South Korea, hikers show up in high-end outdoor gear, trekking poles, and bright jackets more suited to a mountain expedition.
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A kea can treat your car like something to investigate
These New Zealand parrots explore objects with strong beaks and considerable curiosity, including rubber seals and other accessible parts of vehicles. What a…
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Japanese bowing guides turn respect into angles
Etiquette training often distinguishes a light bow of about 15 degrees from deeper bows around 30 or 45 degrees. The depth helps communicate formality,…
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Why Germans open their windows in winter
Stoßlüften means opening windows wide for a few minutes—even in winter—to replace stale indoor air with fresh air.
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