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Here are some of the “Superlatives of the World“, which highlight extremes in geography, natural wonders, architecture, and human achievement…
Geography & Nature (Superlatives)
- Highest Mountain: Mount Everest, Nepal/Tibet – 8,848.86 meters (29,031.7 feet)
- Longest Mountain Range (above sea level): The Andes, approximately 7,500 kilometers along South America.
- Longest River: Nile River, Africa – Approximately 6,650 km (4,130 miles)
- Largest Desert (Non-Polar): Sahara Desert, Africa – Approximately 9.2 million sq km (3.6 million sq miles)
- Deepest Ocean: Pacific Ocean – Mariana Trench, Depth – 11,034 meters (36,201 feet)
- Largest Ocean: Pacific Ocean – Covering over 63 million sq miles
- Largest Lake: Caspian Sea – 371,000 sq km (143,000 sq miles)
- Hottest Place: Death Valley, California, USA – Record high temperature of 56.7°C (134°F)
- Largest Island: Greenland (excluding continents) – 2.166 million sq km (836,331 sq miles)
- Longest Coastline: Canada – Approximately 202,080 km (125,567 miles)
- Deepest Lake: Lake Baikal, Russia – 1,642 meters (5,387 feet) deep
- Largest Coral Reef System: Great Barrier Reef, Australia – Over 2,300 km (1,429 miles) long
- Largest Rainforest: Amazon Rainforest, South America – Covers over 5.5 million sq km (2.1 million sq miles)
- Largest Waterfall (By Volume): Inga Falls, Congo River, Africa – Approximately 25,060 cubic meters per second
- Largest Archipelago: Indonesia – Comprising over 17,000 islands
- Smallest Country by Area: Vatican City – 44 hectares (110 acres)
- Highest Waterfall: Angel Falls, Venezuela – 979 meters (3,212 feet)
- Coldest Inhabited Place: Oymyakon, Russia – Winter temperatures drop to -50°C (-58°F) and below
- Largest Glacier: Lambert Glacier, Antarctica – Approximately 100 km wide, 400 km long
- Largest Wetland: Pantanal, spread across Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay.
- Largest Rainforest: Amazon Rainforest, spanning 5.5 million square kilometers.
- Largest Bay: Hudson Bay, Canada.
- Largest Volcano: Mauna Loa in Hawaii, with a volume over 75,000 cubic kilometers.
- Driest Place: Atacama Desert, Chile, with almost no rainfall.
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Human-Made Structures (General Knowledge 2024)(Superlatives)
- Tallest Building: Burj Khalifa, Dubai, UAE – 828 meters (2,717 feet)
- Longest Bridge: Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge, China – 164.8 km (102.4 miles)
- Largest Dam: Three Gorges Dam, China – 2,335 meters (7,660 feet) long, 185 meters (607 feet) high
- Largest Religious Monument: Angkor Wat, Cambodia – Covers an area of 162.6 hectares (402 acres)
- Tallest Tower: Tokyo Skytree, Japan – 634 meters (2,080 feet)
- Longest Tunnel: Gotthard Base Tunnel, Switzerland – 57.1 km (35.5 miles) in length
- Largest Airport: King Fahd International Airport, Saudi Arabia – Covers approximately 780 sq km (301 sq miles)
- Largest Stadium: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, India – Capacity of around 132,000 spectators
- Largest Palace (By Area): The Forbidden City, Beijing, China – Covers 720,000 sq meters (178 acres)
- Largest Shopping Mall: The Dubai Mall, UAE – Over 1.1 million sq meters (12 million sq feet) of retail space
- Longest Wall: Great Wall of China – Stretches over 21,196 km (13,171 miles)
- Largest Hotel: First World Hotel, Malaysia – Over 7,351 rooms
- Tallest Statue: Statue of Unity, India – 182 meters (597 feet)
- Largest Temple Complex: Akshardham Temple, Delhi, India – Covers 100 acres, including gardens and cultural exhibits
Human Achievement & Records (General Knowledge 2024)(Superlatives)
- Most Populous Country: China – Over 1.4 billion people
- Largest Economy by GDP: United States – GDP of over $25 trillion
- Most Spoken Language: English – Over 1.5 billion speakers globally
- Most Widely Practiced Religion: Christianity – Over 2.3 billion adherents worldwide
- Most Visited City: Bangkok, Thailand – Attracting over 22 million international visitors annually
- Richest Person: Elon Musk (subject to change) – Net worth exceeding $200 billion
- Most Populous City: Tokyo, Japan – Over 37 million residents in the metropolitan area
- Oldest Continuous Civilization: China – Over 4,000 years of recorded history
- Largest Armed Forces: People’s Liberation Army, China – Over 2 million active personnel
- Largest Democracy: India – With over 900 million eligible voters
- Most Diverse Language: Papua New Guinea – Over 850 languages spoken
- Largest Number of World Heritage Sites: Italy – 58 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- Largest Wine Producer: Italy – Produces over 47 million hectoliters annually
- Largest Employer: United States Department of Defense – Employs over 2.9 million people, including military and civilian staff
- Largest Sports Event: FIFA World Cup – Attracts billions of viewers worldwide
Science & Technology (General Knowledge 2024)(Superlatives)
- Largest Space Station: International Space Station (ISS) – Orbiting 400 km (248 miles) above Earth, spanning 109 meters end-to-end
- Fastest Supercomputer: Frontier (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA) – Capable of performing over 1 quintillion calculations per second (1 exaFLOP)
- Most Downloaded App: TikTok – Over 3 billion downloads globally
- Longest Human Lifespan: Jeanne Calment, France – Lived to be 122 years and 164 days old (1875-1997)
- Largest Artificial Island: Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE – Extends over 5 km into the Persian Gulf
- Most Expensive Painting: Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci – Sold for $450.3 million in 2017
- Largest Space Telescope: James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) – The JWST, launched by NASA, ESA, and the CSA, offers unparalleled resolution and sensitivity across infrared wavelengths, revealing distant galaxies, exoplanets, and early cosmic structures.
- Most Advanced AI Model: GPT-4 by OpenAI – GPT-4 builds on its predecessors with improved language capabilities, higher reasoning skills, and multimodal support, making it a versatile tool for applications in fields from healthcare to finance.
- Most Powerful Battery: QuantumScape Solid-State Battery – QuantumScape’s battery technology achieves a high energy density using a ceramic electrolyte, addressing issues like safety and capacity for electric vehicles, making it a leader in battery innovation.
- Fastest Satellite Internet: Starlink V2 Mini – SpaceX’s Starlink V2 Mini satellites offer faster speeds and greater bandwidth, improving global internet connectivity, especially in remote regions.
- Biggest Solar Farm: Bhadla Solar Park, India – Spanning over 14,000 acres in Rajasthan, Bhadla Solar Park boasts a total capacity of 2,245 MW, supplying renewable energy to millions in India.
- Largest Offshore Wind Farm: Dogger Bank Wind Farm, North Sea – Located off the coast of the UK, Dogger Bank will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm upon completion, with a capacity of 3.6 GW—enough to power 6 million homes.
- Tallest Wooden Skyscraper: Ascent MKE, Milwaukee – Ascent MKE stands 284 feet tall and showcases sustainable building practices with its timber construction, demonstrating how skyscrapers can be eco-friendly without sacrificing height.
- Highest-Resolution Quantum Microscope: Quantum Atomic Force Microscope – This microscope can capture atomic-level detail, allowing scientists to study molecular structures and interactions with unprecedented precision, advancing materials science and nanotechnology.
- Most Energy-Dense Solid-State Battery: Solid Power Battery – Solid Power’s solid-state battery features lithium-metal technology, significantly increasing energy density, which could allow for longer ranges in electric vehicles.
- Fastest Supercomputer: Frontier, Oak Ridge National Laboratory – Frontier, with a processing power over 1 exaflop, leads the world in supercomputing speed, aiding complex simulations in physics, biology, and climate science.
- Longest-Range Electric Car: Lucid Air Sapphire – The Lucid Air Sapphire offers an industry-leading range of over 500 miles on a single charge, making it the longest-range electric vehicle on the market.
- Most Efficient Solar Panel: HJT-Tandem Cells – Heterojunction (HJT)-Tandem solar cells reach efficiencies above 30%, combining silicon and perovskite layers for enhanced light absorption, setting a new benchmark in solar energy technology.
- Highest Precision Weather Forecast Model: AI-Driven ClimateNet – ClimateNet utilizes AI and high-resolution data to provide localized, real-time weather forecasts, enhancing accuracy in predicting extreme weather events.
- Most Comprehensive Cancer Genomics Project: Cancer Genome Atlas – This extensive project maps the genomic alterations across various cancer types, providing critical insights for personalized medicine and targeted treatments.
Quick Revision: List of Superlatives of the World 2024 (General Knowledge 2024)(Superlatives)
| Continent | Smallest – Australia Largest – Asia |
| Country | Largest (in area) – Russia Largest (in population) – China |
| Mountain Range | Longest – Andes (South America) Highest—Himalayas Mountain |
| Peak | Highest—Mount Everest (Nepal) (8848 m) |
| Desert | Largest Hot Desert – Sahara, Africa Largest Cold Desert – Gobi (Mongolia) |
| River | Longest—Nile (6690 km) Busiest—Rhine (Germany) Largest (by water volume)—Amazon (South America) |
| Basin | Largest – Amazon |
| Gorge | Largest – Grand Canyon, on the Colorado river, USA |
| Waterfall | Highest – Salto Angel Falls (Venezuela) |
| Delta | Largest – Sundarbans, India |
| Gulf | Longest – Gulf of Mexico |
| Island | Largest – Greenland (renamed Kalaallit Nunaat) |
| Bay | Largest – Hudson Bay, Canada |
| Peninsula | Largest—Arabia |
| Volcano | Largest – Mauna Loa (Hawaii Islands) Highest – Ojos del Salado, Andes, Argentine-Chile (6885 m) |
| Sea (Inland) | Largest—Mediterranean |
| Ocean | Deepest and Biggest—The Pacific |
| Lake | Deepest—Baikal (Siberia) Highest—Titicaca (Bolivia) Largest (Fresh Water)—Lake Superior, USA Largest (Artificial)—Lake Kariba (between Zambia and Zimbabwe) |
| Sea Port | Largest— Shanghai (China) |
| Airport | Largest—King Fahd International Airport, Saudi Arabia (by area) Highest—Daocheng Yading Airport, Garzi, Tibet (China) |
| Airliner | Largest— Airbus A380 |
| Dam | Tallest – Jinping-I Dam (China) Longest – Hirakud Dam (Odisha), India Biggest (Water storage capacity) – Kariba Dam, Zimbabwe Largest (Concrete) – Grand Coulee Dam (USA) |
| Coral | Largest – The Great Barrier Reef (Australia) |
| Cruise Ships | Largest – Royal Caribbean |
| Canal | Longest – Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal |
| Animal | Most Intelligent – Chimpanzee Fastest – Cheetah |
| Archipelago | Largest (area) – Malay Archipelago Largest (number) – Norway Archipelago |
| Asteroid Impact Zone | Largest – Australia |
| Nation with boundary | Longest – Canada |
| Dome | Largest – World Peace Monument Dome (Pune) |
| Plateau | Largest – Pamir Plateau (Asia) |
| Motorable Road | Highest – Umling La, Road Ladakh (19300 Ft) |
| Country Sharing border with others | Maximum – China (14) |
| Country with population Density | Highest – Macau |
| Bird | Largest – Ostrich Largest (Sea) – Albatross Fastest – Needle-tailed swift Smallest – Humming bird |
| Mammal | Largest – Blue whale Smallest – Bumblebee bat |
| Park | Largest – National Park, Greenland |
| Railway | Longest – Trans-Siberian Railway Railway |
| Railway Platform | Longest – Gorakhpur, India Largest – Grand Central Terminal, New York (USA) |
| Tunnel | Longest and Largest (Canal) – Le Rove Tunnel (South of France) Longest (Railway) – Gotthard Base Tunnel (Switzerland) |
| Bridge | Longest – Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge (Beijing-Shanghai High-speed Railway) |
| Building | Tallest – Burj Khalifa, Dubai (828 m) |
| Minar (Free standing) | Tallest – Great Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca, Morocco |
| Statue | Tallest – Statue of Unity (Gujarat, India) |
| Tower | Tallest – Tokyo Sky Free, Tokyo (Japan) |
| Temple | Largest – Angkor Vat (Cambodia) |
| Church | Largest – Basilica of St Peter, Vatican City, Rome (Italy) |
| Mosque | Largest – Masjid at Haram (Mecca) |
| Gurudwara | |
| Museum | Biggest – Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC |
| Place | Coldest – Verkhoyansk (Siberia), Temperature – 85°C Hottest – Al-Aziziyah (Libya, Africa), 136°F Driest – Atacama Desert, Chile (South America) |
| Stadium | Largest – Strahov Stadium in Prague (the Czech Republic) |
| Wall | Longest – Great Wall of China |
| Capital City | Highest – La Paz (Bolivia) |
| City | Highest – Wen Chuan (Tibet, China) Largest (in population) – Tokyo Biggest (in area) – Hulunbuir, China |
| Day | Longest—21st June (in Northern hemisphere) Shortest—22nd December (in Southern hemisphere) |
| Substance | Hardest—Wurtzite boron nitride |
| Metal | Lightest—Lithium Heaviest—Osmium Costliest—Californium 252 ($27 million per gram) |
| Diamond | Largest—The Cullinan (over 1.5 lb) |
| Largest (Mine) | Kimberley (South Africa) |
| Melting Point | Highest—Tungsten, 34100°C |
| Gas | Lightest – Hydrogen |
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