See full version: 8 of the World s Most Endangered Places
Unfortunately, the rainforest itself is under threat. According to a 2005 WWF report, Indonesian Borneo lost more than 1.21 million hectares of rainforest per year between 1997 and 2000. (One hectare is about 2.5 acres.) Illegal logging, forest fires and the development of palm oil plantations are to blame.
Though tourism supports a significant chunk of the area's economy, the development of coastlines meant to lure in vacationers threatens the native flora. Deforestation, fires and grazing have destroyed the vegetation in 95 percent of the Mediterranean Basin. here
Antarctica is known for its high, frigid desert, where winter temperatures regularly dip as low as minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 70 degrees Celsius). But the seemingly barren continent's coastline is actually rich with marine life, including penguins, seabirds, seals and whales. Even the darkest depths of the Weddell Sea off western Antarctica are a treasure trove of life: A survey of the Weddell Sea, published in the journal Nature in 2007, found more than 700 new species, including sea spiders, carnivorous sponges and octopi. [links]
Managing krill fisheries is crucial, executive secretary of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources Denzil Miller told the New York Times in 2005. "We've got to get this one right," he said, "because if we don't there's a whole lot of dominoes that follow afterwards that just looks too horrendous to contemplate."
The most populous of its islands is Java, which is about the same size as New York State and made up of about 130 million people, 60% of the Indonesian population. The island of Sumatra is much larger but contains only about one-third of the country's population. Its other main islands include Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), Sulawesi, and the Indonesian portion of New Guinea—known as Papua or Irian Jaya. The islands are largely mountainous and include around 400 known volcanoes, of which around 100 are active. here
Like its neighboring countries of Sweden and Norway, Finland is made up of a large number of rocky islands off its coast, totalling 178,947, with many in the region of Archipelago Finland running from the country's southwestern coast to the Baltic Sea.
The Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire), so-named by Magellan due to the numerous fires lit by island inhabitants as he approached in 1520, is made up of thousands of islands, and the Islas Desventuradas are a small, oceanic group of islands about 530 miles (850 km) off of mainland Chile, characterized as a volcanic region.
Saimaa Lake, Finland. Image credit: Della_Liner/Shutterstock
The Arctic Archipelago lies north of the country, in the Arctic Ocean, and is made up of an area of more than 550,000 square miles (1.4 million square km). To the southeast, these landmasses are an extension of the Canadian Shield, one of the largest continental shields in the world; in the south they are part of the Arctic lowlands and in the north the islands are part of the Innuitian Mountains. more
Nuuk is the capital of Greenland and also the nation's largest city. Although Greenland is part of North America, it is considered part of Europe in geopolitical terms. Greenland is an autonomous constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark, but with a larger degree of self government since 1979. As a constituent country, the monarch of Denmark acts as the head of state. The island’s general elections are held after every 4 years to elect a 31 member parliament, which then elects a prime minister for a similar term. Upon election, the prime minister assumes the role of Greenland’s head of government. Given Greenland's ties to Denmark, the island is a member of NATO, and the Danish krone is the island’s official currency. more
Greenland is part of the Nordic region, which includes countries like Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. These countries have a near similar history dating back to the Viking era between 800 and 1050 AD, according to the National Museum of Denmark. Greenland falls within four time zones: Atlantic, West Greenland, East Greenland, and Western European. However, the nation only adheres to the Greenland Standard time zone, because utilizing four times zones is impractical. Although ice caps and glaciers cover nearly 80 percent of the island, the ice free area is nearly as large as Sweden. According to a Nordic Cooperation report, only a small part of the land can be cultivated. [links]
With a total area of 2,166,086 square kilometers, Greenland is the world’s largest island. The country is located in northern North America, between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, and borders Canada to the northeast and Iceland to the northwest. Greenland is famed for its expansive ice and glaciers, which cover an area of 1,755,637 square kilometers, while the rest of the island ice free. Forests occupy only 1 square kilometer of the island. At 3,694 meters, Gunnbjørn Fjeld is the highest mountain in Greenland, and the highest north of the Arctic Circle. This island has a 44,087 kilometer coast line according to a Nordic Cooperation report. more
According to 2014 data, Greenland’s population is less than 57,000 people, and about 15,000 live in Nuuk. Many of the island’s native inhabitants are of Central Asian descent. The main economic activities on the island are whaling, fishing, and hunting animals like musk ox and reindeer. Greenland’s economy is highly dependent on exports of shrimp and fish, and a significant subsidy from the Danish government. Fish alone accounts for over 90 percent of Greenland’s total exports. The island’s tourism sector has also been growing by 20 percent since 2015, which is mostly attributed to cruise ships operating in Greenland’s western and southern waters during the peak summer tourism season. here
The largest country in the world is Russia with a total area of 17,098,242 Km² (6,601,665 mi²) and a land area of 16,376,870 Km² (6,323,142 mi²), equivalent to 11% of the total world's landmass of 148,940,000 Km² (57,510,000 square miles). more
Total Area = land area + water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, and rivers)
Km² = square kilometers | mi² = square miles [links]