The smallest country on earth is Vatican City, the seat of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome.
At 0.16 square mile, it is less than half the size of the next smallest country, Monaco (0.4 square mile).
Vatican City became an independent country in 1929.
Its 750 inhabitants are ruled by the pope and a committee of three cardinals.
Though the origin of the name Europe is not known for certain, the name is very old. A Greek hymn to Apollo from the sixth century B.C. mentions the name, which originally applied only to part of the Balkan Peninsula. Europe probably derives from a word meaning “mainland,” though it may be related to the…
The United Kingdom of Great Britain was formed in 1707, when England, Scotland, and Wales were united by the Act of Union. But the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was not formed until 1801. In 1945, 24 years after most of Ireland had won its independence, Great Britain’s official name became the United…
The abyssal zone begins at a depth of 6,600 feet and runs to 19,800 feet. It covers 83 percent of the area of oceans and seas. Water temperature in the abyssal zone is about 39 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Arctic Circle lies at 66° 30′ north latitude. This is because that is the southernmost latitude where the sun can be seen for a full 24-hour period on or about June 22, the first day of summer (summer solstice). On the same day in the Antarctic Circle (south of 66°30′ south latitude), the sun…
The people of the country Persia in southwestern Asia always called their homeland Iran, or “Land of the Aryans.” But Westerners started calling it Persia in the sixth century B.C., taking the name from Persis, or Parsa (modern Fars), a region of southern Iran. In 1935, the country’s government officially requested that the nation be…
The Seven Hills of Rome are the hills on or about which Rome was built. The original city was built on the Palatine Hill. The other six hills are: the Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caefian, and Aventine.