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 referred to as Iran.
The Grand Canyon, which is the gorge of the Colorado River is 217 miles long. Fifty-six miles lie within Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. The canyon varies in width from 4 to 18 miles.
The five largest Lakes in the world are: 1. Kaspiyskoye More (or Caspian Sea). USSR–Iran 2. Superior. United States–Canada 3. Victoria. Tanzania–Uganda–Kenya 4. Aralskoye More (or Aral Sea). USSR 5. Huron. United States–Canada
The United States has about 36,000 acres in Cuba. The United States has a naval base at Guantanamo Bay near the western end of the south coast of Cuba, 572 miles from Havana. The United States has leased the site since 1903, despite pressure from Fidel Castro’s government to leave.
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…
Sherwood Forest was the royal hunting ground frequented by Robin Hood and his merry men. It was located in Nottinghamshire, England. Today Sherwood Forest is under the protection of the British Forestry Commission.
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…