The Isthmus of Panama curves eastward as it runs south, so the canal, which crosses it from northwest to southeast, ends at the Pacific about 40 km east of where it starts.
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Yes. Reno sits at about 119.85° West and Los Angeles at about 118.41° West, so Reno is farther west by roughly 1.4 degrees of longitude.
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The Aleutian Islands cross the 180th meridian, so some Alaskan land lies at eastern longitude. By longitude Alaska holds both extremes; by map position Maine is easternmost.
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Paris moved millions of bones into old quarries in the 1780s because overcrowded cemeteries threatened public health and the abandoned mines under the city needed to be shored up.
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Old London Bridge was a stone bridge of 19 piers lined with houses. The river rushing through its narrow arches kept undermining its foundations, so it needed constant work.
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Derinkuyu is a multi-level city carved into volcanic rock in Türkiye. Nobody can say for certain who first dug it; Phrygians are the usual answer, and it was expanded over centuries.
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Two conflicting British-drawn borders mean claiming Bir Tawil would force Egypt or Sudan to give up the far more valuable Hala'ib Triangle. A few other unclaimed areas exist.
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On 21 August 1986 a huge cloud of carbon dioxide burst from Lake Nyos and suffocated about 1,700 people. Scientists still debate the exact trigger.
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The Mekong rises above the Tonle Sap's level in the monsoon and pushes water up the river into the lake. When the Mekong falls, the lake drains back out.
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The Dead Sea has no outlet, so water leaves only by evaporation and salt stays behind. The resulting dense water pushes up on swimmers, so floating takes almost no effort.
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Soviet-era irrigation diverted the two rivers that feed the Aral Sea, so inflow fell below evaporation. Climate was not the main driver, according to the sources reviewed.
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