Geography Of The World
The Most Dangerous Stretches Of US Coastline
From Point Reyes in California to Makapuu on Oahu, seven US coastlines where sneaker waves, rip currents, and cold water make the shore itself risky.
The Great Lakes Beaches With The Strongest Rip Currents
Calm water hides the pull. Documented deaths and measured currents show which Great Lakes beaches carry the strongest, most dangerous rip currents.
What Is The Oldest River In The World
The Finke in central Australia holds the strongest claim to the world's oldest river, though no method exists for dating any river directly.
How Much Water The Great Lakes Lose To Evaporation Every Year
The Great Lakes lose roughly 37 trillion gallons of water to evaporation each year, and most of it escapes in fall and winter rather than summer.
How Old Are The Great Lakes Compared To The World's Oldest Lakes?
Baikal, Tanganyika, and the Caspian have held water for millions of years, while the Great Lakes date to just the last 10,000. Here is how they compare.
The American Fish Nobody Has Caught In Decades
Eighteen Scioto madtoms were ever collected, mostly in one afternoon in 1957. The American fish nobody has caught in decades, including one that ignored its own obituary.
The Fastest River In The United States
Rapids and tidal channels run faster in short stretches, but the record for the fastest free-flowing navigable river goes to one wild Alaskan waterway.
The Fastest Animals In The Sea
Meet the ocean's fastest swimmers, including billfish near 70 mph, killer whales, great barracuda, little tunny, and the Dall's porpoise.
Why Lakes Turn Over Every Spring And Fall
During Spring and Fall, the lakes churn, which allows the water from the depths of our deeper lakes to deliver oxygen and nutrients essential to aquatic life
How Long Would It Take To Refill Lake Oroville?
About six months. Lake Oroville went from a record low to full between December 2022 and June 2023, and the limit on refilling is not water but federal flood rules.
The Largest Ships Sailing The Great Lakes Today
Meet the 13 largest ships sailing the Great Lakes today, from the record-holding Paul R. Tregurtha to the fleet’s other 1,000-foot giants.
The Deadliest Animals In The Ocean
From painless bites to poison with no antidote, the ocean's deadliest creatures give little warning. Here's what to watch for and why they're so lethal.
How Many Americans Drink Great Lakes Water Every Day
About 20 million Americans drink Great Lakes water every day, plus 10 million Canadians. How five lakes reach taps from Chicago to Cleveland.
How Deep The Mariana Trench Really Is
How Deep The Mariana Trench Really Is comes to 36,070 feet at Challenger Deep. Drop Mount Everest in and its summit would still sit a mile underwater.
The Underwater Rivers That Flow Beneath The Ocean
Underwater rivers carry dense brine and sediment across the ocean floor, carving channels and creating unusual deep-sea ecosystems.
How Much Of America's Fresh Water Sits In Just 10 Lakes
The 5 Great Lakes alone account for roughly 90% of all the fresh water in the United States and about a fifth of the fresh surface water on the entire planet
How Climate Change Is Warming The Great Lakes Faster Than The Oceans
How Climate Change Is Warming The Great Lakes Faster Than The Oceans comes down to vanishing ice, shallow water, and a warming feedback loop.
The Sea Levels Rising Fastest Along US Coasts
US sea level is rising fastest at Grand Isle, Louisiana, near 8.2 mm a year, with Texas Gulf and Mid-Atlantic tide gauges close behind in 2024 VIMS data.
Why The Everglades Is Actually A River
The Everglades has a source, a slope and a mouth, which makes it a river. Why Marjory Stoneman Douglas was right, and which two of her five famous words were wrong.
How Much Water The Colorado River Has Lost Since 2000
How much water has the Colorado River lost since 2000? About 33.5M acre-feet from its reservoirs, even more underground, and a fifth of its flow. The calm numbers.
What Happens If The Snowpack Fails Two Years In A Row
In 2021 the Upper Colorado had 80 percent of normal snowpack and 30 percent of normal runoff. What happens when the snow fails twice, and why year two is worse.
How Many Reservoirs Does The Colorado River Have
Ten reservoirs make up Colorado River system storage, holding 59.6 million acre-feet. Two of them hold 85 percent of it, and the system is currently near a quarter full.
How Lake Victoria Compares To All Five Great Lakes
Lake Victoria is nearly the same size as Lake Huron and holds a tenth of the Great Lakes' water. How Africa's largest lake compares, by area and by volume.
Why There Are No Sharks In The Deepest Ocean
Why There Are No Sharks In The Deepest Ocean, where scarce food, near-freezing cold, and an ancient body plan keep even the deepest sharks out.
The US Dams That Have Never Used Their Spillway
Garrison Dam went 56 years without opening its spillway. Oroville went 49. Both first uses caused damage, which is the problem with an untested spillway.
Which State Has Lost The Most Lakes?
California stands out for losing major lakes to farming and urban water diversions, including Tulare Lake and Owens Lake.
The Deepest Canyons In The United States
Cowboys, stampeding herds, and a beauty so immense that it drives some spectators to religion: canyons are an emblem of the grand American expanse.
How Lake Superior Holds More Water Than The Other Four Great Lakes Combined
Lake Superior holds about 2,900 cubic miles of water, more than Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario combined, because its basin runs so deep.
How Many Ships Pass Through The Soo Locks Every Year
Soo Locks in Michigan see about 4,500 vessels a year, but the Corps also counts 7,000 lockages and 284 individual ships. Here is why.
The American Rivers That No Longer Reach The Ocean
The Colorado has not reached the sea naturally since 1998. The Gila, Santa Cruz, San Joaquin and Owens all stop short too. The American rivers that no longer finish.
The US Lakes Where Fish Are Unsafe To Eat
Some US lakes look clean, but their fish carry PFAS, mercury, and PCBs at levels that push state officials to warn anglers against eating them at all.
The Shipwrecks Still Missing At The Bottom Of The Sea
Here are six famous shipwrecks still missing somewhere beneath the sea, with one notable detour to the bottom of one of the Great Lakes.
The Deepest Lake In Every US State
The deepest lake in every US state, from Crater Lake at 1,949 feet to Delaware's nine. Great Lakes states get both answers, and several are disputed.
How Lake Trout Were Brought Back To Lake Superior
How Lake Trout Were Brought Back To Lake Superior comes down to decades of sea lamprey control, stricter fishing limits, and steady hatchery stocking.
The Ocean Predators Bigger Than A Great White
Sperm whales, orcas, giant squid, and Baird's beaked whales all outgrow the great white shark. See how the ocean's biggest hunters compare.
What Happens If The Soo Locks Shut Down
A Soo Locks shutdown could halt Great Lakes shipping, strain steel mills, and disrupt North American auto production within weeks.
Where Los Angeles Would Get Water If The Colorado Failed
Los Angeles would not run dry. It would get water from the State Water Project, its aquifers, and its own wastewater, in that order, and everyone would pay more.
How Many US Lakes Are Actually Reservoirs?
Odds are close to a coin flip that your favorite lake is a reservoir. The biggest names hiding behind a dam, and where the natural lakes actually cluster.
The Lakes With The Largest Beaver Populations
Once nearly wiped out, beavers now number in the thousands at a few US lakes, where park biologists count their recovered colonies from the air each fall.
The Last Time Glen Canyon Dam Opened Its Spillway
August 12, 1984. Glen Canyon Dam has not opened a spillway since, and the reason is not better engineering. It is that the water never came back.