Geography Of The World
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.
How Much Water Is Frozen In America's Glaciers Compared To The Great Lakes
How much water is frozen in America's glaciers vs the Great Lakes? Alaska's ice nearly equals Lake Superior and Michigan combined. The Lower 48? A rounding error.
How Many Times The Great Lakes Could Fill The Grand Canyon
The five Great Lakes hold 5,439 cubic miles of water, enough to fill the Grand Canyon roughly 5.4 times. Here is how each lake stacks up.
The Coldest Ocean Beaches In America
Some American beaches stay shockingly cold even under summer sun, with Kodiak barely reaching 53°F and West Coast surf chilled by deep Pacific water.
What Is The Thailand-Cambodia Border Dispute
A border drawn more than a century ago still divides Thailand and Cambodia, with disputed temples and territory keeping tensions alive today.
What Happens When Two Oceans Meet
See what happens when two oceans meet and how currents, sediment, temperature, and salinity create dramatic boundaries across the water.
The Lakes Supplying Drinking Water To The Most Americans
A handful of lakes quietly keep millions of Americans supplied with drinking water, making them some of the country’s most essential bodies of water.
The US Springs That Pump More Water Than Some Rivers
Silver Springs discharges 550 million gallons a day and creates its own river. The American springs that out-pump rivers, and the geology that lets them.
The Most Isolated Mountain In The Lower 48
The most isolated mountain in the Lower 48 is Mount Whitney, 1,646 miles from any higher ground. Why the tallest peak wins, and how it differs from Mt. Rainier.
How Long A Freighter Takes To Cross All Five Great Lakes
Crossing all five Great Lakes takes a freighter about six days. The locks and rivers between them, not the open water, set the clock.
What Happens To Sound In The Deep Ocean
Sound bends, weakens, and travels vast distances in the deep ocean through natural channels governed by temperature, salinity, and pressure.
What Happens If The Ogallala Aquifer Runs Dry
Will the Ogallala Aquifer run dry? Not overnight, and not everywhere. The realistic, region-by-region picture of what happens as America's breadbasket drains.
What Would Happen If The Gulf Stream Stopped
An Atlantic circulation collapse would not just chill Europe. It would move rain, raise seas, and reshape storms in places you would not expect.
The Year America Promised Away More Colorado River Water Than Exists
In 1922, the Colorado River Compact divided up more water than the river carries, based on its wettest years. A century later, we're all paying the bill.
The US Rivers With The Most Fish Species
The Tennessee River Basin holds half of North America's freshwater fish species. The US rivers with the most fish species, and why the Southeast won so decisively.
The Last Free-Flowing River Left In America
The Yellowstone runs 692 miles with no reservoir on it, the last major undammed river in the Lower 48. It survived because Montana fought a dam and then rewrote its water law.
The Lakes Where Tiger Muskies Grow Largest
Only two tiger muskies over 50 pounds exist on record, and both came from the same lake. Where the hybrids grow largest, and why sterility is the whole reason.
How Stocked Salmon Kept Lake Michigan From Collapsing
Stocked salmon helped revive Lake Michigan by controlling invasive alewives and rebuilding a valuable recreational fishery.
The African Rivers Bigger Than The Mississippi
The Congo beats the Mississippi at everything. The Nile beats it at nothing that involves water. Which African rivers are genuinely bigger, by three measures.
The US States With The Most Ocean Shoreline
Some American counties are so dry the map barely changes when you trace the desert line. Meet the places where sand, salt, scrub, and dry basin win.
Why The Salton Sea Is Turning Toxic
Why is California's Salton Sea shrinking? Discover how the lake became an environmental crisis and what is being done to restore it.
Why The Deep Ocean Has No Plants At All
Learn why the deep ocean has no plants and how marine snow, chemosynthesis, and strange animals sustain life in total darkness.
How Lake Tanganyika Holds Almost As Much Water As All Five Great Lakes
See how Lake Tanganyika holds nearly as much water as all five Great Lakes in North America while learning about its geology, wildlife, and role in Africa.