WorldAtlas Latest Articles

Ancient World

What Did Roman Soldiers Do When They Weren't Fighting?

Roman soldiers spent much of their time training, building roads and forts, and gambling, and their role shifted from the Republic to the late Empire.

Cities

9 Tiny Off-Grid Towns In Queensland

Nine tiny off-grid towns in outback Queensland, from Cooladdi's lone roadhouse to Winton's dinosaur fossils, Boulia's camel races, and Birdsville's Big Red.

County

The US Counties With No Grocery Store

In five rural US counties, the nearest supermarket is across the county line. Once-busy towns now require residents to travel miles for basic groceries.

Towns

12 Pacific Coast Towns Perfect For A Fresh Start

12 Pacific Coast Towns Perfect For A Fresh Start pair ocean views with homes below their state median, from Aberdeen and Forks to Coos Bay and Eureka.

Mountains

The Longest Mountain Range In The United States

The Rockies run some 3,000 miles from British Columbia to New Mexico, crossing six western states and feeding the Colorado, Rio Grande and Missouri.

Towns

The Best Towns to Retire In California Near a State Park

The Best Towns to Retire In California Near a State Park pair retirement communities with lakes, gold-mine history, and cool mountain trails.

Oceans

The US Coastlines Where Sea Level Is Rising Fastest

The US Coastlines Where Sea Level Is Rising Fastest are in Louisiana, Texas, and Virginia, where sinking land adds to the rising ocean at tide gauges.

Oceans

What Happens To Miami If The Florida Reef Dies

What Happens To Miami If The Florida Reef Dies? The city would lose a natural seawall against storm waves, plus billions in tourism and fishing.

Mountains

The Mountain Range That Crosses The Most States

The Appalachians run about 2,000 miles from Alabama and Georgia to Maine and into eastern Canada. Here are the states they cross and how the range formed.

Lakes

Why Lake Superior Never Gives Up Her Dead

A body floats because bacteria inflate it with gas. Lake Superior’s deep water is too cold for that to happen. The physics behind the Edmund Fitzgerald line

Mountains

The American Mountains Where Rattlesnakes Den For The Winter

From New York's Adirondacks to Arizona's Chiricahuas, rattlesnakes den through winter in rocky mountain crevices, returning to the same shelters each year.

Rivers

Why The Mississippi Runs Brown And The Ohio Runs Green

At Cairo, Illinois, the Ohio and Mississippi flow side by side in two colors. Sediment, algae, and upstream rain explain the split and why it can flip.

Wildlife By Place

How Far North Burmese Pythons Have Spread In Florida

How Far North Burmese Pythons Have Spread In Florida stops just south of Lake Okeechobee, though a lone python turned up far to the north in Brevard County.

Animals

Atlantic Wolffish

Atlantic Wolffish bare fangs even with their mouths shut, yet these slow seafloor hunters crush urchins and crabs, helping Atlantic kelp forests survive.

Space

Why The Moon Looks Bigger On The Horizon

The Moon Illusion makes a rising moon look oversized, though photos show its width barely changes. Here is what scientists know, and what is still debated.

Ancient World

The Most Important Ottoman Military Innovations

See how Janissaries, firearms, the timar system, and naval power helped transform the Ottoman Empire into a formidable military state.

Ancient World

The Rise And Fall Of Roman Africa

Rather than being peripheral, Africa was essential to Roman power and proved remarkably resilient while the rest of the empire struggled.

Travel

9 Small Towns in Victoria with the Best Downtowns

Bright, Castlemaine, Port Fairy, Maldon, Kyneton, Clunes, Daylesford, Trentham and Creswick keep Victoria's main streets, from gold-rush pubs to a Booktown.

Industries

The Top Natural Gas-Producing States In America

Texas withdrew 28.5% of the US' natural gas in 2025 and Pennsylvania 16.1 %, with just four states accounting for 61.3% of a record 47.73 Tcf national total.

Stories

The Hunger Games Filming Locations You Can Actually Visit

District 12 is a real mill village you can rent a room in, and Snow's mansion is an Atlanta museum. Nine Hunger Games locations open to visitors.

Stories

Inside Florida’s Vacation Home Capital Of The World

Kissimmee sits 11 miles from Magic Kingdom with 30,000 vacation homes, a Latin food trail and a lake paddleboat. A better theme park base than Orlando.

Wildlife By Place

Where Bull Sharks Swim Farthest Inland

Where Bull Sharks Swim Farthest Inland includes the Amazon and the Mississippi, where one verified catch near Alton, Illinois, still holds the US record.

Animals

Philippine Eagle

Philippine Eagle, the largest eagle in the world by length and wing area, hunts monkeys and flying lemurs in rainforests found only in the Philippines.

Space

Why Astronauts Grow Taller In Space

Why Astronauts Grow Taller In Space comes down to the spine, which stretches without gravity, though the extra inches vanish and can leave sore backs at home.

Ancient World

What Were The Most Brilliant Military Maneuvers In Ancient History?

Glory, while not necessary eternal, can last as long as history itself. The determining factor is what military maneuvers were used to achieve victory.

Mountains

The Mountains Where Lightning Strikes Most Often In America

Colorado's densest lightning falls near Pikes Peak, not on the state's highest summits. Moisture decides where bolts land across five mountains.

Travel

11 Underrated Pennsylvania Towns Worth the Drive in 2026

Tour Frank Lloyd Wright houses, ride steam trains through Amish farmland, and ice fish off Lake Erie bluffs in these quieter Pennsylvania towns this year.

Wildlife By Place

How Far North Fire Ants Have Spread

How Far North Fire Ants Have Spread. They now reach Virginia and Sicily, as milder winters and cold-hardy hybrids push the invader past old limits.

Space

Why There Are No Stars In Photos From Space

Why There Are No Stars In Photos From Space isn’t a mystery or a hoax. Bright sunlit scenes simply drown out the faint stars behind them.

Ancient World

The African Grain That Fed The Roman Empire

Grain from Roman North Africa and Egypt fed the Roman Empire for centuries, and losing Carthage to the Vandals in 439 CE helped bring down the Western Empire.

Mountains

The American Mountains Where You Can See Five States From The Top

These five American mountains are known for multi-state views, including Pikes Peak, Mount Washington, Mount Greylock, and Lookout Mountain.

Travel

8 Underrated Minnesota Towns Worth the Drive in 2026

All eight Minnesota towns are within a two-hour drive of a major city or airport, making them well worth adding to a Minnesota road trip.

Space

How Many Earths Could Fit Inside The Sun

How Many Earths Could Fit Inside The Sun? More than a million, yet the Sun is only an average star next to giants like Betelgeuse.

Geography

How Far The Appalachians Run Compared To The Alps

The Appalachians run about 2,000 miles to the Alps' 750, but the Alps are far taller and much younger, formed long after Pangea built the ancient Appalachians

Industries

The States With The Most Farmland Per Person

Montana leads the US with about 50 acres of farmland per resident, while Wyoming, the Dakotas, and Nebraska fill out the top five in 2025 USDA estimates.

Space

What Space Actually Smells Like

Space is an vacuum, so if you took a breath, there would be no air to inhale, and nothing to smell. But if we could smell there, here's what it would be like.

Geography

How Big The Great Plains Is Compared To All Of Western Europe

The Great Plains could fit Western Europe twice with room for Texas. See how this vast region compares with European countries, from France to Austria.

Geography

How Long America's Rivers Are Compared To The Nile

The Mississippi runs about 57% of the Nile's length, and the Missouri-Mississippi nearly 90%, with the Yukon, Rio Grande, Colorado, and Columbia even shorter.

Industries

The Top Semiconductor States In America

Semiconductors are some of the most coveted materials on the planet, currently. Here are the top semiconductor states in America.

Geography

How Big Texas Is Compared To Europe's Largest Countries

Texas is larger than nearly every country in Europe. Its 268,597 square miles stack up against Europe’s biggest nations in surprising ways.