Geographical notes

•  Africa is the only continent that is in all four hemispheres: north, south, west, and east. 
• Samosir Island is an island in Lake Toba. Lake Toba is a lake on the island of Sumatra. Samosir Island is supposed to be the world’s largest island on an island.
• In the Philippines, there is an island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island. Vulcan Point is an island in Crater Lake on Volcano Island in Lake Taal on the island of Luzon. 
• Qatar is supposed to be one of the world’s safest places from natural disasters. It is protected from tropical cyclones, sheltered inside the Persian Gulf. It is far away from fault lines, reducing the likelihood of earthquakes or volcanoes . With barren plains and sand dunes instead of forests, raging forest fires are not a problem.
• Whether “Saint Patrick” chased all the snakes out of Ireland or there is some other reason, Ireland is one of a few countries that do not have any native snakes.
• Vatican City is the smallest country in the world.
• Alaska is both the westernmost and easternmost state in the United States of America.
• Russia is the largest country in the world. It has 11 different time zones.
• Big Diomede Island, owned by Russia, and Little Diomede Island, owned by the United States are only 2-4/10 miles apart. However, being on opposite sides of the International Date Line, they have a 21-hour time difference between them.
• Reno, Nevada is farther west than the city of Los Angeles, California – by about 86 miles.