Where 2% of Australia’s Population Lives

Australia has a population of over 23 million people. 98% of them live near the coast …

Earth’s Population by Latitude and Longitude

China and India really sway it.

Disproportionate global population visualised

This image says it all …

Earth 100 Million Years From Now

Earth’s landmasses were not always what they are today. Continents formed as Earth’s crustal plates shifted and collided over long periods of time. This video shows how today’s continents are thought to have evolved over the last 600 million years, and where they’ll end up in the next 100 million years.

Antarctica on Google Street View

A century after the great Antarctic explorers crossed that icy continent, many of their destinations remain inaccessible — at least on foot.

From your desktop, though, you can visit huts built by Ernest Shackleton and Robert Scott, even plant a virtual flag on the Ceremonial South Pole.

It’s the next best thing to being there. Learn more here.

40 Years of Massive City Growth as Seen From Space

Cities across the globe have seen unprecedented growth in recent decades. While revisiting a city after a period of time can reveal some surprising changes, the true extent of the expansion of some urban centers can only be truly appreciated from above. Way above.

The Landsat satellite program is the longest continuous archive of images of Earth from space in existence. Run since 1972 this record of the surface of our planet reveals invaluable insight for scientists and the public alike. A record like this is particularly useful for studying change and understanding the human impact on the landscape.

For example the desert city of Las Vegas has gone through a massive growth spurt.

Learn more here.

10 Lesser Known Natural Wonders

Kinda cool:

When Rivers Collide

A confluence is a place where two (or more) bodies of water meet. When two rivers meet and mix, especially rivers with water of different colors, the confluence is quite dramatic.

See pictures of the most interesting meetings of contrasting waters from around the world at Twisted Sifter. Shown here is the confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze Rivers in China.

What are continents and how many are there?

A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are (from largest in size to smallest): Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. But are there really seven ?!?!?!?

World’s Population in One City

What if the entire world’s population lived in one giant mega city? That’s probably a really bad idea, but it’s an interesting thought to give us an idea of just how many people are out there. These illustrations show how big this city of the world would be based on the population density of different real cities. If everyone in the world lived in one giant city with the population density of New York, everyone could fit in a land mass the size of Texas.

More here.