Geography

Top Canals, Deserts, Islands, and Dams

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Top Canals, Deserts, Islands, and Dams

Understanding major geographical features like canals, islands, deserts, and dams is essential to grasp the broader structure of our planet. These features influence everything from climate and trade to biodiversity and human development.

Canals help in global navigation, islands shape maritime boundaries, deserts reflect climatic zones, and dams power civilizations while controlling water flow. A global perspective on these landmarks allows for deeper insight into the interconnected systems of nature, economy, and society.

Major Canals of the World

S.	Name	Location	Connects
1	Soo Locks	USA	Lake Huron and Lake Superior
2	Erie Canal	USA	Lake Erie and Lake Michigan
3	Gota Canal	Sweden	Lake Vanem with the Baltic Sea (Stockholm - Gothenburg)
4	Kiel Canal	Germany	North Sea from the River Elbe to the Baltic Sea
5	North Sea Canal	Netherlands	Amsterdam and IJmuiden on the North Sea coast
6	Manchester Canal	England	Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool
7	New Waterway	Netherlands	Rotterdam to the North Sea
8	Volga-Don Canal	Russia	Volga River (Volgograd) and Don River (Volgodonsk), between Rostov and Stalingrad
9	Welland Canal	Canada	Lake Ontario and Lake Erie
10	K.P. (Kandaleru-Poondi) Canal	India	Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu
11	Suez Canal	Egypt	Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez
12	Panama Canal	Panama	Caribbean Sea (Atlantic Ocean) and Pacific Ocean
13	Alert Canal	Western Europe	The Albert Canal connects Antwerp with Liege, and also the Meuse River with the Scheldt River. It also connects with the Canal Dessel -Tumhout - Schoten (Benelux).

Major Islands of the World

S.	Name	Situation	Area (in km2)
1	Greenland	Antarctic Ocean	21,75,000
2	New Guinea	Western Pacific Ocean	8,21,400
3	Borneo	Indian Ocean	7,51,000
4	Madagascar	Indian Ocean	5,87,041
5	Baffin Island (Canada)	North Arctic Ocean	5,07,451
6	Sumatra (Indonesia)	Indian Ocean	42,220
7	Honshu (Japan)	North East Pacific Ocean	2,30,092
8	Britain (Great Britain)	North Atlantic Ocean	2,29,849
9	Victoria Island (Canada)	Arctic Ocean	2,17,290
10	Ellesmere Island (Canada)	Arctic Ocean	1,96,236
11	Sulawesi (Indonesia)	Indian Ocean	1,78,700
12	South Island (New Zealand)	South Western Pacific Ocean	1,50,460
13	Java Island (Indonesia)	Indian Ocean	1,26,400
14	North Island (New Zealand)	South Western Pacific Ocean	1,14,687
15	Cuba	Caribbean Sea	1,10,922
16	Luzon Island	Surrounded by the Philippine Sea, the South China Sea, the Sibuyan Sea, and (Pacific Ocean)	1,04,688
17	Iceland	Atlantic Ocean	1,03,000
18	Ireland	North Atlantic Ocean	82,460
19	Tasmania	Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific Oceans	67,900
20	Sri Lanka	Indian Ocean	65,600

Note: Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the World.

Major Deserts of the World

Subtropical deserts are caused by the circulation pattern of air masses. They are found along the Tropic of Cancer, between 15° and 30° north of the Equator, or along the Tropic of Capricorn Northern Africa, between 15° and 30° south of the Equator.

Examples:

Atacama Desert (S. America)
Sonorama and California Deserts (N. America)
Namib and Kalahari Desert (S. Africa)
Gibson Desert (Australia)
Arabian Desert and Thar Desert (Asia), etc.

S.	Desert	Expansion	Area (in km2)
1	Sahara (Touches the boundaries of 11 countries)	Northern Africa (Algeria, Chad, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, and Burkina Faso)	84,00,000
2	Australian	Great Sandy Desert, Barberton, Great Victoria, Simpson, Gibson, and Stuart Deserts are included	15,50,000
3	Arabian	South Arabia, South Arabia, Yamen, Syria, Khali area, and Nafud area are included	13,00,000
4	Gobi	Mongolia and China	10,40,000
5	Patagonia	Argentina	6,70,000
6	Kalahari	Botswana (Middle Africa)	5,20,000
7	Taklamakan	Tsi kyang (China)	3,20,000
8	Sonoran	Arizona and California (USA and Mexico)	3,10,000
9	Namib	South Africa (Namibia)	3,10,000
10	Karakum	Turkmenistan	2,70,000
11	Thar	Northwestern India and Pakistan	2,60,000
12	Somali	Somalia (Africa)	2,60,000
13	Atakama	North Chile (South America)	1,80,000
14	Kyzyl Kum	Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan	1,80,000
15	Mojave (Mohave)	Southern California (USA)	65,000
16	Sierra Nevada	USA	63,100
17	Dast-e-Lut	Eastern Iran	52,000
18	Sechura	Peru	5,000

Major Dams (World)

Dam	River	Country / Continent
N'urek	Vakhsh	Tajikistan/Asia
Bhakra	Sutlej	India/Asia
Kurobe/Kuroyon	Kurobe	Japan/Asia
Cahora Bassa	Zambezi	Mozambique/Africa
Akosombo/Volta	Volta	Ghana/Africa
Grande Dixence	Dixence	Switzerland/Europe
Vajont	Vajont	Italy/Europe
Oroville	Feather	USA/America
Hoover	Colorado	USA/America
Warragamba	Warragamba rivers	Australia/Australia

Final Thoughts

Learning about the major canals, islands, deserts, and dams of the world gives us a deeper appreciation for how natural and man-made features shape the global landscape. Canals like the Suez and Panama are lifelines of global trade, while islands such as Greenland and Borneo showcase geographic diversity and ecological richness. Deserts reflect not just arid climates but also the dynamic history of continental shifts and air circulation patterns.

Dams represent human innovation in controlling nature for energy and water security, with iconic structures like the Hoover Dam and Bhakra Dam symbolizing engineering marvels.

Together, these elements define much of the economic activity, ecological balance, and human settlement patterns around the world. Understanding them enhances both our geographical literacy and awareness of global interdependencies.

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