Geographic Superlatives

Well, it's about time for some more lists. This time I'm talking about geographic superlatives of the world - the highest, lowest, wettest, driest, longest, shortest, biggest, smallest, etc. of Earth's physical features. This is the type of information you will traditionally find in an Almanac. So, here we go:

Hottest, Coldest, Wettest, and Driest:
-Hottest Place: Dalol, Denakil Depression, Ethiopia, annual average temperature (93.2°F, 34°C).
-Coldest Place: Plateau Station, Antarctica, annual average temperature (-56.7°C).
-Wettest Place: Mawsynram, Assam, India, annual average rainfall (11,873 mm, 467.4"); Mt. Waialeale on Hawaii's Kauai Island is also a contender with an estimated 472" of rainfall in a year.
-Driest Place: Atacama Desert, Chile, imperceptible rainfall on a yearly basis.

Highest points on each continent:
-Mount Everest 8850m (29035ft) Asia
-Aconcagua 6959m (22831ft) S. America
-Mount McKinley 6194m (20320ft) N. America
-Mount Kilimanjaro 5963m (19563ft) Africa
-Mount Elbrus 5633m (18481ft) Europe
-Puncak Jaya 4884m (16023ft) Oceania
-Vinson Massif 4897m (16066ft) Antarctica

Lowest points on each continent (below sea level):
-Dead Sea, Asia -409 meters
-Lake Assal, Africa -156 meters
-Death Valley, North America -86 meters
-Valdés Peninsula, South America -40 meters
-Caspian Sea, Europe -28 meters
-Lake Eyre, Australia -16 meters
-Antarctica (ice covered) -2,538 meters

Deepest ocean depths:
-Mariana Trench, Pacific Ocean 35,827 ft
-Puerto Rico Trench, Atlantic Ocean 30,246 ft
-Java Trench, Indian Ocean 24,460 ft
-Arctic Basin, Arctic Ocean 18,456 ft

Deepest lakes:
-Baikal, Russian Fed. (5,315 ft)
-Tanganyika, Africa (4,800 ft)
-Caspian Sea, Asia-Europe (3,363 ft)
-Malawi or Nyasa, Africa (2,317 ft)
-Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan (2,303 ft)

Driest inhabited places (rainfall in inches per year):
-Aswan, Egypt 0.02"
-Luxor, Egypt 0.03"
-Arica Desert, Chile 0.04"
-Ica, Peru 0.1"
-Antofagasta, Chile 0.2"
-El Minya, Egypt 0.2"
-Asyut, Egypt 0.2"

Wettest inhabited places (rainfall in inches per year):
-Buenaventira, Colombia 267"
-Monrovia, Liberia 202"
-Pago Pago, American Samoa 198"
-Moulein, Burma (Myanmar 192"
-Lae, Papua New Guinea 183"
-Baguio, Philippines180"
-Sylhet, Bangladesh 178"

Largest deserts of the world:
(Subtropical):
Sahara, North Africa 3,500,000 sq. miles
Arabian, Middle East 1,000,000 sq. miles
Great Victoria, Australia 250,000 sq. miles
Rub'al Khali, Middle East 250,000 sq. miles
Kalahari, Southern Africa 225,000 sq. miles
Syrian, Middle East 200,000 sq. miles
Chihuahuan, Mexico 175,000 sq. miles
Thar, India/Pakistan175,000 sq. miles
Great Sandy, Australia 150,000 sq. miles
Gibson, Australia 120,000 sq. miles
Sonoran, S.W. USA 120,000 sq. miles
Mohave, S,W, USA 54,000 sq. miles
(Cool Coastal):
Atacama, Chile SA 54,000 sq. miles
Namib, S.W. Africa 13,000 sq. miles
(Cold Winter):
Gobi, China 500,000 sq. miles
Patagonian, Argentina 260,000 sq. miles
Great Basin, S.W. USA 190,000 sq. miles
Kara-Kum, West Asia 135,000 sq. miles
Colorado, Western USA 130,000 sq. miles
(also called the Painted Desert)
Taklamakan, China 105,000 sq. miles
Iranian, Iran 100,000 sq. miles