Nature's Records

The blue whale, the largest animal ever known, can grow to nearly 100 feet long.

The cheetah, the fastest land animal, can sprint at speeds around 70 miles per hour.

The peregrine falcon exceeds 240 miles per hour in a dive, making it the fastest animal on Earth.

The giraffe, the tallest living land animal, can reach nearly 20 feet in height.

The Greenland shark, believed to be the longest-lived vertebrate, may live several hundred years.

The colossal squid, the largest invertebrate by mass, also has the largest eyes of any known animal.

The whale shark, the largest fish species, feeds mainly on tiny plankton despite its enormous size.

The African bush elephant, the largest living land animal, can weigh more than six tons.

Giant sequoias, among the most massive living trees, can individually weigh over a thousand tons.

The Great Basin bristlecone pine includes individuals estimated at over 4,800 years old.

The bee hummingbird, the smallest bird species, weighs about as much as a single penny.

The pygmy marmoset, the smallest monkey species, is small enough to fit comfortably in a human hand.

The Etruscan shrew, the smallest mammal by mass, eats nearly constantly to fuel its rapid metabolism.

Giant water lilies in the genus Victoria have huge floating leaves. Victoria boliviana holds the record for the largest undivided leaf,…

The titan arum, nicknamed the corpse flower, produces the largest unbranched flower structure of any plant.

Antarctica holds the record for the coldest naturally recorded temperature on Earth.

Death Valley holds one of the hottest recorded air temperatures on Earth and regularly ranks among the hottest places.

The Mariana Trench contains Challenger Deep, the deepest known seafloor location. A trench is a long feature; Challenger Deep is a…

Lake Baikal, the deepest and oldest freshwater lake, holds roughly a fifth of the world's unfrozen fresh water.

Angel Falls, the tallest uninterrupted waterfall, drops so far the water can turn to mist before landing.

The wandering albatross, with the largest wingspan of any bird, can exceed eleven feet across.

Mount Everest has the highest summit above mean sea level. Mauna Kea is taller when measured from its underwater base.

The Nile drains a basin shared by eleven countries. The basin, its tributaries and the main river are different geographic features.

The Amazon discharges more water than the world's next several largest rivers combined.

Greenland, the world's largest non-continental island, is mostly covered by a massive ice sheet.

The Great Barrier Reef, the largest structure built by living organisms, formed over thousands of years.

The Sahara, the world's largest hot desert, spans an area nearly the size of the entire United States.