Interesting facts about South Africa

South Africa is located at the southern tip of Africa. It is bordered by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho (which is completely surrounded by South Africa). It is a vast country with widely varying landscapes and has 11 official languages, as well as an equally diverse population. South Africa is renowned for its wines and is one of the world's largest producers of gold. South Africa has the strongest economy in Africa, and is an influential player in African politics. In 2010, South Africa hosted the first Football World Cup to be held on the African continent.

 1. Table Mountain in Cape Town alone has more floral  species than the whole of the United Kingdom.

      
     There are more than 1 500 plant species on Table Mountain in Cape Town alone.This represents more floral species than the whole of the United Kingdom.
     Table Mountain is acknowledged as being one of the oldest mountains on the planet

 Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the cableway or hiking to the top.The mountain forms part of the Table Mountain National Park. Table Mountain is home to large array of fauna and flora, most of which is endemic.

 2.South Africa is home to UNESCO's eight World Heritage Sites:

       1.The Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape

      2.Robben Island

     3.The Cape Floristic Region

The Cape Floral Kingdom is one of the world’s six floral kingdoms – and the only one which is wholly contained within a single country.

      4.The Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape

     5.Vredefort Dome (the oldest meteor scar in the world)

     6.The Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai and environs fossil hominid sites.

     7.The iSimangaliso Wetland Park

     8.The Ukhahlamba / Drakensberg Park

 3.South Africa is the world's largest platinum producer.

         South Africa is the world's largest platinum producer, producing more than twice as much as every other country on Earth combined. South Africa has three major platinum bearing areas, the Merensky Reef, the Upper Group 2 (UG2) Reef and the Platreef.

       It produce 110,000 kg, 68.32% of world's platinum.

 4.South Africa hosted some of the most exciting sport events

     Some of the most exciting sporting events that have been hosted in South Africa include the 1995 Rugby World Cup, 2003 Cricket World Cup, 2005 and 2006 Women’s World Cup of Golf, 2006 inaugural A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport, 2009 IPL Cricket, and 2010 FIFA World Cup.

5.Can you think of any other place in the world where two Nobel Peace Prize winners lived on the same street?

 South Africa is the only country were a street has produced two Nobel price winners in history. Vilakazi Street in Soweto was the residential address of two Nobel Peace Prize winners – Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

 6.Did you know South Africa supplies two-thirds of whole Africa's electricity?

     South Africa produces around 240,300 gigawatt-hours (865,000 TJ) electricity annually.Most of this electricity is consumed domestically, but around 12,000 gigawatt-hours are annually exported to Swaziland, Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and other Southern African Development Community countries participating in the Southern African Power Pool.

 7.The Great Karoo desert 

 The Karoo is an odd place. You either love it or you hate it. Rich fossil beds, spanning over 600 million years set the Karoo apart from any other place on earth and make it the curator of many secrets of evolution.

    The Karoo region in the Western Cape is home to some of the best fossils of early dinosaurs. In fact, it is estimated that some 80% of the mammalian fossils found to date were found in the Karoo. 

 8.Oldest dinosaur nesting site discovered in South Africa

    A dinosaur nesting site discovered in South Africa is thought to be 190 million years old.It tells scientists lots about how dinosaurs went about breeding.They were found in a strip of rock in South Africa's Golden Gate Highlands National Park and as the rock becomes weathered, scientists think even more nests will be found.

  

9.The South African coast boasts more than 2 000 shipwrecks 

There are more than 2000 shipwrecks off the South African coast, most dating back at least 500 years.Details of shipwrecks

 10.Did u know SA is only country with three official capitals ?

South Africa has three capital cities: Pretoria is the Executive Capital, Cape Town the Legislative Capital and Bloemfontein the judicial Capital. 

Quotes about South Africa

 

 

Interesting facts about Peru

Peru is a country in South America, situated on the western side of that continent, facing the South Pacific Ocean and straddling part of the Andes mountain range that runs the length of South America. Peru is bordered by Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil and Bolivia to the east, and Chile to the south. Peru is a country that has a diversity and wealth not common in the world. The main attractions are their archaeological patrimony of pre-Columbian cultures and the hub of the Inca's empire, their gastronomy, their colonial architecture (it has imposing colonial constructions) and their natural resources (a paradise for ecological tourism).

1.Machu Picchu the most famous tourist spot  is in Peru

 
Machu Picchu stands 2,430 m above sea-level, in the middle of a tropical mountain forest, in an extraordinarily beautiful setting. It was probably the most amazing urban creation of the Inca Empire at its height; its giant walls, terraces and ramps seem as if they have been cut naturally in the continuous rock escarpments. The natural setting, on the eastern slopes of the Andes, encompasses the upper Amazon basin with its rich diversity of flora and fauna.

2.Peru is Origin of the Potato

 There are over 3,000 different varieties of Potato grown in Peru
 The potato, from the perennial Solanum tuberosum, is the world’s fourth largest food crop, following rice, wheat, and maize. The Inca Indians in Peru were the first to cultivate potatoes around 8,000 BC to 5,000 B.C.
 In 1536 Spanish Conquistadors conquered Peru, discovered the flavors of the potato, and carried them to Europe
  
3.Peru has the World's Longest Mountain Range

•  The Andes is the longest mountain range in the world and boasts some of the highest peaks. The range is also known for its volcanoes, ruins of long-ago civilizations and the source of a malaria treatment.

• Located along the entire western coast of South America, the Andes mountain range is about 4,500 miles (7,242 kilometers) long. The mountain range spans seven countries — Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina — and can be found between 10 degrees north and 57 degrees south latitudes and 70 degrees to 80 degrees west longitude. It is up to 500 miles (804 km) wide.

• The only mountains that are taller than the Andes are the Himalaya Mountains and their adjacent ranges, including the Hindu Kush. The average elevation in the Andes is about 13,000 feet (3,962 meters). The highest elevation in the Andes is Mount Aconcagua in Argentina, which is 22,841 feet (6,962 m) above sea level.

 4.Forget the Sahara Desert, Peru actually has the highest sand dune in the World!

 
Cerro Blanco sand dune, located in the Sechura Desert in the south of Peru, measures 3,860 feet from the base to the summit. It towers over the quaint desert oasis town, Huacachina, and the best part of all is that you can ride dune buggies for hours and up to the top of the dunes and then strap a board to your feet and sand board down it all the way to the town below!

5. The Largest Flying Bird on Earth can be found in Peru, The Giant Andean Condor

• The Andean condor is a national symbol of peru. 
• With a wingspan of over 3 meters (10 feet), the Andean Condor is considered the largest flying bird in the world. Fully grown adults can reach a whopping 15 kg (33 pounds) and can stand an impressive 1.2 meters tall. This stunning creature is the largest Raptor in the entire world.
• Today, one of the best places to see the Andean condor is the semi-arid Colca Canyon, a marvel twice as deep as the Grand Canyon located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north of Arequipa, Peru's second largest city

6.Peru grows more than 55 varieties of corn, more than anywhere else on Earth.

 One of the most widely-consumed foodstuffs in Peruvian cuisine. This corn has been planted in Peru since at least 1200 BC. The ancient Peruvian farmers achieved a degree of sophistication in the selection and creation of new varieties which adapted to varying terrains and climates.

Sixteenth-century Spanish chronicler "Bernabé Cobo" wrote how in ancient Peru one could find corn (known locally as choclo) in every color under the sun: white, yellow, purple, black, red and mixed. Today, farmers along the Peruvian coast, highlands and jungle grow more than 55 varieties of corn, more than anywhere else on Earth.
7. Peru has the second largest amount of Shamans in the world

        
        Shamanism has been popular in Peru for over 3,000 years. Since most of the Peruvian population cannot afford or don’t have access to doctors or Western medical care, many people, especially natives, turn to a shaman’s healing art, or curandero, a rural spiritual healer. Most shamans use hallucinogenic drugs, such as ayahuasca in their healing. 

8.Gold Mining in Peru

  

• Peru is currently ranked as the 6th largest gold producer in the world. This is very significant when you consider than it is much smaller in landmass than most of the countries that rank above it. The Andes Mountains have some of the richest gold deposits in the world.

• The Yanacocha Gold Mine is operated by the Newmont Mining Corporation in Northern Peru. It is the second largest open pit gold mine in the world, and has produced over $7 billion dollars’ worth of gold.

9. Peruvian Coati Dung Coffee is the most expensive in the world

•  Peru is now making one of the most expensive coffees in the world by picking arabica beans out of the dung of a long-nosed jungle critter called the coati, a tropical cousin of the raccoon. Chanchamayo Highland Coffee, is the second Peruvian venture to copy a rare technique that harnesses a mammal’s digestive tract to strip bitter-tasting proteins from coffee beans. After the creatures eat ripe coffee cherries, the growers wash, roast and export the beans that emerge partially fermented, but whole, in the animals’ scat.

• In doing so, the Peruvians are catering to the whims of global coffee consumers willing to pay anywhere from $20 to $65 for a cup of the odd treat!

•  Peru’s is the 8th largest producer of coffee in the world, and is the 5th largest producer of the Arabica bean.

10.One of the most bio-diverse countries on the planet.
  

• There are 90 different micro-climates in Peru

• Peru is a country of varied climate. Coast, Desert, Mountain, Jungle. Because of the influence of the cold Peruvian Oceanic Flow there is a dramatic change from the near-coast desert climate to the inland tropical valleys and then the high mountains of the Andes Range.

• Peru counts among the 10 most biologically diverse countries in the world. It is home to 25,000 plant species (10% of the world’s total) and close to 5,000 species of fish and animals. It ranks first in the world in terms of distinct fish species, second for birds, and third place for both amphibians and mammals. In fact, the Manu National Park in south eastern Peru recently set a biodiversity record after more than 1,000 species of birds, 1,200 species of butterflies and 287 species of reptiles were found in the park.

Quotes About Peru

 Going to Peru is, well, if you ever have an opportunity in your life to go there, you should do it because it is absolutely mind boggling – Dean Stockwell, actor