Do Equatorial Guinea or Ecuador lie on the equator?

The African country of Equatorial Guinea lies more than one degree north of the equator but the South American country of Ecuador is actually equatorial - the equator lies just to the north of Ecuador's capital city of Quito.

How many countries' flags have flown over Texas?

Texas has flown the flags of six countries since 1682. The flags of Spain, France, Mexico, the independent Republic of Texas, the United States of America, and the Confederate States of America have flown over Texas at one time or another.

How many states have some land north of Canada's southernmost point?
Twenty-seven of the fifty U.S. states have land north of Canada's southernmost point - Middle Island, Ontario.
The states include Alaska, California, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Is one mile out of every five on Interstate highways straight for emergency airplane landing strips?
Absolutely not! According to Richard F. Weingroff, who works in the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Infrastructure, says "No law, regulation, policy, or sliver of red tape requires that one out of five miles of the Interstate Highway System must be straight."
He says that it's a complete hoax and urban legend that the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System requires that one mile in every five must be straight to be usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies. Besides, there are more overpasses and interchanges than there are miles in the system so even if there were straight miles, planes attempting to land would quickly encounter a overpass on their runway.

Also, while Interstates were created supposedly for defense, the standards for the overpasses on the system don't require a high enough clearance for some essential military vehicles so the Interstates aren't really worth much for moving troops.

For more information, visit Mr. Weingroff's article about the legend and my Interstate Highways collection of resources.

What are the five largest states in area?
The five largest states in land area are:

Alaska - 591,004 miles2 (1,530,039 km2)
Texas - 266,807 miles2 (691,030 km2)
California - 156,537 miles2 (405,431 km2)
Montana - 145,603 miles2 (377,112 km2)
New Mexico - 121,593 miles2 (314,926 km2)

What are the five smallest states in area?
The five smallest states in land area are:

Rhode Island - 1,212 miles2 (3,139 km2)
Delaware - 1,983 miles2 (5,136 km2)
Connecticut - 4,872 miles2 (12,997 km2)
Hawaii - 6,471 miles2 (16,760 km2)
New Jersey - 7,787 miles2 (20,168 km2)

What is a ZIP Code?
The United States Postal Service established ZIP (Zone Improvement Program) Codes in 1963 to help better distribute the growing amount of mail in the United States. The five-digit ZIP Codes begin with a digit from 0-9 that represents a region of the U.S. "0" represents the northeastern U.S. and "9" is used for the western states. Each subsequent digit of the ZIP code further refines the geographic area to help pinpoint the correct post office.
Using ZIP Code-based geographic data is not an excellent choice since the USPS indiscriminantly assigns ZIP Code boundaries, which are subject to change at any time, and do not represent true communities or neighborhoods. Unfortunately, ZIP Code data is not appropriate for many geographic purposes.

State/Possession Abbreviation

ALABAMA AL
ALASKA AK
AMERICAN SAMOA AS
ARIZONA AZ
ARKANSAS AR
CALIFORNIA CA
COLORADO CO
CONNECTICUT CT
DELAWARE DE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DC
FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA FM
FLORIDA FL
GEORGIA GA
GUAM GU
HAWAII HI
IDAHO ID
ILLINOIS IL
INDIANA IN
IOWA IA
KANSAS KS
KENTUCKY KY
LOUISIANA LA
MAINE ME
MARSHALL ISLANDS MH
MARYLAND MD
MASSACHUSETTS MA
MICHIGAN MI
MINNESOTA MN
MISSISSIPPI MS
MISSOURI MO
MONTANA MT
NEBRASKA NE
NEVADA NV
NEW HAMPSHIRE NH
NEW JERSEY NJ
NEW MEXICO NM
NEW YORK NY
NORTH CAROLINA NC
NORTH DAKOTA ND
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS MP
OHIO OH
OKLAHOMA OK
OREGON OR
PALAU PW
PENNSYLVANIA PA
PUERTO RICO PR
RHODE ISLAND RI
SOUTH CAROLINA SC
SOUTH DAKOTA SD
TENNESSEE TN
TEXAS TX
UTAH UT
VERMONT VT
VIRGIN ISLANDS VI
VIRGINIA VA
WASHINGTON WA
WEST VIRGINIA WV
WISCONSIN WI
WYOMING WY

Military "State" Abbreviation

Armed Forces Africa AE
Armed Forces Americas AA
(except Canada)
Armed Forces Canada AE
Armed Forces Europe AE
Armed Forces Middle East AE
Armed Forces Pacific AP

What is the shortest river in the world?
The world's shortest river is a mere 120 feet (37 meters) long. It is Oregon's D River which connects Devil's Lake directly to the Pacific Ocean near Lincoln City, Oregon.

What is the smallest island divided between two countries?
The Caribbean island of St. Martin (Sint Maarten in Dutch) is 22 square miles (85 square kilometers) in area yet it is divded between two countries.
The northern portion of the island is part of France's Guadeloupe territory while the southern section is administered by the Netherlands as part of their Netherlands Antilles territory.

What is the world's busiest airport?
Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport is the world's busiest passenger airport, with 77,939,536 arrivals, departures, and transfers in 1999. Atlanta bypassed #2 Chicago-O'Hare in 1998 to become the world's busiest.
Though Atlanta is well know for its place as number one among passenger traffic, the world's busiest cargo airport is Memphis International Airport in Memphis, Tennessee.

What is the world's largest island?
At 840,000 square miles (2,175,590 km2), Greenland is the world's largest island.
Although Australia also meets the definition of an island (a piece of land surrounded by water), it is large enough to be considered its own continent.

What is the world's largest river?
South America's Amazon River is the world's largest because it carries more water to the sea than any other river. The Amazon's discharge at its mouth is approximately 7 million cubic feet per second.
The Amazon is the world's second longest river as well, coming in just a tad shorter than the Nile River at 4,049 miles (6,516 kilometers) long.

What is the world's most populous colony?
With 3.8 million people (1998), Puerto Rico is the world's largest colony.
In 1998, Puerto Ricans chose "none of the above" in a referendum to decide their status with the United States. Click here for more information about the status of Puerto Rico in the U.S.

What is the world's tallest structure?
At 1,815 feet (553.33 meters), the world's tallest structure is Toronto, Canada's CN Tower. Built in 1976 by Canadian National, CN Tower is a television and communication transmission tower and receives over 2 million visitors annually.
For more information

What time is it at the North and South Pole?
Since lines of longitude converge at the North and South Pole, it's almost impossible (and very impractical) to determine which time zone you're in based on the longitude.
Therefore, researchers in the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the earth usually use the time zone associated with their research stations. For example, since nearly all flights to Antarctica and the South Pole are from New Zealand, New Zealand time is the most commonly used time zone in Antarctica.

Where is the world's largest marsh?
Southern Florida's Everglades comprise the world's largest marsh at 2,185 square miles (5,659 km2). The depth of the water in the Everglades averages approximately six inches (15 cm) deep.

Where is the world's wettest place?
With an average of over 472 inches or 39 feet (12 meters) of precipitation each year, Mt. Waialeale on Hawaii's Kauai Island is the rainiest and wettest spot on the planet.

Where is tornado alley?
The United States' Tornado Alley, which is home to more than 200 tornadoes annually, stretches from northwest Texas, across Oklahoma and through northeast Kansas.

Which country extends across the most degrees of latitude?
Canada is spread across 41 degrees and 21 minutes of latitude from its northernmost point, Cape Columbia, Nunavut at 83°7' North, to the southernmost point, Middle Island, Ontario at 41°41' North.

Which country has the longest coastline?
Canada's coastline is the world's longest at 243,792 km or 151,485 miles (including the coastline of the country's 52,455 islands.)

Why does Hawaii have interstate highways?
Any highway built under the auspices of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 and funded by the federal governent is called an interstate highway, even if it doesn't cross state lines. In fact, there are many local routes that lie entirely within a single state funded by the Act.
Hawaii has three interstates - H1, H2, and H3 - which connect important military facilities on the island of Oahu.