WorldAtlas

About half the climbers who set out for Denali's summit never reach it. Roughly a thousand register each year to attempt a peak that stands almost 9,000 feet lower than Everest. The catch is where the climb begins. Denali's base-to-summit rise of about 18,000 feet is the largest of any mountain standing entirely above sea level, so the route covers more vertical ground than Everest's does. No Sherpa teams carry the loads, no one stocks the camps, and no weather window can be counted on.

Rome conquered many different civilizations. However, it was never able to establish a permanent foothold in Nubia. Difficult geography made the cost of doing so not worth the effort. Halting at Nubia also followed a pattern that could be observed elsewhere in the empire. Finally, several more pressing issues meant that it made more sense to use diplomacy to resolve issues with the Nubians. Context: What Was Nubia Nubian rulers from the Kingdom of Kush.

A weekend in New Zealand can be enough time to explore entirely different landscapes and come home feeling like you've truly been away. Rotorua has steam rising from geothermal ground and a deep connection to Te Arawa Māori culture. Napier's streets carry the architectural imprint of the 1931 earthquake and its rebuilding in the Art Deco style.

Roughly every 90 minutes, Old Faithful hurls about 7,000 gallons of boiling water more than 100 feet into the Wyoming sky. Thousands of eruptions a year keep the boardwalk crowds coming back. The pale mound under the vent holds a stranger record. Scientists have pulled mineralized tree stumps out of it dating to the 1200s. Lodgepole pines once grew on ground that now gets drenched in scalding water every hour and a half. Turns out, the most dependable geyser on Earth has gone quiet before.

Tiny American islands scattered across the Pacific generate enormous maritime zones, placing U.S.-administered waters thousands of miles from the mainland. Wake Atoll alone sits more than 2,100 nautical miles west of Honolulu, while Baker Island lies more than 1,800 nautical miles southwest of the Hawaiian capital. Most Americans will go their whole lives never knowing they even exist. These distant islands extend US waters to an even more isolated place: the most remote point in American waters.

Most kokanee salmon never top a single pound. These landlocked sockeye feed deep and stay pan-sized in almost every lake they swim in. Then the conditions line up in a handful of Western lakes and reservoirs. Cold water, endless zooplankton, and almost no predators send these fish into overdrive. They balloon into flame-red giants that can push past 9 pounds. Here are the lakes where kokanee grow the largest. Flaming Gorge Reservoir Flaming Gorge Reservoir on the Wyoming side.

The Pacific Northwest is widely recognized for its coastal landscapes and for the places people find tucked between its natural wonders. The region tends to exceed expectations because of the small towns scattered across it. Whether you are after oceanside scenery in Brookings, Oregon, skiing in McCall, Idaho, or a waterfront downtown in Poulsbo, Washington, there is something here for every traveler in these eight towns across the United States corner of the region.

The proposal is called Fill Mead First, the Glen Canyon Institute has been advocating it since the 1990s, and it rests on a simple premise: the Colorado River does not have enough water to fill two enormous reservoirs, so it should fill one. What makes the idea worth examining in 2026 rather than dismissing is that the river has been moving in that direction anyway.

Oregon may draw its fair share of visitors, but there are still places where the road narrows, cell service fades, and the landscape takes over. In Mitchell, just 144 residents live near the striped hills of John Day Fossil Beds, while Port Orford is so isolated on the southern coast that the town itself describes it as “hard to get to.” Farther east, Joseph sits near the end of Oregon Route 82 beneath the Wallowa Mountains, and Halfway opens onto Hells Canyon and miles of rugged backcountry.

The Yellowstone runs 692 miles from the Absaroka Range to the Missouri without a single impoundment dam, which makes it the longest free-flowing river in the lower 48 states, and roughly halfway along it passes straight through Billings, Montana. That is the answer, with one caveat worth stating immediately: Billings has about 120,000 people, and calling it a major city requires some generosity. The caveat is also the point.