The Roe River, which lies in Montana, the USA, is believed to be the shortest river in the world. It's only about 201 feet long, which is really short compared to other well-known rivers.
The Roe River connects Giant Springs to the Missouri River. Giant Springs is a large spring that is full of fresh water. It produces a huge amount of water21. The water runs through the Roe River and then joins the Missouri River.
The history of the Roe River is pretty interesting. A. H. Thayer found it in the late 19th century. Thayer was travelling in the area when he came across this unusual short river. However, it wasn't until later that many people around the world believed the Roe River was the shortest river in the world. In 1989, Guinness Book of World Records accepted the Roe River as the world's shortest river22.
Even though it's short, the Roe River is very special. It has a special ecosystem. Small fish and all kinds of plants live in its water23. Many visitors are interested in its clear water. They come to see this amazing natural wonder and take pictures. It shows that size doesn't always matter; even a short river like the Roe River can be a fascinating part of our planet.
Does the Dead Sea sound like a place where you'd like to go swimming? What do you expect to see in it? Do you believe there are dead things in the Dead Sea?24
Lying in southwest Asia, the Dead Sea is about 80 kilometres long, about 18 kilometres wide and about 400 metres deep. It also has some other names, such as the Salt Sea, the East Sea, or the Sea of the Plain.
Even though it's called the Dead Sea, it isn't a sea at all! It's a lake. Different from other lakes you might have seen, the Dead Sea is quite a salty lake25. In fact, the Dead Sea is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world. The Dead Sea is so salty that nothing can live in it. That's why it's called the Dead Sea. And the Dead Sea stays quite salty because it gets only a little rain, and so little fresh water gets into the Dead Sea each year.
Don't let the name of the Dead Sea make you feel scared. The Dead Sea is a surprising place to visit, and many people go to the Dead Sea each year on holiday27. One interesting thing is that anyone can float26 in the Dead Sea. So if you walk on the beach of the Dead Sea on a warm day, perhaps you can see many people floating in its waters. You might even see many of them reading books or magazines!
When it comes to the Himalayas, what do you have in your mind? High mountains? White snow?28 Both answers are right, but in the mountains there is a place called the Valley of Flowers and you can see a very different situation there. It is home to pretty flowers, wild plants and endangered animals.
The Valley of Flowers is in Uttarakhand, a state in the north of India29. It is more than 87.5 square kilometres. Flowers are everywhere. However, these flowers are not quite the same as what we often see. They grow in high places in the mountains. There are hundreds of different kinds of flowers in this valley. They bloom between June and September. When the flowers bloom, the valley looks like a magical world with different colours.
There are also a lot of wild plants, such as trees and grass, in the Valley of Flowers. They are special. Some of them are hard to find anywhere else in the world30! What's more, some endangered animals live in the valley, like snow leopards.
Now people have turned the Valley of Flowers into a national park. Visitors can't build anything or live there. They can't even stay there for too long at a time. They can only stay there for one day. It's probably not long enough for visitors to see all the real beauty there31.
He Jing has become the first Chinese woman to climb all 14 of the world's mountains over 8,000 metres without supplemental oxygen32. She finished her journey at the 8,027-metre Mount Shishapangma in Xizang on 9 October 2024.
Born in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, He Jing didn't see a mountain until she was 18. In 2012, she climbed her first snow mountain, Mount Siguniang in Sichuan Province. From then on, she climbed nearly every snow mountain in China. Her first 8,000-metre summit came in 2016 when she climbed Cho Oyu33. "After Cho Oyu, I felt strong enough to try without oxygen." He Jing said.
He Jing began her oxygen-free climbing journey in 201735. She reached the summit of Manaslu that year. She followed it with Makalu in 2018, Annapurna in 2019, Dhaulagiri in 2021, Qomolangma, Lhotse, K2, and Broad Peak in 2022, then Kanchenjunga, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum II, and Gasherbrum I in 2023. Mount Shishapangma was the final mountain in this amazing challenge.
In 2024, He Jing had a dream—to climb Mount Qomolangma from the north side. "Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Chinese woman to summit Mount Qomolangma. In 1975, China's Pan Duo became the first woman in the world to summit from the north side. I want to do something to honour her34," she said. On 9 October 2024, He Jing achieved her dream.