The Best of India: Geographical facts
Wettest Place in India is Cherrapunjee. In fact, Cherrapunji is the wettest place on the earth receiving the highest rainfall ever. The place receives an annual rainfall of over 1200 cm. Cherrapunji is situated at 56 kms from Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, in one of the heaviest rain-belts in the world. However, off late, a ding-dong battle has been on between Cherrapunji and the neighbouring village of Mawsynram for the crown of "Wettest Place in the World". Sometimes, it is Cherrapunji which records highest annual rainfall in the world and sometimes it is Mawsynram. However, meteorologists question the genuineness of the data obtained from Mawsynram. Unlike Cherrapunji, there is no meteorological office at Mawsynram and the readings there are taken by a peon of the Meghalaya Public Works Department posted there.


Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world (after Mount Everest and K2) and the tallest peak in India, with an elevation of 8,586 metres (28,169 ft). "Kangchenjunga" which lies in the Himalayas means "The Five Treasures of Snows" translated, as it contains five peaks, four of them over 8,450 metres.
The Niagara Falls have competition. In the form of Chitrakot, India's largest waterfalls. About 38 km to the west of Jagdalpur, this Chitrakot Waterfallspectacular fall is formed when the river Indravati abruptly collapses into a 100 feet deep cavern. The mouth of the fall, when in full profusion, is over 1,000 feet wide. Chitrakot is a horseshoe shaped waterfall, best seen during and after the monsoon, between July and October. Chitrakot is a horse-shoe shaped waterfall, best seen during and after the monsoon, between July and October.
Siachen Glacier is the largest glacier in India. At 75.6 km long and 2.8 km wide, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second-longest in the world's non-polar areas.
Drass in western Ladakh is the coldest place in India. It is also the second coldest inhabited place in the world after Siberia.
Goa with an area of 3702 sq. km is the smallest State in India. Goa was a Portuguese colony and was liberated from Portuguese rule on December 19, 1961. After its independence Goa along with Daman & Diu was accorded the status of Union Territory. On May 30, 1987, the Union Territory was split, and Goa was elevated as India's 25th state, with Daman and Diu remaining Union Territories. Goa is one of the most developed states of India. Tourism is the mainstay of Goa. Panaji is the capital of Goa and Vasco is its largest town. The main language of Goa is Konkani.
Rajasthan with an area of 342,239 sq km is the largest state in India. Before the formation of Chattisgarh as a separate state in the year 2000, Madhya Pradesh was the largest Indian state in terms of area. Rajasthan is located in the western part of India and has two distinct geographical regions with desert on one side and thick forest on the other. Aravalli the oldest mountain chain is the dividing line between the two climatic zones of the State. Western Rajasthan encompasses most of the area of the Great Indian Desert (also known as Thar Desert). The eastern region of the State has thick vegetation of Sal, Axlewood, Dhak and Mesquite. 

4.A man grieves over the dead body of a relative who just passed away after being rescued from the rubble January 19, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
5. U.N. peacekeeper guards food supplies to be distributed by the World Food Program on January 17, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Aid agencies are struggling to distribute food as quickly as possible but face major logistical problems in doing so caused by the massive earthquake that took place on January 12.
6.A child waits to be medivaced by U.S. Army soldiers from the 82nd Airborne to the hospital ship USNS Comfort on January 21, 2010 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
8.Oscar Oliva, a member of a Mexican search and rescue team, cries with joy on January 19, 2010 as he embraces a fellow rescuer after the group pulled 69-year old Ena Zizi from the rubble of Haiti's devastating earthquake, exactly one week after the city was reduced to ruins in a matter of seconds. Zizi was rescued from the collapsed home of the parish priest at Port-au-Prince' s Roman Cathedral Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption.
9.Medical professionals aboard the Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort treat a six-year-old Haitian boy in the casualty receiving room aboard the 1,000-bed hospital ship January 19, 2010. The boy transferred to Comfort by helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson for treatment for an injury to his bladder and a hip fracture during the earthquake.










