The Earth was formed about 4.7 billion years ago. The Earth’s shape is very close to that of a sphere, not perfectly spherical. The Earth’s equatorial diameter is about 12,756 km, which is slightly larger than the polar diameter; about 12,714 km Surface Area of the Earth is 510,065,600 km2 of which 148,939,100 km2 (29.2 %) is land and 361,126,400 km2 (70.8 %) is water.
The Earth rotates on its axis, an imaginary straight line through its centre. The two points where the axis of rotation intersects the Earth’s surface are called as the poles, one of them is called the North Pole and the other is known as the South Pole. One rotation with respect to Sun is completed in 24 hours, called a solar day.
The Earth rotates in counter-clock direction or from left to right-or eastward direction. Rotation serves three reasons. First, the axis of rotation serves as a reference in setting up the geographic grid of latitude and longitude. Second, it provided a good measure of the passage of time, 24 hours or 1440 minutes or 86,400 seconds a day. Third, it greatly influenced the physical and life processes on Earth.
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The Earth is not only a planet where we live in, but is the most important natural resource. The territory in possession of a nation is important from its economic interest viewpoint. One of the ten largest countries in the world in terms of territory, six belong to emerging market economies.
Table 12.1: The Largest National Territories:
RankCountryArea (square km)
1Russia17,075,200
2Canada9,984,670
3United States9,631,418
4China9,596,960
5Brazil8,511,965
6Australia7,686,850
7India3,287,590
8Argentina2,766,890
9Kazakhstan2,717,300
10Sudan2,505,910
