Earth
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.
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.
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