Who doesn’t love a lake? They’re the perfect place to idle the day away swimming, boating, waterskiing, or fishing. But what exactly defines a lake? Scientists and government agencies differ on which bodies of water count as big enough to be considered a lake, and some don’t include human-made reservoirs. With that caveat, here are the eight states generally considered to have the most lakes. 

8. Maine

Approximate number of lakes: 6,000

There is often deliberation as to whether Maine’s plentiful water sources should be labeled as lakes or ponds. Traditionally, the distinction between the two is made in regards to the sun: If sunlight can penetrate to the bottom of all areas of an inland body of water, it is a pond. Deeper bodies of water that cannot be fully penetrated by sunlight are lakes. However, the state has decided that if the body of water is over 10 acres large, then it is legally a “great pond” — regardless of whether sunlight reaches the bottom or not. As a result, Maine officials have counted about 6,000 lakes in the state, most of which are classified as great ponds.

7. Texas

Approximate number of lakes: 7,000

The Lone Star State is home to roughly 7,000 lakes, though most of these are human-made. Texas is known for its large bodies of water including Grapevine Lake, Toledo Bend Reservoir, and Possum Kingdom Lake, but some may argue that these reservoirs don’t count as lakes since they’re not naturally occurring. To further complicate the matter, one lake that most people believe to be naturally occurring — Caddo Lake in East Texas — should actually be classified as a swamp. But whether it’s a lake, swamp, or reservoir, the state has its fair share of water for residents and visitors to enjoy.

6. New York

Approximate number of lakes: 7,600

The Empire State has more than 7,600 freshwater lakes, ponds, and reservoirs, according to state officials. Notably, it shares Lake Champlain, one of the country’s largest lakes at nearly 500 square miles, with neighboring Vermont. New York is also home to the Finger Lakes, a region known for its narrow lakes, rolling hills, and abundance of wineries. One of the most popular lakes to visit in the region is Lake George, nicknamed “Queen of American Lakes” for its beauty and crystal-clear water. New York also provides access to not one, but two, Great Lakes, with 570 miles of shoreline along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

5. Michigan

Approximate number of lakes: 11,000

It’s not called the Great Lake State for nothing: Michigan is bordered by four Great Lakes (Michigan, Superior, Huron, and Erie). As a result, the state is home to 2,963 miles of shoreline along the Great Lakes, but these are technically classified as coastal waters according to the Coast Guard. According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the state has over 11,000 inland lakes, 2,700 of which are mapped out by the government. This number includes lakes larger than five acres — when you include lakes less than an acre, the total count jumps to over 60,000.

4. Minnesota

Approximate number of lakes: 14,380

It’s no surprise that the state known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” makes an appearance on this list. In fact, Minnesota is home to so many bodies of water that it’s difficult to get an official count, with various agencies reporting different numbers. The Department of Natural Resources claims there are 11,842 lakes in total. The real number could be somewhere in between: The University of Minnesota Duluth claims the state has 14,380 lakes — if you count the lakes that cross into Canada and do not include lakes under 10 acres.

3. Wisconsin

Approximate number of lakes: 15,000

It’s a hotly debated topic as to which state has more natural lakes: Wisconsin or Minnesota. This is due to the fact that state agencies maintain different criteria as to what defines a lake. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources claims that the state has 15,000 lakes, which is well over Minnesota’s official number. However, Wisconsin’s record-keeping includes lakes under 10 acres. And of these 15,000 lakes, over half of them are unnamed. When you apply the Minnesota standards to the Wisconsin map, only 5,898 bodies of water are officially lakes, which means Wisconsin has far fewer lakes than its western neighbor.

2. Florida

Approximate number of lakes: 30,000

Florida is filled to the gills with lakes: The Sunshine State is home to more than 30,000 lakes, covering 3 million acres of land. While some of these lakes are naturally occurring — including the 448,000-acre Lake Okeechobee, the state’s largest — many of them are human-made. These human-made lakes are often a result of building infrastructure, particularly in residential areas to assist in flood control. It’s also worth noting that many of Florida’s lakes are home to alligators and snakes, so it’s always best to pay attention to your surroundings while swimming.

1. Alaska

Approximate number of lakes: 3 million

Nicknamed the “Last Frontier,” Alaska is defined by its wilderness, with mountains, rivers, and lakes taking up much of its picturesque landscape. The state is home to 3,197 officially named natural lakes, including well-known lakes such as Lake Clark, Kenai Lake, and Mendenhall Lake. If this wasn’t already an impressive number, Alaska contains an estimated 3 million unnamed lakes that are greater than five acres, many of which are difficult to access on foot. When these lakes are combined with the state’s 12,000 rivers, Alaska accounts for nearly half of the nation’s surface water.

The equator is an imaginary line at zero degrees latitude that wraps around the center of Earth, dividing the planet into Northern and Southern Hemispheres. There are 13 countries located along this 24,901-mile-long boundary — seven in Africa, three in Asia, and three in South America. All of these countries are known for their similar climates, experiencing year-round hot and humid weather with little seasonal variation. Despite similar weather, each of these nations has its own unique history, geography, and culture. Here are eight fascinating facts you might not know about countries along the equator.

Kiribati Is the First Country to Celebrate the New Year

Kiribati, an archipelagic nation on the equator, consists of 33 islands spanning over 1,800 miles across the central Pacific Ocean. Even with this vast breadth, Kiribati’s total land area measures only 313 square miles. Kiribati’s eastern territory includes eight of the Line Islands, an archipelago through which the International Date Line runs. Thanks to this, the island of Kiritimati is the first region anywhere in the world to ring in the New Year. 

While parts of Kiribati are located in the Western Hemisphere, Kiritimati is actually located in the Eastern Hemisphere, meaning the country is the only nation in the world with land in all four hemispheres. Despite this, the entirety of Kiribati lies within the world’s earliest time zones due to a quirk with the International Date Line, which circumvents the Line Islands and swings around to the east. This places Kiritimati within the UTC +14 time zone. After Kiribati celebrates, Tonga, Samoa, and parts of New Zealand ring in the New Year one hour later.

Indonesia Is Home to the World’s Biggest Flower

Indonesia has three national flowers: the Phalaenopsis amabilis (moon orchid), Jasminum sambac (jasmine), and Rafflesia arnoldii. This latter flower is ominously known as the corpse flower due to the pungent odor it emits, which some compare to rotten meat. However, its size is what makes this flower truly special, as it reaches average lengths of three feet across and weighs up to 15 pounds. 

With no visible leaves, roots, or stems, this bright red flower obtains nutrients via a parasitic relationship with other plants. Rafflesia arnoldii is found — albeit rarely — in the rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo. In 2020, a record-setting version of this large flower was discovered in a West Sumatran forest, possessing a diameter four inches wider than the previous record holder.

The Maldives Is the World’s Flattest Country

Located in the central Indian Ocean, the Republic of Maldives is the world’s flattest country, according to Guinness World Records. On average, the island nation’s coral beaches rise a mere four feet above sea level. The country’s highest natural point — an unmarked spot on Addu Atoll, the southernmost atoll of the Maldives — reaches only eight feet above sea level. On Seenu Atoll, one point reaches heights of 16 feet above sea level, though it’s human-made: the eighth hole of the Villingili Resort’s golf course.

The Maldives is made up of around 1,200 tiny islands, of which only around 200 are inhabited. These land masses extend 510 miles from north to south and 80 miles from east to west. Given its flatness, the Maldives is at risk of being largely submerged in the near future, as ocean levels are predicted to rise up to five feet by 2100.

Kenya Contains Over 60 National Parks and Reserves

The East African nation of Kenya established Nairobi National Park in 1946 as the country’s first protected refuge. The park covers 45.26 square miles, making it one of the smaller national parks in Kenya today, but it helped pave the way for a widespread conservation effort in the decades to come. As of 2023, the Kenya Wildlife Service manages more than 60 national parks, national reserves, and marine national parks and reserves — representing about 8% of Kenya’s landmass.

Among the many highlights of Kenya’s national park system are the 1.5 million wildebeest living in the Masai Mara reserve; the world’s last surviving northern white rhinos residing in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy; the fascinating geothermal activity at Hells Gate National Park; and the world’s largest lava flow (at over 180 miles in length), located on the Yatta Plateau in Tsavo East National Park. Then there’s Mount Kenya National Park, which contains the second-tallest mountain in Africa behind Kilimanjaro. This impressive crag reaches heights of 17,057 feet above the Kenyan landscape below.

Gabon Is Home to the World’s Only Known Natural Nuclear Reactor

In 1972, scientists extracted chunks of radioactive uranium ore from a mine in Gabon, an equatorial country located along the Atlantic Coast of central Africa. After further research, scientists discovered that the uranium mines at the site, known as Oklo, contained 16 natural nuclear reactors that first developed around 2 billion years ago (a 17th reactor was later discovered in Bangombé, located 18 miles southeast of Oklo). 

These geological features are unlike anywhere else on the planet. For eons, these sites produced radioactive ore thanks to a natural nuclear fission process that was moderated by water levels and boiling heat. Unfortunately, the reactors in Oklo were destroyed over time due to excessive mining, and to this day, scientists have yet to discover any natural reactors akin to the ones in Gabon.

Brazil’s Capital City Resembles an Airplane When Viewed From Above

Brazil relocated its capital from Rio de Janeiro to the newly planned city of Brasília, with a more central location, in 1960. Lúcio Costa — an urban architect who taught geometry and drawing from 1938 to 1954 — won a public competition in 1957 to design the proposed new capital. Costa shunned traditional grid patterns and chose an irregular cross layout The end result, when viewed from above, looks like an airplane, a bird, or even a dragonfly, depending on who you ask.

Costa’s unusual plans called for government buildings in the area where a plane’s fuselage is traditionally located, with local bureaucrats making their residential homes in the “wings” of the city. Though he designed the city for 500,000 people, it’s since expanded to house about 2.5 million residents.

Colombia Has More Bird Species Than Any Other Country

Colombia is the second-most biodiverse country in the world, after Brazil. When it comes to birds, however, Colombia tops the list with 1,878 bird species. That number puts Colombia ahead of Peru’s 1,858 bird species, and is large enough to account for 20% of the world’s total bird species. 

Common bird varieties in Colombia include sparrows and finches that are also found in more northern climates. The country is also home to several rare endemic species. One such endangered bird is the blue-billed curassow, which maintains a small population residing in the tropical lowland forests. Another rare Colombian bird is the Cauca guan, which is at risk due to years of hunting and deforestation.

Ecuador’s Official Currency Is the U.S. Dollar

For over a century, the Ecuadorian sucre served as the official currency of Ecuador. However, on September 9, 2000, the South American country officially changed its currency to the U.S. dollar. At the time, financial crises rendered the sucre virtually worthless, and inflation became so problematic that one U.S. dollar was equivalent to 25,000 sucres. This led President Jamil Mahuad Witt to call for a switch of the country’s official currency to the U.S. dollar.

Mahuad’s decision proved unpopular, and he was overthrown by a coup d’etat shortly thereafter. Despite the country’s opposition to the decision, Mahuad’s successor, President Gustavo Noboa Bejerano, followed through on the initiative and officially adopted the U.S. dollar as Ecuador’s national currency. Ecuador remains one of the eight countries around the world to use the U.S. dollar as official tender.

There’s something about the geographic isolation of islands that captures the imagination. That’s even more true when they come with an intriguing, mysterious, hilarious, or just bizarre name (or nickname). From the atoll that inspired the name of a popular swimwear piece to one particularly disappointing isle, journey to all corners of the planet as we uncover 15 islands with highly unusual names.

Inaccessible Island – United Kingdom

Inaccessible Island is not completely inaccessible, but it’s pretty close. A large rocky islet rising out of the frigid South Atlantic, the island is technically a territory of the United Kingdom, but to reach it, you’ll need to travel about eight days by boat from either South Africa or Argentina. However, that boat won’t get you all the way to the island — after getting official permission, Inaccessible Island can only be accessed on smaller boats, for about one week out of the year (if the weather cooperates).

On the island, you won’t find much: a small, rocky beach and a large number of seabirds. You will, however, have bragging rights to having set foot on one of the least-visited and most remote islands on the planet. There are two theories as to how Inaccessible Island got its name — one is that the Dutch explorers who arrived in 1656 were unable to traverse the steep cliffs to the island’s interior; the other is that a French captain named it after not being able to land there in 1778.

Wizard Island – Oregon

Is it Merlin’s hat or Dumbledore’s? Either way, the shape of this volcanic cinder cone rising from Oregon’s Crater Lake definitely resembles a wizard’s pointy hat, which is what inspired its name. The sorcerer’s chapeau was shaped around 8,000 years ago, when Mount Mazama erupted, and then collapsed. The resulting crater surrounding the cinder cone filled with snowfall, creating an incredibly clear — and bone-chillingly cold — lake that’s among the bluest (and cleanest) in the world. At 1,943 feet, it’s also the deepest lake in the U.S. Part of Crater Lake National Park, Wizard’s Island can only be accessed by boat. Make reservations well in advance (spots fill up quickly) and don’t forget to bring your wands — err — hiking poles.

Coffee Club Island – Greenland

Although several upstart gravel banks attempt to challenge its title, Kaffeklubben (Danish for “Coffee Club”) Island is the northernmost point of land on the planet. (Other masses may be closer to the North Pole, but they tend to shift, submerge, and disappear.) U.S. explorer Robert E. Peary first spotted the island in 1900; Danish explorer Lauge Koch visited it in 1921 and named it after the coffee club in the University of Copenhagen Geological Museum. Visitors to the uninhabited island will need to bring their own coffee — and almost everything else — as there is little on Kaffeklubben except lichen, mosses, and wildflowers.

Bikini Atoll – Marshall Islands

This ring-shaped coral reef halfway between Hawaii and Australia would be the perfect Pacific paradise — if it were not 10 times more radioactive than Chernobyl. Between 1946 and 1954, the U.S. government detonated 23 nuclear devices on the palm-fringed site, blasting the equivalent of 216 Empire State Buildings into the sky and causing entire sections of the atoll to disappear.

However, it had a lasting impact on popular culture: Four days after the first explosion, French engineer Louis Réard debuted a revealing two-piece swimsuit named after the atoll, hoping the name “bikini” would create a different kind of explosion. (The island’s name came from German colonizers, translated from the Marshallese name for the island, Pikinni.) Today the islets understandably remain uninhabited, but the coral reefs are amazingly robust.

Disappointment Island – New Zealand

The New Zealanders who named this rocky spot for its frequent shipwrecks and its lack of resources obviously weren’t concerned with the island’s self-esteem. Part of the Auckland Archipelago, Disappointment is one of seven islands that sits about 290 miles off the southern coast of the nation’s South Island. The perpetually overcast archipelago is uninhabited by humans, but that is no disappointment to the wildlife population — 2,000-plus Southern right whales, nearly the entire population of white-capped mollymawks (a medium-sized albatross) on Earth, and the rare endemic Auckland rail, a bird once thought to be extinct.

Island of the Gods – Bali, Indonesia

Island of the Gods is a grand (and fitting) moniker, but most probably know this Indonesian island by another name: Bali. The only majority-Hindu island in the most populous Muslim nation in the world, Bali is infused with spirituality. Small palm baskets called canang sari are ubiquitous, filled with flowers and other offerings to the gods. Small temples adorn rooms, larger temples adorn homes, and enormous and fantastically ornate temples dot the entire island. The landscape itself seems blessed, from imposing mountains, to emerald rice terraces and sugar-sanded beaches foamed by lush seas.

Island of Youth – Cuba

When claiming it for Spain, Christopher Columbus called this island — the second-largest in Cuba — La Evangelista. It’s also been called Isla de Cotorras (“Isle of Parrots”), Isla de Tesoros (“Treasure Island”), and Isla de Pinos (“Isle of Pines”). The island’s pirates and inhabitants heavily inspired both Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. In 1978, leader Fidel Castro renamed it yet again, dedicating the Isla de la Juventud (“Island of Youth”) to recognize achievements by Cuba’s Communist youth. That name stuck, and today the island is home to almost 100,000 people.

Society Islands

The name “Society Islands” may conjure up images of stuffy tea rooms and cigar smoke-filled clubs, but the breeze-kissed islands of this South Pacific archipelago are the opposite of stuffy. There are 14 islands comprising this French Polynesian paradise, and at least two should be quite familiar: Tahiti and Bora Bora. (The others are Moorea, Raiatea, Huahine, Taha’a, Tupai, Maupiti, Mopelia, Motu One, Manuae, Mehetia, Tetiaroa, and Maiao.) The larger volcanic islands are international tourism destinations, while smaller ones such as Motu One (Sand Island) are low-lying coral atolls.

English explorer Captain James Cook is credited with naming the islands when “discovering” them in 1769, although accounts differ as to the reasons for the name — one theory is that they are named for the Royal Society, which sponsored the first British scientific survey of the islands.

Christmas Island(s) – Australia and Kiribati

While there is no Thanksgiving Island, there are two Christmas Islands, both named for the day European explorers first landed there. The first Christmas Island is a small, dog-shaped island in the Indian Ocean, near Java. Once rich in phosphate (which has now mostly been mined), the island boasts a seasonally appropriate brilliant red crab population and is mostly covered in lush rainforest.

The second Christmas Island is a large coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Its local name is Kiritimati (in the Gilbertese language, “ti” is pronounced as an “s” sound, so it sounds like “Christmas”), and due to its position relative to the International Date Line, the island is one of the first inhabited places on Earth to experience New Year’s Day.

Easter Island – Chile

Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen first spotted Rapa Nui (as it is called by the Polynesians) on Easter Sunday in 1722. One of the most remote inhabited islands in the world, Easter Island is more than 1,000 miles from its nearest neighbor (tiny Pitcairn Island) and more than 2,000 miles from the coast of South America, the nearest continent. It is most famous for the myriad (887, to be exact) monolithic stone statues which preside solemnly over the land. Known as moai, the ancient guardians even have their own emoji.

Eel Pie Island – England

This eight-acre island in the middle of London’s River Thames is said to be named after the eel-filled pastries (a traditional Victorian-era working class dish) sold at an island inn. But the truly tasty story of Eel Pie is all in the music. The genteel 19th-century Eel Pie Hotel hosted tea dances before becoming a hotbed of jazz and blues shows in the 1960s. The Who, The Rolling Stones, and David Bowie all played there. The hotel eventually became a notorious hippie commune before it burned down in a mysterious fire. Visitors can still access Eel Pie Island by footbridge today.

Rainbow Island – Iran

This island in the Persian Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz is often called “Rainbow Island” for a clear reason: The unique geology of the site in the Persian Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz doesn’t need any fancy Instagram filters to demand attention. Hormuz is a salt dome, and the interaction with clay, water, and rocks results in soils in vivid shades of ochre, yellow, red, and orange across the island. There’s even a red beach — with red water!

Pheasant Island – France/Spain

Don’t blame this unusual 700-year-old joint custody agreement on the pheasants after which this tiny two-acre island is named — Pheasant Island’s position is purely the result of politics. After France and Spain’s Thirty Years War, the two countries needed a neutral spot to sign the Treaty of the Pyrenees.

They found it tucked in the middle of the Bidasoa River, on the border between southwestern France and northeastern Spain, and established a condominium there — a political territory that two or more sovereign powers agree to share. Since then, a ceremony at the six-month split has handed control of the uninhabited (visitors are forbidden) island back and forth more than 700 times. So far, so pleasant.

Virgin Gorda – British Virgin Islands

Christopher Columbus may have been at sea a bit too long when he spotted the third-largest island (after Tortola and Anegada) in the Caribbean archipelago. After deciding that the island’s dramatic topography resembled a woman lying on her side, he named the chain Las Vírgenes” after Saint Ursula and the 11,000 Virgins. Today, tourists from all over the world come to admire the boulder-sheltered beach grottoes known as The Baths and toast the “fat Virgin” with planters punch at the Bitter End Yacht Club.

Isle Royale – Michigan

The Chippewa Native Americans called this island Minong, meaning “good high place,” but the 17th-century French Jesuit missionaries who came to the largest island in Lake Superior liked their monikers a little fancier. They renamed the island after their royal patrons. Today the “royal island” and the surrounding archipelago form Isle Royale National Park. Accessible only by boat or seaplane, this wild outcropping is home to beavers, moose, and the descendants of the Canadian grey wolves that crossed the frozen lake to emigrate there in the 1940s.