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Country Kazakhstan Kazakhstan is the largest country in Central Asia and the ninth largest in the world. It has no ocean coast, but the Caspian Sea lies along its southwest edge. About 20.6 million people lived there in 2026, and its capital is Astana.
Landmark Baikonur Cosmodrome Baikonur Cosmodrome is a huge rocket launch site on the flat grasslands of Kazakhstan. The Soviet Union began building it in secret in 1955. Sputnik 1, the first satellite, launched from here in 1957, and Yuri Gagarin, the first person in space, in 1961. Today Russia rents it from Kazakhstan, and crews have launched from it to the International Space Station as recently as 2025.
Landmark Chichén Itzá Chichén Itzá is the ruin of a great Maya city on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Its people built pyramids, a huge ball court and a round building for watching the sky. Its most famous pyramid, El Castillo, has 365 steps, as many as the days in a year.
Natural wonder Atacama Desert The Atacama is a cool desert in northern Chile, squeezed between the Pacific coast and the Andes mountains, about 1,000 to 1,100 kilometers long. It is one of the driest places on Earth: the city of Arica, on its coast, averages less than 1 millimeter of rain a year. Its dry, clear air makes it a top place for giant telescopes.
Geography A warming world Scientists measure Earth's temperature all over the world, and it is getting warmer: the WMO says 2025 was about 1.43 °C warmer than in the late 1800s. The main cause is extra greenhouse gases, mostly from burning coal, oil and gas, which trap heat. Ice is melting and the sea is rising. People are measuring the changes and building cleaner energy.
Country Ecuador Ecuador is a country in northwestern South America, named after the equator, which crosses it. In a small space it holds Pacific beaches, high snowy volcanoes of the Andes, part of the Amazon rainforest and the Galápagos Islands, whose wildlife helped Charles Darwin develop his ideas.
Life around the world Life along the Nile in Cairo Cairo, Egypt's capital, has stood beside the Nile for more than 1,000 years. Around it lies desert, so people live close to the river: from space at night, their lights trace the Nile like a glowing flower. The river waters farms, and a new riverside walkway gives people a place to stroll.
Geography Ocean currents Ocean currents are flows of seawater from one place to another. Winds push the surface water, and because Earth spins, the currents curve into giant loops called gyres. Deep down, cold, salty water sinks and creeps slowly around the planet. Together, currents carry heat from the warm tropics toward the cold poles.
Geography The water cycle around the world Earth's water is always on the move. The Sun's heat lifts water from oceans, lakes and plants into the air as invisible vapor. It cools into clouds, winds carry it around the world, and it falls as rain or snow. Then rivers and groundwater carry it back to the sea. Some places get far more rain than others because of how air rises and sinks around the planet.