# Yet another geography question.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-geography-question/230142>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 20, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-geography-question/230142 "2004-02-20T03:28:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\
**Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-geography-question/230142/1 "2004-02-20T03:28:48Z")

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I was able to find the last two in the CIA factbook, but kinda lost on this one.

1. about 17.6 million sq km

2. highest elvation is sea level

3. scholars beleive indiginous Pac Islanders mapped it in the 4th century

4. Magellan was 1st European to gather info on size of area in 16th century

Thanks in advance

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-geography-question/230142/2 "2004-02-20T03:35:09Z")

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If the highest elevation is sea level, it must be a body of water, probably a large sea. 17.6 milliom km[sup]2[/sup] is about twice the size of Australia.

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**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\
**Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-geography-question/230142/3 "2004-02-20T03:39:45Z")

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You sure about that number in 1) ? That’s about 1/10 the size of the Pacific Ocean. Too big to be any country except Russia, and the other clues point away from that. If you got the decimal point wrong, at 176m sq km it is the Pacific Ocean.

I suppose it could be some construct such as Micronesia, but I don’t belive that’s big enough to qualify.

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**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\
**Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-geography-question/230142/4 "2004-02-20T03:50:23Z")

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Number 1 is correct, though she has it as larger than the U.S. I was thinking something like the Indian Ocean or along those lines. With the high elev being sea level it has to be something involving a body of water.

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**Author:** ![JS\_Princeton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@JS\_Princeton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JS_Princeton)\
**Post date:** [February 20, 2004, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-geography-question/230142/5 "2004-02-20T21:48:20Z")

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Duffer,

I’m almost sure she got a decimal point wrong and the answer is the Pacific Ocean.