Earth is full of perilous places, from the frozen wastelands of Antarctica, all the way
to leafy England, let's take a look at the ten most dangerous places on Earth.
1.
First up is Antarctica.
Antarctica is one of the largest land masses on Earth, covering an enormous 14 million
square kilometres.
Yet it only has around 5,000 temporary residents and zero permanent residents.
Making it the least densely populated country on Earth, and it's no surprise when you consider
it's extreme weather conditions.
The temperature has been known to go as low as minus 90 degrees Celsius, couple that with
astonishing wind speeds of up to 327 kilometres per hour, and you've got one of the most dangerous
climates on Earth.
If unprotected, you wouldn't last longer than an hour in Antarctica.
2.
Next up is the Danakil Desert.
Situated in northeast Ethiopia, it has been named by National Geographic as the cruelest
place on earth.
It's a scary 100,000 square kilometre area of extremely hot and arid terrain, where daily
temperatures regularly surpass 50 degrees Celsius.
The desert is also home to the Danakil Depression, a basin that lies 100 metres below sea level,
which is home to many active volcanoes and suffers frequent earthquakes.
It's one of the hottest, driest and most violent places on Earth.
Because of this nobody lives here, except a few brave salt miners.
Oh, and to top it all off, travel to the Danakil Desert area is strongly discouraged by most
international governments because there's an extremely high threat of kidnapping in
the area and border tensions between Ethiopia and the neighbouring country of Eritrea.
3.
Up next is the Guatemala sinkhole.
Sinkholes are a natural phenomenon caused by the erosion of the underground rock by
rainwater.
When too much rock has eroded the ground spectacularly falls in on itself, creating an enormous sink
hole.
These happen all over the world but some places are more susceptible than others, such as
Florida, Texas and Guatemala.
One of most devastating sink holes occurred in 2010 in Guatemala.
When a 20 metre round hole appeared suddenly in the ground, swallowing up an entire three-story
factory.
The hole it left behind is 30 metres deep.
The sinkhole occurred because of a combination of recent events, namely the recent Tropical
Storm Agatha, a nearby volcano erupting and leaking sewer pipes.
Needless to say, if you visit Guatemala, you better watch your step.
4.
Just off the coast of Sao Paolo in Brazil is an island nicknamed Snake Island.
The island is riddled with a unique species of snake called the Golden Lancehead Viper,
which is one of the most venomous snakes in the world.
It is reported there are as many as 5 snakes in every square metre of the island.
The venom of the Golden Lancehead Viper is so deadly that it melts away human flesh,
whilst a powerful neurotoxin quickly shuts down your central nervous system.
Because the island is so hazardous, access to the island has been banned by the Brazilian
government, apart from a select few scientists who monitor the snakes.
5.
Lake Nyos is a crater lake in the Northwest Region of Cameroon.
This poisonous lake sits above volcanic earth.
Magma below the surface releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the lake, which is
stockpiled in a layer at the bottom of the lake.
When the levels of carbon dioxide at the bottom of the lake get too high, the lake explodes,
suffocating anyone and everything in close proximity to the lake.
The last time this happened was in 1986.
When the lake suddenly emitted a large cloud of carbon dioxide that suffocated 1,700 people
and 3,500 livestock in surrounding towns and villages.
It was the first recorded large scale asphyxiation caused by a natural event.
6.
Bolivia is home to the infamous Yungas Road, more commonly known as the Road of Death.
It's an extremely narrow mountain road that connects La Paz to Coroico.
It's especially dangerous during rainy season and has been named by the Inter-American Development
Bank as the "world's most dangerous road".
Around 300 travellers are killed on the road every year.
The roadside is scattered with crosses that mark the spots where travellers have fallen
to their deaths.
7.
The North Anatolian Fault is an enormous fault that runs along most of Turkey.
During the past century there have been a series of devastating earthquakes along the
North Anatolian Fault of magnitudes above 7.
They have been progressively creeping west along the fault, heading towards Istanbul,
which is next on the list to be struck by the fault-line's devastating earthquakes.
The last devastating earthquake was in 1999 in Izmit.
The 7.4 magnitude quake killed 17,480 people and injured 43,959.
But that could be nothing compared to what will happen when the earthquake hits the Turkish
capital of Istanbul with a population of 14.2 million people.
And it will hit it, this imminent disaster has been deemed an inevitability, it's just
a matter of when.
Geophysicists estimate the likelihood of Istanbul being hit by a magnitude 7 or greater earthquake
in the next 20 years is around 60%.
Such a disaster would be very bad news for millions of residents.
Making Istanbul one of the most dangerous places to live.
8.
Droughts don't often get as much attention as other, more spectacular natural disasters,
but they can be one of the most deadly.
The Sahel region of Africa, which borders the Sahara Desert, is one of the most drought
prone places in the world.
According to the United Nations an astonishing 100,000 people died due to droughts in the
Sahel region of Africa between 1972 and 1984.
Another 750,000 were unable to grow their crops and had to completely rely on food aid
instead.
9.
Next we go to England, specifically the Alnwick Poison Gardens in Northumberland.
The garden is specifically designed to securely grow and protect hundreds of highly poisonous
and narcotic plants.
Behind locked cages grows some of the deadliest plants known to man, such as belladonna, tobacco
and mandrake.
10.
And finally, and arguably, the most dangerous place on Earth because of other humans, is
Honduras.
This Central American country has the highest murder rate in the World, at 90 homicides
per 100,000 people.
And what's more, the second biggest city in Hoduras, San Pedro Sula has the highest homicide
rate of any city in the world, with 169 murders occurring for every 100,000 residents.
This is primarily due to drug violence.
Ever since Honduras became the key staging post for cocaine smuggling from South America
to the US, the murder rate has sky rocked, year on year.