Although Finland and North Korea are 4,272 miles (6,682 km) apart, Russia has a border with both countries. Russia’s border with Finland in Northern Europe is approximately 833 miles (1,341 km) long, while its border with North Korea stretches for about 10.5 miles (16.9 km) along the Tumen River. So if you wanted to travel overland from Finland to North Korea, you could do so simply by passing through Russia.
Russia shares borders with 17 countries in total (the most of any country). By landmass, Russia is the largest country in the world. It covers approximately 6.6 million square miles (17.1 million sq. km) and spans nine time zones.
More about world geography:
- The country of Liechtenstein is considered to be “doubly landlocked” because its surrounding countries, Austria and Switzerland, don’t have access to the sea.
- Alaska is the most northern, eastern, and western state in the United States and is home to over half of the entire US coastline. Some of Alaska's Aleutian Islands are located in the Eastern Hemisphere.
- Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey, is the only city in the world that naturally spans across two continents -- Europe and Asia, via the Bosphorus Strait.