Geologists say that complex geographical features and meteorological patterns has endorsed sheer amount of variety in the climate of our planet. From the scorching heat at the equator to the chilling cold at Antarctica, Earth’s climate offers remarkable varieties and diversities. In many locations on Earth, especially which are a little bit away from equator, we observe four types of seasons. The distance of Earth from the sun and Earth’s 23.5-degree axis tilt are the major reasons behind this.
However, some places on Earth are not lucky enough to witness the beauty of different seasons. Rather these places don’t experience much variety at all. The residents of these places expect the same climate day after day, year in and year out. It may be a desert-like dry conditions or continuous snowfall or constant rainfall throughout the year.
In this article, we will highlight those places on Earth that receive the most rainfall or in other words, the Rainiest Places on Earth.
The rainiest places which receive the heaviest rain on the Earth, mostly are situated close mountains, or large water-bodies, and other geographical barrier that doesn’t allow much variation in climate. Half of the rainiest places on Earth are located in Hawaii and the north east state of India named as Meghalaya. The rainiest places on Earth can be ranked as mentioned below,
10. EMEI SHAN – CHINA – 8,169 MM rain
Emei Shan is famous as the rainiest location of China having almost a yearly average precipitation of 8,169 mm. and it is located in the Sichuan Province.Mount Emei, which is known as the tallest among the Four Sacred Mountains of Buddhism, is located here.
The rainfall which drenches this area occurs mainly due to a pair of layered clouds which create a huge amount of precipitation.
Emei Shan is also famous fora number of monasteries that teach Wushu, variety of ancient martial arts, and also for the first Buddhist temple in China. In the year 1996, UNESCO crowned this site as the ‘World Heritage’.
9. KUKUI – HAWAII (U.S.) – 9,293 MM rain
Kukui is a place in Maui, Hawaii and it is the third rainiest location in this Island. The Kukui recorded about 2565.4 mm of rainfall in the March of 1942. It was the highest precipitation ever recorded in a month in United States. In 1982, more than 17902 mm rainfall was recorded in Kukui which also created a history in United States.
Kukui features a mountain peak of 5,787 feet high above sea level. Long ago, this mountain peak was created by the explosive force from the eruption of a volcano. Kukui is famous for its diverse set of indigenous species of flora and fauna. Scientists all over the world trek across this land to enjoy its natural value and stark beauty.
8. MOUNT WAIALEALE – HAWAII (U.S.) – 9,763 MM rain
The meaning of the word ‘Waialeale’ in local Hawaiian language is “overflowing water”. Hence the name stand truly logical as this place receives abundance of precipitation throughout the year. Each year, Mount Waialeale gets so much rainfall that the land here has become too much slick and this mountain is extremely dangerous even for most experienced trekkers.
According to geologist, the reason behind the heavy rainfall is the conical shape of mountain, the geographical position and the steep slopes. Also, the high altitude traps the cloud formation which results in heavy precipitation.
7. BIG BOG – HAWAII (U.S.) – 10,272 MM rain
After a three decades rainfall study at Hawaii island, scientists have recently declared Big-Bog as the rainiest place of the island and Mount Waialeale has been displaced from the top. These data were collected from the weather station which was installed in Haleakala National Park, Bog-Bog in the year 1992. Big Bog is quite a remote place; hence a helicopter trip is required for reaching this place. For hardcore hikers need at least two days to travel this place by foot.
Big Bog is a major tourist attraction in Hawaii Island and thousands of tourists pay visit every year to see the beautiful scenery and the wettest mountain in Hawaii island.
6. DEBUNDSCHA – CAMEROON – 10,299 MM rain
Debundscha is a village located in south western edge of Cameroon and this area is considered to be the second rainiest place on the African continent. This place is near by to the southern part of the Atlantic on the coastline of this African nation.
Debundscha’s climate features a very prolonged rainy season and a comparatively short dry season. This is due to the proximity of the place with equator. Mount Cameroon, which is the tallest mountain in Africa, is just located behind this place. Due to this giant mountain, the clouds are blocked from passing Debundscha and most of the precipitation is being dumped here.
5. SAN ANTONIO DE URECA – EQUATORIAL GUINEA – 10,450 MM rain
San Antonio de Ureca is a city in Equatorial Guinea, and this place is considered to be the wettest place in African Continent. Almost throughout the year, this place observes heavy rainfall which is mainly driven by the ocean moisture patterns. This moisture forms cloud formations that are captured by steep slopes causing immense amount of rainfall.
4. CROPP RIVER – NEW ZEALAND – 11,516 MM rain
Cropp river is situated in the western portion of New Zealand. It is very close to the Tasman sea. The river flows among the mountain terrain which sharply increases the amount of precipitation. Meteorological record says that on December 27th, 1989, this area witnessed an immense rainfall of 758 mm only in 24 hours. Also, the Cropp River had an incredible precipitation of 18,413 mm in the year 1997.
3. TUTUNENDO – COLOMBIA – 11,770 MM rain
Tutendo is a small village in Colombia having a population less than 1,000 people. This village is situated very close to the equator and the climate is very hot and humid in this region. Thus,a rain forest climate is created which results in two rainy seasons per year. This area is also the rainiest region in South America. This place even experiences 20 days rainfall in dry seasons in the month of February and March.
2. CHERRAPUNJI – INDIA – 11,777 MM rain
Cherrapunji is located in the North east state of Meghalaya and it is just less than 10 miles from the planet’s rainiest place. This place observes rain on daily basis. As per Guinness book of world records, this area witnessed a massive rainfall of 26,471 mm between August 1860 to July 1861. This area also holds the record of the highest rainfall of 9300 mm within a single month in the year 1861.
This area has remarkable living root bridges that have helped people for transportation over valley for ages.
1. MAWSYNRAM – INDIA – 11,871 MM rain
Mawsynram is crowned as the rainiest place on the earth having an average of 94 mm more precipitation than the nearby place Cherrapunji. This village is located in the east Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya district in north east India. There is hardly a day in which Mawsynram does not observe any rainfall. The majority of rainfall occurs during the monsoon season resulting from the moisture and hot weather.
Conclusion:
Hope this article gives a clear picture about the world’s wettest or rainiest places that are experiencing incredible amount of rainfall throughout the year. The residents of these places are habituated with this wetness and only they bother when they have to plug the leaking holes on their roofs of the house.
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