Nature

How big are things in nature? 176 sizes compared

Greenland is about 1,050 km (652 mi) wide from east to west, some 7.5 billion times the length of the smallest thing on this page, a fairyfly wasp only about 140 µm long. Between them are the bee hummingbird at about 5.5 cm (2.17 in) from bill to tail, the coconut crab with a leg span of about 1 m (3 ft 3 in), giant sequoia trees up to about 95 m (312 ft) tall, the Grand Canyon at up to about 29 km (18 mi) wide, and Lake Baikal at about 79 km (49.1 mi) across. Living things rarely come in one fixed size, and lakes, canyons and islands have no single width, so the numbers here are the typical or maximum values their sources give.

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Nature, from Fairyfly wasp to Greenland, drawn to scale — Drawn to scale, from left to right: Fairyfly wasp (140 µm), Bee hummingbird (5.5 cm), Giant’s Causeway basalt column (12 m), Mount Nyiragongo (3,470 m) and Greenland (1,050 km). Each panel zooms out from the one before it (×450, ×250, ×310 and ×550); the faint shape at the start of a panel is the largest object of the previous one.

Sizes in Nature

All 176 things in nature on this page, from the smallest to the largest. Each size is in metric units first, with imperial in brackets where it differs.

Name	Size
Fairyfly waspbody length	140 µm
Common pill bugbody length	1.2 cm (0.47 in)
Gippsland giant earthwormdiameter	2 cm (0.79 in)
Bargibant’s seahorseheight	2.4 cm (0.94 in)
Blue dragon sea slugtotal length	3 cm (1.18 in)
Garden snaildiameter	3 cm (1.18 in)
Bee hummingbirdtotal length	5.5 cm (2.17 in)
Monarch butterflywingspan	9.5 cm (3.74 in)
Luna mothwingspan	11.5 cm (4.53 in)
Venus flytrapheight	15 cm (5.91 in)
Pygmy marmosetbody length	15 cm (5.91 in)
Common blue morphowingspan	15 cm (5.91 in)
Peacock mantis shrimpbody length	18 cm (7.09 in)
Fennec foxshoulder height	20 cm (7.87 in)
Axolotltotal length	23 cm (9.06 in)
Atlas mothwingspan	24 cm (9.45 in)
Emperor tamarinbody length	25 cm (9.84 in)
Queen Alexandra's birdwingwingspan	28 cm (11 in)
Goliath birdeaterleg span	28 cm (11 in)
Giant pandashoulder height	70 cm (2 ft 4 in)
Rafflesia arnoldiidiameter	1 m (3 ft 3 in)
Coconut crableg span	1 m (3 ft 3 in)
Galápagos giant tortoiseheight	1.1 m (3 ft 7 in)
Snow leopardbody length	1.3 m (4 ft 3 in)
Okapishoulder height	1.7 m (5 ft 7 in)
Red kangaroostanding height	1.8 m (5 ft 11 in)
Welwitschiawidth	2 m (6 ft 7 in)
Moeraki Boulderdiameter	2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)
Harpy eaglewingspan	2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)
Bald eaglewingspan	2.3 m (7 ft 7 in)
Victoria amazonica leafwidth	3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Giant sunflowerheight	3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Giant Pacific octopus	3 m (9 ft 10 in)
California condorwingspan	3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Japanese spider crableg span	3.7 m (12 ft)
Balancing Rockheight	9 m (30 ft)
Durdle Doorwidth	10 m (33 ft)
Dragon blood treeheight	10 m (33 ft)
Huka Fallsvertical drop	11 m (36 ft)
Giant’s Causeway basalt columnheight	12 m (39 ft)
Naica giant crystallength	12 m (39 ft)
Saguaro cactusheight	12 m (39 ft)
Joshua treeheight	12 m (39 ft)
Delicate Archheight	14 m (46 ft)
Wave Rockheight	15 m (49 ft)
Fingal’s Cavewidth	16 m (52 ft)
Jōmon Sugiheight	25.3 m (83 ft)
Giant bambooheight	30 m (98 ft)
Gullfossvertical drop	32 m (105 ft)
Árbol del Tuleheight	35 m (115 ft)
Tower Fallvertical drop	40 m (131 ft)
Wollemi pineheight	40 m (131 ft)
Old Faithfulheight	56 m (184 ft)
Skógafossvertical drop	60 m (197 ft)
Rainbow eucalyptusheight	60 m (197 ft)
Coast redwood treeheight	70 m (230 ft)
Huangguoshu Waterfallvertical drop	77.8 m (255 ft)
Great Waterfall of Plitvicevertical drop	78 m (256 ft)
General Sherman Treeheight	84.8 m (278 ft)
Rainbow Bridgeheight	88 m (289 ft)
Giant sequoia treeheight	95 m (312 ft)
Dettifosswidth	100 m (328 ft)
Kalandula Fallsvertical drop	105 m (344 ft)
Grand Prismatic Springdiameter	110 m (361 ft)
Dune du Pilatheight	110 m (361 ft)
Hyperionheight	116 m (380 ft)
Waimoku Fallsvertical drop	122 m (400 ft)
Rhine Fallswidth	150 m (492 ft)
Son Doong Cavewidth	150 m (492 ft)
Detian Fallswidth	200 m (656 ft)
Kaieteur Fallsvertical drop	226 m (741 ft)
Baatara Gorge Waterfallvertical drop	255 m (837 ft)
Wallaman Fallsvertical drop	268 m (879 ft)
Great Blue Holediameter	318 m (1,043 ft)
Big Daddy Duneheight	325 m (1,066 ft)
Uluruheight	348 m (1,142 ft)
Bridal Veil Fallsvertical drop	365 m (1,198 ft)
Parícutin volcanoheight	424 m (1,391 ft)
Shiprockheight	482 m (1,581 ft)
Ball’s Pyramidheight	562 m (1,844 ft)
Sutherland Fallsvertical drop	580 m (1,903 ft)
Pulpit Rockheight	604 m (1,982 ft)
Mount Augustusheight	717 m (2,352 ft)
Yosemite Fallsvertical drop	739 m (2,425 ft)
Gocta Fallsvertical drop	771 m (2,530 ft)
Horseshoe Fallswidth	790 m (2,592 ft)
Browne Fallsvertical drop	838 m (2,749 ft)
Yumbilla Fallsvertical drop	896 m (2,940 ft)
Tugela Fallsvertical drop	948 m (3,110 ft)
Table Mountainelevation	1,086 m (3,563 ft)
Niagara Fallswidth	1.2 km (3,937 ft)
Kīlaueaelevation	1,247 m (4,091 ft)
Mount Vesuviuselevation	1,281 m (4,203 ft)
Mount Peléeelevation	1,397 m (4,583 ft)
Half Domeheight	1,450 m (4,757 ft)
Mount Pinatuboelevation	1,486 m (4,875 ft)
Mount Taielevation	1,545 m (5,069 ft)
Sněžkaelevation	1,603 m (5,259 ft)
Mount Thorelevation	1,675 m (5,495 ft)
Mount Washingtonelevation	1,917 m (6,289 ft)
Mount Mitchellelevation	2,037 m (6,683 ft)
Mount Kosciuszkoelevation	2,228 m (7,310 ft)
Mount Bromoelevation	2,329 m (7,641 ft)
Mendenhall Glacierwidth	2.4 km (1.49 mi)
Mount Taranakielevation	2,518 m (8,261 ft)
Mount St. Helenselevation	2,549 m (8,363 ft)
Iguazu Fallswidth	2.7 km (1.68 mi)
Mount Paektuelevation	2,744 m (9,003 ft)
Mount Roraimaelevation	2,810 m (9,219 ft)
Mount Tamboraelevation	2,850 m (9,350 ft)
Mount Merapielevation	2,910 m (9,547 ft)
Mount Olympus (Greece)elevation	2,918 m (9,573 ft)
Cerro Torreelevation	3,128 m (10,262 ft)
Haleakalā Summit Depressionwidth	3.2 km (1.99 mi)
Mount Etnaelevation	3,357 m (11,014 ft)
Mount Fitz Royelevation	3,405 m (11,171 ft)
Mount Nyiragongoelevation	3,470 m (11,385 ft)
Mount Teideelevation	3,715 m (12,188 ft)
Aoraki / Mount Cookelevation	3,724 m (12,218 ft)
Mount Rinjanielevation	3,726 m (12,224 ft)
Mount Fujielevation	3,776 m (12,388 ft)
Mount Erebuselevation	3,794 m (12,448 ft)
Mount Kinabaluelevation	4,095 m (13,435 ft)
Mount Cameroonelevation	4,095 m (13,435 ft)
Mauna Loaelevation	4,169 m (13,678 ft)
Grand Tetonelevation	4,199 m (13,776 ft)
Mauna Keaelevation	4,207 m (13,802 ft)
Mount Sidleyelevation	4,285 m (14,058 ft)
Mount Elgonelevation	4,321 m (14,177 ft)
Mount Shastaelevation	4,322 m (14,180 ft)
Mount Rainierelevation	4,392 m (14,409 ft)
Mount Whitneyelevation	4,421 m (14,505 ft)
Matterhornelevation	4,478 m (14,692 ft)
Mount Wilhelmelevation	4,509 m (14,793 ft)
Puncak Jayaelevation	4,884 m (16,024 ft)
Mount Vinsonelevation	4,892 m (16,050 ft)
Perito Moreno Glacierwidth	5 km (3.11 mi)
Mount Araratelevation	5,137 m (16,854 ft)
Mount Shkharaelevation	5,193 m (17,037 ft)
Mount Kenyaelevation	5,199 m (17,057 ft)
Mount St. Eliaselevation	5,489 m (18,009 ft)
Mount Damavandelevation	5,610 m (18,406 ft)
Pico de Orizabaelevation	5,636 m (18,491 ft)
Mount Elbruselevation	5,642 m (18,510 ft)
Mount Kilimanjaroelevation	5,895 m (19,341 ft)
Cotopaxielevation	5,897 m (19,347 ft)
Mount Loganelevation	5,959 m (19,551 ft)
Denalielevation	6,190 m (20,308 ft)
Chimborazoelevation	6,263 m (20,548 ft)
Huascaránelevation	6,768 m (22,205 ft)
Aconcaguaelevation	6,961 m (22,838 ft)
Nanda Devielevation	7,816 m (25,643 ft)
Mount Shishapangmaelevation	8,027 m (26,335 ft)
Annapurna Ielevation	8,091 m (26,545 ft)
Nanga Parbatelevation	8,126 m (26,660 ft)
Manasluelevation	8,163 m (26,781 ft)
Dhaulagiri Ielevation	8,167 m (26,795 ft)
Cho Oyuelevation	8,188 m (26,864 ft)
Makaluelevation	8,485 m (27,838 ft)
Lhotseelevation	8,516 m (27,940 ft)
Kangchenjungaelevation	8,586 m (28,169 ft)
K2elevation	8,611 m (28,251 ft)
Colca Canyonwidth	10 km (6.21 mi)
Ngorongoro Craterdiameter	21 km (13 mi)
Olympus Monsheight	21.9 km (13.6 mi)
Fish River Canyonwidth	27 km (16.8 mi)
Grand Canyonwidth	29 km (18 mi)
Lake Tanganyikawidth	72 km (44.7 mi)
Lake Baikalwidth	79 km (49.1 mi)
Bering Straitwidth	82 km (51 mi)
Socotralength	130 km (80.8 mi)
Salar de Uyuni	150 km (93.2 mi)
Lake Victoriawidth	240 km (149 mi)
Vredefort Domediameter	300 km (186 mi)
Tasmaniawidth	315 km (196 mi)
Greenlandwidth	1,050 km (652 mi)

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