This is something peculiar. Actually, there are two capital cities in the world that are below the sea level, and both are located in Europe, who would say?
The following two capital cities are with the lowest elevation in the world, and they are in fact below the sea level:
- Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
- Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands.
The interactive map below shows where you can find these two cities. Zoom in for details.
Baku
Baku (the top picture above) is on the east side of Caspian See, and this is the Caucasus region. You can see all the details in the map above.
Now, where exactly is the European border in this area? Those three Caucasus countries (Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan) are considered as Europe, but as you know this is not so with the Anatolian part of Turkey which is closer to the central Europe.
You will see statements around that Azerbaijan is at the border, but this makes no much sense. A border is a line so it can include or exclude the country from Europe, it cannot be both. In my book, this is Europe, and this makes Baku a European city.
But even if you disregard all this, the city is indeed at the elevation of minus 28 meters (-92 feet). The whole Caspian Sea is with such an elevation, so this is a natural depression.
So Baku is the lowest national capital in the world, and it is the biggest city in the world that is below the sea level. The city metro area has more than 5 million people.
Much more about this city you can see in this video:
Amsterdam
The city of Amsterdam belongs to the northern province of Holland. It is 2 meters (7 feet) below sea level. The reasons for this are different from Baku because all the area where Amsterdam is located is reclaimed from the sea.
The city has more than 60 miles of canals similar to the one shown in the picture. Amsterdam is one out of two capitals in this country, some important institutions are are also in The Hague.
In this video you will see much more, please have a look:
So these are the capital cities that are below the sea level. But do you know what is the lowest elevation city in the world? Well, this is Jericho in the Palestinian territory. I visited it once. This city is the lowest in the world with its – 258 meters or – 846 feet below sea level.
Do you plan a visit to Paris? If so, check our text about its museums. Bookmark this site and keep as a reference, it is all about capitals in the world. Check also my text about the highest capitals in the world. Thank you for reading. Let me know if you have questions, there is a comment box below.