Geography & Travel
Planet Earth contains some extraordinarily diverse environments, some of which are easily habitable and some not so much. In different areas of Earth, one might find sweltering deserts, dense tropical rainforests, or bone-chilling tundras. Each biome and habitat comes with its own selection of flora and fauna, and it may include physical features such as canyons, volcanoes, rivers, or caves. Human beings have built homes in many different environments, settling the area and organizing it into units such as cities, states, regions, and countries, each with its own points of interest. Shifting trends in human migration have resulted in a human geography that is profoundly different from that of centuries ago.
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Featured content, December 08, 2024
5 Buildings You Have to See in Chile
Know before you go.
Who Founded Chicago?
Find out about the Black pioneer and trader who founded the famous city of Chicago.
Is "Holland" the Same Place as "the Netherlands"?
Have you been using the wrong name?
9 of the World’s Deepest Lakes
How deep is your lake?
cave
Cave, natural opening in the earth large enough for human exploration. Such a cavity is formed in many types of rock and...
Australia
Australia, the smallest continent and one of the largest countries on Earth, lying between the Pacific and Indian oceans...
Europe
Europe, second smallest of the world’s continents, composed of the westward-projecting peninsulas of Eurasia (the great landmass...
Austronesian languages
Austronesian languages, family of languages spoken in most of the Indonesian archipelago; all of the Philippines, Madagascar,...
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Geography & Travel Subcategories
Cities & Towns
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
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metropolitan area
demography
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Karachi
Pakistan
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Istanbul
Turkey
Countries of the World
Although there isn’t universal agreement on the question of what qualifies as a “country,” it is generally accepted that in order to be a country, a state must be a sovereign unit that has a permanent population, defined territorial boundaries, a government, and the ability to enter into agreements with other states. Even when these conditions are met, however, internationally recognized independence is not a given, and a territorial entity that declares itself to be an independent country is not always recognized as such by the rest of the world.
Articles
Historical Places
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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African Meeting House
church, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
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Russian Empire
historical empire, Europe
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German Empire
historical nation, Germany
Highways & Trails
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
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Intracoastal Waterway
shipping route, United States
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Whitehall
district, Westminster, London, United Kingdom
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King’s Highway
ancient road, Middle East
Human Geography
Since 1945 human geography has contained five main divisions. The first four—economic, social, cultural, and political—reflect both the main areas of contemporary life and the social science disciplines with which geographers interact (i.e., economics, sociology, anthropology, and political science and international relations, respectively); the fifth is historical geography.
Articles
Languages
Language, a system of conventional spoken, manual, or written symbols by means of which human beings, as members of a social group and participants in its culture, express themselves. The functions of language include communication, the expression of identity, play, imaginative expression, and emotional release.
Articles
Physical Geography of Land
Earth’s geographic history has been one marked by significant overall change, with ice ages, continental drift, and other major disruptions ultimately shaping Earth's land into the landscape of mountain ranges, deserts, islands, and volcanoes that we see today.
Articles
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continent
geography
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Mount Aconcagua
mountain, Argentina
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Antarctica
continent
Physical Geography of Water
Whether it's Lake Michigan, the Gulf of Panama, or the River Thames, bodies of water of all shapes and sizes can be found around the globe, and they play a critical role for human beings, who use such bodies of water as a source of drinking water, a means of transporting both goods and people themselves, or a place to engage in water sports, among a plethora of other possible uses. Additionally, many bodies of water provide striking scenes of natural beauty and house important marine ecosystems. Satiate your thirst for knowledge about Earth's oceans, lakes, seas, rivers, waterfalls, bays, and more.
Articles
Nature Reserves & National Parks
Nature reserves are areas set aside for the purpose of preserving and protecting plants and animals, particularly endangered species. National parks may effectively serve a similar purpose by shielding threatened species from hunters, but these parks can also be created for the purpose of public recreation, affording its visitors a chance to be immersed in a protected natural environment. Many national parks have been created in the last 100 years, including Yellowstone National Park, the oldest and probably the best-known national park in the United States.
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Zion National Park
national park, Utah, United States
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park
national park, North Carolina-Tennessee, United States
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Mesa Verde National Park
national park, Colorado, United States
States & Other Subdivisions
Every nation has its own subdivisions to demarcate smaller political units within its territory. Counties, districts, oblasts, polis, nomos, unitary authorities, boroughs, and cities are all examples (among many others) of how land can be organized.
Articles
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Alaska
state, United States
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Kentucky
state, United States
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Northern Territory
territory, Australia
Tourist Attractions
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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Timbuktu
Mali
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Chichén Itzá
ancient city, Mexico
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San Diego Zoo
zoo, San Diego, California, United States
Geographic Regions
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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North Africa
region, Africa
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Central Asia
region, Asia
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Silicon Valley
region, California, United States