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, May 22, 2020
Why New York Is Called "The Big Apple" and How 8 Other Famous Cities Got Their Nicknames
What’s so apple-y about New York, anyway?
#WTFact / Geography & Travel

What Is Known (and Not Known) About the Bermuda Triangle
People have been trying to solve the “mystery” of the Bermuda Triangle for years. Here’s what we know (and don’t know) about…
Companion / Geography & Travel

7 (or 8) Summits: The World’s Highest Mountains by Continent
Climbing each continent’s highest mountain is a major mountaineering achievement. Read this list to learn more about the…
List / Geography & Travel

Are the Middle East and the Near East the Same Thing?
Don’t let the terminology distract you from this important part of the world.
Demystified / Geography & Travel

100th Anniversary of Chicago’s Flag
April 4 marks the 100th anniversary of what is perhaps the world’s most recognizable municipal flag.
Spotlight / Geography & Travel

North America
North America, third largest of the world’s continents, lying for the most part between the Arctic Circle and the Tropic…
Encyclopedia / Geography & Travel

South America
South America, fourth largest of the world’s continents. It is the southern portion of the landmass generally referred to…
Encyclopedia / Geography & Travel

Plains Indian
Plains Indian, member of any of the Native American peoples inhabiting the Great Plains of the United States and Canada.…
Encyclopedia / Geography & Travel

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Geography & Travel Subcategories

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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Lima
national capital, Peru
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Buenos Aires
national capital, Argentina
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Washington, D.C.
national capital, United States

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

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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Auschwitz
concentration camp, Poland
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Ancient Rome
ancient state, Europe, Africa, and Asia
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Mongol empire
historical empire, Asia

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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The Bowery
district, New York City, New York, United States
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Transamazonian highway
highway, Brazil
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Mormon Trail
historical trail, United States

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
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African Americans
people
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Plateau Indian
people
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Northeast Indian
people

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
- Uralic languages
- Language
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Slang
linguistics

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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Mountain
landform
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South America
continent
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Continent
geography

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
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Lake
physical feature
- Arctic Ocean
- Atlantic Ocean

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.
Articles
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Banff National Park
national park, Alberta, Canada
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Great Smoky Mountains National Park
national park, North Carolina-Tennessee, United States
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Yosemite National Park
national park, California, United States

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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England
constituent unit, United Kingdom
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Queensland
state, Australia
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Baltic states
region, Europe

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
- Palestine
- Central Asia
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Silicon Valley
region, California, United States

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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Machu Picchu
ancient city, Peru
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Sydney Opera House
building, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Chichén Itzá
ancient city, Mexico