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, April 12, 2025
Is "Holland" the Same Place as "the Netherlands"?
Have you been using the wrong name?
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...
8 Hotly Disputed Borders of the World
Somaliland, the Korean peninsula, Western Sahara—all of these places are home to some of the most hotly disputed borders...
Why Are Some Time Zones 30 Minutes Off Instead of an Hour?
Learn why the world’s time zones can be disorderly.
Dravidian languages
Dravidian languages, family of some 70 languages spoken primarily in South Asia. The Dravidian languages are spoken by more...
glacial landform
Glacial landform, any product of flowing ice and meltwater. Such landforms are being produced today in glaciated areas, such...
mountain
Mountain, landform that rises prominently above its surroundings, generally exhibiting steep slopes, a relatively confined...
lake
Lake, any relatively large body of slowly moving or standing water that occupies an inland basin of appreciable size. Definitions...
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Geography & Travel Subcategories

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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Rome
national capital, Italy
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Africville
Nova Scotia, Canada
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Caracas
national capital, Venezuela

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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ancient Greek civilization
historical region, Eurasia
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Ottoman Empire
historical empire, Eurasia and Africa
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Forbidden City
palace complex, Beijing, China

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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Pilgrims’ Way
ancient route, England, United Kingdom
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Chisholm Trail
cattle trail, United States
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Burma Road
highway, Asia

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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Native American
Indigenous peoples of Canada and United States
- South American forest Indian
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Indigenous peoples of California
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
- writing
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semiotics
study of signs
- English language

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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volcano
geology
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Kilimanjaro
mountain, Tanzania
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North America
continent

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
- Arctic Ocean
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Great Pacific Garbage Patch
polluted region, Pacific Ocean
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ocean
Earth feature

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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Sequoia National Park
national park, California, United States
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Wrangell–Saint Elias National Park and Preserve
national park, Alaska, United States
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Denali National Park and Preserve
national park, Alaska, 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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Queensland
state, Australia
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Minnesota
state, United States
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Michigan
state, United States

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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Big Ben
clock, London, United Kingdom
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Machu Picchu
ancient city, Peru
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Palace of Versailles
palace, Versailles, France

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