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, July 08, 2020
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

What’s the Difference Between Great Britain and the United Kingdom?
Navigating the nomenclature of the British Isles
Demystified / Geography & Travel

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

African Americans
African Americans, one of the largest of the many ethnic groups in the United States. African Americans are mainly of African...
Encyclopedia / Geography & Travel

Asia
Asia, the world’s largest and most diverse continent. It occupies the eastern four-fifths of the giant Eurasian landmass....
Encyclopedia / Geography & Travel

Native American
Native American, member of any of the aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere, although the term often connotes only...
Encyclopedia / Geography & Travel

Cave
Cave, natural opening in the earth large enough for human exploration. Such a cavity is formed in many types of rock and...
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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Moscow
national capital, Russia
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Melbourne
Victoria, Australia
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Metropolitan area
demography

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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Wartburg
castle, Germany
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Soviet Union
historical state, Eurasia
- Ancient Egypt

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
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Appalachian National Scenic Trail
footpath, United States
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Wall Street
street, New York City, New York, United States
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Northwest Passage
trade route, North America

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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Plateau Indian
people
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Northeast Indian
people
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Great Basin 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

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

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.
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Ocean
Earth feature
- Indian Ocean
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Canals and inland waterways
waterway

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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Zion National Park
national park, Utah, United States
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Mesa Verde National Park
national park, Colorado, United States
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Wrangell–Saint Elias 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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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
- Central Asia
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Silicon Valley
region, California, United States
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Midwest
region, United States

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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Timbuktu
Mali
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Tower of London
tower, London, United Kingdom
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Mount Fuji
mountain, Japan