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, February 02, 2023

Just How Many Oceans Are There?
The largest bodies of water on Earth are the oceans. But there is some debate over how many distinct oceans there are.

Is Hong Kong a Country?
Learn more about Hong Kong.

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?

6 Notable Libraries
Know before you go.

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

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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Dubai
United Arab Emirates
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Mexico City
national capital, Mexico
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Ephesus
ancient city, Turkey

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
- ancient Egypt
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Anatolia
historical region, Asia
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Great Wall of China
wall, China

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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Transamazonian highway
highway, Brazil
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Stilwell Road
highway, Asia
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Continental Divide National Scenic Trail
path, 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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Australian Aboriginal peoples
people
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Middle American Indian
people
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African Americans
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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South America
continent
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Africa
continent
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canyon
geology

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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Rhode Island
state, United States
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Alaska
state, United States
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Kentucky
state, United States

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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North Africa
region, Africa
- 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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Kruger National Park
national park, South Africa
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Timbuktu
Mali
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Chichén Itzá
ancient city, Mexico