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, March 24, 2025
What’s the Difference Between Great Britain and the United Kingdom?
Navigating the nomenclature of the British Isles
8 Notable Buildings in Moscow
Know before you go.
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...
How Do Countries Choose Their Capital Cities?
London, Tokyo, Buenos Aires…How are national capitals chosen?
canals and inland waterways
Canals and inland waterways, natural or artificial waterways used for navigation, crop irrigation, water supply, or drainage....
Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains
Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains, Native peoples inhabiting the Great Plains of the present-day United States and Canada....
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...
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Geography & Travel Subcategories

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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Istanbul
Turkey
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Los Angeles
California, United States
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Montreal
Quebec, Canada

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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German Empire
historical nation, Germany
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Soviet Union
historical state, Eurasia
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history of Mesopotamia
historical region, Asia

This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Articles
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King’s Highway
ancient road, Middle East
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Route 66
highway, United States
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Ho Chi Minh Trail
trail, 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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Northwest Coast Indian
people
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South American Indian
people
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Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains
North American peoples

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
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Kilimanjaro
mountain, Tanzania
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North 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

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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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

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