Portal:Contents/Geography and places

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Wikipedia's contents: Geography and places

Geography (Greek Geo (γη) or Gaea (γαία), meaning "Earth", and graphein (γράφειν) meaning "to describe" or "to write") is the study of the earth and its features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes (275-195 B.C.). Four historical traditions in geographical research are the spatial analysis of natural and human phenomena (geography as a study of distribution), area studies (places and regions), study of man-land relationship, and research in earth sciences. Nonetheless, modern geography is an all-encompassing discipline that foremost seeks to understand the world and all of its human and natural complexities-- not merely where objects are, but how they have changed and come to be. As "the bridge between the human and physical sciences," geography is divided into two main branches - human geography and physical geography.

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Geography and places: Overviews • Glossaries • Lists • Outlines • Portals • Categories

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Overviews (see for all subject areas)

Main articles: Earth, Geography and Place

Geography – Atlas • City • Climate • Demographics • Earth • Exploration • Geographic information system • History of geography • Map • Park • Place • Population density • Region • Spatial analysis • Subregion • Surveying

Branches of Geography – Physical geography (Climatology, Hydrology) • Human geography

Natural geographical features

Landforms – Badlands • Canyon • Cave • Cliff • Coast • Continent • Coral reef • Crater • Desert • Forest • Geyser • Glacier • Gully • Grassland • Highland • Hill • Island • Mesa • Mountain • Mountain range • Plain • Prairie • Peninsula • Reef • Ridge • Savanna • Shoal • Steppe • Tundra • Valley • Volcano • Wetland

Bodies of water – Bay • Channel • Delta • Estuary • Fjord • Headlands • Lagoon • Lake • Marsh • Ocean • Pond • River • Sea • Sound • Source (river or stream) • Spring (hydrosphere) • Strait • Stream • Swamp • Waterfall

Manmade geographical features – Airport • Artificial dwelling hill • Artificial island • Breakwater • Bridge • Canal • Causeway • Country • Country subdivision • Dam (Levee) • Farm • Harbor • Nation • National park • Nature reserve • Park • Pier • Pipeline • Port • Railway • Ranch • Reservoir • Road (Street) • Settlement (Village, Town, City, Megalopolis) • Train station • Tunnel

The World

By hemisphere – New World • Old World | Eastern world • Western world | Eastern Hemisphere • Western Hemisphere | Northern Hemisphere • Southern Hemisphere

By cultural region – Anglosphere • Arab world • Chinese world (Sinosphere) • Indosphere

By ordinal classification – First World • Second World • Third World • Fourth World • Fifth World

By economic development – Developed countries • Developing countries • Least Developed Countries

By continent – Africa • Antarctica • Australia • Eurasia (Europe and Asia) • North America • South America

Countries of the World:

Countries of Africa	Countries of Asia	Countries of Europe	Countries of North America
Countries of Oceania	Countries of South America	Antarctic	Arctic

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Glossaries (see for all subject areas)

Medieval land terms • Terms for country subdivisions

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Lists (see for all subject areas)

Countries • Country-related topics

Lists by country – Flags • Politics

Country subdivisions – Cities • Counties • Neighborhoods • Places

Geographical features

Land features • Deserts • Highest points • Islands • Mountains • Mountain passes • Mountain ranges • Volcanoes

Bodies of water • Canals • Lakes • Oceans • Reservoirs and dams • Rivers • Straits • Waterways

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Outlines (see for all subject areas)

Geography

Continents and major geopolitical regions (non-continents are italicized)

Africa • Antarctica • Asia • Europe • North America • Oceania (includes Australia) • South America

Political divisions of the World, arranged by continent or major geopolitical region

Africa

West Africa

Benin • Burkina Faso • Cape Verde • Côte d'Ivoire • Gambia • Ghana • Guinea • Guinea-Bissau • Liberia • Mali • Mauritania • Niger • Nigeria • Senegal • Sierra Leone • Togo

North Africa

Algeria • Egypt • Libya • Mauritania • Morocco • Sudan • Tunisia • Western Sahara

Central Africa

Angola • Burundi • Cameroon • Central African Republic • Chad • The Democratic Republic of the Congo • Equatorial Guinea • Gabon • Republic of the Congo • Rwanda • São Tomé and Príncipe

East Africa

Burundi • Comoros • Djibouti • Eritrea • Ethiopia • Kenya • Madagascar • Malawi • Mauritius • Mozambique • Rwanda • Seychelles • Somalia • Tanzania • Uganda • Zambia • Zimbabwe

Southern Africa

Botswana • Lesotho • Namibia • South Africa • Swaziland

Dependencies

Mayotte (France) • St. Helena (UK) • Puntland • Somaliland • Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic

Antarctica

None

Asia

Central Asia

Kazakhstan^[1] • Kyrgyzstan • Tajikistan • Turkmenistan • Uzbekistan

East Asia

China^[2]

Tibet

Hong Kong^[3] • Macau^[4]

Japan • North Korea • South Korea • Mongolia • Taiwan^[5]

North Asia

Russia^[6]

Southeast Asia^[7]

Brunei • Burma (Myanmar) • Cambodia^[8] • East Timor (Timor-Leste)^[9] • Indonesia^[10] • Laos • Malaysia • Philippines • Singapore • Thailand • Vietnam

South Asia

Afghanistan • Bangladesh • Bhutan • India^[11] • Iran • Maldives • Nepal • Pakistan • Sri Lanka

West Asia

Armenia^[12] • Azerbaijan^[13] • Bahrain • Cyprus^[14] (including disputed Northern Cyprus) • Georgia^[15] • Iraq • Israel • Jordan • Kuwait • Lebanon • Oman • Palestine ^[16]Qatar • Saudi Arabia • Syria • Turkey^[17] • United Arab Emirates • Yemen

Caucasus (a region considered to be in both Asia and Europe, or between them)

North Caucasus

Parts of Russia (Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Adyghea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachai-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai)

South Caucasus

Georgia (including disputed Abhkazia, South Ossetia) • Armenia • Azerbaijan (including disputed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic)

Europe

Akrotiri and Dhekelia • Åland • Albania • Andorra • Armenia • Austria • Azerbaijan • Belarus • Belgium • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Bulgaria • Croatia • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Faroe Islands • Finland • France • Georgia • Germany • Gibraltar • Greece • Guernsey • Hungary • Iceland • Ireland • Isle of Man • Italy • Jersey • Kazakhstan • Kosovo • Latvia • Liechtenstein • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Macedonia • Malta • Moldova (including disputed Transnistria) • Monaco • Montenegro • Netherlands • Norway • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Russia • San Marino • Serbia • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Svalbard • Sweden • Switzerland • Turkey • Ukraine

United Kingdom

England • Northern Ireland • Scotland • Wales

Vatican City

European Union

North America

Canada

Provinces of Canada: British Columbia • Saskatchewan

Greenland • Mexico • Saint Pierre and Miquelon

United States

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Montana • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming

District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.)

Central America

Belize • Costa Rica • El Salvador • Guatemala • Honduras • Nicaragua • Panama

Caribbean

Anguilla • Antigua and Barbuda • Aruba • Bahamas • Barbados • Bermuda • British Virgin Islands • Cayman Islands • Cuba • Dominica • Dominican Republic • Grenada • Haiti • Jamaica • Montserrat • Netherlands Antilles • Puerto Rico • Saint Barthélemy • Saint Kitts and Nevis • Saint Lucia • Saint Martin • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines • Trinidad and Tobago • Turks and Caicos Islands • United States Virgin Islands

Oceania (includes the continent of Australia)

Australasia^[18]

Australia

Dependencies/Territories of Australia

Christmas Island^[7] • Cocos (Keeling) Islands • Norfolk Island

New Zealand^[19]

Melanesia^[20]

Fiji • Indonesia (Oceanian part only)^[21] • New Caledonia (France) • Papua New Guinea^[22] • Solomon Islands • Vanuatu •

Micronesia

Federated States of Micronesia • Guam (USA) • Kiribati • Marshall Islands • Nauru • Northern Mariana Islands (USA) • Palau • Wake Island (USA) •

Polynesia^[23]

American Samoa (USA) • Chatham Islands (NZ) • Cook Islands (NZ) • Easter Island (Chile) • French Polynesia (France) • Hawaii (USA) • Loyalty Islands (France) • Niue (NZ) • Pitcairn Islands (UK) • Adamstown • Samoa • Tokelau (NZ) • Tonga • Tuvalu • Wallis and Futuna (France)

South America

Argentina • Bolivia • Brazil • Chile • Colombia • Ecuador • Falkland Islands • Guyana • Paraguay • Peru • Suriname • Uruguay • Venezuela

South Atlantic

Ascension Island • Saint Helena • Tristan da Cunha

Notes

^ Kazakhstan is sometimes considered a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe; population and area figures are for Asian portion only.
^ The state is commonly known as simply "China", which is subsumed by the eponymous entity and civilization (China).
^ Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the PRC.
^ Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the PRC.
^ Under the de facto control of the Republic of China (ROC) government, commonly referred to as Taiwan. Claimed in whole by the PRC; see political status of Taiwan.
^ Russia is a transcontinental country; population and area figures are for Asian portion only.
^ ^a ^b Excludes Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australian external territories in the Indian Ocean southwest of Indonesia).
^ General Population Census of Cambodia 2008 - Provisional population totals, National Institute of Statistics, Ministry of Planning, released 3rd September, 2008
^ East Timor is often considered a transcontinental country in Southeastern Asia and Oceania.
^ Indonesia is often considered a transcontinental country in Southeastern Asia and Oceania
^ Includes Jammu and Kashmir, a contested territory among India, Pakistan, and the PRC.
^ Armenia is sometimes considered a transcontinental country: physiographically in Western Asia, it has historical and sociopolitical connections with Europe.
^ Azerbaijan is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia and Eastern Europe; population and area figures are for Asian portion only. Figures include Nakhchivan, an autonomous exclave of Azerbaijan bordered by Armenia, Iran, and Turkey.
^ The island of Cyprus is sometimes considered a transcontinental territory: in the Eastern Basin of the Mediterranean Sea south of Turkey, it has historical and socio-political connections with Europe. The U.N. considers Cyprus to be in Western Asia, while the C.I.A. considers it to be in the Middle East.
^ Georgia is often considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia and Eastern Europe; population and area figures are for the Asian portion only.
^ Gaza and West Bank, collectively referred to as the "Occupied Palestinian Territory" by the UN, are territories partially occupied by Israel but under de facto administration of the Palestinian National Authority.
^ Turkey is generally considered a transcontinental country in Western Asia and Southern Europe; population and area figures are for Asian portion only, excluding all of Istanbul.
^ The use and scope of this term varies. The UN designation for this subregion is "Australia and New Zealand."
^ New Zealand is often considered part of Polynesia rather than Australasia.
^ Excludes parts of Indonesia, island territories in Southeast Asia (UN region) frequently reckoned in this region.
^ Indonesia is generally considered a territory of Southeastern Asia (UN region); wholly or partially, it is also frequently included in Australasia or Melanesia. Figures include Indonesian portion of New Guinea (Irian Jaya) and Maluku Islands.
^ Papua New Guinea is often considered part of Australasia as well as Melanesia.
^ Excludes the US state of Hawaii, which is distant from the North American landmass in the Pacific Ocean, and Easter Island, a territory of Chile in South America.