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Isabella Bird Bishop
British world traveler Isabella Bird Bishop circled the globe three times during her extensive travels, beginning in 1872. In 1892 she became the first woman elected to the Royal Geographic Society.
This European map of the world from 1649 shows a major misconception Europeans held about world geography. The map includes Terra Australis, a vast southern continent connected to the southern tip of South America and occupying most of the South Pacific Ocean. European theorists believed that a huge body of land had to exist in the southern hemisphere in order to balance the large continents found in the northern hemisphere. Expeditions in the 18th century, notably those of English explorer Captain James Cook, would prove that Terra Australis does not exist.
William Blaeu/PNI
Geography
The science of place, i.e., the study of the surface of the earth, the location and distribution of its physical and cultural features, the aerial patterns or places that they form, and the interrelation of these features as they affect humans.
History of Geographic Study
Evolution
Geography was first systematically studied by the ancient Greeks, who also developed a philosophy of geography; Thales of Miletus, Herodotus, Eratosthenes, Aristotle, Strabo, and Ptolemy made major contributions to geography. The Roman contribution to geography was in the exploration and mapping of previously unknown lands. Greek geographic learning was maintained and enhanced by the Arabs during the Middle Ages. Arab geographers, among whom Idrisi, Ibn Battutah, and Ibn Khaldun are prominent, traveled extensively for the purpose of increasing their knowledge of the world. The journeys of Marco Polo in the latter part of the Middle Ages began the revival of geographic interest outside the Muslim world.
With the Renaissance in Europe came the desire to explore unknown parts of the world that led to the voyages of exploration and to the great discoveries. However, it was mercantile interest rather than a genuine search for knowledge that spurred these endeavors. The 16th and 17th centuries reintroduced sound theoretical geography in the form of textbooks (the Geographia generalis of Bernhardus Varenius) and maps (Gerardus Mercator\'s world map). In the 18th century geography began to achieve recognition as a discipline and was taught for the first time at the university level. Modern Geography
The modern period of geography began toward the end of the 18th century with the works of Alexander von Humboldt and Karl Ritter. Thenceforth two principal methods of approach to geography can be distinguished: the systematic, following Humboldt, and the regional, following Ritter. Of the national schools of geography that developed, the German and the French schools were the most influential. The German school, which dealt mainly with physical geography, developed a scientific and analytical style of writing. The French school became known for its descriptive regional monographs presented in a lucid and flowing manner; human and historical geography were its forte. Although emphasis has shifted several times between the approaches and viewpoints, their interdependence is recognized by all geographers.
Since the end of World War II, geography, like other disciplines, has experienced the explosion of knowledge brought on by the new tools of modern technology for the acquisition and manipulation of data; these include aerial photography, remote sensors (including infrared and satellite photography), and the computer (for quantitative analysis and mapping). The quantitative method of geographical research has gained much ground since the 1950s, Edward Ullman and William Garrison of the United States and Peter Haggett of Great Britain being leading exponents.
Important contributions to the advancement of geography and to the development of geographic concepts have been made by Ferdinand von Richthofen, Albrecht Penck, Friedrich Ratzel, Alfred Hettner, Karl Haushofer, and Walter Christaller in Germany; Paul Vidal de la Blache, Jean Brunhes, Conrad Malte-Brun, Elise Reclus, and Emmanuel de Martonne in France; and William Morris Davis, Isaiah Bowman, Ellen Churchill Semple, Carl O. Sauer, Albert Brigham, and Richard Hartshorne in the United States. Today geography is studied by governmental agencies and in many of the world\'s universities. Research is stimulated by such noted geographic institutions as the Royal Geographical Society (1830, Great Britain), the American Geographical Society (1852, United States), and the Socit de Geographie (1821, France).
Methods and Branches
Geography is a synoptic science that uses the same elements as the other sciences but in a different context. It integrates data spatially, making elaborate use of maps as its special tool. Geography may be studied by way of several interrelated approaches, i.e., systematically, regionally, descriptively, and analytically. The systematic approach organizes geographical knowledge into individual categories that are studied on a worldwide basis; the regional approach integrates the results of the systematic method and studies the interrelationships of the different categories while focusing on a particular area of the earth; the descriptive approach depicts where geographical features and populations are located; the analytical approach seeks to find out why those features are located where they are.
In the study of geography two main branches may be distinguished, physical geography and human (or cultural) geography, originally anthropogeography. The first, based on the physical sciences, studies the world\'s surface, the distribution, delineation, and nature of its land and water areas. climate, landforms and soil are examined as to origin and are classified as to distribution. Drawing on the biological sciences, fauna and flora (biogeography) are brought into an areal pattern. Through the mathematical sciences the motion of the earth and its relationship to the sun (seasons), the moon (tides), and the planets are studied, as well as mapmaking and navigation.
Human geography places humans in their physical setting; it studies their relationship with that environment as well as their conscious activities and continuous progress in adapting themselves to it (and to other humans) and in transforming their environment to their needs. Human geography may in turn be subdivided into a number of fields, such as economic geography, political geography (with its 20th-century offshoot, geopolitics), social geography (including urban geography, another 20th-century ramification), environmental perception and management, geographical cartography, geographic information systems, and military geography. Historical geography (which reconstructs geographies of the past and attempts to trace the evolution of physical and cultural features) and urban and regional planning are sometimes considered branches of geography. See Nafis Ahmad, Muslim Contribution to Geography (rev. and enl. ed. 1965); J. O. Thomson, History of Ancient Geography (1965); J. O. Broeck, Compass of Geography (1966); G. H. Kimble, Geography in the Middle Ages (1938, repr. 1968); Eric Fischer et al., A Question of Place (2d ed. 1969); Rhoads Murphy, The Scope of Geography (1969); Richard Hartshorne, Perspectives on the Nature of Geography (1987); James H. Bird, The Changing Worlds of Geography (1989). Exploration
Travel to a part of the earth that is relatively unknown to the traveler\'s culture, historically often motivated by a desire for colonization, conquest, or trade. See R. I. Rotberg, Africa and Its Explorers (1970); J. H. Parry, Age of Reconnaissance: Discovery, Exploration, and Settlement, 1450-1650 (1970); S. E. Morison, The European Discovery of America: The Northern Voyages, a.d. 500-1600 (1971) and The European Discovery of America: The Southern Voyages, a.d. 1492-1616 (1974); K. R. Andrews, Trade, Plunder, and Settlement: Maritime Enterprise and the Genesis of the British Empire, 1480-1630 (1984); P. D. Curtin, Cross-Cultural Trade in World History (1984).
Early Exploration
Early Egyptian expeditions penetrated into Nubia and Mesopotamia; the Phoenicians and the Greeks explored the Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions earlier than 600 b.c. ; and a Phoenician expedition (c.600 b.c. ) is said to have sailed around Africa. After 500 b.c. the Carthaginians explored beyond the Strait of Gibraltar to trade along the coasts of Spain and Africa. A Greek navigator, Pytheas, probably sailed beyond Britain c.330 b.c. The conquests of Alexander the Great brought the West in closer relationship with the East, and the Roman legions extended the limits of geographical knowledge, especially in N Europe. Trade with the East was stimulated by the discovery ( a.d. c.15) of a sea captain, Hippalus, that by using monsoon winds it was possible to sail across the Indian Ocean instead of hugging the coast. Roman trade was early established with India and Sri Lanka and later ( a.d. c.100) with China.
After the dissolution of the Roman Empire, the Arabs expanded their relationships with the East. The Chinese also made many explorations in this period. One of the best-known Chinese travelers is Hsan-tsang, who traveled ( a.d. 629-646) to India and farther west. Exploration by Europeans was carried on during the Middle Ages by Norse adventurers and colonists who crossed the Atlantic to Iceland, Greenland, and North America. Their journeys, however, did not have much influence on the rest of Europe. European knowledge of Asia gained during the Crusades was extended by the journeys across Asia made by missionaries and by Marco Polo.
The European Age of Discovery
By about 1400 the breakup of the Mongol empire and the growth of the Ottoman Empire had blocked Europe\'s overland trade routes to the East. The search for new trade routes, the rise of merchant capitalism, and the desire to exploit the potential of a global economy initiated the European age of discovery. Henry the Navigator promoted voyages along the coast of Africa that helped dispel the superstition and misinformation that had impeded previous attempts to sail through the torrid zone. The extent of the globe was revealed by Bartholomew Diaz\'s rounding of the Cape of Good Hope (1486-87), Vasco da Gama\'s voyage to India (1497-98), Christopher Columbus\'s first voyage to America (1492), and the circumnavigation of the globe by the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan (1519-22). In the 16th cent. Spanish explorers, notably Vasco de Balboa, Hernn Corts, Francisco Pizarro, Cabeza de Vaca, Hernn De Soto, and Francisco de Coronado, explored large areas of the Americas. Much of the interior of North America was revealed in the 17th cent. by Samuel de Champlain, Sieur de La Salle, Louis Jolliet, Jacques Marquette, and other French explorers.
A Spanish and Portuguese monopoly of the new trade routes stimulated attempts to find other passages to the East, the Northeast Passage and the Northwest Passage and was soon challenged by English and Dutch voyages in the Pacific and Indian oceans. Most of the major islands of the Pacific and the coastline of Australia became known to Europeans through the voyages of Francis Drake, Abel Tasman, William Dampier, James Cook, Vitus Bering, George Vancouver, and others. European exploration of the interior of Australia took place in the mid-19th cent., and by the end of the century most of Africa had been explored by David Livingstone, H. M. Stanley, and Richard Burton.
European exploration and colonization frequently had disastrous results for the indigenous peoples. Diseases brought to the Americas and Australia by Europeans decimated the inhabitants, and European intervention in Africa expanded the already thriving slave trade. The aboriginal peoples often viewed the presence of explorers as an encroachment, inevitably leading to war, repression, and dislocation. Northeast Passage
Water route along the northern coast of Europe and Asia, between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Beginning in the 15th cent., efforts were made to find a new all-water route to India and China. Most of these attempts were directed at seeking a Northwest Passage. However, English, Dutch, and Russian navigators did try to seek a northeast route by sailing along the northern coast of Russia and far into the arctic seas. In the 1550s, English ships made the first attempt to find the passage. Willem Barentz, the Dutch navigator, made several futile voyages in the 1590s, as did Henry Hudson in the early 17th cent. The decline of Dutch shipping in the 1700s left the exploration mainly to the Russians; among the men sent out was Vitus Bering, who explored the eastern part of the passage. The Russian Great Northern Expedition (1733-43) explored most of the coast of N Siberia. The Northeast Passage was not, however, traversed by anyone until Nils A. E. Nordenskjld of Sweden accomplished the feat in 1878-79. In the early 1900s, icebreakers sailed through the passage, and in the 1930s the Northern Sea Route, a shipping lane, was established by the USSR. Since World War II the Soviet Union and more recently Russia has maintained a regular highway for shipping along this passage through the development of new ports and the exploitation of resources in the interior. A fleet of Russian icebreakers, aided by aerial reconnaissance and by radio weather stations, keeps the route navigable from June to October. The Northern Sea Route cuts the distance between Russian Atlantic and Pacific ports in half. Northwest Passage: The Search for a Passage
Sir Martin Frobisher, the English explorer, was the first European to explore (1576-78) the eastern approaches of the passage. John Davis also explored (1585-87) this area, and in 1610 Henry Hudson sailed north and visited Hudson Bay while seeking a short route to Asia. Soon afterward, William Baffin, an English explorer, visited (1616) Baffin Bay, through which the passage was finally found. English statesmen and merchants, anxious to have the passage found, encouraged exploration. Luke Fox and Thomas James made (1631-32) voyages into Hudson Bay.
Although one of the avowed goals of Hudson\'s Bay Company was to find the Northwest Passage, little was accomplished until a century after its charter, when Samuel Hearne, a British explorer with the company, went overland as far west as the Coppermine River (1771-72) and demonstrated that there was no short passage to the western sea. The British government offered prizes for achievements in northern exploration, and Captain James Cook was inspired to make the first attempt at navigating the passage from the west. He died before he could accomplish anything. The British, Spanish, and Americans, however, pushed explorations on the Pacific coast, and the explorations of the Russians about Kamchatka and Alaska, together with the voyages of Alexander Mackenzie, the Canadian explorer, and the expedition of the Americans Lewis and Clark, revealed the contours of the continental barrier.
Wars between Britain and France interrupted the search for the Northwest Passage, and when resumed after the wars the explorations were made in the interests of science, not commerce. The desire to extend human knowledge was the chief motive in arctic exploration after the expeditions of British explorers John Ross and David Buchan were sent out in 1818. Ross\'s later voyages, and those of Sir William Edward Parry, F. W. Beechey, Sir George Back, Thomas Simpson, and Sir John Franklin pushed forward the knowledge of arctic regions and of the Northwest Passage. The last tragic expedition of Franklin indirectly had more effect than any other voyage because of the many expeditions sent out to discover his fate. In his expedition (1850-54), Robert J. Le M. McClure penetrated the passage from the west along the northern coast of the continent and by a land expedition reached Viscount Melville Sound, which had been reached (1819-20) by Parry from the east.
The actual existence of the Northwest Passage had been proved, and the long search was over. It was many years, however, before a transit of the passage was made. This feat, which had been attempted by so many men, was first accomplished (1903-6) by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. Interest in the Northwest Passage slackened until the 1960s, when oil was discovered in N Alaska and there was a desire for a short water route to transport oil to the east coast of the United States.
The water routes through the Arctic Archipelago, N Canada, and along the northern coast of Alaska between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Even though the explorers of the 16th cent. demonstrated that the American continents were a true barrier to a short route to East Asia, there still remained hope that a natural passage would be found leading directly through the barrier. During the same period, the idea of reaching China and India by sailing over the North Pole or by sailing through a passage north of Europe and Asiathe Northeast Passagealso became popular. The Northwest Passage, however, remained the most important goal, and the search for the passage continued even though at that time such a route had no commercial value. Proof of the existence of the passage in the mid-1800s only revealed how difficult its transit would be, and it was not until the early 20th cent. that the first transit was accomplished. The first commercial ship to successfully transit the Northwest Passage was the SS Manhattan, an ice-breaking tanker, in 1969. In 1988 the United States and Canada addressed the question of arctic sovereignty, agreeing that U.S. icebreakers could cross arctic waters, but only after approval on a case-by-case basis. See R. J. McClure, The Discovery of the North-West Passage (1856, repr. 1969); Bern Keating, The Northwest Passage (1970); A. E. Day, Search for the Northwest Passage (1986); Franklyn Griffiths, ed., Politics of the Northwest Passage (1987).
Polar Explorations
In the late 19th and early 20th cent. the arctic regions were explored by Nils Nordenskjld, Roald Amundsen, Donald MacMillan, Richard Byrd, and others. In 1909, Robert E. Peary reached the North Pole. The continent of Antarctica was explored in the first half of the 20th cent. by William Bruce, Jean Charcot, Douglas Mawson, Ernest Shackleton, and others. The South Pole was reached first by Amundsen (Dec. 14, 1911) and almost immediately thereafter (Jan. 18, 1912) by Robert Scott. The airplane provided a new method of antarctic exploration, with George Wilkins and Richard E. Byrd as the pioneers. Since World War II there have been many well-equipped expeditions, most notably those during the International Geophysical Year (1957-58), to the Antarctic.
Bibliography
See Nafis Ahmad, Muslim Contribution to Geography (rev. and enl. ed. 1965); J. O. Thomson, History of Ancient Geography (1965); J. O. Broeck, Compass of Geography (1966); G. H. Kimble, Geography in the Middle Ages (1938, repr. 1968); Eric Fischer et al., A Question of Place (2d ed. 1969); Rhoads Murphy, The Scope of Geography (1969); Richard Hartshorne, Perspectives on the Nature of Geography (1987); James H. Bird, The Changing Worlds of Geography (1989).
Resources
3D Atlas Online - http://www.3datlas.com/
An online atlas containing information about countries of the world, downloads, map links, glossary, educator\'s area, and other resources of geographic interest.
Administrative Divisions of Countries - http://www.mindspring.com/~gwil/statoids.html
Worldwide reference for states, provinces, governorates, counties, districts, and other subdivisions of countries
Canadian Geographic Online - http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/
Online information about the geography of Canada.
CountryWatch.com:Website to The World - http://www.countrywatch.com
Country Information: including current political, historical, economic, environemental, demographic data.
Cyber-Geography Research - http://www.cybergeography.org/
An initiative to map cyberspace, this site contains a variety of pages dedicated to helping the viewing not only understand "cyber geography" but to visualize it as well.
E-Conflict World Encyclopedia - http://www.emulateme.com
Cultural information on each country in the world.
E-scapes - http://perseus.holycross.edu/e-scapes/
Electronic resources for the study of ancient landscapes.
Environmental Geography - Dr. James Hayes Bohanan - http://webhost.bridgew.edu/jhayesboh/
Geography of the environment, and the use of the web in higher education.
Footnotes to History - http://users.mcleodusa.net/j/jlerwin/index.htm
Subtitled "The nations you didn\'t learn about in high school geography," this site creates a "guide to ephemeral states, micronations, and secessionist states."
Geo-Globe Interactive Geography - http://library.advanced.org/10157/
Test your geographic knowledge on this online game and quiz site. Contains geographic web resources that allow you to explore world geography in greater detail.
Geographers.com - http://www.geographers.com
An international directory of geographers, searchable by name, research interests, or by major publications.
Geographic Learning Site - http://geography.state.gov/index.html
Geography site with maps, geographic news, country information, flags, geography facts, and more.
Geographic.org - http://www.geographic.org/
Learn about world geography, climate, countries, people, maps, flags and much more. Intended for elementary through junior high school students.
Geographical - http://www.geographical.co.uk
A site that explores the world. The online resource on travel for schools, professionals and enthusiasts alike.
Geography Links - http://www.uni.edu/geography/rwl.html
Web directory of general geography links provided by the University of Northern Iowa.
Geography Resource Center - http://www.colorado.edu/geography/virtdept/resources/contents.htm
Internet Resources for Geographers
Geography Resources on the Internet - http://ncgia.geog.buffalo.edu/GIAL/netgeog.html
An ever expanding list of links to geography resources on the Web.
Geography World - http://members.aol.com/bowermanb/101.html
A massive collection of links on all aspects of geography.
GIS and Mapping Links - http://www.index-site.com/gis.html
Links to Geography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Mapping sites on the internet. All links are verified every month.
Global Population Project - http://www.gazetteer.de/
Current population figures for cities, towns and regions of countries.
Global Statistics - http://www.xist.org
A collection of tables and graphs providing a statistical look at countries, their population, area, capital, main cities, etc.
Infoplease Political and Reference Atlas - http://www.infoplease.com/atlas
Infoplease Atlas has political maps of each region, country, and state with links to reference information.
Information Please: Geography Resource - http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001742.html
Geographic facts, lists, and statistics, including highest mountains, longest rivers, latitudes and longitudes, and explorations and expeditions.
Lookabout the World - http://www.lookabout.com.au/world/
A page of Links from every Country in the World
Map Quiz - Map and Geography Trivia - http://www.mapquiz.com
Map and Geography trivia game. Questions include countries, U.S. States, capitals and flags.
Mega Maps - Walk through the Continents - http://www.yourchildlearns.com/megamaps.htm
Free PC program to print out US or world maps of various sizes, up to 7 feet across, on an ordinary printer. Maps can be colored or used for educational projects.
Mr. Dowling\'s Electronic Passport - http://www.mrdowling.com/
An online geography class where students journey through time and space. Discover different people and cultures and further your study by following links.
National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) - http://164.214.2.59/nimahome.html
A combat support agency of the Department of Defense. Established by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency Act of 1996, NIMA has a global mission and unique responsibilities to manage and provide imagery and geospatial information to national policy makers and military forces.
NationbyNation: Reference on Countries of the Globe - http://www.nationbynation.com
History, geography, maps, economics, society as well as links and news feeds.
PlacesNamed.com - http://www.placesnamed.com/
Simple reference for United States place names.
Robert Cawley\'s Geography Portal - http://www.m8i.net
A resource for teachers and students of geography. Contains photographs of case studies, links, anthems, flags, and outline maps.
The Degree Confluence Project - http://www.confluence.org/
The Degree Confluence Project contains photographs of the intersections of integer latitude and longitude degree lines.
The Geography Exchange - http://www.zephryus.demon.co.uk/geography/topics.html
A combination of teaching resources, lessons and indexes of website links with an emphasis on physical geography.
The START Natural Language Question Answering System - http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/infolab/globe.html
A system designed to answer questions that are posed in natural language. The system is especially equipped to answer geography queries.
The Web of Culture - http://www.webofculture.com/
About cross-cultural communication. Also provides eneral geographic and social education on foreign nations and cultures, for preparation for visits from foreign countries.
Traveleye - http://www.traveleye.com/
General information from around the world.
US Census Bureau Geography - http://www.Census.gov/geo/www/index.html
Mapping products and services, as well as geography resources used to compile the US Census.
US State Department - Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty - http://www.state.gov/www/regions/dependencies.html
Listing of nations recognized by the US government.
US State Department - Independent States of the World - http://www.state.gov/www/regions/independent_states.html
Independent states with diplomatic relations with U.S. and member of UN. Country capitals, names, and more.
Where? - http://www.standard.net.au/~garyradley/WhereMenu.htm
An online geography games and quiz site.
World Gazetteer - http://www.world-gazetteer.com
Information about current population of countries, their administrative divisions, cities and towns as well as images of the current national flags.
World Geography by Regions - http://www.oranim.macam98.ac.il/geo/wregion.html
Internet resources for geography education.
World Wide Web Virtual Library - Geography - http://www.icomos.org/WWW_VL_Geography.html
Web directory of resources in Geography, including educational links.
Xpeditions @ nationalgeographic.com - http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/xpeditions/
Explore a virtual museum and a wealth of teaching resources.
Your own language and country - http://www.soon.org.uk/country/language.htm
Information and links about all countries: tourism, dictionaries, search engines, life and religion.
50states.com - Blank State Outline Maps - http://50states.com/maps/
Printable blank outline map of each US State. Capital and major cities marked.
About.com - Blank Outline Maps - http://geography.about.com/library/blank/blxindex.htm
Free blank outline maps for every country and U.S. state.
Barcelona Field Studies Centre - http://geographyfieldwork.com
Offers human and physical geography study programs in Spain to GCSE, A and IB levels. Fieldwork sites include Barcelona and the Catalan Natural Parks.
Discovery School - A-to-Z Geography Encyclopedia - http://school.discovery.com/homeworkhelp/worldbook/atozgeography/
Get help with your geography homework with geography Web links from DiscoverySchool.com and World Book Encyclopedia Online.
Earth Balloon by Whereabouts Inc. - http://www.whereaboutsinc.com
Our geography specialists can bring Earth Balloon to your site, an incredible 20\' inflatable globe in which whole groups of people can go inside and view the earth from the inside out.
How Far Is It? - http://www.indo.com/distance/
Pick two locations and find out how far apart they are and see them on a map.
Outline Maps - http://www.eduplace.com/ss/ssmaps/index.html
Collection of blank outline maps to print and use.
What is the Capital of ...? - http://www.what-is-the-capital-of.com
Lists all capital cities in the world. Learn the capitals by taking quizzes by continents.
2000 National Geographic Bee @ nationalgeographic.com - http://www.nationalgeographic.com/events/00/bee/
Ten of the nation\'s top geography students squared off against each other in a contest, vying for the top prize of a $25,000 college scholarship. This event was hosted by Jeopardy\'s Alex Trabek.
Alaska Native Studies Curriculum and Teacher Development - http://www.alaskool.org/
Resources and curriculum - history of Alaska Native education, ANCSA, reindeer herding, and Inupiaq language materials.
All Countries Profiles - Geography - http://www.geographic.org/countries/
Over 200 geographical entities in alphabetical sequence, with links to government, population, economy and other country facts.
Alternative A-level Geography - http://www.beach-home.freeserve.co.uk/
Free interactive guide and advice service, written and designed by an experienced teacher.
Ancient Roots and Modern Holidays - http://members.aol.com/Donnpages/Holidays.html
Backgrounds, lesson plans, and activities centered around world holidays.
Borderless World: Geography and the Internet - http://library.advanced.org/27384/
Interactive site fosters creative intercultural student communication via the Internet.
Canadian Geographic - http://www.cangeo.ca/
Online version of the popular magazine.
China: Dim Sum - http://www.newton.mec.edu/Angier/DimSum/chinadimsumaconnection.html
A cross curricular thematic unit for learning the basic skills while studying about China
E-Conflict World Encyclopedia - http://www.emulateme.com
Cultural information on each country in the world.
Electronic Resources for Geography - http://faculty.acu.edu/~armstrongl/geography/geog.htm
Massive collection of links to geography resources for K-college.
European Geography Tutor - http://www.familygames.com/free/egt.html
A Windows freeware program that helps students learn the names and locations of the countries of Europe. It includes a study mode and two types of quizzes.
Family Geography Challenge - http://www.nationalgeographic.com/challenge
Educational program joining parents and teachers together to teach children about geography using current events, news resources, and materials from the National Geographic Society.
Gary\'s Geographical Gnome - http://www.jgds.com/gnome/
Developed to aid persons interested in and/or researching topics related to geography, earth science and environmental studies. Aimed at students and teachers from both the university and high school levels.
Geographic Information Systems - GIS - http://www.usgs.gov/research/gis/title.html
This site give a brief overview of how a GIS is used, some of the theory behind GIS operations, as well as a discussion of the various application areas of a GIS.
Geography - New England States - http://members.aol.com:/andlym90/graphics/index.html
Facts and figures covering the six New England states with an interactive geo-quiz.
Geography at About.Com - http://geography.about.com/
Includes articles, annotated links, quizzes, bulletin board, and chat room.
Geography at Formby High School - http://members.tripod.com/fhsgeography/
Home page for the Geography Department. Includes class information and geography links for students.
Geography USA: A Virtual Textbook - http://www.for.nau.edu/~alew/ustxtwlc.html
An entire U.S. geography textbook with hot-links to related web pages and graphics. By Alan A. Law.
GeoNet - Geographical Resources - http://www.bennett.karoo.net/
Includes downloadable teacher resources, Key Stage 3 and GCSE helps, case studies, and links.
GeoNetGame - http://www.eduplace.com/geo/indexhi.html
Online geography game for students grades 4 and above; includes teachers\' guide.
GeoResources - http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~drayner/index.htm
Aims to provide a wide range of catalogued and tested links for Geography students at Keystage 3, GCSE and \'A\' Level. It also has a new Virtual Fieldwork section.
Hammana Municipality - http://www.hammanavillage.org/
A "typical Lebanese village."
Hindu History - http://sudheerb.tripod.com
A non-profit, illustrated portal site on all aspects of Hindu culture and history. It runs into 71 web pages and has 350 fast down-loading graphics.
Interactive Ancient Mediterranean - http://iam.classics.unc.edu/
An on-line atlas of the ancient Mediterranean world designed to serve the needs and interests of students and teachers in high school and beyond. Includes downloadable maps in PDF format, detailed articles about ancient places, and a variety of helpful resources for students and teachers.
Let's Study Ancient Egypt - http://www.lessontutor.com/belm17.html
Multi-sensory lesson plans for studying the geography, culture, pharaohs, pyramids, and religions of ancient Egypt. Build your own pyramid! Links and additional resources included.
Mark Rutherford School Geography Department - http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~dtester/
Includes GCSE/A level links and material, online trivia and quizzes, photo gallery and information about the department.
Middle East Map Puzzle - http://www.yourchildlearns.com/puzzle_mea.htm
A free map puzzle download for learning the locations of the countries and capitals of the Middle East.
Mr. Sapp\'s Geography Homepage - http://www.geocities.com/Athens/3144/
Geography links and lessons plans for students and teachers.
Native American Technology and Art - http://www.nativetech.org/
Focuses on the Native American tribes of the Eastern Woodlands and their use of assorted natural materials. Includes essays and articles on western and eastern tribal customs and activities.
New Jersey Geographic Alliance: K-12 Resources - http://www.eirc.org/alliance.html#anchor142472
A grassroots network of K-12 teachers and educators working to enhance the teaching of geography. Exciting links to websites with resources for geography teachers.
Owl and Mouse Educational Software: Maps that Teach - http://www.yourchildlearns.com/geography.htm
Learn US and world geography with interactive maps.
Oxfam\'s Cool Planet for Kids & Teachers - http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet
Oxfam\'s Kids\' and education site - information and resources on countries where Oxfam works, to encourage global citizenship
Poland in the Classroom - http://wings.buffalo.edu/info-poland/classroom/index.html
Extensive learning materials and information on Polish history, culture, important figures and legends. Useful for both educators and individuals researching Poland.
Quia! Class Page - http://www.quia.com/pages/all.html
Large collection of online games and activities created by a teacher for geography studies.
Standard Grade Geography - http://www.scalloway.org.uk
An online, interactive resource for studying the Scottish exam - Standard Grade Geography.
State Capital Memory Aids - http://members.home.net/unknownprogrammer/states/
Cartoon memory tips for learning the U.S. state capitals.
State Names - http://tqjunior.advanced.org/4626/states.htm
Explores the origins of U.S. state names.
State Unit Studies - http://homeschooling.about.com/library/blstateunit.htm
Help children learn the geography of the United States and learn factual information about every state. Complete the units and create a United States notebook.
The Internet Geographer - http://www.internetgeographer.co.uk/
An on-line directory with hyperlinks to sites useful for studying geography. Brief summaries and star ratings guide users to valuable information.
The National Center for Geographic Information Analysis Core Curriculm - http://www.geog.ubc.ca/courses/klink/gis.notes/ncgia/toc.html
A guideline for a university level course in GIS. Introduces the reader to GIS, then teaches GIS theory and concepts.
The Treasures of China - http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/treaschina.html
An internet-based treasure hunt on China.
Three Feathers Native Connection - http://www.threefeathers.com
A connection to Native American on the WWW. Features The Storyteller, A Virtual Journey, A Walk Through Native American Online, Gateway to Indian Country and Featured Books at threefeathers.com
U.S. Department of Education - http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/Geography/index.html
A plethora of links to sites on how to help your child learn geography.
Welcome to Geography - http://www.geography.ndo.co.uk/
Educational links, activities, and examples of student\'s work
British Columbia Geographical Names - http://www.gdbc.gov.bc.ca/bcnames/
BC\'s geographical naming principles & policy; how to propose a geographical name; access to the BC Geographical Names Information System (BCGNIS); links to BC-history/related sites and to toponymy sites.
Etymologies of country names - http://www1.tip.nl/~t100878/altname.htm
GeoNative - http://www.geocities.com/Athens/9479/
"Put minority languages on the map!": Comprehensive lists of minority place names from all over the world from native peoples, nations without state and language minorities (in Basque and English).
Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names - http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/tgn/index.html
Compiled by the Getty Research Institue, TGN is a structured vocabulary developed primarily for the field of art history, but can be used in any in many other applications. The thesaurus contains nearly 1 million place names representing approximately 900,000 places.
GNS: GEOnet Names Server - http://164.214.2.59/gns/html/
Global searchable database set up by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), US. Foreign place names as approved by the US Board of Geographic Names, other name variants. Approx. 3.3 million entries
Place Names Servers on the Internet - http://www.asu.edu/lib/hayden/govdocs/maps/geogname.htm
A collection of links by Arizona State University.
PlaceNames.com - http://www.placenames.com
Worldwide index of place names. A collection of links.
Planetary System Nomenclature - http://wwwflag.wr.usgs.gov/USGSFlag/Space/nomen/nomen.html
Naming places outside Planet Earth, by the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGSPN) of the International Astronomical Union
The Global Gazetteer - http://www.knowledge.co.uk/geodata/
Commercial gazetteer with about 2.5 million names with additional geographic and demographic data. A product designed by Knowledge Computing co. (UK) for ALLM Systems & Marketing England (UK).
The Global Gazetteer - http://www.allm-geodata.com
3.5 million place names in a commercial gazetteer (not to be consulted online, but to be purchased). Latitude/longitude, population, postcodes, administrative areas. Also some 40,000 ports and airports. Developed by ALLM Systems & Marketing.
UNGEGN - http://GeoNames.NRCan.GC.CA/english/unindex.html
United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names. Located on the pages of the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names, contains numerous information and also UN resolutions on the issue of place names.
World Gazetteer by ESRI - http://maps.esri.com/scripts/esrimap.dll?name=gaz_avd&cmd=start
Enter a city, country or river name for which to search. ESRI stands for Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.
Worldwide Directory of Cities and Towns - http://www.calle.com/world/index.html
Longitude, latitude and altitude of more than 2,800,000 towns and cities, sorted by country and then alphabetically.
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