This category is within the scope of WikiProject Geography, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of
geography on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join
the discussion and see a list of open tasks.GeographyWikipedia:WikiProject GeographyTemplate:WikiProject Geographygeography articles
As you can all see I added the portal. Do you think this is a good idea? I quite like it, with the warning at the top, makes the page more interesting. Otherwise it's just a bunch of topics with a definition of geography at the top. Obviously it still needs quite a bit of work and we can learn from all the other portals. I recommend that we scout around and find the best features of others and then try to copy them in improving the portal. --
komencanto08:26, 14 July 2005 (UTC)reply
This looks good, and is an excellent use of the Category pages and a way to be more informative for people linking from the front page.
dml11:46, 16 July 2005 (UTC)reply
Tobias, try hitting the <End> key on the number pad of the keyboard to quickly scroll to the bottom of the cat page. Then hit the up arrow on the keyboard to see more articles and cats.
Ancheta Wis09:24, 18 September 2005 (UTC)reply
I was just about to add a link to the geography portal and the commons and also clean up the page a bit but I can't because this page is locked. It's the only category page that is locked! What's with that? Can you at least give me a pass to make some changes? Thanks. --
komencanto00:38, 13 July 2005 (UTC)reply
Commons
Commons has images in this category.
HenkvD 18:27, 7 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Question about Image
It is unclear why there is an image of Delhi at the bottom of this page. The global image at the top represents the category well but the Delhi image seems out of place. There are no links to Delhi on the page. In addition to being a narrow slice of the geography topic, its position at the bottom of the page is also odd.
Geography (from
Ancient Greekγεωγραφίαgeōgraphía; combining gê 'Earth' and gráphō 'write') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of
Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding of Earth and
its human and natural complexities—not merely where objects are, but also how they have changed and come to be. While geography is specific to Earth, many
concepts can be applied more broadly to other
celestial bodies in the field of
planetary science. Geography has been called "a bridge between
natural science and
social science disciplines."
Origins of many of the concepts in geography can be traced to Greek
Eratosthenes of Cyrene, who may have coined the term "geographia" (
c. 276 BC – c. 195/194 BC). The first recorded use of the word
γεωγραφία was as the title of a book by Greek scholar
Claudius Ptolemy (100 – 170 AD). This work created the so-called "Ptolemaic tradition" of geography, which included "Ptolemaic cartographic theory." However, the concepts of geography (such as
cartography) date back to the earliest attempts to understand the world spatially, with the earliest example of an attempted world map dating to the 9th century BCE in ancient
Babylon. The
history of geography as a discipline spans cultures and millennia, being independently developed by multiple groups, and cross-pollinated by trade between these groups. The core concepts of geography consistent between all approaches are a focus on space, place, time, and scale.
Today, geography is an extremely broad discipline with multiple approaches and modalities. There have been multiple attempts to organize the discipline, including the four traditions of geography, and into branches. Techniques employed can generally be broken down into
quantitative and
qualitative approaches, with many studies taking
mixed-methods approaches. Common techniques include
cartography,
remote sensing,
interviews, and
surveying. (Full article...)
Yellowstone National Park is a
national park located in the U.S. states of
Wyoming,
Montana, and
Idaho. Yellowstone, widely held to be the first national park in the world, was established in 1872 by the United States Congress and is known for its wildlife and its many
geothermal features, especially
Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular features in the park. It has many types of
ecosystems, but the
subalpine forest is dominant. Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468.4 square miles (8,983 km2), comprising lakes, canyons, rivers, and
mountain ranges.
Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America and is centered over the
Yellowstone Caldera, the largest
supervolcano on the continent. The
caldera is considered an active volcano. It has erupted with tremendous force several times in the last two million years. Half of the world's geothermal features are in Yellowstone, fueled by this ongoing volcanism. Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been documented, including several that are either
endangered or
threatened. The vast forests and grasslands also include unique species of plants. Yellowstone Park is the largest and most famous
megafauna location in the continental United States.
Lake Burley Griffin is a
lake in the centre of
Canberra,
Australia'sfederalcapital city. It was created in 1963 after the
Molonglo River, which runs through the
city centre, was
dammed. Named after
Walter Burley Griffin, the
architect who won the design competition for the city of Canberra, the lake is located in the approximate geographic centre of the city, according to Griffin's original designs. Numerous important institutions, such as the
National Gallery of Australia,
National Museum of Australia,
National Library of Australia, and the
High Court of Australia lie on its shores, and
Parliament House is a short distance away. Its surrounds are also quite popular with recreational users, particularly in the warmer months. Though swimming in the lake is uncommon, it is used for a wide variety of other activities, such as
rowing,
fishing, and
sailing. The lake's flow is regulated by the 33 metre tall Scrivener Dam, which is designed to handle a once in 5000 year flood event, and in times of drought, water levels can be maintained through the release of water from
Googong Dam. The lake is an ornamental body with a length of 11 kilometres (6.8 mi); at its widest, it measures 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi). It has an average depth of 4 metres (13 ft) and a maximum depth of about 18 metres (59 ft) near the
Scrivener Dam.
Zion National Park is a national park located in the
Southwestern United States, near
Springdale, Utah. In 1909, President
William Howard Taft named the area a National Monument to protect the canyon, under the name of Mukuntuweap National Monument, and in 1918 the park's name was changed to Zion. A prominent feature of the 229-square-mile (590 km2) park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles (24 km) long and up to half a mile (800 m) deep, cut through the reddish and tan-colored
Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the
Virgin River. The lowest elevation is 3,666 ft (1,117 m) at Coalpits Wash and the highest elevation is 8,726 ft (2,660 m) at Horse Ranch Mountain. Located at the junction of the
Colorado Plateau,
Great Basin, and
Mojave Desert regions, the park's unique
geography and variety of
life zones allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals (including 19 species of
bat), and 32 reptiles inhabit the park's four life zones:
desert,
riparian,
woodland, and
coniferous forest. Human habitation of the area started about 8,000 years ago with small family groups of
Native Americans. The park includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas,
monoliths, rivers,
slot canyons, and
natural arches.
Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta, is the
capital of the Indian state of
West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the
Hooghly river, it is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre of
East India. The
Port of Kolkata is India's oldest operating port as well as its sole major riverine port. As of 2011, the city had 4.5 million residents; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 14.1 million, making it the
third-most populous metropolitan area in India. In the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Kolkata were ruled by the
Nawab of Bengal under
Mughalsuzerainty. After the Nawab granted the
East India Company a trading license in 1690, the area was developed by the Company into an increasingly fortified mercantile base. Under East India Company and later under the
British Raj, Kolkata served as the capital of India until 1911, when its perceived geographical disadvantages, combined with growing nationalism in
Bengal, led to a shift of the capital to
New Delhi. Following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkata—which was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics—witnessed several decades of relative economic stagnation. Since the early 2000s, it has undergone an economic
rejuvenation.
Dawson Creek is a small city in northeastern
British Columbia,
Canada. It covers an area of 20.66 square kilometres (7.98 sq mi)* in the dry and windy prairie land of the
Peace River Country. The city is in the British Columbia Peace Lowland ecosection of the
Canadian Boreal Plainsecozone on the continental
Interior Platform. Located in the Cordillera Climatic Region, it lies at the southern end of a
subarctic climate. The 1941 census, the first to include Dawson Creek as a defined subdivision, counted 518 residents. In 2011 the city had a population of 11,583. Growth slowed in the 1960s, with the population reaching its all-time high in 1966, although since 1992 the city has grown and undergone several boundary expansions. Dubbed "The Capital of the Peace", it is a service centre for the rural areas south of the
Peace River and the seat of the
Peace River Regional District. Once a small farming community, Dawson Creek became a regional centre when the western terminus of the
Northern Alberta Railways was extended there in 1932. The community grew rapidly in 1942 as the US Army used the rail terminus as a
transshipment point during construction of the
Alaska Highway. In the 1950s the city was connected to the interior of British Columbia via a highway and railway through the
Rocky Mountains.
Global warming is the increase in the
average temperature of the
Earth's atmosphere and
oceans that has been observed in recent decades. The
scientific opinion on climate change is that much of the recent change may be
attributed to human activities.
Carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases released by the burning of
fossil fuels, land clearing,
agriculture, among other human activities, are the primary sources of the human-induced component of warming. Observational
sensitivity studies and
climate models referenced by the
IPCC predict that global temperatures may increase by between 1.4 and 5.8 °C between 1990 and 2100. An increase in global temperatures can in turn cause other changes, including rises in
sea level and changes in the amount and pattern of
precipitation. These changes may increase the frequency and intensity of extreme
weather events, such as
tropical cyclones or
floods. There are a few scientists who contest the view about attribution of recent warming to human activity. Uncertainties exist regarding how much climate change should be expected in the future, and there is a hotly contested political and public debate over attempts to
reduce or reverse future warming, and how to
cope with possible consequences.
Banff National Park,
Canada's oldest
national park, was established in 1885 in the
Canadian Rockies. The park, located 120 kilometres (80 mi) west of
Calgary in the province of
Alberta, encompasses 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 sq mi) of mountainous terrain, with numerous
glaciers and
ice fields, dense
coniferous forest, and alpine landscapes. The
Icefields Parkway extends from
Lake Louise, connecting to
Jasper National Park in the north. The main commercial centre of the park is the town of
Banff, in the
Bow River valley. The
Canadian Pacific Railway was instrumental in Banff's early years, building the
Banff Springs Hotel and
Chateau Lake Louise, and attracting tourists through extensive advertising. In the early 20th century, roads were built in Banff, at times by war internees, and through
Great Depression-era public works projects. Since the 1960s, park accommodations have been open all year, with annual tourism visits to Banff increasing to over 5 million in the 1990s. Millions more pass through the park on the
Trans-Canada Highway. The health of the park's ecosystem has been threatened by heavy visitation. In the mid-1990s
Parks Canada responded by initiating a two-year study thath resulted in management recommendations and new policies that aim to preserve ecological integrity.
Minneapolis, nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City", is the
county seat of
Hennepin County and the largest city in the state. Its name is attributed to the city's first schoolteacher, who combined mni, a
Dakota Sioux word for water, and polis, the Greek word for city. As of the 2010 Census, the population of the city of Minneapolis is 382,578, making it the
48th largest in the United States. Minneapolis lies on both banks of the
Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the
Minnesota River, and adjoins
Saint Paul, the state's capital. The two cities are known as the Twin Cities, and comprise the country's
16th-largest metropolitan area. Minneapolis is abundantly rich in water, with over twenty lakes and wetlands, the Mississippi river, creeks, and waterfalls, many of which are connected by parkways in the
Chain of Lakes and the
Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway. Among cities of similar densities, Minneapolis has the most dedicated parkland. It was once the world's flour
milling capital and a hub for timber, and today is the primary business center between
Chicago and
Seattle, with Minneapolis proper containing the fifth highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies. The
Minneapolis metropolitan area is the second largest economic center in the
Midwest, behind Chicago.
Mount Tambora is an active
stratovolcano on
Sumbawa island,
Indonesia. Sumbawa is flanked both to the north and south by
oceanic crust and Tambora was formed by the active
subduction zones beneath it. This process raised Mount Tambora as high as 4,300 m (14,000 ft), making it one of the tallest peaks in the Indonesian archipelago, and drained off a large
magma chamber inside the mountain. In
1815, Tambora erupted with a rating of seven on the
volcanic explosivity index; the largest eruption since the
Lake Taupō eruption in
AD 181. With an estimated ejecta volume of 160 km3 (38 cu mi), Tambora's 1815 outburst was the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history. Heavy
volcanic ash falls were observed as far away as
Borneo,
Sulawesi,
Java and
Maluku islands. Most deaths from the eruption were from starvation and disease, as the eruptive fallout ruined the local agriculture. The death toll was at least 71,000 people, of whom 11,000–12,000 were killed directly by the eruption. The eruption created global climate anomalies in the following years.
1816 became known as the Year Without a Summer because of the impact on North American and European weather. During an
excavation in 2004, a team of archaeologists discovered a civilization obliterated by the 1815 eruption, known as the "
Pompeii of the East".
Quneitra (also known as Al Qunaytirah, Qunaitira, or Kuneitra) is the largely destroyed and abandoned
capital of the
Quneitra Governorate in south-western
Syria. It is situated in a high valley in the
Golan Heights at an elevation of 1,010 metres (3,313 feet) above sea level. Quneitra was founded in the
Ottoman era as a way station on the caravan route to
Damascus and subsequently became a garrison town of some 20,000 people, strategically located near the ceasefire line with
Israel. Its name is Arabic for "the little bridge". On 10 June 1967, the last day of the
Six-Day War, Quneitra came under Israeli control. It was briefly recaptured by Syria during the 1973
Yom Kippur War, but Israel regained control in its subsequent counter-offensive. The city was almost completely destroyed before the Israeli withdrawal in June 1974. It now lies in the demilitarized
United Nations Disengagement Observer Force Zone between Syria and Israel, a short distance from the de facto border between the two countries, and is populated by only a handful of families. Syria refused to rebuild the city and actively discourages resettlement in the area. Israel was heavily criticized by the
United Nations for the city's destruction, while Israel has also criticized Syria for not rebuilding Quneitra.
Karnataka is a
state in
South India. It was
created on 1 November 1956 with the passage of the
States Reorganisation Act, and this day is annually celebrated as
Karnataka Rajyotsava (Formation Day). Originally known as the State of Mysore, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973. It is the land of the
Kannadiga,
Tuluva,
Konkani, and
Kodava peoples. With over 61 million inhabitants as of 2011, Karnataka is the
ninth largest state by population in India.
Kannada is the most widely spoken and official language of the state. The two main river systems of the state are
Krishna and its tributaries (
Bhima,
Ghataprabha,
Vedavati,
Malaprabha, and
Tungabhadra) in the north, and the
Cauvery and its tributaries (Hemavati, Shimsha, Arkavathi, Lakshmana Thirtha and Kabini) in the south. Both these rivers flow eastward and fall into the
Bay of Bengal. With an antiquity that dates to the
paleolithic, Karnataka has also been home to some of the most powerful
empires of ancient and medieval India. The philosophers and musical bards patronised by these empires launched socio-religious and literary movements which have endured to the present day. Karnataka has contributed significantly to both the
Carnatic and
Hindustani forms of Indian classical music.
Surtsey (
Icelandic, meaning "
Surtr's island") is a
volcanic island off the southern coast of
Iceland. At 63°18′11″N20°36′17″W / 63.303°N 20.6047°W / 63.303; -20.6047 Surtsey is the
southernmost point of Iceland. It was formed in a
volcanic eruption which began 130 metres (426 ft) below sea level, and reached the surface on 15 November 1963. The eruption lasted until 5 June 1967, when the island reached its maximum size of 2.7 km2 (1.0 sq mi). Since then, wind and wave erosion have caused the island to steadily diminish in size: as of 2002, its surface area was 1.4 km2 (0.54 sq mi). The new island was named after Surtr, a fire jötunn or giant from
Norse mythology. It was intensively studied by
volcanologists during its eruption, and afterwards by
botanists and
biologists as life forms gradually colonised the originally barren island. The undersea vents that produced Surtsey are part of the Vestmannaeyjar (Westmann Isles) submarine volcanic system, part of the fissure of the sea floor called the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Vestmannaeyjar also produced the famous eruption of Eldfell on the island of
Heimaey in 1973. The eruption that created Surtsey also created a few other small islands along this volcanic chain, such as Jólnir and other, unnamed peaks. Most of these eroded away fairly quickly.
The geography and ecology of the Everglades involve the complex elements affecting the natural environment throughout the southern region of the U.S. state of
Florida.
Before drainage, the
Everglades was an interwoven mesh of
marshes and
prairies covering 4,000 square miles (10,000 km2). The Everglades is simultaneously a vast
watershed that has historically extended from
Lake Okeechobee 100 miles (160 km) south to
Florida Bay (around one-third of the southern Florida peninsula), and many interconnected ecosystems within a geographic boundary. It is such a unique meeting of water, land, and climate that the use of either singular or plural to refer to the Everglades is appropriate. When
Marjory Stoneman Douglas wrote her definitive description of the region in 1947, she used the metaphor "River of Grass" to explain the blending of water and plant life. Although
sawgrass and
sloughs are the enduring geographical icons of the Everglades, other ecosystems are just as vital, and the borders marking them are subtle or nonexistent. Pinelands and tropical hardwood
hammocks are located throughout the sloughs; the trees, rooted in soil inches above the
peat,
marl, or water, support a variety of wildlife. The oldest and tallest trees are
cypresses, whose roots are specially adapted to grow underwater for months at a time. The Big Cypress Swamp is well known for its 500-year-old cypresses, though cypress domes can appear throughout the Everglades. As the fresh water from Lake Okeechobee makes its way to Florida Bay, it meets salt water from the
Gulf of Mexico;
mangrove forests grow in this transitional zone, providing nursery and nesting conditions for many species of birds, fish, and invertebrates. The marine environment of Florida Bay is also considered part of the Everglades because its sea grasses and aquatic life are attracted to the constant discharge of fresh water.
Mauna Loa is an
activeshield volcano in the
Hawaiian Islands, one of five
volcanoes that form the
Island of Hawaii. Mauna Loa is Earth's largest volcano, with a volume estimated at approximately 18,000
cubic miles (75,000
km³), although its peak is about 36
m (120
ft) lower than that of its neighbor,
Mauna Kea. Lava eruptions from Mauna Loa are very fluid and the volcano has extremely shallow slopes as a result. The volcano has probably been erupting for at least 700,000 years and may have emerged from the sea about 400,000 years ago. Its
magma comes from a
hotspot in the Earth's
mantle far beneath the island that has been responsible for the creation of the
Hawaiian Islands chain for tens of million of years. The slow drift of the
Pacific Plate will eventually carry the volcano away from the hotspot, and the volcano will thus become extinct within 500,000 to one million years from now. The first recorded summiting of Mauna Loa was in
1794 by naturalist
Archibald Menzies, then-Lieutenant
Joseph Baker, and two others. Mauna Loa's most recent eruption occurred from March 24, 1984 to April 15, 1984. In view of the hazards it poses to population centers, Mauna Loa is part of the
Decade Volcanoes program, which encourages studies of the most dangerous volcanoes. Mauna Loa has been intensively monitored by the
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) since 1912. Observations of the
atmosphere are undertaken at the
Mauna Loa Observatory, and of the
Sun at the
Mauna Loa Solar Observatory, both located near its summit.
Petrified Forest National Park is a
United States national park in
Navajo and
Apache counties in northeastern
Arizona. The park's headquarters is about 26 miles (42 km) east of
Holbrook along
Interstate 40 (I-40), which parallels the
BNSF Railway's
Southern Transcon, the
Puerco River, and historic
U.S. Route 66, all crossing the park roughly east–west. Named for its large deposits of
petrified wood, the park covers about 146 square miles (380 km2), encompassing semi-desert shrub
steppe as well as highly eroded and colorful
badlands. The site, the northern part of which extends into the
Painted Desert, was declared a
national monument in 1906 and a national park in 1962. About 600,000 people visit the park each year and take part in activities including sightseeing, photography, hiking, and
backpacking. The park's earliest human inhabitants arrived at least 8,000 years ago. By about 2,000 years ago, they were growing corn in the area and shortly thereafter building
pit houses in what would become the park. Later inhabitants built above-ground dwellings called
pueblos. Although a changing climate caused the last of the park's pueblos to be abandoned by about 1400 CE, more than 600
archeological sites, including
petroglyphs, have been discovered in the park. In the 16th century, Spanish explorers visited the area, and by the mid-19th century a U.S. team had surveyed an east–west route through the area where the park is now located and noted the petrified wood. Later roads and a railway followed similar routes and gave rise to tourism and, before the park was protected, to large-scale removal of fossils. Theft of petrified wood remains a problem in the 21st century.
Alanya is a seaside resort city and district of
Antalya Province in the
Mediterranean region of Turkey, 120 km (75 miles) from the city of
Antalya. The municipal district, which includes the city center, has close to 400,000 inhabitants. The population is almost entirely of
Anatolian origin, but is home to almost 10,000
European residents, with a growing presence in the city and its economy. Because of its natural strategic position on a small peninsula into the
Mediterranean Sea below the
Taurus Mountains, Alanya has been a local stronghold for many
Mediterranean-based empires, including the
Ptolemaic,
Roman,
Byzantine, and
Ottoman Empires. Alanya's greatest political importance came in the
Middle Ages with the
Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm under the rule of
Alaeddin Keykubad I, from whom the city derives its name. His building campaign resulted in many of the city's landmarks, such as the
Kızıl Kule (Red Tower), Tersane (Shipyard), and
Alanya Castle. The relatively moderate
Mediterranean climate, natural attractions, and historic heritage makes Alanya a popular destination for tourism. Tourism has risen since 1958 to become the dominant industry in the city, resulting in a corresponding increase in city population.
Amchitka, a volcanic,
tectonically unstable island, is a part of the
Rat Islands group of the
Aleutian Islands located in southwest
Alaska. It is about 68 kilometres (42 miles) long, and ranges from 3 to 6 km (2–3.75 mi) in width. Courtesy of its maritime climate, it is particularly susceptible to storms, and is mostly shrouded with overcast skies. The island was inhabited for more than 2,500 years by the
Aleut people, but has had no permanent population since 1832. It was included in the
Alaska Purchase of 1867, and since then has been part of the
United States. During
World War II, it was used as an airfield by US forces in the
Battle of the Aleutian Islands.
Bath is a
city in south-west
England, most famous for its baths fed by three
hot springs. The city was first recorded as a
Romanspa, though tradition suggests an earlier foundation. The waters from its spring were considered to be a cure for many afflictions. From
Elizabethan to
Georgian times it was a resort city for the wealthy. As a result of its popularity during the latter period, the city contains many fine examples of
Georgian architecture, particularly
The Royal Crescent. The city has a population of over 90,000 and is a
World Heritage Site.
Belarus is a
landlocked country in
Eastern Europe. Its capital is
Minsk; other major cities include
Brest,
Grodno (Hrodna),
Gomel (Homiel),
Mogilev (Mahilyow) and
Vitebsk (Viciebsk). Forty percent of its 207,600 km2 (80,200 sq mi) is forested, and its strongest economic sectors are
agriculture and
manufacturing. Until the 20th century, the lands of modern day Belarus belonged to several countries. The parliament of the republic declared the
sovereignty of Belarus on 27 July 1990, and following the
collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus declared
independence on 25 August 1991.
Alexander Lukashenko has been the country's president since 1994. Under his lead and despite objections from Western governments, Soviet-era policies, such as state ownership of the economy, have been implemented. Most of Belarus's population of 9.85 million reside in the urban areas surrounding Minsk and other
voblast (regional) capitals. More than 80% of the population are ethnic
Belarusians, with sizable minorities of Russians,
Poles and
Ukrainians. Since a controversial
1995 referendum,
Russian has been an official language alongside
Belarusian.
Belgrade is the
capital and largest city of
Serbia. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe, first emerging as prehistoric
Vinča in
4800 BC. It was settled in the
3rd century BC by the
Celts, before becoming the
Roman settlement of
Singidunum. It first became the capital of
Serbia in
1403, and was the capital of various
South Slav states from
1918 until
2003, as well as
Serbia and Montenegro from
2003 until
2006. The city lies at the confluence of the
Sava and
Danube Rivers in north central Serbia, where the
Pannonian Plain meets the
Balkan Peninsula. The population of Belgrade, according to the Serbian census of 2002, is 1,576,124. Belgrade has the status of a separate territorial unit in Serbia, with its own autonomous city government. Its territory is divided into
17 municipalities, each of which has its own local council. It is the central
economic hub of Serbia, and the capital of
Serbian culture,
education and science.
Big Butte Creek is a 12-mile (19 km) long
tributary of the
Rogue River located in the
U.S. state of
Oregon. It
drains approximately 245 square miles (630 km2) of
Jackson County. The north fork of the creek begins on Rustler Peak and the south fork's headwaters are near
Mount McLoughlin. They meet near
Butte Falls, and Big Butte Creek flows generally northwest until it empties into the Rogue River about 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of
Lost Creek Dam (William L. Jess Dam). Big Butte Creek's watershed was originally settled over 8,000 years ago by the
Klamath,
Upper Umpqua, and
Takelma tribes of
Native Americans. In the
Rogue River Wars of the 1850s, most of the Native Americans were either killed or forced into
Indian reservations. The first non-
indigenous settlers arrived in the 1860s, and the area was quickly developed. The creek was named after Snowy Butte, an early name for
Mount McLoughlin. In the late 19th century, the watershed was primarily used for agriculture and logging. The small city of
Butte Falls was
incorporated in 1911.
Bryce Canyon National Park is a
national park located in southwestern
Utah in the
United States. Despite its name, this is not actually a
canyon, but rather a giant natural
amphitheater created by
erosion along the eastern side of the
Paunsaugunt Plateau. Bryce is distinctive due to its unique
geological structures, called hoodoos, formed from wind, water, and ice erosion of the river and lakebed
sedimentary rocks. The red, orange and white colors of the
rocks provide spectacular views. The canyon area was settled by
Mormon pioneers in the
1850s and was named after Ebenezer Bryce, who homesteaded in the area in
1875. The area around Bryce Canyon became a United States national monument in
1924 and was designated as a national park in
1928.
The Republic of Cameroon is a
unitary republic of central and western
Africa. Cameroon's coastline lies on the
Bight of Bonny, part of the
Gulf of Guinea and the
Atlantic Ocean. The country is called "
Africa in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is
Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are
Douala,
Yaoundé, and
Garoua. Cameroon is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly
makossa and
bikutsi, and for its successful
national football team. English and French are the official languages. In 1960, French
Cameroun became independent as the Republic of Cameroun under President
Ahmadou Ahidjo. The
southern part of British
Cameroons merged with it in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972 and the Republic of Cameroon in 1984. Compared with other African countries, Cameroon enjoys political and social stability. This has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, railways, and large petroleum and timber industries. Nevertheless, large numbers of Cameroonians live in poverty as subsistence farmers. Power lies firmly in the hands of the president,
Paul Biya, and his
Cameroon People's Democratic Movement party, and
corruption is widespread.
Canberra is the
capital city of
Australia and with a population of just over 323,000 is Australia's largest inland city. Canberra was selected as the location of the nation's capital in 1908 as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne and is unusual amongst Australian capital cities as an entirely purpose-built,
planned city. Following an international contest for the city's design, a design by
Chicago architect
Walter Burley Griffin was selected and construction commenced in 1913. Although the growth and development of Canberra was hindered by the World Wars and the
Great Depression, it emerged as a thriving city post-
World War II. As Australia's seat of
government, Canberra is the site of
Parliament House, the
High Court of Australia and numerous government departments; it is also the location of numerous social and cultural institutions of national significance. The federal government contributes the largest percentage of Gross State Product and is the largest employer in Canberra. Canberra is also a popular destination for domestic and international tourists.
Carabane is an island and a village located in the extreme south-west of
Senegal, in the mouth of the
Casamance River. The earliest known inhabitants of the island were the
Jola people, the ethnic group which is still the most populous on the island. On January 22, 1836, the island was ceded to France by the village leader of
Kagnout in return for an annual payment of 196 francs. In 1869, Carabane became autonomous, but it merged with
Sédhiou in 1886. Since World War II, the population of the island has gradually declined for a variety of reasons including periods of drought, the
Casamance Conflict and, more recently, the sinking of the Joola in 2002. Because the Joola was the primary means of travel to and from Carabane, much of the village's ability to trade and receive tourists has been lost. Although Carabane was once a regional capital, the village has since become so politically isolated from the rest of the country that it no longer fits into any category of the administrative structure decreed by the Senegalese government. Although there have been attempts to cultivate a tourism industry on the island, the inhabitants have been reluctant to participate.
Caroline Island is the easternmost of the uninhabited
coralatolls which comprise the southern
Line Islands in the central
Pacific Ocean. First sighted by Europeans in 1606, claimed by
United Kingdom in 1868, and part of the
Republic of Kiribati since the island nation's independence in 1979, Caroline Island has remained relatively untouched and is considered one of the world's most pristine tropical islands, despite
guano mining,
copra harvesting, and human habitation in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is home to one of the world's largest populations of the
coconut crab and is an important breeding site for
seabirds, most notably the
Sooty Tern. The atoll is best known for its role in celebrations surrounding the arrival of the year
2000 – a 1995 realignment of the
International Date Line made Caroline Island the easternmost land west of the Date Line and therefore one of the first points of land on earth to see sunrise in the year 2000.
If you are unsure or do not know how to add an entry, feel free to post a question, suggestion or nomination here below, or at the talk page
Portal talk:Geography.
You can put the selected geography picture on your user page, by using the template:
{{Portal:Geography/Featured picture/{{CURRENTYEAR}}, week {{CURRENTWEEK}}}}
A panorama of the town of
Keswick, nestled between the fells of
Skiddaw and
Derwent Water in the Lake District, Cumbria, England. Taken from about 3/4 of the way to the summit of
Walla Crag.
A proposed layout, in Portal style, for the Category page header, above the Category listings. Comments and improvements are invited.
Ancheta Wis 5 July 2005 11:12 (UTC)
That's not a bad style although I've played around with it a bit on the original page because there were no 'edit' links. I made it more like most of the other portals in style. Do we have permission to incorporate portals and categories? Is that now wikipedia policy so to speak? Do we think it's a good idea? --
komencanto00:38, 13 July 2005 (UTC)reply
Unprotected
The category page is now unprotected. You may go ahead with any edits to the category page.
Bratschetalk5 pillars 02:33, July 13, 2005 (UTC)
Templates
Why are there about 30 templates on this page? It looks exactly the same as the portal page - why can't we just incorporate that (I suppose it's {{:Wikipedia:Wikiportal/Geography}})?
Brianjd |
Why restrict HTML? |
09:39, 16 July 2005 (UTC)reply
Why is this category needed? What does it contain that is not present under other categories (especially). Should we make a subcategory under Physical Geography for
terrain?
As mentioned on your talk page read the article
social science and
list of academic disciplines and you'll find that geography is listed as a social science further many universities and geographical organizations list geography as a social science and place it in the social science faculties.
AlexD11:36, 21 September 2007 (UTC)reply
This category is within the scope of WikiProject Geography, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of
geography on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join
the discussion and see a list of open tasks.GeographyWikipedia:WikiProject GeographyTemplate:WikiProject Geographygeography articles
As you can all see I added the portal. Do you think this is a good idea? I quite like it, with the warning at the top, makes the page more interesting. Otherwise it's just a bunch of topics with a definition of geography at the top. Obviously it still needs quite a bit of work and we can learn from all the other portals. I recommend that we scout around and find the best features of others and then try to copy them in improving the portal. --
komencanto08:26, 14 July 2005 (UTC)reply
This looks good, and is an excellent use of the Category pages and a way to be more informative for people linking from the front page.
dml11:46, 16 July 2005 (UTC)reply
Tobias, try hitting the <End> key on the number pad of the keyboard to quickly scroll to the bottom of the cat page. Then hit the up arrow on the keyboard to see more articles and cats.
Ancheta Wis09:24, 18 September 2005 (UTC)reply
I was just about to add a link to the geography portal and the commons and also clean up the page a bit but I can't because this page is locked. It's the only category page that is locked! What's with that? Can you at least give me a pass to make some changes? Thanks. --
komencanto00:38, 13 July 2005 (UTC)reply
Commons
Commons has images in this category.
HenkvD 18:27, 7 Apr 2005 (UTC)
Question about Image
It is unclear why there is an image of Delhi at the bottom of this page. The global image at the top represents the category well but the Delhi image seems out of place. There are no links to Delhi on the page. In addition to being a narrow slice of the geography topic, its position at the bottom of the page is also odd.
Geography (from
Ancient Greekγεωγραφίαgeōgraphía; combining gê 'Earth' and gráphō 'write') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of
Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding of Earth and
its human and natural complexities—not merely where objects are, but also how they have changed and come to be. While geography is specific to Earth, many
concepts can be applied more broadly to other
celestial bodies in the field of
planetary science. Geography has been called "a bridge between
natural science and
social science disciplines."
Origins of many of the concepts in geography can be traced to Greek
Eratosthenes of Cyrene, who may have coined the term "geographia" (
c. 276 BC – c. 195/194 BC). The first recorded use of the word
γεωγραφία was as the title of a book by Greek scholar
Claudius Ptolemy (100 – 170 AD). This work created the so-called "Ptolemaic tradition" of geography, which included "Ptolemaic cartographic theory." However, the concepts of geography (such as
cartography) date back to the earliest attempts to understand the world spatially, with the earliest example of an attempted world map dating to the 9th century BCE in ancient
Babylon. The
history of geography as a discipline spans cultures and millennia, being independently developed by multiple groups, and cross-pollinated by trade between these groups. The core concepts of geography consistent between all approaches are a focus on space, place, time, and scale.
Today, geography is an extremely broad discipline with multiple approaches and modalities. There have been multiple attempts to organize the discipline, including the four traditions of geography, and into branches. Techniques employed can generally be broken down into
quantitative and
qualitative approaches, with many studies taking
mixed-methods approaches. Common techniques include
cartography,
remote sensing,
interviews, and
surveying. (Full article...)
Yellowstone National Park is a
national park located in the U.S. states of
Wyoming,
Montana, and
Idaho. Yellowstone, widely held to be the first national park in the world, was established in 1872 by the United States Congress and is known for its wildlife and its many
geothermal features, especially
Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular features in the park. It has many types of
ecosystems, but the
subalpine forest is dominant. Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468.4 square miles (8,983 km2), comprising lakes, canyons, rivers, and
mountain ranges.
Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America and is centered over the
Yellowstone Caldera, the largest
supervolcano on the continent. The
caldera is considered an active volcano. It has erupted with tremendous force several times in the last two million years. Half of the world's geothermal features are in Yellowstone, fueled by this ongoing volcanism. Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been documented, including several that are either
endangered or
threatened. The vast forests and grasslands also include unique species of plants. Yellowstone Park is the largest and most famous
megafauna location in the continental United States.
Lake Burley Griffin is a
lake in the centre of
Canberra,
Australia'sfederalcapital city. It was created in 1963 after the
Molonglo River, which runs through the
city centre, was
dammed. Named after
Walter Burley Griffin, the
architect who won the design competition for the city of Canberra, the lake is located in the approximate geographic centre of the city, according to Griffin's original designs. Numerous important institutions, such as the
National Gallery of Australia,
National Museum of Australia,
National Library of Australia, and the
High Court of Australia lie on its shores, and
Parliament House is a short distance away. Its surrounds are also quite popular with recreational users, particularly in the warmer months. Though swimming in the lake is uncommon, it is used for a wide variety of other activities, such as
rowing,
fishing, and
sailing. The lake's flow is regulated by the 33 metre tall Scrivener Dam, which is designed to handle a once in 5000 year flood event, and in times of drought, water levels can be maintained through the release of water from
Googong Dam. The lake is an ornamental body with a length of 11 kilometres (6.8 mi); at its widest, it measures 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi). It has an average depth of 4 metres (13 ft) and a maximum depth of about 18 metres (59 ft) near the
Scrivener Dam.
Zion National Park is a national park located in the
Southwestern United States, near
Springdale, Utah. In 1909, President
William Howard Taft named the area a National Monument to protect the canyon, under the name of Mukuntuweap National Monument, and in 1918 the park's name was changed to Zion. A prominent feature of the 229-square-mile (590 km2) park is Zion Canyon, which is 15 miles (24 km) long and up to half a mile (800 m) deep, cut through the reddish and tan-colored
Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the
Virgin River. The lowest elevation is 3,666 ft (1,117 m) at Coalpits Wash and the highest elevation is 8,726 ft (2,660 m) at Horse Ranch Mountain. Located at the junction of the
Colorado Plateau,
Great Basin, and
Mojave Desert regions, the park's unique
geography and variety of
life zones allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals (including 19 species of
bat), and 32 reptiles inhabit the park's four life zones:
desert,
riparian,
woodland, and
coniferous forest. Human habitation of the area started about 8,000 years ago with small family groups of
Native Americans. The park includes mountains, canyons, buttes, mesas,
monoliths, rivers,
slot canyons, and
natural arches.
Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta, is the
capital of the Indian state of
West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the
Hooghly river, it is the principal commercial, cultural, and educational centre of
East India. The
Port of Kolkata is India's oldest operating port as well as its sole major riverine port. As of 2011, the city had 4.5 million residents; the urban agglomeration, which comprises the city and its suburbs, was home to approximately 14.1 million, making it the
third-most populous metropolitan area in India. In the late 17th century, the three villages that predated Kolkata were ruled by the
Nawab of Bengal under
Mughalsuzerainty. After the Nawab granted the
East India Company a trading license in 1690, the area was developed by the Company into an increasingly fortified mercantile base. Under East India Company and later under the
British Raj, Kolkata served as the capital of India until 1911, when its perceived geographical disadvantages, combined with growing nationalism in
Bengal, led to a shift of the capital to
New Delhi. Following Indian independence in 1947, Kolkata—which was once the centre of modern Indian education, science, culture, and politics—witnessed several decades of relative economic stagnation. Since the early 2000s, it has undergone an economic
rejuvenation.
Dawson Creek is a small city in northeastern
British Columbia,
Canada. It covers an area of 20.66 square kilometres (7.98 sq mi)* in the dry and windy prairie land of the
Peace River Country. The city is in the British Columbia Peace Lowland ecosection of the
Canadian Boreal Plainsecozone on the continental
Interior Platform. Located in the Cordillera Climatic Region, it lies at the southern end of a
subarctic climate. The 1941 census, the first to include Dawson Creek as a defined subdivision, counted 518 residents. In 2011 the city had a population of 11,583. Growth slowed in the 1960s, with the population reaching its all-time high in 1966, although since 1992 the city has grown and undergone several boundary expansions. Dubbed "The Capital of the Peace", it is a service centre for the rural areas south of the
Peace River and the seat of the
Peace River Regional District. Once a small farming community, Dawson Creek became a regional centre when the western terminus of the
Northern Alberta Railways was extended there in 1932. The community grew rapidly in 1942 as the US Army used the rail terminus as a
transshipment point during construction of the
Alaska Highway. In the 1950s the city was connected to the interior of British Columbia via a highway and railway through the
Rocky Mountains.
Global warming is the increase in the
average temperature of the
Earth's atmosphere and
oceans that has been observed in recent decades. The
scientific opinion on climate change is that much of the recent change may be
attributed to human activities.
Carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases released by the burning of
fossil fuels, land clearing,
agriculture, among other human activities, are the primary sources of the human-induced component of warming. Observational
sensitivity studies and
climate models referenced by the
IPCC predict that global temperatures may increase by between 1.4 and 5.8 °C between 1990 and 2100. An increase in global temperatures can in turn cause other changes, including rises in
sea level and changes in the amount and pattern of
precipitation. These changes may increase the frequency and intensity of extreme
weather events, such as
tropical cyclones or
floods. There are a few scientists who contest the view about attribution of recent warming to human activity. Uncertainties exist regarding how much climate change should be expected in the future, and there is a hotly contested political and public debate over attempts to
reduce or reverse future warming, and how to
cope with possible consequences.
Banff National Park,
Canada's oldest
national park, was established in 1885 in the
Canadian Rockies. The park, located 120 kilometres (80 mi) west of
Calgary in the province of
Alberta, encompasses 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 sq mi) of mountainous terrain, with numerous
glaciers and
ice fields, dense
coniferous forest, and alpine landscapes. The
Icefields Parkway extends from
Lake Louise, connecting to
Jasper National Park in the north. The main commercial centre of the park is the town of
Banff, in the
Bow River valley. The
Canadian Pacific Railway was instrumental in Banff's early years, building the
Banff Springs Hotel and
Chateau Lake Louise, and attracting tourists through extensive advertising. In the early 20th century, roads were built in Banff, at times by war internees, and through
Great Depression-era public works projects. Since the 1960s, park accommodations have been open all year, with annual tourism visits to Banff increasing to over 5 million in the 1990s. Millions more pass through the park on the
Trans-Canada Highway. The health of the park's ecosystem has been threatened by heavy visitation. In the mid-1990s
Parks Canada responded by initiating a two-year study thath resulted in management recommendations and new policies that aim to preserve ecological integrity.
Minneapolis, nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City", is the
county seat of
Hennepin County and the largest city in the state. Its name is attributed to the city's first schoolteacher, who combined mni, a
Dakota Sioux word for water, and polis, the Greek word for city. As of the 2010 Census, the population of the city of Minneapolis is 382,578, making it the
48th largest in the United States. Minneapolis lies on both banks of the
Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the
Minnesota River, and adjoins
Saint Paul, the state's capital. The two cities are known as the Twin Cities, and comprise the country's
16th-largest metropolitan area. Minneapolis is abundantly rich in water, with over twenty lakes and wetlands, the Mississippi river, creeks, and waterfalls, many of which are connected by parkways in the
Chain of Lakes and the
Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway. Among cities of similar densities, Minneapolis has the most dedicated parkland. It was once the world's flour
milling capital and a hub for timber, and today is the primary business center between
Chicago and
Seattle, with Minneapolis proper containing the fifth highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies. The
Minneapolis metropolitan area is the second largest economic center in the
Midwest, behind Chicago.
Mount Tambora is an active
stratovolcano on
Sumbawa island,
Indonesia. Sumbawa is flanked both to the north and south by
oceanic crust and Tambora was formed by the active
subduction zones beneath it. This process raised Mount Tambora as high as 4,300 m (14,000 ft), making it one of the tallest peaks in the Indonesian archipelago, and drained off a large
magma chamber inside the mountain. In
1815, Tambora erupted with a rating of seven on the
volcanic explosivity index; the largest eruption since the
Lake Taupō eruption in
AD 181. With an estimated ejecta volume of 160 km3 (38 cu mi), Tambora's 1815 outburst was the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history. Heavy
volcanic ash falls were observed as far away as
Borneo,
Sulawesi,
Java and
Maluku islands. Most deaths from the eruption were from starvation and disease, as the eruptive fallout ruined the local agriculture. The death toll was at least 71,000 people, of whom 11,000–12,000 were killed directly by the eruption. The eruption created global climate anomalies in the following years.
1816 became known as the Year Without a Summer because of the impact on North American and European weather. During an
excavation in 2004, a team of archaeologists discovered a civilization obliterated by the 1815 eruption, known as the "
Pompeii of the East".
Quneitra (also known as Al Qunaytirah, Qunaitira, or Kuneitra) is the largely destroyed and abandoned
capital of the
Quneitra Governorate in south-western
Syria. It is situated in a high valley in the
Golan Heights at an elevation of 1,010 metres (3,313 feet) above sea level. Quneitra was founded in the
Ottoman era as a way station on the caravan route to
Damascus and subsequently became a garrison town of some 20,000 people, strategically located near the ceasefire line with
Israel. Its name is Arabic for "the little bridge". On 10 June 1967, the last day of the
Six-Day War, Quneitra came under Israeli control. It was briefly recaptured by Syria during the 1973
Yom Kippur War, but Israel regained control in its subsequent counter-offensive. The city was almost completely destroyed before the Israeli withdrawal in June 1974. It now lies in the demilitarized
United Nations Disengagement Observer Force Zone between Syria and Israel, a short distance from the de facto border between the two countries, and is populated by only a handful of families. Syria refused to rebuild the city and actively discourages resettlement in the area. Israel was heavily criticized by the
United Nations for the city's destruction, while Israel has also criticized Syria for not rebuilding Quneitra.
Karnataka is a
state in
South India. It was
created on 1 November 1956 with the passage of the
States Reorganisation Act, and this day is annually celebrated as
Karnataka Rajyotsava (Formation Day). Originally known as the State of Mysore, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973. It is the land of the
Kannadiga,
Tuluva,
Konkani, and
Kodava peoples. With over 61 million inhabitants as of 2011, Karnataka is the
ninth largest state by population in India.
Kannada is the most widely spoken and official language of the state. The two main river systems of the state are
Krishna and its tributaries (
Bhima,
Ghataprabha,
Vedavati,
Malaprabha, and
Tungabhadra) in the north, and the
Cauvery and its tributaries (Hemavati, Shimsha, Arkavathi, Lakshmana Thirtha and Kabini) in the south. Both these rivers flow eastward and fall into the
Bay of Bengal. With an antiquity that dates to the
paleolithic, Karnataka has also been home to some of the most powerful
empires of ancient and medieval India. The philosophers and musical bards patronised by these empires launched socio-religious and literary movements which have endured to the present day. Karnataka has contributed significantly to both the
Carnatic and
Hindustani forms of Indian classical music.
Surtsey (
Icelandic, meaning "
Surtr's island") is a
volcanic island off the southern coast of
Iceland. At 63°18′11″N20°36′17″W / 63.303°N 20.6047°W / 63.303; -20.6047 Surtsey is the
southernmost point of Iceland. It was formed in a
volcanic eruption which began 130 metres (426 ft) below sea level, and reached the surface on 15 November 1963. The eruption lasted until 5 June 1967, when the island reached its maximum size of 2.7 km2 (1.0 sq mi). Since then, wind and wave erosion have caused the island to steadily diminish in size: as of 2002, its surface area was 1.4 km2 (0.54 sq mi). The new island was named after Surtr, a fire jötunn or giant from
Norse mythology. It was intensively studied by
volcanologists during its eruption, and afterwards by
botanists and
biologists as life forms gradually colonised the originally barren island. The undersea vents that produced Surtsey are part of the Vestmannaeyjar (Westmann Isles) submarine volcanic system, part of the fissure of the sea floor called the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Vestmannaeyjar also produced the famous eruption of Eldfell on the island of
Heimaey in 1973. The eruption that created Surtsey also created a few other small islands along this volcanic chain, such as Jólnir and other, unnamed peaks. Most of these eroded away fairly quickly.
The geography and ecology of the Everglades involve the complex elements affecting the natural environment throughout the southern region of the U.S. state of
Florida.
Before drainage, the
Everglades was an interwoven mesh of
marshes and
prairies covering 4,000 square miles (10,000 km2). The Everglades is simultaneously a vast
watershed that has historically extended from
Lake Okeechobee 100 miles (160 km) south to
Florida Bay (around one-third of the southern Florida peninsula), and many interconnected ecosystems within a geographic boundary. It is such a unique meeting of water, land, and climate that the use of either singular or plural to refer to the Everglades is appropriate. When
Marjory Stoneman Douglas wrote her definitive description of the region in 1947, she used the metaphor "River of Grass" to explain the blending of water and plant life. Although
sawgrass and
sloughs are the enduring geographical icons of the Everglades, other ecosystems are just as vital, and the borders marking them are subtle or nonexistent. Pinelands and tropical hardwood
hammocks are located throughout the sloughs; the trees, rooted in soil inches above the
peat,
marl, or water, support a variety of wildlife. The oldest and tallest trees are
cypresses, whose roots are specially adapted to grow underwater for months at a time. The Big Cypress Swamp is well known for its 500-year-old cypresses, though cypress domes can appear throughout the Everglades. As the fresh water from Lake Okeechobee makes its way to Florida Bay, it meets salt water from the
Gulf of Mexico;
mangrove forests grow in this transitional zone, providing nursery and nesting conditions for many species of birds, fish, and invertebrates. The marine environment of Florida Bay is also considered part of the Everglades because its sea grasses and aquatic life are attracted to the constant discharge of fresh water.
Mauna Loa is an
activeshield volcano in the
Hawaiian Islands, one of five
volcanoes that form the
Island of Hawaii. Mauna Loa is Earth's largest volcano, with a volume estimated at approximately 18,000
cubic miles (75,000
km³), although its peak is about 36
m (120
ft) lower than that of its neighbor,
Mauna Kea. Lava eruptions from Mauna Loa are very fluid and the volcano has extremely shallow slopes as a result. The volcano has probably been erupting for at least 700,000 years and may have emerged from the sea about 400,000 years ago. Its
magma comes from a
hotspot in the Earth's
mantle far beneath the island that has been responsible for the creation of the
Hawaiian Islands chain for tens of million of years. The slow drift of the
Pacific Plate will eventually carry the volcano away from the hotspot, and the volcano will thus become extinct within 500,000 to one million years from now. The first recorded summiting of Mauna Loa was in
1794 by naturalist
Archibald Menzies, then-Lieutenant
Joseph Baker, and two others. Mauna Loa's most recent eruption occurred from March 24, 1984 to April 15, 1984. In view of the hazards it poses to population centers, Mauna Loa is part of the
Decade Volcanoes program, which encourages studies of the most dangerous volcanoes. Mauna Loa has been intensively monitored by the
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) since 1912. Observations of the
atmosphere are undertaken at the
Mauna Loa Observatory, and of the
Sun at the
Mauna Loa Solar Observatory, both located near its summit.
Petrified Forest National Park is a
United States national park in
Navajo and
Apache counties in northeastern
Arizona. The park's headquarters is about 26 miles (42 km) east of
Holbrook along
Interstate 40 (I-40), which parallels the
BNSF Railway's
Southern Transcon, the
Puerco River, and historic
U.S. Route 66, all crossing the park roughly east–west. Named for its large deposits of
petrified wood, the park covers about 146 square miles (380 km2), encompassing semi-desert shrub
steppe as well as highly eroded and colorful
badlands. The site, the northern part of which extends into the
Painted Desert, was declared a
national monument in 1906 and a national park in 1962. About 600,000 people visit the park each year and take part in activities including sightseeing, photography, hiking, and
backpacking. The park's earliest human inhabitants arrived at least 8,000 years ago. By about 2,000 years ago, they were growing corn in the area and shortly thereafter building
pit houses in what would become the park. Later inhabitants built above-ground dwellings called
pueblos. Although a changing climate caused the last of the park's pueblos to be abandoned by about 1400 CE, more than 600
archeological sites, including
petroglyphs, have been discovered in the park. In the 16th century, Spanish explorers visited the area, and by the mid-19th century a U.S. team had surveyed an east–west route through the area where the park is now located and noted the petrified wood. Later roads and a railway followed similar routes and gave rise to tourism and, before the park was protected, to large-scale removal of fossils. Theft of petrified wood remains a problem in the 21st century.
Alanya is a seaside resort city and district of
Antalya Province in the
Mediterranean region of Turkey, 120 km (75 miles) from the city of
Antalya. The municipal district, which includes the city center, has close to 400,000 inhabitants. The population is almost entirely of
Anatolian origin, but is home to almost 10,000
European residents, with a growing presence in the city and its economy. Because of its natural strategic position on a small peninsula into the
Mediterranean Sea below the
Taurus Mountains, Alanya has been a local stronghold for many
Mediterranean-based empires, including the
Ptolemaic,
Roman,
Byzantine, and
Ottoman Empires. Alanya's greatest political importance came in the
Middle Ages with the
Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm under the rule of
Alaeddin Keykubad I, from whom the city derives its name. His building campaign resulted in many of the city's landmarks, such as the
Kızıl Kule (Red Tower), Tersane (Shipyard), and
Alanya Castle. The relatively moderate
Mediterranean climate, natural attractions, and historic heritage makes Alanya a popular destination for tourism. Tourism has risen since 1958 to become the dominant industry in the city, resulting in a corresponding increase in city population.
Amchitka, a volcanic,
tectonically unstable island, is a part of the
Rat Islands group of the
Aleutian Islands located in southwest
Alaska. It is about 68 kilometres (42 miles) long, and ranges from 3 to 6 km (2–3.75 mi) in width. Courtesy of its maritime climate, it is particularly susceptible to storms, and is mostly shrouded with overcast skies. The island was inhabited for more than 2,500 years by the
Aleut people, but has had no permanent population since 1832. It was included in the
Alaska Purchase of 1867, and since then has been part of the
United States. During
World War II, it was used as an airfield by US forces in the
Battle of the Aleutian Islands.
Bath is a
city in south-west
England, most famous for its baths fed by three
hot springs. The city was first recorded as a
Romanspa, though tradition suggests an earlier foundation. The waters from its spring were considered to be a cure for many afflictions. From
Elizabethan to
Georgian times it was a resort city for the wealthy. As a result of its popularity during the latter period, the city contains many fine examples of
Georgian architecture, particularly
The Royal Crescent. The city has a population of over 90,000 and is a
World Heritage Site.
Belarus is a
landlocked country in
Eastern Europe. Its capital is
Minsk; other major cities include
Brest,
Grodno (Hrodna),
Gomel (Homiel),
Mogilev (Mahilyow) and
Vitebsk (Viciebsk). Forty percent of its 207,600 km2 (80,200 sq mi) is forested, and its strongest economic sectors are
agriculture and
manufacturing. Until the 20th century, the lands of modern day Belarus belonged to several countries. The parliament of the republic declared the
sovereignty of Belarus on 27 July 1990, and following the
collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus declared
independence on 25 August 1991.
Alexander Lukashenko has been the country's president since 1994. Under his lead and despite objections from Western governments, Soviet-era policies, such as state ownership of the economy, have been implemented. Most of Belarus's population of 9.85 million reside in the urban areas surrounding Minsk and other
voblast (regional) capitals. More than 80% of the population are ethnic
Belarusians, with sizable minorities of Russians,
Poles and
Ukrainians. Since a controversial
1995 referendum,
Russian has been an official language alongside
Belarusian.
Belgrade is the
capital and largest city of
Serbia. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe, first emerging as prehistoric
Vinča in
4800 BC. It was settled in the
3rd century BC by the
Celts, before becoming the
Roman settlement of
Singidunum. It first became the capital of
Serbia in
1403, and was the capital of various
South Slav states from
1918 until
2003, as well as
Serbia and Montenegro from
2003 until
2006. The city lies at the confluence of the
Sava and
Danube Rivers in north central Serbia, where the
Pannonian Plain meets the
Balkan Peninsula. The population of Belgrade, according to the Serbian census of 2002, is 1,576,124. Belgrade has the status of a separate territorial unit in Serbia, with its own autonomous city government. Its territory is divided into
17 municipalities, each of which has its own local council. It is the central
economic hub of Serbia, and the capital of
Serbian culture,
education and science.
Big Butte Creek is a 12-mile (19 km) long
tributary of the
Rogue River located in the
U.S. state of
Oregon. It
drains approximately 245 square miles (630 km2) of
Jackson County. The north fork of the creek begins on Rustler Peak and the south fork's headwaters are near
Mount McLoughlin. They meet near
Butte Falls, and Big Butte Creek flows generally northwest until it empties into the Rogue River about 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of
Lost Creek Dam (William L. Jess Dam). Big Butte Creek's watershed was originally settled over 8,000 years ago by the
Klamath,
Upper Umpqua, and
Takelma tribes of
Native Americans. In the
Rogue River Wars of the 1850s, most of the Native Americans were either killed or forced into
Indian reservations. The first non-
indigenous settlers arrived in the 1860s, and the area was quickly developed. The creek was named after Snowy Butte, an early name for
Mount McLoughlin. In the late 19th century, the watershed was primarily used for agriculture and logging. The small city of
Butte Falls was
incorporated in 1911.
Bryce Canyon National Park is a
national park located in southwestern
Utah in the
United States. Despite its name, this is not actually a
canyon, but rather a giant natural
amphitheater created by
erosion along the eastern side of the
Paunsaugunt Plateau. Bryce is distinctive due to its unique
geological structures, called hoodoos, formed from wind, water, and ice erosion of the river and lakebed
sedimentary rocks. The red, orange and white colors of the
rocks provide spectacular views. The canyon area was settled by
Mormon pioneers in the
1850s and was named after Ebenezer Bryce, who homesteaded in the area in
1875. The area around Bryce Canyon became a United States national monument in
1924 and was designated as a national park in
1928.
The Republic of Cameroon is a
unitary republic of central and western
Africa. Cameroon's coastline lies on the
Bight of Bonny, part of the
Gulf of Guinea and the
Atlantic Ocean. The country is called "
Africa in miniature" for its geological and cultural diversity. Natural features include beaches, deserts, mountains, rainforests, and savannas. The highest point is
Mount Cameroon in the southwest, and the largest cities are
Douala,
Yaoundé, and
Garoua. Cameroon is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups. The country is well known for its native styles of music, particularly
makossa and
bikutsi, and for its successful
national football team. English and French are the official languages. In 1960, French
Cameroun became independent as the Republic of Cameroun under President
Ahmadou Ahidjo. The
southern part of British
Cameroons merged with it in 1961 to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. The country was renamed the United Republic of Cameroon in 1972 and the Republic of Cameroon in 1984. Compared with other African countries, Cameroon enjoys political and social stability. This has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, railways, and large petroleum and timber industries. Nevertheless, large numbers of Cameroonians live in poverty as subsistence farmers. Power lies firmly in the hands of the president,
Paul Biya, and his
Cameroon People's Democratic Movement party, and
corruption is widespread.
Canberra is the
capital city of
Australia and with a population of just over 323,000 is Australia's largest inland city. Canberra was selected as the location of the nation's capital in 1908 as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne and is unusual amongst Australian capital cities as an entirely purpose-built,
planned city. Following an international contest for the city's design, a design by
Chicago architect
Walter Burley Griffin was selected and construction commenced in 1913. Although the growth and development of Canberra was hindered by the World Wars and the
Great Depression, it emerged as a thriving city post-
World War II. As Australia's seat of
government, Canberra is the site of
Parliament House, the
High Court of Australia and numerous government departments; it is also the location of numerous social and cultural institutions of national significance. The federal government contributes the largest percentage of Gross State Product and is the largest employer in Canberra. Canberra is also a popular destination for domestic and international tourists.
Carabane is an island and a village located in the extreme south-west of
Senegal, in the mouth of the
Casamance River. The earliest known inhabitants of the island were the
Jola people, the ethnic group which is still the most populous on the island. On January 22, 1836, the island was ceded to France by the village leader of
Kagnout in return for an annual payment of 196 francs. In 1869, Carabane became autonomous, but it merged with
Sédhiou in 1886. Since World War II, the population of the island has gradually declined for a variety of reasons including periods of drought, the
Casamance Conflict and, more recently, the sinking of the Joola in 2002. Because the Joola was the primary means of travel to and from Carabane, much of the village's ability to trade and receive tourists has been lost. Although Carabane was once a regional capital, the village has since become so politically isolated from the rest of the country that it no longer fits into any category of the administrative structure decreed by the Senegalese government. Although there have been attempts to cultivate a tourism industry on the island, the inhabitants have been reluctant to participate.
Caroline Island is the easternmost of the uninhabited
coralatolls which comprise the southern
Line Islands in the central
Pacific Ocean. First sighted by Europeans in 1606, claimed by
United Kingdom in 1868, and part of the
Republic of Kiribati since the island nation's independence in 1979, Caroline Island has remained relatively untouched and is considered one of the world's most pristine tropical islands, despite
guano mining,
copra harvesting, and human habitation in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is home to one of the world's largest populations of the
coconut crab and is an important breeding site for
seabirds, most notably the
Sooty Tern. The atoll is best known for its role in celebrations surrounding the arrival of the year
2000 – a 1995 realignment of the
International Date Line made Caroline Island the easternmost land west of the Date Line and therefore one of the first points of land on earth to see sunrise in the year 2000.
If you are unsure or do not know how to add an entry, feel free to post a question, suggestion or nomination here below, or at the talk page
Portal talk:Geography.
You can put the selected geography picture on your user page, by using the template:
{{Portal:Geography/Featured picture/{{CURRENTYEAR}}, week {{CURRENTWEEK}}}}
A panorama of the town of
Keswick, nestled between the fells of
Skiddaw and
Derwent Water in the Lake District, Cumbria, England. Taken from about 3/4 of the way to the summit of
Walla Crag.
A proposed layout, in Portal style, for the Category page header, above the Category listings. Comments and improvements are invited.
Ancheta Wis 5 July 2005 11:12 (UTC)
That's not a bad style although I've played around with it a bit on the original page because there were no 'edit' links. I made it more like most of the other portals in style. Do we have permission to incorporate portals and categories? Is that now wikipedia policy so to speak? Do we think it's a good idea? --
komencanto00:38, 13 July 2005 (UTC)reply
Unprotected
The category page is now unprotected. You may go ahead with any edits to the category page.
Bratschetalk5 pillars 02:33, July 13, 2005 (UTC)
Templates
Why are there about 30 templates on this page? It looks exactly the same as the portal page - why can't we just incorporate that (I suppose it's {{:Wikipedia:Wikiportal/Geography}})?
Brianjd |
Why restrict HTML? |
09:39, 16 July 2005 (UTC)reply
Why is this category needed? What does it contain that is not present under other categories (especially). Should we make a subcategory under Physical Geography for
terrain?
As mentioned on your talk page read the article
social science and
list of academic disciplines and you'll find that geography is listed as a social science further many universities and geographical organizations list geography as a social science and place it in the social science faculties.
AlexD11:36, 21 September 2007 (UTC)reply