Questions tagged [geography]
Questions related to geography.
96 questions
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Do Swiss place names have a comma before the canton, or is the canton in parentheses?
Is it "Bern, BE" like American place names, or "Bern (BE)" or "Bern BE"?
Or does it depend on whether it's American/Canadian/British/Australian/etc. English, or perhaps ...
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Word for a book that functions as a non-travel guide to a country, like "Biography" or "Hagiography" perhaps - but for a nation
So I'm not looking at an Atlas or a Compendium or a Travel Guide - I'm picturing those children's books (though doesn't need to be children's) just titled things like "Nigeria" or "...
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Can someone explain the geographical name "Switch"?
It generally used as a town name such as "Lyons Switch, OK" or "Bridges Switch, CO". I've seen it used many times over the years and never gave it much thought but recently became ...
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Naming the extents of a piece of Earth [closed]
To a first approximation, Norway would fit in a bounding box of 500x1600x3 km, where 500 km is east-west, 1600 is north-south, and 3 km is up-down. What do you call the extents in each of these ...
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What is a word equivalent to 'oceanic' but specific to a lake?
What is a word equivalent to 'oceanic' but specific to a lake?
It'd be the blank in this analogy:
oceanic : ocean :: _____ : lake
(oceanic is to ocean as _____ is to lake)
The context in which I'm ...
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What's the meaning of "this side of Albania"?
In this diary excerpt, Alan Rickman wrote:
"Emma [Watson]’s diction is this side of Albania at times."
I understand the general meaning of the idiom (What is the meaning of the phrase "...
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Is the word "upstate" used to refer to anywhere outside New York?
Merriam defines it generically as:
the chiefly northerly sections of a state
But in their examples, every single one can be traced back to New York. For example:
By 2017, Lopez, after earning her ...
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Terms for aerial versus ground surface area
Are there accepted area terms that concisely distinguish aerial area (e.g., from a Google Earth satellite photo) from ground surface area? (For sloped ground, the ground surface area is larger than ...
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What is a vertical panorama called?
A mountain “viewpoint” is a great place to get a panoramic view of a region: you can generally take in a huge area [panorama] from left to right.
I was wondering what term or phrase describes a ...
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When and why did English change Affrick and Asie to Africa and Asia? [closed]
English names for continents all end in Latin suffix -a / -ia, except Europe.
Africa, America, Antarctica, Asia, Australia
Since English language used to take much of its vocabulary from French during ...
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Word Order with Geographical Places [duplicate]
I can't find a general textbook or a thread on internet with grammar rules for word order regarding the names of Geographical places, for example:
Mount Everest vs Rocky Mount
River Nile vs Colorado ...
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Why do we say latitude and longitude instead of longitude and latitude? [closed]
Latitude measures degree from the equator and longitude measures the degree from the prime meridian, each corresponding to the x-axis and y-axis of the world. However, normally when we are talking ...
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What is the English word for "rinconada"
In general a "rinconada" is an incoming angle formed at the intersection of two houses, two streets, or two roads.
In geography a "rinconada" is the land between two mountain ...
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When referring to an event held in a country whose name has changed, should you use the new or old name
If I'm referring to an event that took place in Yakutsk in 1960, should I refer to Yakutsk, USSR, or Yakutsk, Russia?
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Northwest vs Northwestern [duplicate]
At its height, The Almohad Caliphate controlled much of the Iberian
Peninsula and Northwest Africa.
or
At its height, The Almohad Caliphate controlled much of the Iberian
Peninsula and Northwestern ...
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Naming advice for a start-up [closed]
I'm preparing to open up a start-up. Because of some personal reasons, I'd like to name it after the small town in China I was born in. It's named 下关 (dry translate to down-gate or down-fort).
That ...
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Countries ending with -Y vs. -IA: What is the pattern?
I wonder why some country names in English are suffixed with -y (Lombardy, Italy, Hungary, Saxony, Sicily) and some with -ia (Bulgaria, Austria, Bavaria, Sardinia).
I understand the etymology:
"-...
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Why 'The' always comes in front of 'The United Kingdom' but the same does not always apply to 'Great Britain'? [duplicate]
Why 'The' always comes in front of 'The United Kingdom' but the same does not always apply to 'Great Britain'?
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Is there an etymological relation between Albania the country and St Albans, the city in Hertfordshire, England? [closed]
Is there an etymological relation?
(some more words to keep validator happy)
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Word for geopolitical division of the world
In Norwegian, we have two words: "verdensdel" and "kontinent". The former is a word that describes a geopolitical division of the world, "verdens" = "world's" ; ...
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What do we call a place, which is a plane land just beneath a mountain range?
I want to describe about a village. It is not a mountain village. It is located just at the border from where hills started to rise.
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Why do 120 or so geographical region names end in a and ia?
The web contains lengthy lists one with about 120 names of major geographical regions that end in a and ia. Is there any merit to the idea that this might go back to the Hebrew words raqa and raqia? (...
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Does the word relitigate imply legal proceedings?
I understand the word, "litigate" to indicate some kind of legal action. However, I have recently come across the word "re-litigate" in a context that implies a difference of opinion that has not (yet?...
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What is the geographic term for a landmass separated by two rivers?
If there is a region of land that sort of makes an island with the two rivers (which are fare apart). What would you call it.
For Example there is a region in Iraq/Syria that almost forms this (the ...
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A geography word [closed]
What is the word for the point when a river leaves a mountain to flow out onto a plain or such?
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Pronunciations of the geographical name 'Orion' [closed]
Which (3) ways is Orion pronounced as relative to (3) meanings, Orion Township, Lake Orion (Lake), and Lake Orion (town)?
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'Czech'/'Swiss' to refer to the country?
An increasing number of my friends in India and the United Kingdom use 'Czech' to refer to the Czech Republic (and a smaller number do the same with saying 'Swiss' for Switzerland). When politely ...
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What are analogous words to "occidental" and "oriental" for southern and northern? [duplicate]
Definitions
Occidental: "1: relating to the countries of the West"
Oriental: "1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Orient, or East; Eastern."
So, occidental is effectively a word that is a ...
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What does "water rich area" mean?
I am unsure how to specifically define a water-rich area. I assume that it is an area of water surplus but I am led to believe it has a more specific definition for I have been asked it as a separate ...
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A proper universal name for any city or town, regardless of its size [duplicate]
I'm facing a pressing issue with choosing a proper way to call a place (city, town), regardless of its size.
1) Has to describe places of any size (from pop. 5 to 5 mil.)
2) Must describe any ...
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Guiding tables below the maps and color-coded tables in English [duplicate]
Usually, there is a guiding table below the maps and color-coded tables, to help reader what is the meaning of each color or element. What is that table called in English?
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Northwest Territories and Papal States
The Northwest Territories of Canada are only one territory, and the Papal States in Italy consisted of only one state. Why is the plural used? (In Italian, one says "Stato Pontificio", which is ...
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The Southern US, or the southern US? [duplicate]
To my understanding, specific geographic regions are always capitalized.
For example, Southern US is proper because it is a specific region.
However, a co-author argues that southern should not be ...
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Terms for different types of soil (pictures included)
As a non-native speaker, I'm struggling to describe environments comprehensibly and detailedly.
The following picture shows typical ground in a forest, and I would most likely call it earth or soil.
...
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Why is the phrase "coal country" uncountable in this sentence? Does it mean a particular region?
Why is the phrase "coal country" uncountable in this sentence? Does it mean a particular region?
Were he frustrated in Congress, the president would surely fall back on areas where he has a free ...
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Etymology of "Dubai"
I need to etymologize the city name Dubai (United Arab Emirates) for a project. Etymonline only lists the origins as "uncertain" and Wiktionary traces it to دُبَيّ, the Arabic term for it (pronounced ...
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Wallonia or Walloon Region? [duplicate]
What is the preferred way to refer to la Wallonie in English -- Wallonia or Walloon Region?
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The grammatical number of "Newfoundland and Labrador"
Some of the confusion among the posted answers causes me to add this prefatory note: There is one province called Newfoundland and Labrador. There is no province called Newfoundland and there is no ...
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Etymology of "Djibouti"
The country name Djibouti has no etymology listed on both Etymonline and Wiktionary. I do know that's it named after the city for sure, but where did that come from?
I tried to research it, but all I ...
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Capitalising names of geographical/tourist terms
I'm translating a series of short tourism-related texts from Croatian to English and I can't find definitive answers for some of my dilemmas:
Names of waterfalls / caves / trails & word order
...
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A word to describe the point of land at the confluence of two rivers?
I'm seeking a word that best describes the point of land created by the confluence of two rivers. The parcel of land in question would be situated in between the two rivers as their flow combined to ...
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Is there a word for a road or river that runs almost "vertical" in the map?
Is there an adjective to describe a road or a river whose orientation is nearly north to south (e.g. looks vertical in the map)? An example sentence would be, "the [word] highway between Foopolis and ...
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Name for the peak of a plateau
The highest point; the flatland.
Ex: Summit is to mountain/hill as _____ is to plateau.
Would summit just be acceptable in itself?
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Word for crossing the bottom of a valley
To refer to the highest point on a hill, one might use the word "crest":
He walked up to the crest of the hill, and surveyed his surroundings.
On the other hand, one might also use "crest" as a ...
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Term for derogatory suffix used with city names?
When speaking of a city in negative terms one might attach a prefix/suffix to the city name. This nickname is a portmanteau that implies a derogatory tone. Most often this will be a negative term but ...
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Another word for a single line of trees on a hilltop, as seen from a distance
There's definitely a single word that is used to describe, when seen from a distance, a single row of trees on a hilltop. I searched quite a bit but am unable to find the word.
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How do you write "deep south"?
How does one write "deep south?" It is a proper noun so I believe South is capitalized but what about d/Deep ?
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What do you call someone from the Americas if not American? [closed]
Someone from Europe is European.
Someone from Africa is African.
Someone from Asia is Asian.
Someone from Oceania is presumably Oceanic.
But you can't call a person from the Americas an American due ...
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Is there a process name for an island becoming unisolated?
I previously asked this on the history stack exchange but unfortunately had no good luck, and I was recommended to give this stack exchange a go, so:
Basically I would like to know if there is an ...
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The definite article with geographical terms
I know in English you can use the definite article with geographical expressiones such as the sea, the country, the land, the city, the beach, the seaside, but what about other geographical terms? Can ...
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