Follow an interest
Understand people, settlements and the ways societies organize space.
New Mexico · Mountains
Santa Fe’s mountain backdrop is more than scenery. Higher country supplies runoff, influences local conditions and helps explain why a city associated with dry…
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Buenos Aires · Cities & capitals
Buenos Aires looks across a vast expanse of water, yet its waterfront is not a straightforward Atlantic beachfront. The city stands beside the Río…
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Landforms
Melbourne’s skyline occupies only a small part of its geographic setting. Follow the Yarra downstream and the city opens toward Port Phillip; look west…
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Coasts
Brisbane’s river bends are its most recognizable geographic feature, but they do not tell the whole story. Hills, creek valleys and an estuarine bay…
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Lakes
Seattle’s waterfront skyline can make the city look like a simple strip beside the sea. Look inland, however, and another pattern appears: lakes, ridges,…
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Coasts
Honolulu's shoreline skyline occupies only a small part of Oʻahu. Behind the coastal districts, valleys climb toward the Koʻolau Range; beyond them, the island…
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Countries & regions
A country-name puzzle can give different answers depending on whether “and” means a separate word or three letters hidden inside a longer word. There…
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Countries & regions
An island and an island country are not the same thing. Some countries spread across hundreds of islands, while others share one island with…
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Cameroon · Countries & regions
A coastal port, an upland royal city and a settlement beside the Logone River reveal different sides of Cameroon. Understanding the country means connecting…
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Switzerland · Countries & regions
Switzerland's mountain scenery can obscure the geography of daily life: most people do not live among the highest peaks. The useful starting point is…
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Germany · Countries & regions
Germany's geography is easy to oversimplify: Alpine scenery, industrial river valleys and northern beaches can look like separate countries. Reading its map from the…
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Italy · Countries & regions
Italy’s boot-shaped outline is familiar, but the shape alone misses the country’s strongest geographic contrasts. A mountain arc and broad plain organize the north,…
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