Basic Geography of the World

The Great Lakes

(Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario) serves as part of the border between the United States and Canada.

New Zealand, Zealandia

(blank) appears to be two islands to the east of Australia, but the islands are actually a part of the largest microcontinent in the world: (blank)

A microcontinent

A body of land that is halfway in size between an island and a continent

Panama

An excellent example of an isthmus, a narrow strip of land that connects North America and South America.

The Great Antilles

Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica

Iceland

Further west of Ireland is this island

The Great Plains

Immediately to the east of the Rocky Mountains

seven continents

North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, Antarctica, Africa

four oceans

Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic

The Hudson Bay

The largest coastal inlet in North America

Asia

The largest continent in the world

Lake Victoria

The largest lake in Africa, which serves as part of the border among Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.

Lake Titicaca

The largest lake in South America, which serves as part of the border between Peru and Bolivia.

The Pacific Ocean

The largest ocean in the world

The Yangtze River

The longest river in Asia, the mouth of which is at the East China Sea.

The Volga River

The longest river in Europe, the mouth of which is at the Caspian Sea.

The Mississippi River

The longest river in North America is the Mississippi River, the mouth of which is at the Gulf of Mexico.

The Amazon River

The longest river in South America, which cuts through the Amazon rainforest; the mouth of the river is at the Atlantic Ocean. *

The Atacama desert

The most arid (most dry) desert in the entire world is in South America, which is mostly in Chile.

Mount Kilimanjaro

The tallest mountain in Africa is in southeastern Africa in the African Rift Valley, which is in Kenya.

Mount Vinson

The tallest mountain in Antarctica

Mount Elbrus

The tallest mountain in Europe is in the Caucasus Mountains, which are between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.

Mount McKinley (Denali)

The tallest mountain in North America is in the Rocky Mountains, which is in Alaska (United States).

Mount Aconcagua

The tallest mountain in South America is in the Andes Mountain, which is in Argentina

Mount Everest

The tallest mountain in the Himalayas is also the tallest mountain in Asia and the tallest mountain in the entire world

The Baltic Sea

To the east of the Scandinavian peninsula

The Gobi

To the north of Tibet is a large desert in China and Mongolia

Tibet

To the north of the Himalayas is an enormous plateau

The North Sea

To the southwest of the Scandinavian peninsula

Ireland

To the west of Great Britain is this island

Great Britain

To the west of the North Sea is this island, which includes England, Wales, and Scotland.

The Norwegian Sea

To the west of the Scandinavian peninsula

The Arabian Desert

a collection of deserts in Arabia

The Great Australian Desert

a collection of deserts in Australia

The Basin and Range

a collection of deserts in southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico

The Canary islands

a collection of islands that are in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco

Antarctica

a continent at the south pole

The Sahara Desert

a desert in northern Africa, the largest hot desert in the world.

The Kalahari Desert

a desert in southern Africa

The Patagonian desert

a desert in southern South America, which is mostly in Argentina

The Mediterranean Sea

a large body of water (actually a collection of many small seas) between Africa and Europe.

The Atlas Mountains

a major mountain range in northwestern Africa*

The Rocky Mountains

a major mountain range near the west coast of North America

The Andes Mountains

a major mountain range near the west coast of South America

The Appalachian Mountains

a modest mountain range near the east coast of North America

An isthmus

a narrow strip of land connecting two enormous bodies of land; the opposite of a strait

The Congo rainforest

a tropical rainforest in central Africa

The Amazon rainforest

a tropical rainforest in northern South America, which is mostly in Brazil

a plateau

an area of land with high elevation and shallow relief

A plain

an area of land with low elevation and shallow relief

The Himalayas

an enormous mountain range that separates India from the rest of Asia

The Hawaiian islands

an important archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The Aleutian Islands

an important archipelago, which begins where the Alaska Peninsula ends.

Baja, California

an important peninsula in North America

The Arctic Ocean

an ocean at the north pole

The Caucasus Mountains

are one set of mountains that separate Europe from Asia.

The Congo River

cuts through the Congo rainforest, is not the longest river in Africa

The Japanese islands

group of islands that are off the east coast of Asia.

The Philippine islands

group of islands that are off the southeastern coast of Asia.

The Scandinavian peninsula

important peninsula in Europe, which includes Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

The Yucatán

in Mexico; is another important peninsula in North America

A peninsula

is a body of land that sticks out into a body of water and is therefore surrounded on three sides by water.

An archipelago

is a chain of islands.

Madagascar

is a large island off the coast of southeastern Africa. It is so large that it may be regarded as a microcontinent.

The Alps

is a major mountain range that separates Italy from the rest of Europe.

A strait

is a narrow strip of water connecting two enormous bodies of water.

Arabia

is a part of the Asian continent and is separated from Africa by the Red Sea.

The Rio Grande

is a river in North America that serves as part of the border between the United States and Mexico, the mouth of which is at the Gulf of Mexico.

The Strait of Gibraltar

is a strait between Spain and Morocco and connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean.

Florida

is an important peninsula in North America

Indonesia

is an island group between Asia and Australia.

The West Indies

is an island group to the southeast of North America. It is actually a collection of three island groups: the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica), the Lesser Antilles, and the Bahamas

Tasmania

is an island to the south of eastern Australia.

The Alaska Peninsula

is another important peninsula in North America

The Bering Strait

is between Alaska (United States) and Chukotka (Russia) and connects the Bering Sea with the Arctic Ocean.

The Sea of Cortez

is between Baja California and Mexico

The Strait of Magellan

is between the southern tip of South America and the Tierra del Fuego islands and connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean.*

Greenland

is not only a microcontinent; it is the second largest microcontinent in the world.

Lake Superior

is not only the largest of the Great Lakes, but it is also the largest lake in North America

The Caspian Sea

is the largest land-enclosed body of water in the world.

Iberia

is the western most part of Europe and includes the countries Spain and Portugal; may be regarded as a peninsula.

The Bay of Bengal

is to the east of India.

The Indian Ocean

is to the south of India.

The Caribbean Sea

is to the south of the West Indies (between the West Indies and South America)

The Arabian Sea

is to the west of India.

The Ural Mountains

mountain range that separates Europe from Asia, which separate European Russia from Asian Russia.

The Saint Lawrence River

river in North America serves as part of the border between the United States and Canada. The mouth is at the Atlantic Ocean.

The English Channel

separates Great Britain from France on mainland Europe.

The Irish Sea

separates Ireland from Great Britain.

The Mozambique Channel

separates Madagascar from Africa.

The Bass Strait

separates Tasmania from Australia.

The Tasman Sea

separates Zealandia from Australia.

The Sea of Japan

separates the Japanese islands from Asia.

The South China Sea

separates the Philippine islands from Asia.

The Nile River

the longest river in Africa, which is also the longest river in the entire world. The mouth of the river is at the Mediterranean Sea

Mount Kosciuszko

the tallest mountain in Australia