Geography Realm - Geography, Maps, and GIS

Geography Basics

Lines of latitude. Image: Djexplo - Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Latitude and Longitude

Map showing the Indian Ocean, Oman Sea, and the Red Sea. Map: Epmistes, MediaWiki Commons.

What is the Difference Between a Sea and an Ocean?

The Earth can be divided into two main systems: the geosphere and the biosphere. Image: USGS, public domain.

What are the Earth System’s Four Spheres?

How Many Countries Are There?

To understand where north, south, east, and west are, first point your left arm towards the sun in the morning.

Understanding Direction Based on the Sun

Map of Texas with a locator map showing the relative location of Texas within the continental United States.

Absolute and Relative Location

What are the Branches of Geography?

This historical map created in 1843 by Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Great Britain) shows the visualized real world river in the Rotherhithe/Isle of Dogs area of London. Map scanned by David Rumsey. Georectification by

What is Map Reading?

Map showing the standard time zones for the entire world. PDF with a higher resolution. Map: CIA, 2018, public domain.

Geography of Time Zones

Physical Geography

Geography of Bees

May 29, 2021May 29, 2021

A native bee pollinates a native flower near Logan, Colorado. Photo: Mark Vandever, USGS.

Bees are critical pollinators that many plants require for survival.

True North, Magnetic North, and Grid North

May 29, 2021May 29, 2021

The magnetosphere, or magnetic field encircling Earth, is seen in this image.

There are a few definitions of north.

Human Geography

Geography of Happiness

June 7, 2021June 7, 2021

Geography can have a major influence on happiness.

Geography of Heavy Metal Bands

May 3, 2021May 29, 2021

World map showing the number of heavy metal bands per 100,000 people by country.

Which countries have the most heavy metal bands?

Maps and GIS

What Was the First Map Issued by the Ordnance Survey?

March 27, 2021March 27, 2021

A look at the detail on the 1801 Kent Map from the Ordnance Survey.

The first Ordnance Survey map was issued in 1801.

How Black Cartographers Highlighted Injustice

February 23, 2021May 19, 2021

An early 20th-century NAACP map showing lynchings between 1909 and 1918. The maps were sent to politicians and newspapers in an effort to spur legislation protecting Black Americans. Library of Congress

The work of the Black Panther Party, a 1960s- and 1970s-era Black political group featured in a new movie and a documentary, helps illustrate how cartography can illuminate injustice.

Geography Books

Review | Under the Wave at Waimea

April 22, 2021May 19, 2021

Set in Hawaii and with a champion surfer as its central character, “Under the Wave at Waimea” introduces us to the global geography of surfing.

Review | Lure of the Beach: A Global History

April 12, 2021May 19, 2021

Robert C. Ritchie guides readers through a comprehensive history of mankind’s love affair with the beach.