ATLAS

WORLD

CO N C I S E
 London • New York • Melbourne • Munich • Delhi

WORLD

CO N C I S E
ATLAS
Previously published as Concise Atlas of the World and also includes content published in Reference World Atlas
 LONDON, NEW YORK, MELBOURNE, MUNICH, DELHI

FOR THE SIXTH EDITION

Publisher Jonathan Metcalf Art DirectorPhilip Ormerod Associate PublisherLiz Wheeler

Senior Cartographic Editor Simon Mumford Cartographers Encompass Graphics Ltd, Brighton, UK Index database David Roberts
Jacket Designer Mark Cavanagh Production Controller Gemma Sharpe Production Editor Rebekah Parsons-King

General Geographical Consultants

Physical Geography Denys Brunsden, Emeritus Professor, Department of Geography, King’s College, London
Human Geography Professor J Malcolm Wagstaff, Department of Geography, University of Southampton
Place Names Caroline Burgess, Permanent Committee on Geographical Names, London
Boundaries International Boundaries Research Unit, Mountjoy Research Centre, University of Durham

Digital Mapping Consultants

DK Cartopia developed by George Galfalvi and XMap Ltd, London
Professor Jan-Peter Muller, Department of Photogrammetry and Surveying, University College, London
Cover globes, planets and information on the Solar System provided by Philip Eales and Kevin Tildsley, Planetary Visions Ltd, London

Regional Consultants
North America Dr David Green, Department of Geography, King’s College, London • Jim Walsh, Head of Reference, Wessell Library, Tufts University, Medford, Massachussetts
South America Dr David Preston, School of Geography, University of Leeds Europe Dr Edward M Yates, formerly of the Department of Geography, King’s College, London
Africa Dr Philip Amis, Development Administration Group, University of Birmingham • Dr Ieuan Ll Griffiths, Department of Geography, University of Sussex
Dr Tony Binns, Department of Geography, University of Sussex
Central Asia Dr David Turnock, Department of Geography, University of Leicester South and East Asia Dr Jonathan Rigg, Department of Geography, University of Durham
Australasia and Oceania Dr Robert Allison, Department of Geography, University of Durham

Acknowledgments
Digital terrain data created by Eros Data Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA. Processed by GVS Images Inc, California, USA and Planetary Visions Ltd, London, UK
Cambridge International Reference on Current Affairs (CIRCA), Cambridge, UK • Digitization by Robertson Research International, Swanley, UK • Peter Clark
British Isles maps generated from a dataset supplied by Map Marketing Ltd/European Map Graphics Ltd in combination with DK Cartopia copyright data

DORLING KINDERSLEY CARTOGRAPHY

Editor-in-Chief Andrew Heritage Managing CartographerDavid Roberts Senior Cartographic Editor Roger Bullen
Editorial Direction Louise Cavanagh Database Manager Simon Lewis Art Direction Chez Picthall

Cartographers
Pamela Alford • James Anderson • Caroline Bowie • Dale Buckton • Tony Chambers • Jan Clark • Bob Croser • Martin Darlison • Damien Demaj • Claire Ellam • Sally Gable
Jeremy Hepworth • Geraldine Horner • Chris Jackson • Christine Johnston • Julia Lunn • Michael Martin • Ed Merritt • James Mills-Hicks • Simon Mumford • John Plumer
John Scott • Ann Stephenson • Gail Townsley • Julie Turner • Sarah Vaughan • Jane Voss • Scott Wallace • Iorwerth Watkins • Bryony Webb • Alan Whitaker • Peter Winfield

Digital Maps Created in DK Cartopia by Placenames Database Team

Tom Coulson • Thomas Robertshaw
Philip Rowles • Rob Stokes
Managing Editor
Lisa Thomas
Editors
Thomas Heath • Wim Jenkins • Jane Oliver
Siobhan Ryan • Elizabeth Wyse
Editorial Research
Helen Dangerfield • Andrew Rebeiro-Hargrave
Additional Editorial Assistance
Debra Clapson • Robert Damon • Ailsa Heritage
Constance Novis • Jayne Parsons • Chris Whitwell
Natalie Clarkson • Ruth Duxbury • Caroline Falce • John Featherstone • Dan Gardiner
Ciárán Hynes • Margaret Hynes • Helen Rudkin • Margaret Stevenson • Annie Wilson
Senior Managing Art Editor
Philip Lord
Designers
Scott David • Carol Ann Davis • David Douglas • Rhonda Fisher
Karen Gregory • Nicola Liddiard • Paul Williams
Illustrations
Ciárán Hughes • Advanced Illustration, Congleton, UK
Picture Research
Melissa Albany • James Clarke • Anna Lord
Christine Rista • Sarah Moule • Louise Thomas

First American edition, 2001. This revised edition, 2013.

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 Introduction
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OUR PLANET TODAY

For many, the outstanding legacy of the twentieth century was the way in which the Earth shrank.
In the third millennium, it is increasingly important for us to have a clear vision of the world in which
we live. The human population has increased fourfold since 1900. The last scraps of terra incognita—
the polar regions and ocean depths—have been penetrated and mapped. New regions have been
colonized and previously hostile realms claimed for habitation. The growth of air transportation
and mass tourism allows many of us to travel further, faster, and more frequently than ever before.
In doing so we are given a bird’s-eye view of the Earth’s surface denied to our forebears.

At the same time, the amount of information about our world has grown enormously. Our multi-
media environment hurls uninterrupted streams of data at us, on the printed page, through the
airwaves, and across our television, computer, and phone screens; events from all corners of the
globe reach us instantaneously and are witnessed as they unfold. Our sense of stability and
certainty has been eroded; instead, we are aware that the world is in a constant state of flux
and change. Natural disasters, man-made cataclysms, and conflicts between nations remind us daily
of the enormity and fragility of our domain. The ongoing threat of international terrorism throws
into very stark relief the difficulties that arise when trying to "know" or "understand" our planet
and its many cultures.

The current crisis in our "global" culture has made the need greater than ever before for everyone
to possess an atlas. DK's CONCISE WORLD ATLAS has been conceived to meet this need.
At its core, like all atlases, it seeks to define where places are located, to describe their main
characteristics, and to map them in relation to other places. Every attempt has been made to
produce information and maps that are as clear, accurate, and accessible as possible using the latest
digital cartographic techniques. In addition, each page of the atlas provides a wealth of further
information, bringing the maps to life. Using photographs, diagrams, at-a-glance maps, introductory
texts, and captions, the atlas builds up a detailed portrait of those features—cultural, political,
economic, and geomorphological—that make each region unique, and which are also the main
agents of change.

This sixth edition of the CONCISE WORLD ATLAS incorporates hundreds of revisions and updates
affecting every map and every page, distilling the burgeoning mass of information available through
modern technology into an extraordinarily detailed and reliable view of our world.
 The Caribbean .....................................................................44–45

CONTENTS
Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas,
Barbados, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands,
Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica,
Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti,
Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Navassa Island,
Puerto Rico, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent &
Introduction ........................................................................................ v
ATLAS OF THE WORLD the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Trinidad & Tobago,
Turks & Caicos Islands, Virgin Islands (US)
Contents........................................................................................ vi–vii

How to use this Atlas................................................. viii–ix North America South America

THE WORLD

NORTH AMERICA ................................................................... 1 SOUTH AMERICA ..................................................... 46– 47

PHYSICAL NORTH AMERICA ................................ 2–3 PHYSICAL SOUTH AMERICA ............................. 48– 49
POLITICAL NORTH AMERICA ..............................4–5 POLITICAL SOUTH AMERICA ..............................50–51
The solar system.................................................................... x–xi NORTH AMERICAN RESOURCES ......................6–7 SOUTH AMERICAN RESOURCES .................... 52–53

The physical world........................................................ xii–xiii Canada ................................................................................................. 8–9 Northern South America ...................................... 54–55
Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana,
Canada: Western Provinces .................................. 10–11 Suriname, Venezuela
Structure of the Earth ............................................. xiv–xv Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba,
Saskatchewan, Yukon Western South America ......................................... 56–57
Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru
Shaping the landscape ......................................... xvi–xvii Canada: Eastern Provinces...................................... 12–13
New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Brazil ................................................................................................. 58–59
Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island,
The world’s oceans .................................................. xviii–xix Québec, St Pierre & Miquelon Eastern South America ............................................ 60–61
Southeast Brazil, Northeast Argentina, Uruguay
Southeastern Canada .................................................. 14–15
The global climate ....................................................... xx–xxi
Southern Ontario, Southern Québec Southern South America ...................................... 62–63
Argentina, Chile, Paraguay
United States of America ....................................... 16–17
Life on Earth ................................................................... xxii–xxiii The Atlantic Ocean ...................................................... 64–65
USA: Northeastern States ...................................... 18–19
Population and settlement ......................... xxiv–xxv Connecticut, Maine, Massachussetts,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont
Africa
The economic system ..................................... xxvi–xxvii
USA: Mid-Eastern States ......................................... 20–21
Delaware, District of Columbia, Kentucky,
The political world ............................................. xxviii–xxix Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
States and boundaries ....................................... xxx–xxxi
USA: Southern States .................................................. 22–23
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi AFRICA .............................................................................................. 66–67
International disputes.................................................... xxxii PHYSICAL AFRICA ............................................................. 68–69
USA: Texas ..................................................................................24–25
POLITICAL AFRICA ..............................................................70–71
USA: South Midwestern States....................... 26–27
Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma AFRICAN RESOURCES ................................................... 72–73
USA: Upper Plains States ........................................ 28–29 North Africa ............................................................................ 74–75
Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia,
Western Sahara
USA: Great Lakes States ...........................................30–31
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin West Africa .............................................................................. 76–77
Benin, Burkina, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,
USA: North Mountain States ............................ 32–33 Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania,
Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo

USA: California & Nevada ......................................34–35 Central Africa ........................................................................ 78–79

Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo,
USA: South Mountain States ............................36–37 Dem. Rep. Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon,
Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah Sao Tome & Principe

USA: Hawaii & Alaska .................................................. 38–39 East Africa ................................................................................. 80–81
Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda,
Mexico ............................................................................................40–41 Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda

Central America................................................................ 42–43 Southern Africa.................................................................. 82–83

Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique,
Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe

vi
 Europe
EUROPE .............................................................................................84–85
PHYSICAL EUROPE ........................................................... 86–87
POLITICAL EUROPE ......................................................... 88–89
EUROPEAN RESOURCES ............................................. 90–91
Scandinavia, Finland & Iceland ....................... 92–93
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Svalbard,
Sweden
Southern Scandinavia ................................................94–95
Denmark, Faeroe Islands, Southern Norway,
Southern Sweden
The British Isles...................................................................96–97
Channel Islands, Ireland, Isle of Man,
United Kingdom
The Low Countries ....................................................... 98–99
Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands
Germany .................................................................................. 100–101
France .......................................................................................... 102–103
France, Monaco
The Iberian Peninsula ............................................ 104–105
Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal, Spain
The Italian Peninsula ............................................... 106–107
Italy, San Marino, Vatican City
The Alpine States ....................................................... 108–109
Austria, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Switzerland
Central Europe ....................................................................110–111
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia
Southeast Europe .......................................................... 112–113
Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo,
Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia
Bulgaria & Greece ..........................................................114–115
(including European Turkey)
Romania, Moldova & Ukraine ........................116–117
The Baltic States & Belarus ............................... 118–119
Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kaliningrad
The Mediterranean ......................................................120–121
The Russian Federation ........................................ 122–123
Northern European Russia ............................... 124–125
Southern European Russia................................126–127
Asia Australasia
& Oceania
ASIA .................................................................................................... 128–129
PHYSICAL ASIA .....................................................................130–131 AUSTRALASIA & OCEANIA ................................174–175
POLITICAL ASIA ..................................................................132–133 POLITICAL AUSTRALASIA
& OCEANIA .................................................................. 176–177
ASIAN RESOURCES ........................................................134–135
Turkey & the Caucasus ......................................... 136–137 AUSTRALASIAN &
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey OCEANIAN RESOURCES ............................ 178–179
The Near East ................................................................... 138–139
Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria
Australia ....................................................................................180–181
The Arabian Peninsula ............................................ 140–141 Southeast Australia................................................... 182–183
New South Wales, South Australia,
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
United Arab Emirates, Yemen Tasmania, Victoria
Iran & the Gulf States ............................................. 142–143 New Zealand ......................................................................184–185
Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates
Melanesia ...............................................................................186–187
Kazakhstan ............................................................................ 144–145 Fiji, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea,
Solomon Islands, Vanuatu
Central Asia ......................................................................... 146–147
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan Micronesia............................................................................ 188–189
Guam, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru,
Afghanistan & Pakistan .........................................148–149 Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Wake Island
South Asia .............................................................................. 150–151 Polynesia...................................................................................190–191
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal,
Cook Islands, Easter Island, French Polynesia,
Pakistan, Sri Lanka
Kiribati, Niue, Pitcairn Islands, Tokelau, Tuvalu,
Wallis & Futuna
Northern India & the
Himalayan States ................................................ 152–153 The Pacific Ocean ........................................................192–193
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Northern India
Antarctica .............................................................................. 194–195
Southern India & Sri Lanka ............................. 154–155
The Arctic ..............................................................................196–197
Mainland East Asia ..................................................... 156–157
China, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan
Western China ................................................................. 158–159
Eastern China ..................................................................... 160–161 INDEX–GAZETTEER
Eastern China, Taiwan
Northeastern China, Geographical comparisons ............................ 198–199
Mongolia & Korea ..............................................162–163
Mongolia, Northeastern China, North Korea, Countries of the world
South Korea
including The time zones .................... 200–207
Japan ........................................................................................... 164–165
Geographical glossary ......................................... 208–210
Mainland Southeast Asia ...................................166–167
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Paracel Islands, Geographical names ............................................................. 211
Thailand, Vietnam
Index .............................................................................................212–349
West Maritime Southeast Asia ................ 168–169
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore
Acknowledgements ............................................................. 350
East Maritime Southeast Asia ...................... 170–171
East Timor, Indonesia, Philippines
The Indian Ocean ......................................................... 172–173
vii
INTRODUCTION

Key to maps How to use

Regional
Physical features Communications Typographic key
this Atlas
The atlas is organized by continent, moving eastward from the
elevation motorway / highway International Date Line. The opening section describes the world’s
Physical features structure, systems, and its main features. The Atlas of the World which
motorway / highway
6000m / 19,686ft (under construction)
landscape features Namib Desert follows, is a continent-by-continent guide to today’s world, starting with
4000m / 13,124ft major road Massif Central a comprehensive insight into the physical, political, and economic
3000m / 9843ft minor road ANDES structure of each continent, followed by integrated mapping and
2000m / 6562ft tunnel (road)
headland Nordkapp descriptions of each region or country.
main railroad
1000m / 3281ft

500m / 1640ft
minor railroad elevation /
volcano / pass Mount Meru
4556 m
The world
tunnel (railroad)
250m / 820ft
drainage features Lake Geneva
The introductory section of the Atlas deals with every aspect of the
international airport planet, from physical structure to human geography, providing an
100m / 328ft
rivers / canals overall picture of the world we live in. Complex topics such as the
sea level spring / well /
waterhole / oasis / landscape of the Earth, climate, oceans, population, and economic
below sea level Borders waterfall /
rapids / dam Mekong
patterns are clearly explained with the aid of maps and diagrams
elevation above sea level full international drawn from the latest information.
(mountain height) border
ice features Vatnajökull
volcano undefined THE WOR LD THE WOR LD’S OCE ANS

international border sea features Golfe de Lion

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

The world’s oceans

1
The great oceans Deposition Sediment accumulates at
head of underwater canyon
Continental
shelf Rocks and
1
Other debris,
There are five oceans on Earth: the Pacific, of sediment Recently-
deposited
flow from

pass
Atlantic, Indian and Southern oceans, and the

Diagrams
Storms, earthquakes, and volcanic shelf to

Andaman Sea
sediments
much smaller Arctic Ocean. These five ocean activity trigger underwater currents overlay
ocean floor
Two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by the oceans. The landscape of the ocean floor, basins are relatively young, having evolved within older rocks
known as turbidity currents which
like the surface of the land, has been shaped by movements of the Earth’s crust over millions the last 80 million years. One of the most recent scour sand and gravel from the
2 2
of years to form volcanic mountain ranges, deep trenches, basins and plateaux. Ocean plate collisions, between the Eurasian and African Deep sea
䉱 The Indian Ocean accounts for 䉱 Currents in the Southern Ocean 䉱 The Pacific Ocean is the 䉱 The Atlantic Ocean was formed continental shelf, creating
plates, created the present-day arrangement of turbidity
approximately 20% of the total are driven by some of the world’s world’s largest and deepest ocean, when the landmasses of the eastern underwater canyons. These strong
currents constantly redistribute warm and cold water around the world. A major warm continents and oceans. area of the world’s oceans. fiercest winds, including the Roaring covering over one-third of the and western hemispheres began to
flow
currents pick up material deposited
current, such as El Niño in the Pacific Ocean, can increase surface temperature by up to Forties, Furious Fifties and surface of the Earth. drift apart 180 million years ago.

disputed de facto Shrieking Sixties. at river mouths and deltas, and

INDIAN
10°F (8°C), causing changes in weather patterns which can lead to both droughts and flooding. How sediment is deposited on the ocean floor
carry it across the continental shelf

elevation below sea level

3 and through the underwater 3

Sea level Gre

enl
canyons, where it is eventually laid
down on the ocean floor in the

border
an
If the influence of tides, winds, currents and variations in d Se
Baren
gravity were ignored, the surface of the Earth’s oceans would
Arctic Circle Sea ts Kara
Sea
Laptev Sea ARCTI C OC EAN Baffin Bay a
Arctic Circle
form of fans.
Dav

(depression depth)
East Siberian Beaufort Sea
closely follow the topography of the ocean floor, with an Sea Chukchi is S
Sea tra
4 i
underwater ridge 3000 ft (915 m) high producing a rise of up to Se a Hudson Strai t 4
rth Se a t
3 ft (1 m) in the level of the surface water. No Baltic Hudson Labrador 䉴 Satellite image of the Yangtze
Bay Sea (Chang Jiang) Delta, in which the

Photographs
Depressed sea level over Sea of Bering
trough in ocean floor E U R O Okhotsk Sea Gulf of
n c h Alaska M
land appears red. The river
P E

OCEAN
Tr e id deposits immense quantities of
Elevated sea ian -A
level over Aleut t
silt into the East China Sea, much

Se a
A S I

Emperor Seamou
Black nc of which will eventually reach the
A

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5

la
ridge in re Newfoundland 5

Se a
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deep ocean floor.

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NORTH
Base level of

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ocean floor Basin
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dr
the sea surface ite Ku

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a sp
Actual relief Sea of
at 0 ft (0 m) c t ure Zon e
AMERICA

rra
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Japan
c ino Fra Surface water

disputed territorial
ea Northwest

Tren
of ocean
Me n d o

n
nS (East Sea)
floor ea Yellow
Pacific
North Ocean currents move warm water away from the Equator towards

an
Basin Zone

nts
Sea

ap
J
How surface waters reflect the c t ure American the poles, while cold water is, in turn, moved towards the Equator.
East yF r a

Per G u
Mur ra
6 Basin
C 6

Explanatory captions
relief of the ocean floor
A T L A N T ICanary
ia China This is the main way in which the Earth distributes surface heat and
Gulf

s
Tropic of Cancer lf n Sea Tropic of Cancer is a major climatic control. Approximately 4000 million years ago,
one

it
sand desert
of Mexico

claim border
ure Z

tra
Sargasso Sea
Haw act Basin

nS
Mi ai i a ai F r the Earth was dominated by oceans and there was no land to

Red Sea
d-P

iwa
Arabian nR M olok Yucatan
ac i i dg interrupt the flow of the currents, which would have flowed as

Ta
fic M e M Basin
Sea ne
o untains re Zo id straight lines, simply influenced by the Earth’s rotation.
Bay nF rac tu dl
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C lar io m Caribbean Sea a Fracture Z

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7 of Bengal eric 7
Philippine a T one

ve Plateau

Tr
r
AFRICA P A C I F I C en

Barracuda Fracture Zone

Sea a

undersea features
Marian ch

Th a
South

Gul iland
Guate mala

Car
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ure Z

f of
ra c t B a sin

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C li pper

it o
Gulf of Shelf Celebes Central
Sea

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fM
Guinea a Pacific
8 Equator

lac
8

e
indication of country
Equator Melanesian Basin
I N D I A N

ca
Chagos
Somali

e
䉱 The low relief of many small Pacific islands such Bismarck Basin

is
lava flow
as these atolls at Huahine in French Polynesia Basin Sea

R
SOUTH

Mid-I
makes them vulnerable to changes in sea level. Mid-Indian Solomon

c
Ninety
Arafura Brazil

fi
Sea
Basin
AMERICA
Sea

Mozambique Channel
Idealized globe showing the

Global mapping
Angola

ndian R

ci
Timor

Pe r u
Basin
Ocean structure Sea Per u

extent (Pacific only)

Basin movement of water around

ga Trench

Pa
9 Coral Basin 9

M al a t e a u
a landless Earth.

-C
P

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east
The continental shelf is a shallow, flat sea-bed Sea

dg
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scarene

idge

Gr

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Ri

l e Tr e n c h
ea
O C E A N

Ton
Ocean currents

tB
surrounding the Earth’s continents. It extends to

ca
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az
arr
N Chile

Rid

ier
the continental slope, which falls to the ocean South Basin Tropic of Capricorn Surface currents are driven by the prevailing winds and by the

Re
Tropic of Capricorn AUSTRALIA Sala y Gomez Ridge

ef
floor. Here, the flat abyssal plains are interrupted

Global information is
Fiji spinning motion of the Earth, which drives the currents into

ge
Madagascar

Wal

Mo
10 Basin Perth Basin
by vast, underwater mountain ranges, the mid- circulating whirlpools, or gyres. Deep sea currents, over 10

vis R
Rio

zam

se
O C E A N

ge
Basin

ge
idge
ocean ridges, and ocean trenches which plunge to Grande 330 ft (100 m) below the surface, are driven by differences in

biq

Rid

Ri
Cape

id
coastline
South

ue
Southwest Rise water temperature and salinity, which have an impact on the
depths of 35,828 ft (10,920 m). Tasman

R
Basin

Pla
O C E A N
Australian

dian

c
Bass Strait Pacific density of deep water and on its movement.

c
Sea

tea

fi

ti
Regions
Basin

indication of
Basin

n
ci
Abyssal Oceanic

la
shown in a variety of

est In
Trench Seamount plain ridge Sou Argentine t

a
Volcanic thea
11 ll -A Sur face temperature and current s 11

P
Flat-topped island Agulhas st In be Basin
dia n Ridge mp u id

st
guyot Basin Ke Ca tea M
rgu

thw
Continental Arctic

a
ele Pla E Circle
shelf Ocean depth nP
ge

dependent territory

ou
lat
S ea n tic Rid
Sea level u South Indian Basi tarc
c-An Scotia Sea Tropic of
200m / 656ft
Enderby SOUTHERN Pacifi OCEAN Cancer

ich
S o u t h e a s t Pa c i f i c

projections to give the

ARMENIA
12 1000m / 3281ft dw
Plain Basin San h 12
2000m / 6562ft South Trenc Equator
3000m / 9843ft Amundsen Sea Bellingshausen

ANTA RC TIC A
e Ross Antarctic
t ic Circl Sea Circle
Ant a rc Tropic of

extent (Pacific only)

4000m / 13,124ft Sea Weddell

reef
5000m / 16,400ft Capricorn
Typical sea-floor features Sea
6000m / 19,686ft
Antarctic

country
Circle

Black smokers
These vents in the ocean
floor disgorge hot, sulphur-
rich water from deep in the
Earth’s crust. Despite the
Arctic
Circle
Ages of the ocean floor Tides and waves
Tides are created by the pull of the Sun and Moon’s gravity on
the surface of the oceans. The levels of high and low tides are
influenced by the position of the Moon in relation to the Earth
High and low tides
The highest tides occur when the Earth, the Moon and
the Sun are aligned (below left). The lowest tides are
experienced when the Sun and Moon align at right
angles to one another (below right).
Surface temperature and currents
Ice-shelf (below 0˚C / 32˚F)
Sea-ice* (average) below -2˚C / 28˚F
Sea-water -2–0˚C / 28–32˚F
* Sea-water freezes at -1.9˚C / 28.4˚F
0–10˚C / 32–50˚F
10–20˚C / 50–68˚F
20–30˚C / 68–86˚F
warm current
cold current
13

reader a clear overview of

great depths, a variety of and Sun. Waves are formed by wind blowing over the surface of

each topic.
lifeforms have adapted to the water. 14
the chemical-rich
environment which Highest Lowest
Tidal range and wave environment s Deep sea temperature and current s

atoll
Tropic of high tides
surrounds black smokers. Cancer high tides

dependent territory
Arctic Earth Arctic
Circle Circle
Equator
䉱 Surtsey, near Iceland, is a 15

demarcation/
Sun
䉱 A black smoker in the volcanic island lying directly over Tropic of Tropic of Moon Tropic of

NIUE (to NZ)

Atlantic Ocean. the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It was Capricorn Cancer Cancer
formed in the 1960s following
Equator Equator

Supporting maps
intense volcanic activity nearby.

with parent state

Plume of hot Tropic of Tropic of
Chimney mineral laden water Ocean floors Capricorn Capricorn

cease fire line

16 Antarctic
Mid-ocean ridges are formed by Circle 16
lava which erupts beneath the sea Antarctic Antarctic
Circle Circle
and cools to form solid rock. This
Water
Ocean floor process mirrors the creation of Tidal bulge
percolates Jurassic Tertiary (Paleogene) Jurassic
Tidal range and wave environments created by
into the volcanoes from cooled lava on the Cretaceous Quaternary Cretaceous Deep sea temperature and currents
Water heated gravitational pull

sea depth
sea floor land. The ages of sea floor rocks less than 2m / 7ft east coast swell tropical cyclone ice-shelf
by hot basalt Age uncertain Ice-shelf (below 0˚C / 32˚F) Primary currents
17 increase in parallel bands outwards 208 145 65 23 0 23 65 145 208 Continental shelf 2–4m / 7–13ft west coast swell storm wave Sea-water -2–0˚C / 28–32˚F (below 5000m / 16,400ft) Secondary currents 17
Formation of black smokers from central ocean ridges. million years old Tertiary (Neogene) million years old and island arcs greater than 4m / 13ft Sea-water 0–5˚C / 32–41˚F (below 4000m / 13,120ft)

region outside
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

xviii xix

autonomous /
sea level
federal region border feature area ANGOLA
-250m / -820ft autonomous /
other 1st order internal
-500m / -1640ft administrative border federal region MINAS GERAIS The political continent
other 1st order
-1000m / -3281ft 2nd order internal
internal administrative
The political portrait of the continent is a vital reference point for every
administrative border
-2000m / -6562ft region MINSKAYA continental section, showing the position of countries relative to one another,
VOBLASTS’ and the relationship between human settlement and geographic location. The
-3000m / -9843ft
Settlements 2nd order internal complex mosaic of languages spoken in each continent is mapped, as is the
administrative
region Vaucluse effect of communications networks on the pattern of settlement.
seamount / guyot symbol

undersea spot depth

built up area cultural region New England EUROPE POLITICAL EUROPE
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Z

䉳 Overcoming
1

Political Europe natural barriers, the

Brenner Autobahn,
Transport 1

settlement population symbols

one of the main major roads and motorways

Locator map
routes across the major railways
Alps, links Innsbruck international borders Vorkuta
The political boundaries of Europe have changed many times, especially during the 20th in Austria with transport intersections
Reykjavík major international airports
century in the aftermath of two world wars, the break-up of the empires of Austria- Verona in Italy. major ports
Murmansk
2
Hungary, Nazi Germany and, towards the end of the century, the collapse of
communism in eastern Europe. The fragmentation of Yugoslavia has again altered the
Novaya

Introductory text political map of Europe, highlighting a trend towards nationalism and devolution. In contrast, economic Archangel
Zemlya
federalism is growing. In 1958, the formation of the European Economic Community (now the European Trondheim

Settlements
3 Union or EU) started a move towards economic and political union and increasing internal migration. Perm’
3
Kara

Drainage features
䉱 The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin is a potent Bergen

more than 5 million

symbol of German reunification. From 1961, the road Sea Oslo Helsinki
Population trait
beneath it ended in a wall, built to stop the flow of St Petersburg Vologda Kirov

k S
refugees to the West. It was opened again in 1989 Aberdeen
Stockholm Tallinn
Grangemouth
ar
Europe is a densely populated, urbanized when the wall was destroyed and East and West Gothenburg Nizhniy Novgorod
Germany were reunited. Newcastle upon Tyne
Dublin
4 continent; in Belgium over 90% of people live m Vorkuta Middlesbrough
Copenhagen Helsingborg
Ríga
Moscow Samara
le
n

in urban areas. The highest population Arc Circ Liverpool

Communications map
De

tic tic Birmingham Kaliningrad Vilnius

Circ Arc Gdaúsk
densities are found in an area stretching east

U
le Amsterdam Hamburg
London
Minsk
from southern Britain and northern France, REYKJAVÍK B are nts Southampton Rotterdam
Antwerp
Berlin
Warsaw
into Germany. The northern fringes are only ICELAND S ea le Havre Brussels Poznaú

r
Frankfurt Brest
5 am Main Kharkiv Volgograd
sparsely populated. Paris Prague 5

1 million to 5 million Y St-Nazaire Kiev

BEIJING
Murmansk

a
䉱 Demand for space in densely populated Strasbourg Nuremberg
Rostov-na-Donu Astrakhan’
European cities like London has led to A Coruña Bern Vienna Bratislava
Munich
Bordeaux Budapest
the development of high-rise offices and

capital city
Bilbao Innsbruck

l
main river
urban sprawl. Lyon
A

Milan Trieste Ljubljana Odesa

Zagreb
N

Genoa Verona
Novorossiysk
6 Bologna Bucharest 6
Lisbon Marseille Belgrade Constanπa
N o r w e g i a n White
R U S S I A N Madrid
Barcelona
W

Sea Sofia Varna

S e a Arkhangel’sk
E

Faeroe Islands Valencia Rome

Istanbul

M
Population map
(to Denmark) Cádiz Naples
Salonica
or Gibraltar
N

ther

500,000 to 1 million
n Dvin
N

o
7 a
R

7
ni
D

Trondheim Piraeus Athens

th
Bo
A

u
secondary river
Valletta
of

dependent territory
Lake
Shetland Islands
FINLAND Perm’
E

Onega
E
O

Gulf

n
Outer Orkney Islands Bergen Tampere F E D E R AT I O N Transport
C

Hebrides Lake 8

t
Kirov
Ladoga
OSLO Turku HELSINKI
Åland Despite its fragmented geography and many natural frontiers,
W

FORT-DE-FRANCE
O

Vologda

a
Uppsala
N

Stavanger

capital city Aberdeen Örebro TALLINN

St Petersburg
Ufa communications in Europe are well developed. Extensive motorway links

100,000 to 500,000
SCOTLAND Vänern STOCKHOLM
Dundee allow rapid road transport, while high-speed rail connections like France’s

i
Yaroslavl’
Glasgow
Nor th Kristiansand
ESTONIA Kazan’
TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse), and the Channel Tunnel have improved rail
NORTHERN Edinburgh
e a

9 Population density Vättern

9
C

tertiary river
S

IRELAND S ea

n
Gothenburg travel. Outdated communication infrastructures in parts of eastern
(people per sq km) Belfast Nizhniy Novgorod
Gotland
S

Aalborg Jönköping
I R E L A N D ofIsle
Newcastle upon Tyne Ventspils Europe, and insufficient transport links across the Alps, however, remain
below 49 L AT V I A
I

s
Man
50–99 DUBLIN (to UK) UNI TED DE NMA RK RÍGA We
stern MOSCOW
Ul’yanovsk Tol’yatti
Orenburg
weak parts of the network.
c

100–149
Liverpool
Leeds Helsingborg i Liepája D Samara
lt
T

COPENHAGEN

Political map
150–199 na
vi

Manchester Sheffield Malmö

Chicago
200–299 Odense a
10 above 300 K I NG D OM B RUSS. FED. LIT HUA NIA
Vitsyebsk Tula
10
N

WA L E S Birmingham (Kaliningrad) Kaunas

h s t a n
a k

other settlements
E N G L A N D Kaliningrad

50,000 to 100,000
Cardiff Groningen VILNIUS
Th

Hamburg Gdaúsk
z

m es MINSK
Languages
a

AMSTERDAM NETH. El b Saratov

A

K a
O de r

LONDON THE HAGUE Bremen e

minor river
Southampton

All the countries in each

Rotterdam Hannover Bydgoszcz Babruysk
Nijmegen Vi There are three main European language groups: Germanic languages
Voronezh
11 Channel English Channel Antwerp BERLIN st ul a B E L A RU S 11
L

Islands BELG Düsseldorf Poznaú WARSAW Homyel’ predominate in central and northern Europe; Romance languages in
(to UK)
GERM ANY Îód¶ Brest
IUM

le Havre BRUSSELS western and Mediterranean Europe and Romania; while Slavic languages
Bonn
P OL A N D

Adana
Se Liège Leipzig
A T

Rh

are spoken in eastern Europe and the Russian Federation. Isolated pockets
in

Dresden
e

in e

Rennes LUXEMBOURG Frankfurt Wrocîaw Volgograd

Kharkiv
PARIS LUXEMBOURG am Main PRAGUE KIEV
of local languages, such as Basque and Gaelic, persist and frequently

continent are shown, with

Vol
St-Nazaire Nantes Kraków ga provide a focus for national identity.
12 Loir
e
Orléans
Strasbourg
Nuremberg CZECH
L’viv
U K R A I N E 12

10,000 to 50,000
Stuttgart REPUBLIC Dnipropetrovs’k Astrakhan’
C a s p i a n

Bay of
䉱 Traditional lifestyles still persist FR A NC E Da Rostov-na-Donu

main seasonal river

Munich S L O VA K I A Donets’k
in many remote and rural parts of A Coruña Biscay n
Salzburg ube
Dn

S
BRATISLAVA Chernivtsi iester
Limoges Zürich VIENNA MO
Europe, especially in the south, east, BERN T

I
Innsbruck
Györ Miskolc LD ICELANDIC
and in the far north. Bordeaux Geneva SWITZERLAND O E
s

their political capitals and

er

l p LIECHTENSTEIN
AU S T R I A I)

Tizi Ozou
M
ie p

Lyon BUDAPEST Sea of (SA N

VA

13
Cluj-Napoca CHIflINÂU Dn Stavropol’ 13

M
LAPPISH E
Map key
Bilbao
A Milan HUNG A RY Odesa Azov N F
N
Porto Py LJUBLJANA A
ne

ROMANIA Language groups

A
Groznyy I
NI

KAR
Toulouse Novorossiysk
re
Rhô

SLOVE
S

O
e
AL

D ue Turin Verona
Caucasus

N
Population Simferopol’
G
Valladolid Venice Trieste
ro ne Po ZAGREB a

H
FAEROESE
Eb

ELIA
Genoa

N
Bra§ov Turkic E
es

H
ro

C ROAT IA

S
above 5 million Bologna

I S
R W

DIS
UG

Marseille Nice Albanian

K
BELGRADE
I

N
ANDORRA BOS.

SWE
Florence
SH

1 million to 5 million Tagus MONACO Finno-Ugric/Samoyed

Ad

an

most populous cities.

LA VELLA ANDORRA D

H
C

fewer than 10,000

Constan√a LI
LI

LISBON Zaragoza SAN BUCHAREST G e org i a

N O

14 MADRID Pisa & HERZ. Germanic G

j 14
I

EN
RT

500,000 to 1 million
ai
VEPS

secondary seasonal river

S W E

S
GA

Da e a
ri

MARINO UDMURT
Corsica SARAJEVO SER B IA nube c k Slavic
R
l a Azerb
Setúbal ISH
S P A I N
at

100,000 to 500,000 Mostar Ruse Romance SWED

PO

c B U
T

Barcelona
E

MARI
i

Basque

Yonezawa
Varna H ESTONI A N
50,000 to 100,000 Se T A R
N G

BULGARIA A R
H
S

KOSOVO Baltic
IRI

CHUVASH
LIS

VATICAN BASHKIR
10,000 to 50,000 a MONTENEGRO (disputed) Burgas
KARELIAN T
ENG

Celtic IN
A

Valencia CITY L AT VI A N

S
SOFIA DA N
DV
L I S H

Seville Córdoba Mallorca ROME PRISTINA Stara Zagora Greek

Country capital
L PODGORICA IS LITHUANIAN MOR

S
Ibiza Menorca Caucasian SIAN
RI
H

SKOPJE
SH
Palma TIRANA WELSH RUSSIAN
Sardinia
Ty

15 Borders Bari Iranian LI 15

nds
F

Cádiz Murcia MACEDONIA Istanbul

I
PO
T
H

Gibraltar Málaga Isla Naples Mongol

C
rr

T
Balearic
Y

full international DU BELORUSSIAN

A
(to UK) Salonica POLISH
border en ALBANIA u GERMAN
h

Ceuta Cagliari BRETON FRENCH

(to Spain) ia

N
n r C
F

R ZE
Aegean
Lárisa CH U K R A I N I A N KA

Languages map
Se Cosenza
Melilla
M e k E LM

canal
d i t a e O VA K

Farnham
(to Spain) N SL YK
G REEC E S ea y GA C H

country/dependent territory
16 e r Palermo Messina
LIC
IAN
G E R M A N
HUNGARIAN KABARDIAN 16
I T

KUMYK
N

Scale 1:15,500,000 r Sicily ATHENS E BASQUE SLOVENE ADYGHE

A

I CHECHEN
ES

a Piraeus CROATIAN R OMAN KARACHAY AVAR

A
GU

Catania
n LEZGHIAN
L

S PA N I S H
TU

AN

Km BOSNIAN OSSETIAN
Ionian TALAN
e
I

BALKAR
BI
P OR

CA
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 R
A

SE
a Sea 䉴 The architecture of the Grand ITALIAN BULGARIAN
N

capital city
MALTA
0
Miles
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 n VALLETTA Place lies at the heart of
CATALA
N ALBANIAN MACEDONIAN
AN

SARDINIAN TURKISH
17 Brussels – home city to one 17
projection: Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area Irákleio
S e of the EU headquarters.
LI

GREEK
a Crete IT
A

waterfall 88
A B C D E F G H I N O P Q R S T U MALTESE Y Z

89

rapids
autonomous / federal Miscellaneous
region / other 1st order
internal administrative center
dam sites of interest /
perennial lake 2nd order internal
administrative center
miscellaneous Valley of the Kings
Continental resources
Tropics /
seasonal lake The Earth’s rich natural resources, including oil, gas, minerals, and fertile land,
Polar circles Antarctic Circle
perennial salt lake have played a key role in the development of society. These pages show the
seasonal salt lake Miscellaneous features location of minerals and agricultural resources on each continent, and how
reservoir
they have been instrumental in dictating industrial growth and the varieties
ancient wall
of economic activity across the continent.
salt flat / salt pan site of interest

scientific station
marsh / salt marsh SOUTH AMERICA SOUTH AMERICAN RESOURCES
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

䉳 Ciudad Guayana is
1

South American resources a planned industrial

complex in eastern
Venezuela, built as an
iron and steel centre
Environmental issues
The Amazon Basin is one of the last great
wilderness areas left on Earth. The tropical
Mineral resources
Over a quarter of the world’s known
copper reserves are found at the
Caribbea

s
n Sea

AT
1

mangrove
n o LA
to exploit the nearby rainforests which grow there are a valuable Chuquicamata mine in northern Chile, l a N
Agriculture still provides the largest single form of employment in South America, although rural iron ore reserves. L Gu T
ian IC
unemployment and poverty continue to drive people towards the huge coastal cities in search genetic resource, containing innumerable and other metallic minerals such as tin a Hi
ghla O
unique plants and animals. The forests are are found along the length of the nds C
of jobs and opportunities. Mineral and fuel resources, although substantial, are distributed E
A
increasingly under threat from new and Andes. The discovery of oil and gas at N
unevenly; few countries have both fossil fuels and minerals. To break industrial dependence on A m a z o n
expanding settlements and ‘slash and burn’ Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo in 1917

Graticule features
raw materials, boost manufacturing, and improve infrastructure, governments borrowed heavily from the World

Mineral resources map

farming techniques, which clear land for turned the country into one of the B a s i n
䉱 Clouds of smoke billow from the
Bank in the 1960s and 1970s. This led to the accumulation of massive debts which are unlikely ever to be repaid. the raising of beef cattle, causing land world’s leading oil producers. In
A

Industry burning Amazon rainforest. Over

3 Today, Brazil dominates the continent’s economic output, followed by Argentina. Recently, the less-developed degradation and soil erosion. 11,500 sq miles (30,000 sq km) of contrast, South America is virtually
n

virgin rainforest are being cleared

western side of South America has benefited due to its geographical position; for example Chile is increasingly aerospace pharmaceuticals
devoid of coal, the only significant d
P

annually, destroying an ancient,

nd

brewing printing & publishing

la

wadi
A

exporting raw materials to Japan. Caribbea irreplaceable, natural resource and deposit being on the peninsula of e
gh

car/vehicle manufacture shipbuilding n Sea

Hi
C

chemicals sugar processing biodiverse habitat. s

Guajira in Colombia.
an

electronics textiles Caracas

I

AT
ili
d al e n a

C a r i b b e a n engineering timber processing o s

az

LA
F

ca n
Br

S e a finance tobacco processing

u

4 l a N
Ca

o
I C

T
M ag

ac

fish processing wine Medellín L Gu IC

䉳 Copper is Chile’s
Ch

Barranquilla Maracaibo Caracas food processing i an

Bogotá aH
s

oil O
n

hi-tech industry ig hl largest export, most

ra

Cartagena Barquisimeto Valencia gas an d s C G

iron & steel E of which is mined at
O C E

A
e

meat processing industrial cities Quito Ri N N

PANAMA Ne
Chuquicamata. A
Ciudad Guayana major industrial areas A m a z o n
o

metal refining
A narcotics
g ro Along the length of
C
E
d

Gulf of
VENEZUELA on the Andes, metallic
Georgetown
T Amaz O
P A

5 Panama B a s i n 5
minerals like copper
li

Paramaribo
a

L C
A N
ay

Medellín

lines of latitude and

n

GUYANA and tin are found in I

Uc
A

A abundance, formed T
C

spring / well / waterhole / oasis

Bogotá French
N

N by the excessive
A

SURINAM rancisco
n

Guiana
A

oF
I

Sã pressures and heat

(to France)
T
L

d
s
nd

Cali
COLOMBIA
F

involved in
T

I C
la
gh

e mountain-building.
I

Hi

Mineral resources

longitude / Equator
6 6
C

an

s
O
ili

oil field
az

C
Br

gas field
O

E A
o

Quito
ac

coal field

Environmental issues map

Ch
s

São Paulo
C E

Belém
N Rio de Janeiro bauxite
n

ay

ECUADOR
ra

A m a z o n G copper
ag

n
Guayaquil Manaus Pa r a
e

Par

diamonds
S al

7 7
A N

ad

o gold
N

Iquitos
iron
A
d

Fortaleza
Santa Fe
E

lead
B a s i n Mendoza
Car ibb ean S ea
C

Santiago silver
䉱 The cold Peru Current flows
O

Río
n

de la P tin
north from the Antarctic along Natal
Environmental issues l at a
C
S al a

Barranquilla Caracas
the Pacific coast of Peru,
I

Chiclayo o Maracaibo
d
A

national parks Gulf of

P

Ice features
8 providing rich nutrients for one Colora
A T
N

do Darien 8
of the world’s largest fishing
B R A Z I L Recife
tropical forest
L
A
o s
no co L

Tropics / Polar circles

grounds. However, over- Chimbote Gulf of Or i
forest destroyed T n A
A
A

Panama a
exploitation has severely la N
en

desert
Magdal

reduced Peru’s anchovy catch. Medellín L

Maceió T
PE RU desertification Bogotá Gu
ia I
Lima C
C

polluted rivers na
Hi
9
Standard of living Cusco
marine pollution Cali ghl
and
s
O 9
Salvador heavy marine pollution C
Wealth disparities throughout the continent E
I

BOLIVIA
A N

Rio Neg ro
create a wide gulf between affluent Brasília
poor urban air quality A
Arequipa La Paz Amaz
on
Ilha de
Marajó Belém N
landowners and those afflicted by chronic Putumayo
A m
m a z on
a z o n
F

A
s

Santa Cruz
Tocantin

degrees of longitude /
poverty in inner-city slums. The illicit Amazon Manaus ós
á

10 Gulf of
u

aj
Using the land and sea B a s i n 10
Jur

Arica Sucre Guayaquil

p

production of cocaine, and the hugely Fortaleza

Ta

Marañón
E

Xi
I

ng

r
a

influential drug barons who control its ei

Land use map

Iquique Many foods now common worldwide originated in South ad
u

Belo Horizonte
us M
distribution, contribute to the violent Pur
C

America. These include the potato, tomato, squash, and

A

latitude
disorder and corruption which affect a
C

Chuquicamata
cassava. Today, large herds of beef cattle roam the
i
ua

Recife
Arag
O

11 northwestern South America, de-stabilizing PARAGUAY Rio de Janeiro temperate grasslands of the Pampas, supporting an
n

São Paulo

ice cap / sheet

P

Antofagasta
local governments and economies. extensive meat-packing trade in Argentina, Uruguay and d
A

Asunción
Ciudad del Este Curitiba Paraguay. Corn (maize) is grown as a staple crop across the Lima
co

ds
E

nc i s

Planalto de
e
C

Salvador
continent and coffee is grown as a cash crop in Brazil and
an

San Miguel de Tucumán

F ra

Mato Grosso
hl
O

Corrientes
Colombia. Coca plants grown in Bolivia, Peru and Colombia
ão

Brasília S
I

ig

s
H

12 provide most of the world’s cocaine. Fish and shellfish are 12

F

an
T
L

caught off the western coast, especially anchovies off Peru,

ili
I

Porto Alegre
C

N
az

shrimps off Ecuador and pilchards off Chile.

Br
C

Córdoba Santa Fe Belo Horizonte

A
Industry map
GNI per capita (US$)
Pi l
I

m
co

Rosario Rio Grande

L ay
Par

ná
E

Mendoza URUGUAY o Rio de Janeiro

a
ac

ice shelf
13 Valparaíso
ag

Par

below 999 13
O C

Ch

uay

T
s

Santiago 1000–1999 São Paulo

Buenos Aires
n

Montevideo 2000–2999
ra

A Curitiba
H

3000–3999 G
A

Talca 4000–4999
䉳 South America, and Brazil in
N
A RG E N T INA above 5000
A
e
E A N

Concepción particular, now leads the world in y

ua
E
Paraná

coffee production, mainly growing

u
Ur

14 Bahía Blanca Coffea Arabica in large plantations. 14

C
C
N

Neuquén Córdoba Porto Alegre

Coffee beans are harvested, roasted
d

Standard of living Valdivia Industry and brewed to produce the world’s O

Comparative wealth map

(UN human development index) second most popular drink, after tea. Rosario

low
Argentina and Brazil are South America’s most Santiago
Montevideo C
䉳 The Pampas region of I
s

Buenos
industrialized countries and São Paulo is the continent’s
n

pa

Aires

glacier / snowfield
southeast South America is
15 T
m

leading industrial centre. Long-term government 15

characterized by extensive, flat
Pa

high investment in Brazilian industry has encouraged a diverse plains, and populated by cattle Using the land and sea
N

C ol or
Rí ado
and ranchers (gauchos).
A

oN
Comodoro Rivadavia industrial base; engineering, steel production, food
A

eg r barren land cocoa

Gulf of
Argentina is a major world o
cropland cotton
processing, textile manufacture and chemicals producer of beef, much of
L

San Jorge desert coffee

predominate. The illegal production of cocaine is which is exported to the USA forest fishing
i a

16 for use in hamburgers. i co mountain region oil palms

economically significant in the Andean countries of Ch 16
pasture peanuts
A
a g o n

Colombia and Bolivia. In Venezuela, the oil-dominated major conurbations rubber

䉴 Both Argentina and Chile are now Falkland Islands 䉳 High in the Andes, hardy alpacas graze Gulf of shellfish
Bahía (to UK) economy has left the country vulnerable to world oil price San Jorge cattle soya beans
exploring the southernmost tip of the Grande on the barren land. Alpacas are thought
pigs sugar cane
continent in search of oil. Here in fluctuations. Food processing and mineral exploitation are to have been domesticated by the Incas, sheep vineyards
Punta Arenas, a drilling rig is being lan
agel whose nobility wore robes made from
P a t

summer pack ice limit

common throughout the less industrially developed parts bananas wheat
Punta Arenas
M

17 prepared for exploratory drilling their wool. Today, they are still reared corn (maize) 17
it of

in the Strait of Magellan. of the continent, including Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru. and prized for their soft, warm fleeces. Bahía citrus fruits
ra

St Grande
Cape Horn
A B C D E H I J K L M N O P Q R S T Tierra W X Y Z
del Fuego
52 53
Cape Horn

winter pack ice limit

viii
 INTRODUCTION
Temperature Rainfall
Algiers

Sirocco

Sirocco
Igde^Xd[ Casablanca
Igde^Xd[
8VcXZg 8VcXZg
Marrakech
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Climate charts
The physical
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Climatic regions vary across each

in
Tropic of Cancer

Rainfall and temperature continent. The map displays the

Tamanrasset

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charts clearly show the '%•H
differing climatic regions, as well
Nouakchott Bilma

continent
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continental patterns of 8Veg^Xdgc
as daily hours of sunshine at
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tan
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Ouagadougou Djibouti

at
rainfall and temperature.

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selected weather stations. Conakry

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b
Ha Wau

b
ds

oo
b

The astonishing variety of landforms, Lagos Ha

in

s
yW

nd
Abidjan

Wi
Jul
Douala Bangui

July
Mogadishu
AFRICA PHYSICAL AFR ICA Bata

and the dramatic forces that created

Algiers
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S Equator Libreville Kisangani Equator

Sirocco
Y Z

Sirocco
Casablanca
Nairobi
Marrakech
Cairo

Physical Africa Climate

East Africa

Ghibl

Khams
1 1 Mombassa

and continue to shape the landscape,

s
The Great Rift Valley is the most striking feature Kinshasa

nd
i
The climates of Africa range from Tropic of Cancer

in

Wi
of this region, running for 4475 miles (7200 km) mediterranean to arid, dry savannah and Tropic of Cancer
from Lake Nyasa to the Red Sea. North of Lake Tamanrasset Dar es Salaam

July
humid equatorial. In East Africa, where snow
The structure of Africa was dramatically influenced by the break up of Nyasa it splits into two arms and encloses an settles at the summit of volcanoes such as Bilma Port Sudan Luanda
the supercontinent Gondwanaland about 160 million years ago and, Nouakchott
interior plateau which contains Lake Victoria. Kilimanjaro, climate is also modified by

are explained in the continental physical more recently, rifting and hot spot activity. Today, much of Africa is
remote from active plate boundaries and comprises a series of
A number of elongated lakes and volcanoes lie
along the fault lines. To the west lies the Congo
altitude. The winds of the Sahara export
millions of tonnes of dust a year both
Dakar
Har
m at t
an

Niamey
Abéché
Khartoum
2

tan
Bamako
Basin, a vast, shallow depression, which rises to Ouagadougou Djibouti Pemba

at
extensive plateaux and deep basins, which influence the drainage patterns of major 䉱 Savannah grasslands run in a northwards and eastwards.

m
r

b
Conakry Ha

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form an almost circular rim of highlands. belt across Africa; limited rainfall b
Ha Wau
Lusaka

b
rivers. The relief rises to the east, where volcanic uplands and vast lakes mark the Great ds

oo
b

spread. Cross-sections, illustrations, and

inhibits tree growth. Lagos Ha

in

s
yW
Rift Valley. In the far north and south sedimentary rocks have been folded to form the

nd
3 Rift valley lakes, Extensive faulting occurs Abidjan 3

Wi
Jul
as rift valley pulls apart Douala Bangui
like Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria Temperature
Atlas Mountains and the Great Karoo. Harare

July
Mogadishu
lie along fault lines Bata Antananarivo
Equator Libreville Kisangani Equator
Tropic of Nairobi
Northern Africa Cancer

terrain maps highlight the different 20° N Mombassa Windhoek

s
Kinshasa

nd
4 Northern Africa comprises a system of basins and plateaux. The Tropic of Capricorn

Wi
Dar es Salaam
4 Tropic of Capricorn

July
Tibesti and Ahaggar are volcanic uplands, whose uplift has been Equator
Luanda
matched by subsidence within large surrounding basins. Many B B Tshwane/Pretoria
of the basins have been infilled with sand and gravel, creating
Temperature Maputo

parts of the continent, showing how 5

the vast Saharan lands. The Atlas Mountains in the north were
formed by convergence of the African and Eurasian plates.

The Earth’s crust has Volcanic Ahaggar mountains, Lake Chad Scale 1:36,000,000
Cross-section through eastern Africa showing the two
arms of the Great Rift Valley and its interior plateau.

Map key
0

0
50 100 Km

50 100 Miles
20° S
Tropic of
Capricorn

Average January temperature Average July temperature

0 to 10°C (32 to 50°F)
10 to 20°C (50 to 68°F)
20 to 30°C (68 to 86°F)
above 30°C (86°F)
Lusaka

Harare
Pemba

Antananarivo
5 Durban

been warped to form formed by rising magma from lies in a sand-

nature’s forces have produced the

Windhoek
the Taoudenni Basin a hot spot filled basin Km
0 200 400 600 800 Elevation Plate margins Tropic of Capricorn Tropic of Capricorn Cape Town
(for explanation see page xiv) Rainfall
Tshwane/Pretoria Maputo
0 200 400 600 800 5000m / 16,405ft
6 Miles constructive 6
projection: Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area 4000m / 13,124ft Tropic of Durban
destructive Cancer
A A Climate

landscapes we see today.

3000m / 9843ft 20° N
conservative Cape Town
Section across northern Africa showing M e d 2000m / 6562ft
uncertain
arid
humid equatorial
infilled basins and uplifted plateaux.
E U R A S I A N P L AT E i t OLI
AN PLA 1000m / 3281ft
Equator
mediterranean
0 250 500 Km
A F R I C A N P L AT E e r AN
AT TE
Rainfall
semi-arid
r a

E
500m / 1640ft
ains
7 line of tropical 7

L AT
A N P L AT
unt Chott n e a RIC E cross-section warm humid

AN
0 250 500 Miles
o AF 250m / 820ft 20° S
s M
el Jerid n S e a 0–25 mm (0–1 in) 200–300 mm (8–12 in)

AN P
Tropic of daily hours of

CE
25–50 mm (1–2 in) 300–400 mm (12–16 in)
la dE
rg Gulf 100m / 328ft
䉱 The hot, equatorial basin of the
Capricorn sunshine, January
At of Sirte 50–100 mm (2–4 in) 400–500 mm (16–20 in)

ARABI
G r a n e nt al Nile Delta sea level Congo river receives over 48 inches 100–200 mm (4–8 in) more than 500 mm (20 in) daily hours of
d g
O Occi Er l Qattara (1200 mm) of rainfall per year. Average January rainfall Average July rainfall
sunshine, July
d ta
an Depression below sea level cold wind
8 gu
îdi Gr r i e n

IC
W
I O Gr
ea D este Shaping the continent hot wind 8

Ea
g
tS es r n

ste
Er

Nil
an ert

rn
dS
NT

e
e African landscapes are shaped by the intensity of climatic extremes and by Groundwater

De

A
h

Re
ec

ser
L
h tectonic action. High aridity, wind action and infrequent but heavy

ib
1 Oases are found in desert areas such

t
g C ar
ag g

d
Er

S
LA

ya
Ah Lake Nasser rainstorms, lead to the migration of sand dunes and dramatic flash flooding as the Sahara (left). Groundwater

Se
migrates through permeable rock strata,

n
across much of the north and west. In the wetter areas, high precipitation

I
9 Nubian 9

a
S a h a r a confined between two impermeable

D
AT

Tibesti Desert increases the rate of weathering. To the east, the rift system has created a

A
es

AR
layers. Oases form either when the

AF
volcanic and lake environment and allowed rivers to erode weaknesses left in

AB AN
er

RI
Nile
Taoude nni permeable rocks come near to the

IA
Massif

C
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the crustal structure by faults.

N
surface, or at a fault line, when water is

t
në
Cape S e ne ga B a sin de l'Aïr
Niger

PL
PL
able to seep up to the surface through

Të
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AT
External stresses
l

AT

E
Islands act on the surface the crushed rocks at the fault.

E
10 of the inselberg 10
6fj^[Zg

Blue
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Ni
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exposed LViZgb^\gViZh

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Ni
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of Ad
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trapped between 360 ft (110 m) over the Victoria Falls
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11 Lake
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weakness in the bedrock, created by
fault lines running in two directions.
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a
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Lake Turkana
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i]ZIVdjYZcc^7Vh^c V]dihedi ÒaaZYWVh^c Gulf of Guinea C ongo Lake
(Lake Rudolf)
Victoria Falls over falls
12 6 Inselbergs (above), found extensively across West 12
igVeeZYWZilZZc

Juba
5
A T Congo
Albert
Africa, are exposed remnants of an extensive upland Fault and joint
lines running

G r e a t R i f t Va l
São Tomé area. Erosion of the surrounding uplands leaves a
L B a sin
Lake
Victoria resistant rock outcrop. Its spheroidal shape is the
in two directions
^beZgbZVWaZ
A result of ‘onion-skin’ weathering – the exfoliating of Zig-zag gorge
of the Zambezi

E A N
Kilimanjaro layers – due to repeated expansion and contraction.
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6 River systems: Retreating

umb a R ang e
13 o Seychelles 13
ng
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B Lake Pemba Island
Southern Africa Tanganyika Zanzibar

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Landscape

6 6 The Great Escarpment marks the southern

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boundary of Africa’s basement rock and Sand is gradually sinking land
I C

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blown up the
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stable land
includes the Drakensberg range. It was back slope Deposition uplifting land
14 on the slip face 14
uplifted when Gondwanaland fragmented

O C
Bié escarpment
Lake
Plateau ocean current
about 160 million years ago and it has
HZXi^dcVXgdhhcdgi]Zgc6[g^XVh]dl^c\ gradually been eroded back from the coast.
Nyasa
Comoro
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sand produces
rift
active volcano

an ique
^cÒaaZYWVh^chVcYjea^[iZYeaViZVjm# To the north, the relief drops steadily, Zamb Ephemeral channels strata inside inselberg
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forming the Kalahari Basin. In the far south 5 Wadis (above) drain much of northern

r
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i Migration of a dune 2 river

ca
15 15

Landform diagrams
are the fold mountains of the Great Karoo. Africa. These drybed courses are flooded wadi

Ch
Mo
only after infrequent, but intense, storms

as
4 waterfall
Okavango
% '*% *%%@b in the uplands cause water to surge along

ag
Na

Uplift of the Delta

Kalahari Basin, covered Boundary of the Mauritius their channels. Wind erosion

N
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The complex formation of many typical

basement rock
with the sandy plains of Great Escarpment Kalahari Basin Coastal processes

ad
created a 4 Dunes like this in Wave energy
the Kalahari Desert Réunion
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the Namib Desert 3 Houtbaai (above), in southern

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raised plateau Drakensberg Waves dispersed in

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Heavy rainfall the bay

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16 (left) are wind-blown 3 Force of waves refracting Africa, is constantly being modified by 16
rt

runs off mountains

o

D es e r t accumulations of sand, concentrates on wave action. As waves approach the

the headland
landforms is summarized in these

I
which slowly migrate. indented coastline, they reach the
Water collects Wind action moves sand The sea bed is deeper
shallow water of the headland, slowing

D
Orange River and floods the up the shallow back slope; down and reducing in length. This
C C opposite the bay than

easy-to-understand illustrations.
g

dry channel when the sand reaches the at the headland causes them to bend or refract,
er

N
sb

17 Cross-section through southern Africa showing 0 100 200 Km crest of the dune it is Coastal processes: concentrating their erosive force at 17
en

the boundary of the Great Escarpment. 0 100 200 Miles

C Ka
Great roo Dr
ak I Ephemeral channels: Flash flooding of a wadi deposited on the slip face. Erosion of a bay the headlands.

Cross-sections 68
A B C D E F Cape of
Good Hope
C
J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

69

Detailed cross-sections through

selected parts of the continent show
the underlying geomorphic structure.
Landscape evolution map
a

ongo
at Rift

The physical shape of each continent

G r e a t R i f t Va l

Lake
Main physical map Photographs is affected by a variety of forces which
a sin Victoria Detailed satellite data has been
used to create an accurate and
A wide range of
beautiful photographs
continually sculpt and modify the
landscape. This map shows the major
Kilimanjaro
visually striking picture of the bring the world’s processes which affect different parts
Gre

5895m surface of the continent. regions to life. of the continent.

umb a R ang e

B
B Lake Pemba Island
Tanganyika Zanzibar
Key to transportation symbols
Mi t

Extent of national paved road network.

le

Extent of motorways, freeways, or

y

major national highways.

Extent of commercial railroad network.
Extent of inland waterways navigable by
commercial craft.

Regional Transportation network

 ()%!%.%b^aZh )-&(b^aZh
Transportation network
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region is shown here, along with key World locator CA
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The main body of the Atlas is a unique Regional Locator CZlNdg`ÉhXdbbZgX^VahjXXZhh^hi^ZY continent in which the New York New
regional map set, with detailed This small map shows ]^hidg^XVaanid^ihigVchedgiVi^dcXdccZXi^dch# region is found on a Albany Hamp shi re
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the location of each i]Z<gZViAV`ZhVcYi]Z^ciZg^dgidCZlNdg`Éh small world map. Boston
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information on the terrain, the human country in relation to bVg`ZihVcYXVgg^ZYVhigZVbd[^bb^\gVcih
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geography of the region, and its its continent. the main map.
New York

N
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infrastructure. Around the edge of the We s t M
Philadelphia
New Jerse y
TI
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Virg i nia ar A N
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map, additional “at-a-glance” maps, give NORTH AMERICA
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P T U
N O R T H A M E R I C A : U S A – N O R T H E A S T E R N S TAT E S
V W X Y
yl
an
d Delaware A

an instant picture of regional industry, 1

USA: NORTHEASTERN STATES Map key

Population Beau
Madawaska nt
Sai
Jo
Long hn
Using the land & sea
Pennsylvania has a large rural population and a major agribusiness
1

above 5 million
Lake Fort Lake
Kent
R
sector dominated by livestock-raising. Fruit, vegetables,
Land use map
ive

Van Buren
r

1 million to 5 million Dickey and nursery plants are grown throughout the region, with
C o n n e c t i c u t , M a i n e , M a s s a c h u s e t t s , N e w H a m p s h i r e , N e w J e r s e y,

land use, and agriculture. The detailed ve r Eagle Lake Mai ne

ve r

500,000 to 1 million
N e w Yo r k , P e n n s y l v a n i a , R h o d e I s l a n d , V e r m o n t fishing on the coast. Cranberries and maple syrup
This shows the different types of land use which
i
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Limestone A
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100,000 to 500,000
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2 Caribou are traditional products in New England. 2

CA
Allag

Fish River
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The indented coast and vast woodlands of the northeastern states were the original 50,000 to 100,000 Lake Washburn
Fort Fairfield Large areas of cropland in the north Ver mont
Sa

10,000 to 50,000 Presque Isle

core area for European expansion. The rustic character of New England prevails after 䉱 The Hancock Tower Squa Pan Mountain

terrain map (shown in perspective),

䉱 Chelsea in Vermont, surrounded by trees in
below 10,000 Ashland 451m
were returned to forest
New York
characterize the region, as well as indicating the
C A

nearly four centuries, while the great cities of the Atlantic seaboard have formed an their fall foliage. Tourism and agriculture dominates the skyline of New
M

ac
hi a s River in the 20th century.
ve r

Mars Hill Albany

Boston’s business district. shire
Hamp shi re
n t a i

dominate the economy of this self-consciously

Ri

almost continuous urban region. Over 20 million immigrants entered New York from Elevation New England’s principal ok
o o s to Saddleback Mountain
Rochester
rural state, where no town exceeds 30,000 people. 517m Buffalo Massachusetts
Ar

Churchill Lake

principal agricultural activities.

3 city has grown through Boston 3
1855 to 1924 and the northeast became the industrial center of the US. After the land reclamation within Eagle Lake C on ne c t ic ut
1000m / 3281ft
decline of mining and heavy manufacturing, economic dynamism has been Transportation network Massachusetts Bay. Chamberlain Lake
Pennsy lvania R ho de Island
Ohio

focuses on the main physical features

500m / 1640ft Houlton New York
Mount Chase
restored with the growth of hi-tech and service industries.
d

340,090 miles 4813 miles 744m

N
N

250m / 820ft Island Falls Pittsburgh

A

(544,144 km) (7700 km)

A

Harrisburg
E

Seboomook Chesuncook Patten Mattawamkeag C

100m / 328ft Lake Lake Mount Katahdin Philadelphia O
o u

12,872 miles 2108 miles Lake New Jerse y C

1605m Chiputneticook We s t TI
4
Transportation & industry (20,592 km) (3389 km) 14 Sherman Mills
Lakes Virg i nia
M
ar N 4
A

Moosehead Millinocket
sea level 12 LA
n
D

Lake yl
Lake an AT

of the region, and is enhanced by

Danforth Delaware
The principal seaboard cities grew up on trade New York’s commercial success is tied Boundary Bald Mountain Millinocket d Land use and
1109m Pemadumcook Pe n
S a i nt Cr o i x Riv

A D A Mai ne historically to its transportation connections. Lake ob s cot Vanceboro agricultural distribution
M

Jackman Ri v
A N and manufacturing. They are now global
D

The Erie Canal, completed in 1825, opened up

A

C Big Squaw Mountain White Cap Mountain

Map keys
Mattawamkeag
er

the Great Lakes and the interior to New York’s 974m 1111m cattle
centers of commerce and corporate
Ver mont r
A
a

markets and carried a stream of immigrants Moose Rive Greenville West poultry
The urban/rural population divide
administration, dominating the regional
New
Portland
N Coburn Mountain
Lincoln
Grand
cranberries
Pl

5 into the Midwest. 1133m Lake

Tumbledown
Brownville Junction a s a n t R i v e r 5
e

C A
Hamp sh i re
n

Syracuse Mountain Milo r urban 83% rural 17% fishing

annotated illustrations, and

e

economy. Research and development facilities Sebec Lake Woodland

Albany
A 1080m Flagstaff Lake
Guildford
Calais fodder

Each supporting map has its own key.

MAINE
Rochester Bigelow Mountain Big Bay fruit
a

support an expanding electronics and

ut

Massachusetts Aziscohos Lake

Buffalo
D i 1265m l of
tic

maple syrup
New York Lake
ne
c Lake Stratton ne Fundy
communications sector throughout the region. Bingham 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 timber
an

Boston Memphremagog Con Milford Eastport

s

er
h Sugarloaf Mountain
ke

Ch

Old Town
Ri v
C on ne c t ic ut
A
Ma

Pharmaceutical and chemical industries are La Rangeley 1291m Population density Total land area
ce Massena Sebasticook Lake Lubec major towns
an

Hartford Missisquoi Gore Mountain

Providence Sa Champlain
c Lead Mountain
ch

Pennsy lvania ren Saddleback Mountain Lake a s Gardner

an

R ho de Island Bay Richford 1015m Colebrook 466m

i
Ohio

important in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. aw ve r 1255m Bangor Rive r pasture

dM

Newport
lm

6 New York

l a
g

Ri Madison 335 people per sq mile 162,258 sq miles

photographs of the physical structure.

r 6
tL
s

N Malone Enosburg Blue Mountain Brewer

o

Mooselookmeguntic
i ve

nR

North Hero cropland

ain
(120 people per sq km) (420,232 sq km)
an

Island Pond Machias

e

Falls 998m Pittsfield

N

ett

Pittsburgh Lake Skowhegan Hampden

Graham Lake
ss R

Gr

S
iv e r

Saint Albans Barton forest

A

p a
R a qu

Harrisburg E
t a i n
Sa

New Jerse y C int Dannemora Plattsburgh L a Farmington Cross Island

Gra

O Ogdensburg Re g i Lyon Mountain moille Bucksport

Philadelphia
TI
C
A Canton Potsdam
s
1167m
Rive Lake
R i v e r Johnson

A p
Groveton
Old Speck Mountain
Wilton Oakland
Milbridge Jonesport
R ive r

1274m
r

We s t c Winslow Ellsworth Great Wass Island

Mar N rana Milton r Rumford Searsport 䉴 Foreign competition and
Virg inia Sa Rive
n

yla Black Blue Hill

River

LA 14 Champlain Mount Mansfield Guildhall Lancaster Petit Manan Point

nd g in Livermore China Lake
c ot B ay

D el aware AT Lake Carry Falls Burlington

1339m Lyndonville
Berlin An dros cog Bethel Falls Belfast Bar Harbor depletion of stocks in the
ins

Grid reference
C

Whiteface Moore Mount Desert

Wi

Reservoir South Augusta Atlantic fishing grounds caused a

Kennebec

7 Gouverneur Mountain oo
n

Burlington ski R Reservoir Littleton Mount Washington Island 7

O s w e ga Saranac Lake 1483m i Deer Isle decline in fishing in the seaboard
obs

nds Alexandria Camels Hump 1244m v e r e 1917m South Paris Camden

Major industry and infrastructure sla Bay Lake Placid it Norway Swans Island states. Recent years have seen a
dI hie Montpelier
nta
tc

W hMount Lafayettes
Gardiner
en

Rive r Rockland
san P
n

u Elizabethtown Vergennes Lewiston Waldoboro Thomaston gradual recovery; Massachusetts

ho Philadelphia Cranberry Barre Lisbon 1600m i n

The framing grid provides a location reference

chemicals major towns Tupper Auburn Isle au Haut
Lake Mount Marcy Woodsville a Pleasant Mountain Vinalhaven now annually ranks third or
n t North 64
T

coal international airports Lake Bristol Bridgton Wiscasset

u

1629m u Island
River

612m
fourth in the US in terms of the
ou

defense major roads

Sackets Harbor
Carthage Mount Moosalamoo Chelsea Mo Conway Sebago Lisbon Bath Matinicus Seal Island
Sac

electronics major industrial area Watertown B e av e r R i 799m Conway Lake Falls Island value of fish landed.
Wh

cut
O t te r

Galloo Island Brunswick Boothbay

o

Blue Mountain
ve r Vanderwhacker Mountain Ragged Island
M

oR

engineering
ite

ec t i

Stillwater Raquette 1146m Squam iv e r North Windham

for each place listed in the Index.

8 1032m Harbor
L a k e O n t a r i o
Bl a

Stony Point 8
Ri

finance Schroon
Cre

Adams Lake Lake Lake

e
C o nn

Reservoir
ve
ck R

Lake Westbrook
A Lowville
ek

hi-tech industry
r

in
Winnipesaukee Gorham
ck

Old Forge H Plymouth Casco Bay

i ve r

Lake
iron & steel
VERMONT Lebanon 951m Mount Cardigan Portland South Portland Scale 1:2,750,000
ud

Moose River a Indian George Meredith

a
s on

pharmaceuticals Salmon River Wolfeboro

d
D

Ninemile Point Pulaski

Reservoir Rutland Woodstock Lake Bristol Saco Cape Elizabeth
on
w

printing & publishing Laconia

Rive

an al

Alfred Km
research & development Oswego Mexico Lake Whitehall Poultney
NEW Sanford Biddeford M 0 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

ir
A

Boonville
in C

Pleasant
r

textiles Newfane Wallingford Kennebunk

Ad
Sodus Lake George Claremont Northfield
p la

Hilton Camden Ludlow Sunapee Lake Farmington Rochester 0 5 10

s

timber processing Fulton 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

f
N

9 Medina Point Glens Falls Springfield

am

9
Lewiston Greece Webster Oneida Lake Hinckley Reservoir
HAMPSHIRE Somersworth Miles
e

l Albion
Er ie Cana
Ch

Niagara Falls Lockport Spencerport Rochester Baldwinsville Erie Rome Charlestown Concord York Harbor projection: Lambert Conformal Conic
CA

Northville
n

Niagara Falls East Rochester Canal Whitesboro Manchester Stratton Henniker Dover
e

Tonawanda Batavia Suncook

Fairport North Syracuse Oneida Little Great Sacandaga
Canastota Saratoga Kittery
l f

Lyons Springs Schuylerville Mountain Hillsboro

The urban/rural population divide

Amherst Utica Ilion Falls Lake Newmarket
Syracuse Wampsville
Mai ne Kenmore Palmyra Fairmount 1200m Goffstown Portsmouth
r

Depew Le Roy Newark Putney

A D A
Gloversville
i

Auburn Manlius Exeter

Buffalo Canandaigua Fonda Amsterdam Mount Manchester Hampton
G u

A N
Me

Lancaster Attica Avon Waterville Richfield M Keene

䉴 The islands, inlets and
H Snow
The landscape
G

Lackawanna Waterloo East Mechanicville

Geneseo Canandaigua Springs
a Peterborough Amesbury
r r ima

East Aurora Geneva ha r Glenville 1084m

oo

w k R i ve
o

Orchard Park Milford

N

Schenectady Newburyport promontories of Maine’s

C N E W YO R K
sic

Warsaw Lake Bennington

Rivde illa

10 Mount Morris Jaffrey Haverhill

Rotterdam 10
e
Lake Erie Beach
r

Ri

Cohoes
Hamburg er
t Plum Island coast extend 3500 miles
ck R

Eri
Perry Nashua Methuen The marshy lowlands of the Atlantic Coastal Plain dwindle
v
Una

Penn Yan Latham Troy Williamstown Winchester

Silver Creek C Cobleskill i Cape Ann (5630 km). The tidal range is
Cayuga Homer Winchendon Lowell v e r Lawrence
ve r

North Turners
e

Schoharie

Lake
at
Albany
Ver mont Dansville Keuka Cooperstown
r

Dunkirk toward the north, giving way to the rocky coast of Maine.
ve

Lake Adams s
n
g

ar Delmar
e Ri

au g u s Cre ek Cortland Falls Athol Gloucester particularly high, varying

Arcade s Fitchburg Danvers
jgWVc-( gjgVa&,
Ri
t

Lake Seneca ek Mount Greylock

in
an
F

i n k e
Rensselaer Salem Beverly
li c

Springville Leominster
ese

between 12 and 24 ft
Cre

Fredonia 1063m Greenfield

ta Uplifted over 400 million years ago, the Appalachian
Ti o

Quabbin
Ots e

Gowanda Lake Norwich Woburn Lynn

g e r L a Ithaca un
Ravena
u Massachusetts
en

Westfield
Portland Oneonta Pittsfield Reservoir
S ch oh ar i e

(3.7–7.3 m).
ug h

G Medford
c R

r Ca Clinton Malden
ive o North Amherst Mountains have since been carved into several discrete
r

t sk
New
Co

North East Mayville Oxford Barre Hudson Cambridge Logan International

ive

aR
ni o g

Bath
Little Valley M il l Amherst
Presque Isle Watkins Glen
o R
ho

Chautauqua a nn Boston Bay

go
MASSAC HUSETTS
Hornell
Alfred u eh lDelhi Cr
c to

an ee Newton ranges by the region’s main rivers and heavily denuded by

a

Erie Lake
oni

ani iv e r en q Quincy
us k
n

Salamanca
C

kil

Belmont 11
R

y s te Sidney
Hamp shi re Horseheads Black Dome
Worcester Framingham Dedham Weymouth
Ri

Ch

o
S

Syracuse Jamestown n R Corning

M Walton 1213m Holyoke successive glacial advances. This broad upland belt, with the
ve r

r
C at s

Great
e

Lakewood e Wellsville Johnson City Cannonsville Catskill

Barrington Chicopee
Riv

Hunter Mountain Auburn Stoughton Randolph Marshfield

iv e

Allegheny Olean Elmira

Ta c

u Che
mun Endicott Reservoir 1232m Saugerties Palmer Whitinsville Race Provincetown younger Adirondack Mountains, is bounded by the
h

Mount
a Springfield
Ti o g

Brockton
Hudson

Reservoir Elkland g Riv Waverly Binghamton Pepacton Point

Ashokan Stafford Southbridge Mansfield Bridgewater Kingston
g

e Frissell 725m
Albany Albion Union City Warren Bradford Ri v e r er Downsville Reservoir Great Lakes in the northwest.
e

s qu e Reservoir Springs Woonsocket Cape Cod

Cobb Hill
n Canaan Windsor Locks Attleboro Plymouth
t

Sayre ane Tioga

Rive r
ll

Slide Mountain Cape Cod

Rochester
ive r

Taunton
Oi

782m Hancock Putnam Greenville

O

la

ow 1274m Kingston
Coudersport C
l Cre

Montrose Amenia Winsted Windsor Pawtucket Bay Orleans

A

Mansfield Storrs Providence The lower Connecticut River has

yR

D e l aw
Al

Massachusetts Meadville n
a East Providence
P

eg Wellsboro Liberty Torrington Hartford Bay

Buffalo Towanda a Buzzards
l
ek

h Cranston cut down into the flat, clay valley

% &% '% (% )% *% +% ,% -% .% &%%
e

Neversink River

Mount Jewett e n y R i v e Hyde Park Danielson Somerset

r
Al l e g h

Kane Elk Hill Barnstable Nauset Beach The narrow Finger Lakes The Adirondack Mountains
re

Pymatuning Galeton New Paltz 12

Fre nc

Titusville Blossburg Wyalusing West Hartford East Moosup Fall River floor, which previously formed the
R

821m Warwick
Reservoir
i of northwestern New York State were formed when the deeply
iv e r

Wilcox us Bristol Fairhaven South Yarmouth

New York eek Red Oaks Mill
S

Ellenville Hartford City

Cr Tionesta Cr kCanton qu Monticello Jewett
R HODE Tiverton New Bedford Hyannis bed of an ice-dammed lake.
h

ehaFactoryville New Britain Island were formed by glaciers cutting buried basement rocks were
Lake ta Marienville Johnsonburg
Emporium Carbondale Walden Wappingers Falls East Falmouth Monomoy
e

ee Colchester
k Oil City Ti o n e s nn Rhode y
Cre

ee Lake Waterbury Meriden

k

Wilhelm ISLAND Ba into deep deposits of material forced upward in a dome by as

Boston Cr aR Orange Lake Norwich Falmouth
S i n n e mC r e

ek
I

Franklin ttle Ralston Cre i ve Clarks Summit Candlewood Island d s

h

Dushore
CONNECT ICUT
ing

ive r Ridgway Ke l so
ck r Middletown Newburgh Beacon Kingston Newport zzar Nantucket
Great Point
from an earlier ice advance. much as 2 miles (3 km).
C on ne c t ic ut Sharon r i on R Dunmore Bu Oak Bluffs
om

Mercer Cla ya
Pi

Sound
EdejaVi^dcYZch^in IdiVaaVcYVgZV
Renovo Laporte Taylor Goshen Carmel
32 Knox Lo Port Jervis Hamden New London
ound
ne

h
c

Clarion Brockway Scranton North Green

a

Farrell ek oni Edgartown

Ly

Danbury Westerly S
Cr

qu e h Swoyersville Shelton Rhode Island The Genesee River in New York Deposits of glacial
c

Jersey High Point Haven Groton nd

Weedville n g Williamsport
Isla Martha's Mountains
Hartford Grove City us Peekskill
e ek

Providence New Haven

a nn

Brookville Shore Milford p 550m Monroe Niantic

East Sound Vineyard Nantucket State has eroded a canyon till from the last Ice
Al l e g

Slippery Rock Du Bois ck Nantucket

Ga

Ridgefield West Haven

S

Warwick Haven Fishers Island Blo 13

Pennsy lvania Muncy Nanticoke
ek

B ea Karthaus
h

aR

Dingmans Ferry Island 800 ft (240 m) deep through Age are up to 1000 ft
nc
H

ve r
s Wilkes Barre Milford
ter

R ho de Island
re

New Castle a Sussex New City Mount Kisco Block Island

a
Ohio

k C Reynoldsville Clearfield ve r Lock Haven

Br Montgomery Gardiners
i

Bridgeport
hen

Lake Re d b an
in
Ossining (300 m) deep around
Wa

st e ek
Ringwood the Appalachians. The river
S o un d
Ri

New York Arthur Punxsutawney Curwensville We Cr Milton Berwick Newton Spring Valley Norwalk Southold Island Montauk Point
ve r

Stamford IslandMattituck
yR

Lake Ontario.
re

Ellwood City Butler iv e Grassflat g le East Stroudsburg continued to cut downward as

((*eZdeaZeZghfb^aZ &+'!'*-hfb^aZh
Wanaque
Lewisburg a
wa

r Ea Bloomsburg Freeland Montauk

la Yonkers White Plains Long
l

Beaver Falls the land was uplifted.

Mahoning
Ba
ld Bellefonte
Mifflinburg t Danville Stroudsburg DeHopatcong
Wayne
Paterson New Rochelle
Sound Beach Sag Harbor

A N
New Brighton KittanningCreek Lake Sunbury Jim Thorpe Bangor
N

Pittsburgh Smithtown d
L ong Isl an
Beaver State College Selinsgrove r Dover Hackensack Southampton

&'%eZdeaZeZghf`b )'%!'('hf`b
e Shamokin Lehighton
Morristown Clifton
a

Dixonville

C E
u

New York
a Riv

Tyrone n Belvidere Bernardsville

A

Natrona Heights
O

Aliquippa Ambridge
Harrisburg E PENNSYLVANIA i Easton Brentwood Mastic
o

New Kensington Indiana Pottsville t a La Guardia

an n

14
New Jerse y C
Coraopolis Etna
u n
Phillipsburg
Newark Jersey City Levittown Cape Cod
M

Penn Niagara Falls

Pittsburgh O
eh
p

Hills Ebensburg Mifflintown o Allentown Somerville John F Kennedy Fire Island

Su s q u

Philadelphia O Mount Lebanon Monroeville Blairsville

Portage
Altoona Huntingdon
ni a
t a R iver Millersburg
New
Lykens
u e
M Bethlehem
Flemington
Plainfield
Edison Staten Island Long Beach
y

Hollidaysburg
C Bethel Park Mckeesport
Latrobe Johnstown Ju Bloomfield B l Fleetwood Emmaus New Brunswick Sayreville Sandy Hook C Lake Erie, receiving water

TI
e n

Laureldale Quakertown
p

n
We s t Monongahela Clairton Greensburg Linglestown Lebanon Kendall Park Hazlet
I flowing from the rest of
l

Mount Union
ai
il

Westmont Harrisburg Reading Doylestown Princeton

Mar Washington Monessen Mount Raystown Palmyra Middletown the Great Lakes, drains via
nt

N
Urban/rural population divide
H

Lambertville
Pleasant Lake Hershey Shillington
T
g h

Windber Pottstown Freehold Long Branch

Virg inia yla New Cumberland Lansdale the Niagara Falls, into Lake
ou

California Trenton River fed by

LA
Middletown Ephrata Asbury Park
Yo u R

Scottdale
l

Spring City Warminster

NEW
re

Ontario, which lies 325 ft

M

Carlisle Lititz water from the 15

nd Resistant rock
r

Elizabethtown
hela Rive

gh

i Norristown Neptune
iv og h e New Holland

AT
l e

Shippensburg
N

Phoenixville (99 m) below.

au

Everett Levittown Lakewood Great Lakes

a

Waynesburg er n Columbia Lancaster

D el aware Bedford Abington Willingboro Point Pleasant
or

Berlin
Coatesville Philadelphia
L
y

Silverton

The proportion of people in the region

Uniontown Mount Holly Softer rock
ar

Chambersburg
Su
Al
Mononga

Mount Morris Masontown McConnellsburg Camden Browns Toms River

sq

Upper
sc

Point Marion York West Chester Force of water is eroded

ue

Mount Davis Hyndman Tu Gettysburg Red Lion Kennett Square Chester Darby Cherry Hill Mills Seaside Heights
more quickly
Cape Cod, Long Island and
ha

continues to
979m Greencastle Hanover Oxford Philadelphia Island
JERSEY the islands between them
nn

New Freedom Lindenwold Mu Beach undercut cliffs mark the top of a great
aR

W E ST V I RG I Penns Grove l li Barnegat Dingmans

who live in urban and rural areas, as well

Pitman n
e

NIA Carneys Point Pi r terminal moraine, formed at 䉱 At Provincetown, Cape

ive

16 䉱 The Niagara Falls were 䉴 The waterfalls at Dingmans Ferry

en
ca

Glassboro Manahawkin 16
M A R Y L A N D
A T

ar
I the front of the ice sheet
Ri v

RGIN A
r

Pennsville Elmer r B Surf City created where the Niagara Ferry are typical of those Cod, complex and
e

which once covered the land.

WEST VI
Salem Buena Egg Harbor City Long Beach
Vineland River reached an escarpment found in villages on the This ridge of deposited
powerful ocean currents
Mays Landing Island
Bridgeton 64 capped by hard limestone. “Fall-line,” where rivers drop continue to modify the
Mauiver

Millville

as the overall population density and

The Atlantic Coastal Plain is material was subsequently

Transportation and industry map

Brigantine
R

Pleasantville
D E L AWA

Atlantic City This was gradually eroded, from the Appalachians to part of the continental Rising sea levels have flooded by rising seas. shoreline, washing away
r ice

Somers
Point Ventnor City exposing softer rock strata. the coastal lowlands. These shelf, which extends several flooded river valleys some 3 ft (1 m) of the
Port Norris Ocean City Plunging water continues to locations provide waterpower lower cape each year,
hundred miles out to along the coast,
17 20 22 Woodbine erode the softer strata causing and are often at the creating rias such as while extending the 17
Delaware sea, providing a rich

The main industrial areas are mapped, and the most Bay Villas
North Cape May
Cape May Cape May
Cape May Court House
Avalon
North Wildwood
the falls to recede upstream. navigable head of the river. environment for marine life. Long Island Sound. beaches in the north.
land area are clearly shown in these
RE

A B C D E F G H L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

important industrial and economic activities of the 18 19 simple graphics.

region are shown .
G

Milford
N

Bennington Haverhill Newburyport

ma

Jaffrey Continuation symbols Landscape map

Methuen Plum Island
ck R

Williamstown Winchester Nashua These symbols indicate where The computer-generated terrain model
i Cape Ann
North Turners Winchendon Lowell v e r Lawrence adjacent maps can be found. accurately portrays an oblique view of the
Adams Falls Athol Fitchburg Danvers Gloucester
Mount Greylock Beverl y landscape. Annotations highlight the most
063m Greenfield Quabbin Leominster Salem
Woburn
ittsfield
North Amherst
Reservoir
Clinton Medford
Lynn
Malden Massachusetts important geographic features of the region.

Amherst Barre Hudson Cambridge Logan International

Main regional map
Boston Bay
A S S A C H U S E T T SNewton Quincy A wealth of information is
t
Holyoke Worcester displayed on the main map,
Framingham Dedham Weymouth
ington Chicopee Auburn Stoughton Randolph Marshfield building up a rich portrait of
Palmer Whitinsville Race Provincetown
25mSpringfield Brockton
Stafford Southbridge Mansfield Bridgewater Kingston
Point the interaction between the
n Windsor Locks Springs Woonsocket Attleboro Plymouth Cape Cphysical landscape and the human
Putnam Greenville Taunton Cape Cod and political geography of each
ted Windsor Pawtucket Bay Orlea ns The key to the regional maps
on Hartford Storrs Providence East Providence rds Bay
region.
Cransto n Buzza
Danielson Somerset can et
Barnstable Naus be found on page viii.
est Hartford E t Moosup W i k Fall River

ix
 THE WOR LD
A B C D E F G H I J K L M

Orbits
The Solar System All the Solar System’s planets and dwarf
planets orbit the Sun in the same direction
2 Nine major planets, their satellites, and countless minor planets and (apart from Pluto) roughly in the same
(asteroids) orbit the Sun to form the Solar System. The Sun, our plane. All the orbits have the shapes of
nearest star, creates energy from nuclear reactions deep within ellipses (stretched circles). However, in
most cases, these ellipses are close to
its interior, providing all the light and heat which make life on
being circular: only Pluto and Eris have very
Earth possible. The Earth is unique in the Solar System in that it
3 elliptical orbits. Orbital period (the time it
supports life: its size, gravitational pull and distance from the takes an object to orbit the Sun) increases
Sun have all created the optimum conditions for the evolution with distance from the Sun. The more
of life. The planetary images seen here are composites derived remote objects not only have further to
from actual spacecraft images (not shown to scale). travel with each orbit, they also move
4 more slowly.

Ceres
(dwarf
planet)

Mercury Venus Earth Mars

10

The Sun
Diameter: 864,948 miles (1,392,000 km)
11
Mass: 1990 million million million million tons

The Sun was formed when a swirling cloud of dust and

gas contracted, pulling matter into its center. When the
temperature at the center rose to 1,000,000°C, nuclear
12 fusion – the fusing of hydrogen into helium, creating Jupiter
energy – occurred, releasing a constant stream of heat
and light.

13 Solar eclipse
A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the
Sun, casting its shadow on Earth’s surface. During a total eclipse
(below), viewers along a strip of Earth’s surface, called the area of
totality, see the Sun totally blotted out for a short time, as the umbra
14
(Moon’s full shadow) sweeps over them. Outside this area is a larger
one, where the Sun appears only partly obscured, as the penumbra
(partial shadow) passes over.

Penumbra Area of
15 Moon (partial totality Earth
䉱 Solar flares are sudden bursts of energy from the Sun’s surface. shadow)
They can be 125,000 miles (200,000 km) long.

The formation of Sunlight

16 the Solar System
The cloud of dust and gas thrown out by the Sun during its
formation cooled to form the Solar System. The smaller planets
nearest the Sun are formed of minerals and metals. The outer Umbra (total Area of
planets were formed at lower temperatures, and consist of shadow) partial eclipse
swirling clouds of gases.
17

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

x
 TH E SOL AR SYSTE M
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

1
PLANETS DWARF PLANETS

MERCURY VENUS EARTH MARS JUPITER SATURN URANUS NEPTUNE CERES PLUTO ERIS
DIAMETER 3029 miles 7521 miles 7928 miles 4213 miles 88,846 miles 74,898 miles 31,763 miles 30,775 miles 590 miles 1432 miles 1429-1553 miles
(4875 km) (12,104 km) (12,756 km) (6780 km) (142,984 km) (120,536 km) (51,118 km) (49,528 km) (950 km) (2304 km) (2300-2500 km)
2
AVERAGE DISTANCE 36 mill. miles 67.2 mill. miles 93 mill. miles 141.6 mill. miles 483.6 mill. miles 889.8 mill. miles 1788 mill. miles 2795 mill. miles 257 mill. miles 3675 mill. miles 6344 mill. miles
FROM THE SUN (57.9 mill. km) (108.2 mill. km) (149.6 mill. km) (227.9 mill. km) (778.3 mill. km) (1431 mill. km) (2877 mill. km) (4498 mill. km) (414 mill. km) (5915 mill. km) (10,210 mill. km)

ROTATION PERIOD 58.6 days 243 days 23.93 hours 24.62 hours 9.93 hours 10.65 hours 17.24 hours 16.11 hours 9.1 hours 6.38 days not known

ORBITAL PERIOD 88 days 224.7 days 365.26 days 687 days 11.86 years 29.37 years 84.1 years 164.9 years 4.6 years 248.6 years 557 years

SURFACE -180°C to 430°C 480°C (896°F) -70°C to 55°C -120°C to 25°C -110°C (-160°F) -140°C (-220°F) -200°C (-320°F) -200°C (-320°F) -107°C (-161°F) -230°C (-380°F) -243°C (-405°F) 3
TEMPERATURE (-292°F to 806°F) (-94°F to 131°F) (-184°F to 77 °F)

AVERAGE DISTANCE FROM THE SUN

4
MERCURY EARTH JUPITER SATURN URANUS NEPTUNE PLUTO ERIS
(dwarf planet) (dwarf planet)
VENUS MARS
CERES
(dwarf planet)

SUN
5

              PLOONP
          PLOOPLOHV

Eris
(dwarf
planet)

9
Pluto
(dwarf
planet)

Neptune
Uranus
10

Space Debris
Millions of objects, remnants of 11
planetary formation, circle the Sun in a
zone lying between Mars and Jupiter:
Saturn the asteroid belt. Fragments of asteroids
break off to form meteoroids, which
can reach the Earth’s surface. Comets, 12
composed of ice and dust, originated
outside our Solar System. Their elliptical 䉱 Meteor Crater in Arizona is
4200 ft (1300 m) wide and 660
orbit brings them close to the Sun and ft (200 m) deep. It was formed
into the inner Solar System. over 10,000 years ago.
13
Possible and actual meteorite craters
-APKEY
Edhh^WaZ^beVXi
XgViZgh
The Earth’s Atmosphere BZiZdg^iZ^beVXi
XgViZgh
During the early stages of the Earth’s 14

formation, ash, lava, carbon dioxide, and

water vapor were discharged onto the surface
of the planet by constant volcanic eruptions.
Halley’s
The water formed the oceans, while carbon Comet
15
dioxide entered the atmosphere or was
Earth’s orbit
dissolved in the oceans. Clouds, formed of
water droplets, reflected some of the Sun’s
radiation back into space. The Earth’s
䉱 It is thought that the gases
temperature stabilized and early life forms that make up the Earth’s
16
began to emerge, converting carbon dioxide atmosphere originated deep Halley’s
within the interior, and were orbit
into life-giving oxygen. released many millions of years
ago during intense volcanic
actvity, similar to this eruption at 䉱 The orbit of Halley’s Comet
brings it close to the Earth every 76 Orbit of Halley’s Comet
Mount St. Helens.
years. It last visited in 1986. around the Sun
17

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

xi
 THE WOR LD
A B C D E F G H I J K L M

The physical world The world in section Aleutian Pacific Ocean Rocky Mountains
1 Trench
60°N
These cross-sections around the Earth,
one in the northern hemisphere;
The Earth’s surface is constantly being transformed: it is uplifted, folded, and faulted one straddling the Equator, reveal
by tectonic forces; weathered and eroded by wind, water, and ice. Sometimes the limited areas of land above sea
2 level in comparison with the extent 180° 150°W 120°W
change is dramatic, the spectacular results of earthquakes or floods. More often it is Cross-section: Northern hemisphere
of the sea floor. The greater erosive
a slow process lasting millions of years. A physical map of the world represents a Hawaiian Islands
effects of weathering by wind and
snapshot of the ever-evolving architecture of the Earth. This terrain map shows the 20°N
water limit the upward elevation of
whole surface of the Earth, both above and below the sea. land above sea level, while the deep
3
oceans retain their dramatic
10°S
Map key mountain and trench profiles.
180° 150°W 120°W
Elevation Sea depth
6000m / 19,686ft sea level Cross-section: Southern hemisphere
ARCT
IC OC
4 4000m / 13,124ft -250m / -820ft EA N
Chukchi Beaufort Queen Elizabeth Ellesmere
3000m / 9843ft -2000m / -6562ft
Sea Sea Islands Island
Arctic C
ircle ks Range Victoria Greenland
2000m / 6562ft -4000m / -13,124ft it Broo Island Baffin Gree nland Sea
Bering Stra Baffin I

s
Mt
ge sl Bay

Mackenzie
1000m / 3281ft Ran M

zie
Bering

an
a ount McKin Jan
sk Gre at Bea r Lak

ait
ley it
S t ra

d
Ala (Denali) e Mayen

Ma c ke n
Sea

Str
500m / 1640ft 6194m rk
asi
n ma

s
5 Gre at Sla ve Hudson S

v is
B n Iceland
De

s
Lak e tr
an

o u er C o a s t M t
l an d s

Da
250m / 820ft Pénin sule ait Faeroe Is

a i n
uti i a n Is
Gulf of si n
dg
e
s in
Ale Al e ut Alaska Hudson d'Ung ava
es
Ba
es
Ri a
100m / 328ft Labrador n dB
Trench abas
ca Ca Bay Belcher
k ja l an k ja
n
sea level Aleutian Ath
Saska
tchewan na Islands Sea Re
y Ice Re
y
di a

n t
Vancouver Lake n S hi e l d Laurentian Labrador British
Winnipeg Basin Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone

as
below sea level Island Fr Mountains
bia Lake
Isles
6 lum ri Great
sou Superior
N O R T H Lakes

Rid e
Co Newfoundland

is

g
M
s
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n M Lake
a

Bay of
A M E R I C A
Huron va Grand Banks of
tR

Snake
Lake No tia Newfoundland Biscay
as

Sco Newfoundland
Co

Ontario
o Fracture Zone er Fracture Zone
y

ic
Mendocin
Lake Basin
Pione
Great Michigan Lake Cape Cod Douro
ts
c k

nt
San Francisco Bay Great Arka Erie
nsas Plains Iberian

M
Basin Oc

la
7 O hio Delaware Bay ean Azores
t

an
de Peninsula
hi Chesapeake Bay
Death Valley do ogr
n see A
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a

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la
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f Gibraltar
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pp

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8 Tropic of Cancer an Basin g
Molokai Gulf of Canary Er
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r i dt s of

Sargasso
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Ba

an Mexico
a

Basin
or ni a

ds St ra o Sea
dre O

ha

Fl as Nares
m
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Mexico Pu Plain
Basin Yucatan Cuba erto Rico Tr
r ien

Hawai‘i
d re

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Johnston M rr at
ta

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ture Zo
id
l

Atoll Revillagigedo d l e el Su adre An

n Frac Islands r tille Cape Verde Ni g
er
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9 A s Indies Barr
me C ar ibb e an acuda Cape Verde

Sen
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one

al
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Clipperton ch Lesse l
r Ant il
Island
us of Guiana
Guatemala Isthm s
Pan
amá n oOr inoco Basin
Zone Ll
a Demerara Sierra
acture Basin
na

ton Fr
Plateau Leone Sierra
ale
P

per Rise
Clip G uiana Leone
Mag d
s e

Basin
Hig hlands
PACIFIC Colón Ridge Ce ATLANTIC
Li

R i

ará
o

Kiritimati
ne

Equator Río Neg Ilha de Pla Guinea

Caq
uetá ro Marajó
in
Galápagos Basin
Isl

Putumay A m a z o n B asin
f i c
l

OCEAN Islands Chimborazo

6310m Nap o a z on O CEAN
an

o Am
s

Xingu

one
Phoenix Toca Fernando de
aj ó

Gulf of
ira
ds

P a c i

ure Z
y

Noronha
p
de

Islands
n Fract
Guayaquil a
ntins
Ta

Juruá M
Ma

Asce n sio
Bauer
rañ

Ascension
Uca

S OUTH
o
Marquesas s ci sc
n

ru
ó

Basin an Island
yali
n

s
Pu

Manihiki Islands
nd
São Fr

Plateau Brazil
A M E RICA
la
E a s t

Pe

Mid-A
e

gh

Penrhyn
Basin Basin
i
ru

Galapagos
nH
Coo

12
Samoa Tuam Rise
n Lake
Titicaca Planalto de
s
k

ilia
-

otu C St Helena
Isla

Isl h Mato Grosso Abrolhos tlanti

Bra z

Peru e i
i

d
nd

an Bank
g

co
Tonga

Ri d

a ds
s

Trindade
l e

Basin
Gran Cha
Na z c a

Atacama Deser

Tonga
Trench

Par

c Ridg
Tr e n

Chile
aguay

13 ez Ridge San Felix B a s i n Santos

Tropic of Capricorn y Gom
Sala

Island
s

Tubuai
Sala Sala y
Pitcairn Uruguay Plateau
Easter San
do

Islands
c h

Islands Ambrosio
Island
e

Gomez
t

Island
Ker

Rio Grande
Ro g g e v e e n
ma

Rise
Pa
E a

ra
dec

Cerro Aconcagua
Pa

n
Basin 6959m á
Tre

Juan Tristan
m

as
Co

Rio de la da Cunha
nch

p
s t

14 Fernandez ra
lo

do Plata
Islands
Southwest
Pacific
P a

Ne g r Bahía
o Gough
Basin Chal Blanca Argent ine Island
leng
Pa t a

Peníns ula
c i

er Fr Valdé s Basin
actu Golfo
re Z
f i

gon

one Corcovado Gulf of San Jorge

e
ure Zon
c

15 -105m d Fract
Chatham Falklan
ia

Islands Strait of
R

Menard Magellan Falkl and South

Fracture
i s

Island s Georgia South San

Zone dw
ic
Eltanin Tierra del
e

ge
Fracture Fuego Cape ica Rid
h Trench

South
Zone Southeast Horn S c o t i a S e a Sandwich tarct
a -An
Pa s s a
ge Islands eric
Pacific ke Am
16 ge Dra
id Basin
ic R
Scale 1:73,000,000 nt a
rc t
O U T H E R N
ic-
A
in
S Weddel l
Km
cif Pla Bellingshausen
0 250 500 1000 1500 2000
Pa dse
n
Amundsen Sea Ant arc tic
Sea
t i c Ci rc
le un Sea
Ant a rc Am Pen insu la
A N T A
0 250 500 1000 1500 2000
Miles Ronne Ice
17 Shelf
projection: Wagner VII and
a Byrd L
Ross Se
Marie
ce
Ross Ilf
She
A B C D E F I J K L M

xii
 TH E PHYSICAL WOR LD
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Great Lakes Appalachian Mountains Grand Banks of Mid-Atlantic Ridge British Alps Mediterranean Sea Caucasus Zagros Hindu Kush Himalayas Gobi Japan Japan Trench Pacific Ocean
Newfoundland Isles Mountains 1

North America Africa Asia

90°W 60°W 30°W 0° 30°E 60°E 90°E 120°E 150°E 180° 2

Peru-Chile Trench Andes Guiana Mid-Atlantic Cape Verde Islands Gulf of Guinea Congo Basin Ethiopian Highlands Gulf of Aden Bay of Bengal Ninetyeast Ridge Java Trench East Indies Micronesia Pacific Ocean
Highlands Ridge

South America Africa

90°W 60°W 30°W 0° 30°E 60°E 90°E 120°E 150°E 180°

ri an
New Sibe
Islands East Sibe
rian 4
Severnaya Laptev Sea
Franz Josef Sea
Land Zemlya yr
Novaya Poluostrov Ta y m ircle
Spitsbergen Ve K h r e b e t Arctic C

kiy
Zemlya Kara rk Cher
skog

ms
ho

reb kiy
Barents Sea Poluostrov Ye
Le n y a n s k i y K h r e
o

oly
ni

et
Kh aks
Sea Yamal se y Central a bet
et
K

ry
Al
Siberian reb

Ko
Norwegian eu
Sea a v ia West Plateau Kh tia
nB
n a 5
di Siberian
Ur

S i b e r i
Lake Ka a si
Ladoga Sea of m n
al
an

Plain Okhotsk
ch
at
Sc

O b'
M

Stanovoy ka
n Al e u
ou
Sea

Volga
ai Lake
Khrebet t i an Tr
Pl Baikal e nch
nt

North Kama Am Sakhalin

ic

t n

Ku
A

Ku
al pea
I
ur
ai

Sea B o
A S Em

ri
Eur

r
'
ns

ile
lin

le T
No r t h pe
P E
Ural Ir t y s
O
ro
UCarp R

t Si k h ot e - A
Ean
R

Is l a n d s
h

Ta
rS

re n c h
Alta
M an ch ur ia n
hin

Don

tar
Dni i Mo ea 6
m
e

epe unta

ski
Sein D ube Pl ai n ou
Moun a Dnie g hi z Ste p p e in
Gobi

y Pr
L Ki r s Hokkaidó nt
r

Aral
e

t h t ain

ste

s
Alps
oir

i an s

Sea Syr Lake

r

oliv
re b e
-28m

Ja p a n
e

Mont D
C au c ar Balkash
Blanc dr a su Ustyurt ya Shan Sea of
A

Kh
s Ti e n
Ca

4807m i at Black Sea A Yellow R Japan

M ts Plateau m im He

Tr
ic Tar
sp

lkan El'brus Da (East Sea)

e
u

ive
ia

Ba

nc
5642m ry Q i li an
Se

Takla
nS

r
ir s Japan

h
at o li a s m Sh a
a

An Pa Makan Desert
Northwest
ea

Mt n
Medite Ionian
Taurus
Ti
Ku
sh
n lu n M o u nt ai n s Yel low Honshú 7
rr Sea Aegean Ku G r e a t Sea Pacific
du
gr

Euph
an
is

ts Plateau f

Bo
Sea ra Pl a i n o Shikoku Basin
H
n

M e an

ni
Hi

s
te

Za of Tibet China

nT
Sea

s
Chott Iranian im Kyúshú

unt
Gulf of Syrian gr
Ind ange a n

re
el Jerid East

mo
Dead Desert o Plateau Yan

nc
Sirte
R ai m

a l g tz
China

h
-423m Sea Ryukyu

Sea
Qattara e
a y a s
s

Sea Islands
Su l
M

Depression

er
An Nafud er
us

rench
P

ak
ts

-133m Western sia T har Ga

rait

pm
Desert nG ng Mount Everest Tropic of Cancer 8
Desert a
Ea ese

ul es 8848m Taiwan M
Li

uT
Ad
D

an S
ste r t

Gu
S a h a r a
by

ky
O m lf of
Da

M
S a lw
rn

Ryu
an

Taiw

a id-
mad
hn

a n Oman Pa
Nar cifi
een
Des

West
Ni l e

cM
Re

Ahaggar Nubian Arabian

Basin
Deccan Ganges Philippine ount
Ir r a

Tibesti
one

Mariana ai n s
er t

Gu l

Fan Sea
d S

Desert G o d av Me
Arabian
wad
Fracture Z

Peninsula of Basin
f
ar

ko

Kri To Central
ea
ré

sh Bay of
i

Sea
s

ng
dy

ng
at

na k in Mar iana
né

Pacific
E a s te r n Gh

Bengal g 9
Islan ds
Té

nch
We

Arabian Basin
Ph
Owen

st
Blu

Tr e
Ad e
Lac ‘Assal
ern

Basin
ili

Lake
e Ni

-10,920m
S a h e l f of Andaman
ite Nile

Chad -156m
ppi
Andam

Gu l M

a
an
Gh

Gulf

Marshall
le

Socotra Islands Mar i i c

ne T

Ethiopian Laccadive South Philippine Islands

r
at s
Wh

Islands o
of

Th Islands
e a Horn of China
PACIFIC
an S

nu Highlands
re nch

w s ai l n
Be m a n d Africa Ca Nicobar an Sea
A F R I C A
Lake d
ea

Volta da la Somali r Sri Islands e

A igh She
St r
lsb

lateau

H Ub ang Plain Maldive Lanka s

erg
be

ait

i
Great Ri

Ju

Uele Ri Malay
Islands
OCEAN
li

Celebes
ba

dg Peninsula
of

i
Laccadive P

Gulf of Congo
al Sea Melanesian
M Su

Guinea Kirinyaga ac M Basin

a
Ceylon Cocos c Borneo Equator
e

5200m
e
Great Rift

a
Trench

Plain Basin l
R i d g

Congo
ma
ft

Bismarck a Tungaru
Celebes
Chagos-
Va l l e y

tra

o
Basin Lake
Kilimanjaro
5895m Somali New Bismarck Archipelago n
ng
Chagos

Java E a s t G uin ea
Lu

Co Victoria
Basin Sea
bilas

Chagos S ea
I n d i e s Solomon
Ridge

e
Kasai

Lake
h

Angola Seychelles Archipelago Mount Wilhelm

Kw

Tanganyika Java 4509m Solomon Islands

ang

Basin al
V

s
i dge
Lu laba

Sea
ea

Arafura rres S
o

Ja v Timor
i a n
a

To
lat

trait
le

a Tr Sea

i
Lake ench
Se

INDIAN
tor R
eP
y

Nyasa or Cape York

el

Tim Arnhem
scaren
ann

ast

Ashmore &

a
Zam Mid-Indian Cartier Islands Land Gulf of
Ok

12
e Ch

n d
r

Gre at B a r r i e r
In v e s t i g a

Basin
av

etye

Carpentaria
sca
be

Ma
ang

Vanu atu
zi

Kimberley
biqu

OCEAN
o
Na

Plateau Coral
aga

- I

Okavango Mauritius
zam

Sea
mi

Fiji
Nin

Delta
d
b Desert

Lim
Mo

i d

Kalahari
Ma

Réunion
ange

Great Sandy New

pop

Ree f
e

Desert Desert Caled onia

idg

Madagascar Gibson Desert Simp son Tropic of Capricorn 13

sR

g R

Oran Riv Basin Dese rt

ge er e AUSTRALIA
vi

g
teau e
g

Natal South Fiji

al

Pla mbiqu

in
er

W Basin id Perth Great Victo ria

Rise

Lake Eyre
sb

Cape Basin
id

Deser t
en R Brok Basin -16m
Basin Drak So en
iv
za

l l ar b or P l ain ng
we

n u Ridge Nu Da
rli
D
Mo

Ho

Cape of i a th Amsterdam Grea t a

t
rd

Good Hope d ea Island Aus trali an re Lo 14

In st Bigh t
Mo unt
G
t South
e s
Kos cius zko North Island
St Paul Island Australian
In 222 8m
w di Basin New
t h an Bass Strait Zealand t
Agulhas u Tasman
t rai

Crozet Ta sm an ia
Basin o Islands Ri Sea
ok S

S Prince dg
e South Island
Co

Edward Kerguelen 15
Ke

Islands
rgu
ele n

Campbell
Bouvet
Island
Enderby
Heard
Island
South Indian Ba
Auckland Plateau
Islands
Physical factfile
sin
P l at

Campbell Islan Diameter of Earth at Equator:

Plain Macquarie d
Island 7927 miles (12,756 km)
e au

Equatorial circumference of 16
Maud O C E A N D av i s S e a Earth: 24,901 miles (40,075 km)
Rise Diameter from Pole to Pole:
7900 miles (12,714 km)
Wilkes Antarct
Dronning Maud Land Land ic Circle Polar circumference of Earth:
R C T I C A 24,860 miles (40,008 km)
17
Mass: 5988 million million million
Mt Ere tons (tonnes)
bus Ro
3794m S ss Ice
helf
N O P Q R U V W X Y Z

xiii
 THE WOR LD
A B C D E F G H I J K L M

Structure of the Earth

Rocky crust Viscous
1
Inside the Earth Rigid
lithosphere
asthenosphere

The Earth’s hot inner core is made up of Inner core

of solid iron
solid iron, while the outer core is
The Earth as it is today is just the latest phase in a constant process of evolution which has
composed of liquid iron and nickel. The
occurred over the past 4.5 billion years. The Earth’s continents are neither fixed nor stable; over mantle nearest the core is viscous,
2
the course of the Earth’s history, propelled by currents rising from the intense heat at its center, whereas the rocky upper mantle is fairly
the great plates on which they lie have moved, collided, joined together, and separated. These rigid. The crust is the rocky outer shell
Liquid Mantle composed
processes continue to mold and transform the surface of the Earth, causing earthquakes and of the Earth. Together, the upper mantle outer of solid rock
volcanic eruptions and creating oceans, mountain ranges, deep ocean trenches, and island chains. and the crust form the lithosphere. core Mesosphere and magma
3 Inner core
Outer core
The dynamic Earth Continental
plate
Rigid
tectonic Subduction Convection currents
plate zone
The Earth’s crust is made up of eight major (and Deep within the Earth, at its inner core,
Ocean
several minor) rigid continental and oceanic crust temperatures may exceed 8,100°F (4,500°C).
4 tectonic plates, which fit closely together. The Oceanic Movement This heat warms rocks in the mesosphere
plate of plate
positions of the plates are not static. They are which rise through the partially molten
Mid-ocean
constantly moving relative to one another. The ridge mantle, displacing cooler rocks just below
type of movement between plates affects the way the solid crust, which sink, and are warmed
Lithosphere
in which they alter the structure of the Earth. The Shield area again by the heat of the mantle. This process
5 oldest parts of the plates, known as shields, are the Plate boundary: in middle of is continuous, creating convection currents
Asthenosphere
most tectonic activity plate: little tectonic
most stable parts of the Earth and little tectonic takes place here activity occurs here Mesosphere which form the moving force beneath the
activity occurs here. Earth’s crust.
Continental crust

Plate boundaries Mid-ocean ridges Ocean plates meeting

6
Mid-ocean ridges are formed Oceanic crust is denser and thinner than
The boundaries between the plates are the areas
when two adjacent oceanic plates pull continental crust; on average it is 3 miles (5 km)
where most tectonic activity takes place. Three types thick, while continental crust averages 18–24 miles
apart, allowing magma to force its way
of movement occur at plate boundaries: the plates can up to the surface, which then cools to (30–40 km). When oceanic plates of similar density
either move toward each other, move apart, or slide form solid rock. Vast amounts of meet, the crust is contorted as one plate overrides
past each other. The effect this has on the Earth’s volcanic material are discharged at these the other, forming deep sea trenches and volcanic
7 mid-ocean ridges which can reach island arcs above sea level.
structure depends on whether the margin is between
heights of 10,000 ft (3000 m). 䉱 Mount Pinatubo is an
two continental plates, two oceanic plates, or an active volcano, lying on the Overriding Chain
oceanic and continental plate. 䉱 The Mid-Atlantic Ridge Ocean floor Earthquake zone Pacific “Ring of Fire.” plate of islands
rises above sea level in
Iceland, producing geysers Magma pushed Ocean trench
and volcanoes. upwards along Diving plate
8 centre of ridge
Volcanic
Solid mantle activity
Formation of a Ocean plates meeting
mid-ocean ridge to form an island arc
Tectonic activity
Arctic C ircle
uncertain plate boundary
ircle Arctic C
9
volcanic zone
earthquake zone
hot spot E U R A S I A N P L AT E
rift valley
J UA N D E F U C A A NAT O L I A N
P L AT E
N O R T H A M E R I C A N
P L AT E
10 P L AT E
PAC I F I C
IRANIAN
P L AT E
P L AT E
Tropic of Cancer Tropic of Cancer

ARABIAN PHILIPPINE
P L AT E P L AT E
11 CARIBBEAN CAROLINE
P L AT E P L AT E
COCOS
P L AT E
BISMARCK
Equator P A C I F I C P L A T E P L AT E Equator

A F R I C A N
12 P L AT E
S O U T H A M E R I C A N
SOLOMON
P L AT E P L AT E
N A Z C A
F I J I P L AT E
P L AT E I N D O -
Tropic of Capricorn A U S T R A L I A N
Tropic of Capricorn

13 P L A T E

14
S C O T I A P L AT E
A N T A R C T I C P L A T E
Antarctic
Circ l e Circle
A nt a rc t i c

15 Sliding plates
䉳 The Andean mountain When two plates slide 䉴 The Alps were formed when the
chain is the typical result of past each other, friction is caused African Plate collided with the Eurasian
the impact of a diving plate. along the fault line which divides Plate, about 65 million years ago.
Diving plates them. The plates do not move
Plate buckles Mountains
When an oceanic and a smoothly, and the uneven as it collides thrust upwards
16 continental plate meet, the denser Oceanic plate movement causes earthquakes.
dives under Mountains Earthquake
oceanic plate is driven underneath thrust up by Plate Colliding plates
continental plate zone
the continental plate, which is collision Plate When two
䉱 The deep fracture Crust thickens
crumpled by the collision to form Earthquake Fault line continental plates collide,
caused by the sliding in response to
mountain ranges. As the ocean plate zone plates of the San the impact
great mountain chains are
plunges downward, it heats up, and Earthquake thrust upward as the crust
Continental Andreas Fault can be Continental plates
zone buckles and folds under the
17 molten rock (magma) is forced up to plate clearly seen in parts colliding to form a
the surface. Diving plate of California. Sliding plates mountain range force of the impact.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

xiv
 STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Continental drift Greenland I A

A
S
Siberia
Manchuria
Northern
Europe
Continental shields 1
R China
U Central
Although the plates which make A
North L P
Arabia Asia Southeast Asia The centers of the Earth’s continents, known as
up the Earth’s crust move only a America A N Africa India shields, were established between 2500 and 500 Scandinavian
G Australia Canadian (Fenno-Scandian) Siberian
South America E A (Laurentian)
few inches in a year, over the Antarctica
G ON DWA NA L A N D million years ago; some contain rocks over three Korean
millions of years of the Earth’s billion years old. They were formed by a series Indian
African
history, its continents have 4: Triassic period of turbulent events: plate movements, 2
Guiana
moved many thousands of miles, 245–208 million years ago. All three major earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Since the (Venezuelan)
continents have joined to form the Brazilian Australian
to create new continents, oceans, Pre-Cambrian period, over 570 million years ago,
super-continent of Pangea.
and mountain chains they have experienced little tectonic activity,
Antarctic
North
L AU R A S I A
Siberia
and today, these flat, low-lying slabs of solidified
America Northern 3
Greenland Europe
Manchuria molten rock form the stable centers of the
Africa China
LAURENTIA Australia
South
GO
Arabia Central Asia continents. They are bounded or covered by
Greenland
N
Antarctica America Southeast Asia
W
successive belts of younger sedimentary rock.
D
BALTICA AN
North Siberia A L India
D

America India AND Australia

AN

South Antarctica
AL

Arabia America
N

Northern A
Europe
Africa G O
N DW
5: Jurassic period The Hawai'ian Creation of the Himalayas 4

1: Cambrian period
208–145 million years ago. The
super-continent of Pangea begins to break
island chain Between 10 and 20 million years ago, the Indian
570–510 million years ago. Most continents subcontinent, part of the ancient continent of
up, causing an overall rise in sea levels. A hot spot lying deep beneath the Pacific Ocean
are in tropical latitudes. The supercontinent Gondwanaland, collided with the continent of Asia.
of Gondwanaland reaches the South Pole.
pushes a plume of magma from the Earth’s
L AU R A S I A The Indo-Australian Plate continued to move northward,
Greenland Northern
Siberia mantle up through the Pacific Plate to form 5
Europe
Manchuria
China
displacing continental crust and uplifting the Himalayas,
North America Spain Turkey volcanic islands. While the hot spot remains
Greenland
SIBERIA
Africa Arabia Central Asia the world’s highest mountain chain.
LAURENTIA
South Southeast Asia stationary, the plate on which the islands sit is
/BALTICA Northern South Asia America GO
India
ND Australia
North
Europe
Africa
Kazakhstania W A NA
LAND
moving slowly. A long chain of islands has been Movements of India Force of collision
America Australia
Arabia Antarctica created as the plate passes over the hot spot. pushes up mountains
South India N Antarctica H
D

America A
G O N DWA N
AL
Extinct volcano Direction of plate Active volcano im 6
6: Cretaceous period ala
movement over hot spot yas
145–65 million years ago. Warm, shallow
2: Devonian period seas cover much of the land: sea levels are
408–362 million years ago. The continents Cross-section through
about 80 ft (25 m) above present levels. the Himalayas
Present day
of Gondwanaland and Laurentia are
drifting northward. TIA
R EN
BALTICA Siberia Cross-section through the Hawai‘ian Islands 7
North AU Northern
L

America Europe
ANGARALAND Arabia Evolution of the Hawai'ian Islands 20 million years ago
Siberia Africa India
LAURENTIA
Northwest South
G ON

Greenland China America Australia nd

s
Emperor

30 million
North
Northern Antarctica years ago Al e u t i a n I s l a
DW

America AN
Europe Australia ALAND Antarctica PAC I F IC
South 20 million
Arabia years ago OCEAN
S eam

America
Africa 8
G O N D WA A L A N D
7: Tertiary period un 60 million years ago
o

N ts
65–2 million years ago. Although the
3: Carboniferous period world’s geography is becoming more
䉱 The Himalayas were
362–290 million years ago. The Earth is recognizable, major events such as the 10 million 2 million
80 million years ago uplifted when the Indian
Direction of movement years ago years ago
dominated by three continents; Laurentia, creation of the Himalayan mountain of plate over hot spot Hawai‘i subcontinent collided with
Angaraland, and Gondwanaland. chain, are still to occur during this period. Asia.
9

䉳 Basalt columns at
The Earth’s geology Gneiss
1 Gneiss is a metamorphic Giant’s Causeway,
Limestone
3 Limestone is a sedimentary rock,
Northern Ireland, UK.
The Earth’s rocks are created in a continual cycle. rock made at great depth which is formed
Exposed rocks are weathered and eroded by during the formation of mainly from the
mountain chains, when calcite skeletons of 10
wind, water, and chemicals and deposited intense heat and pressure marine animals
as sediments. If they pass into the Earth’s crust transform sedimentary or which have been
they will be transformed by high temperatures igneous rocks. compressed into rock.
and pressures into metamorphic rocks or they Basalt
will melt and solidify as igneous rocks. 2 Basalt is an igneous rock,
11
䉱 Gneiss formations in formed when small quantities of
Sandstone Norway’s Jotunheimen magma lying close to the Earth’s
Mountains. surface cool rapidly.
8 Sandstones are
sedimentary rocks formed
mainly in deserts, beaches, and
deltas. Desert sandstones are formed 12
of grains of quartz which have been
1
well rounded by wind erosion.
2 䉱 Limestone hills, Guilin, China.

Coral
8 6
4 Coral reefs are 13
3 formed from the
7
skeletons of millions
of individual corals.

4
䉱 Rock stacks of desert sandstone, 5 14
at Bryce Canyon National Park,
Utah, US.

䉳 Extrusive
igneous rocks
are formed 15
during volcanic
eruptions, as 䉱 Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
here in Hawai‘i. Geological regions
Schist Granite
continental shield
sedimentary cover 1 Schist is a metamorphic rock 5 Granite is an intrusive igneous
coral formation formed during mountain rock formed from magma
igneous rock types 16
building, when temperature and which has solidified deep
Mountain ranges pressure are comparatively high. within the Earth’s crust.
Andesite
Alpine (new) Both mudstones and shales The magma cools
7 Andesite is an extrusive
Hercynian (old) reform into schist under slowly, producing a
igneous rock formed from Caledonian (ancient)
these conditions. coarse-grained rock.
magma which has solidified
on the Earth’s crust after 䉴 Schist formations in the Atlas 䉴 Namibia’s Namaqualand 17
a volcanic eruption. Mountains, northwestern Africa. Plateau is formed of granite.

N O P Q S V W X Y Z

xv
 THE WOR LD
A B C D E F G H I J K L M

Shaping the landscape Water

Less than 2% of the world’s
water is on the land, but it is the
The basic material of the Earth’s surface is solid rock: valleys, deserts, soil, and sand are all evidence most powerful agent of
of the powerful agents of weathering, erosion, and deposition which constantly shape and transform landscape change. Water, as
2 rainfall, groundwater, and rivers,
the Earth’s landscapes. Water, either flowing continually in rivers or seas, or frozen and compacted
can transform landscapes
into solid sheets of ice, has the most clearly visible impact on the Earth’s surface. But wind can
through both erosion and
transport fragments of rock over huge distances and strip away protective layers of vegetation, 䉱 Waterfalls such as the Iguaçu Falls on
deposition. Eroded material
exposing rock surfaces to the impact of extreme heat and cold. carried by rivers forms the
the border between Argentina and
southern Brazil, erode the underlying
3
world’s most fertile soils. rock, causing the falls to retreat.
Coastal water Permeable
The world’s coastlines are constantly changing; Groundwater zone where Perched
groundwater aquifer
every day, tides deposit, sift and sort sand, In regions where there are porous is stored
Water Impermeable
and gravel on the shoreline. Over longer rocks such as chalk, water is stored table Spring rock
4 periods, powerful wave action erodes cliffs underground in large quantities; these
and headlands and carves out bays. reservoirs of water are known as
aquifers. Rain percolates through
topsoil into the underlying bedrock,
䉴 A low, wide sandy beach on creating an underground store of
South Africa’s Cape Peninsula is 䉱 The sheer chalk cliffs at Seven Sisters in
5 continually re-shaped by the southern England are constantly under attack water. The limit of the saturated zone
action of the Atlantic waves. from waves. is called the water table. Storage of groundwater in an aquifer

World river systems:

Sediment deposited annually per drainage basin
6 World river systems
A N
O C E tons per
Arctic C C T I C ircle sq mile
ircle A R Arctic C
per year 9120 2400
Yukon
Yenisey Lena
Mackenzie 6080 1600
drainage basin Ob'
Volga
Nelson Amur
7
St. Lawrence Rhine
Columbia 1520 400
Danube 760 200 and less
Mississippi/ Yellow River tonnes per
Colorado Missouri sq km
Tigris/ per year
Rio AT L A N T I C Euphrates Indus
Grande Yangtze
Tropic of Cancer Ganges/ Tropic of Cancer
8 OCEAN Brahmaputra

Mekong PAC I F I C
Niger Nile
P A C I F I C Orinoco OCEAN
9 Equator Equator
Congo

O C E A N Amazon
INDIAN
Sáo
Francisco Zambezi
OCEAN
10
AT L A N T I C
Paraná
Tropic of Capricorn
OCEAN Orange Tropic of Capricorn

Murray/
Darling

11

le Antarct
t i c Ci rc ic Circle
Ant a rc
12
Drainage basins
The drainage basin is the area of land
Rivers River valleys Deltas
drained by a major trunk river and its
smaller branch rivers or tributaries.
Rivers erode the land by grinding and Over long periods of time rivers erode When a river deposits its load of silt Drainage basins are separated from
uplands to form characteristic and sediment (alluvium) on entering the Watershed Major trunk river Alps
13
dissolving rocks and stones. Most one another by natural boundaries
V-shaped valleys with smooth sides. sea, it may form a delta. As this material known as watersheds.
erosion occurs in the river’s upper accumulates, it chokes the mouth of
Chemical erosion
course as it flows through highland Resistant rock cuts valley in the river, forcing it to create new
River softer rock Dolomites
areas. Rock fragments are moved along channels to reach the sea.
the river bed by fast-flowing water and 䉴 The Nile
14 deposited in areas where the river forms a broad
Apennines
delta as it
slows down, such as flat plains, or flows into the
where the river enters seas or lakes. River valley erosion Mediterranean. Delta River mouth Po Valley
Tributary river

Meanders The drainage basin of the Po river, northern Italy.

In their lower courses, rivers flow
15
slowly. As they flow across the Landslides
lowlands, they form looping Heavy rain and associated flooding
bends called meanders. on slopes can loosen underlying
Gullies
䉳 Mud is rocks, which crumble, causing the
top layers of rock and soil to slip. In areas where soil is
deposited by
thin, rainwater is
16
China’s Yellow
River in its not effectively
lower course. absorbed, and may
䉴 A huge
䉱 The Mississippi River flow overland. The
Deposition landslide in the
forms meanders as it water courses
Swiss Alps has
flows across the When rivers have deposited large quantities downhill in
left massive 䉱 A deep gully in the
southern US. of fertile alluvium, they are forced to find new channels, or gullies,
䉱 The meanders of Utah’s piles of rocks French Alps caused by
17 San Juan River have become channels through the alluvium deposits, and pebbles the scouring of upper and may lead to
deeply incised. creating braided river systems. called scree. layers of turf. rapid erosion of soil.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

xvi
 SHAPING THE LANDSCAPE
N O P Q R S V W X Y Z

Ice Glacial valleys 1

During its long history, the Earth
has experienced a number of glacial
episodes when temperatures were
considerably lower than today.
During the last Ice Age, 18,000 years
Glaciers can erode much more powerfully
than rivers. They form steep-sided,
flat-bottomed valleys with a typical
U-shaped profile. Valleys created by
tributary glaciers, whose floors have not
been eroded to the same depth as the main 2

ago, ice covered an area three
times larger than it does today.
Over these periods, the ice has
left a remarkable legacy of
transformed landscapes.
glacial valley floor, are called hanging valleys
䉱 The U-shaped profile and piles of
morainic debris are characteristic of a 䉱 A series of hanging valleys high up in
valley once filled by a glacier. the Chilean Andes.
䉱 The profile of the Matterhorn has
Past and present world ice-cover and glacial features been formed by three cirques lying 3
“back-to-back.”

Glaciers Cirques
Cirques are basin-shaped hollows which
Glaciers are formed by the compaction
mark the head of a glaciated valley. Where
of snow into “rivers” of ice. As they
neighboring cirques meet, they are divided
move over the landscape, glaciers pick 4
by sharp rock ridges called arêtes. It is
up and carry a load of rocks and these arêtes which give the Matterhorn its
boulders which erode the landscape characteristic profile.
they pass over, and are eventually
deposited at the end of the glacier. Fjords
Fjords are ancient glacial valleys flooded 5
by the sea following the end of a period
of glaciation. Beneath the water, the valley
floor can be 4000 ft (1300 m) deep.

䉱 A massive glacier advancing down a 7

valley in southern Argentina. Past and present world
ice cover and glacial features
䉱 A fjord fills a former glacial valley in
Post-glacial features Kame terrace Retreating glacier
extent of last Ice Age present day ice cover southern New Zealand.
loess deposits glacial field
When a glacial episode ends, the post-glacial feature
Kettle hole
retreating ice leaves many features. glacial feature Periglaciation 8
Esker
These include depositional ridges called Drumlin Periglacial areas occur near to the
Braided river Ice shattering edge of ice sheets. A layer of frozen
moraines, which may be eroded into Terminal
Water drips into fissures in rocks ground lying just beneath the surface of
low hills known as drumlins; sinuous Windblown moraine
loess and freezes, expanding as it does the land is known as permafrost. When
ridges called eskers; kames, which are
so. The pressure weakens the 䉱 Irregular polygons show the surface melts in the summer, the
rounded hummocks; depressions Glacial till
rock, causing it to crack, and through the sedge-grass water is unable to drain into the frozen
Bedrock 9
known as kettle holes; and windblown eventually to shatter into tundra in the Yukon, Canada. ground, and so “creeps” downhill, a
loess deposits. Post-glacial landscape features polygonal patterns. process known as solifluction.

Wind Prevailing winds and dust trajectories Hot and cold deser t s Temperature
10
Strong winds can transport Most of the world’s deserts
rock fragments great distances, are in the tropics. The cold
especially where there is little deserts which occur elsewhere
vegetation to protect the rock. are arid because they are a
In desert areas, wind picks up long way from the rain-giving
11
loose, unprotected sand sea. Rock in deserts is exposed
particles, carrying them over because of lack of vegetation
great distances. This and is susceptible to changes
powerfully abrasive debris is in temperature; extremes of
blasted at the surface by the heat and cold can cause both
Prevailing winds Dust trajectories Main desert types 12
wind, eroding the landscape cracks and fissures to appear
northeast trade westerly polar easterly trajectory of hot arid semi-arid cold polar
into dramatic shapes. southeast trade westerly polar easterly aeolian dust in the rock.

Deposition Heat Desert abrasion

Abrasion creates a wide range of desert landforms from
The rocky, stony floors of the Fierce sun can heat the surface of rock, causing 13
faceted pebbles and wind ripples in the sand, to
world’s deserts are swept and it to expand more rapidly than the cooler,
large-scale features such as yardangs (low, streamlined
scoured by strong winds. The underlying layers. This creates tensions which ridges), and scoured desert pavements.
smaller, finer particles of sand are force the rock to crack or break up. In arid
shaped into surface ripples, dunes, regions, the evaporation of water from rock Wind abrasion Gravel

or sand mountains, which rise to a surfaces dissolves certain minerals within the Faceted rock Sand
desert 14
height of 650 ft (200 m). Dunes water, causing salt crystals to form in small Wind
usually form single lines, running openings in the rock. The hard crystals force the direction Wind
perpendicular to the direction of openings to widen into cracks and fissures. rippling
Desert
the prevailing wind. These long, pavement
Thermal
straight ridges can extend for over 䉱 Barchan dunes in the 䉱 Complex dune system in fracturing
100 miles (160 km). Arabian Desert. the Sahara. 15
Features of a desert surface
Dunes
Dunes are shaped Types of dune
by wind direction
and sand supply.
Where sand supply 䉳 This dry valley at 16
is limited, crescent- Ellesmere Island in the
shaped barchan Canadian Arctic is an
dunes are formed. example of a cold
desert. The cracked
floor and scoured
䉱 The cracked and parched floor of Death slopes are features
Wind direction Valley, California. This is one of the hottest also found in hot 17
Transverse dune Barchan dune Linear dune Star dune deserts on Earth. deserts.

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

xvii
 THE WOR LD
A B C D E F G H I J K L M

The world’s oceans The great oceans

There are five oceans on Earth: the Pacific,
Atlantic, Indian, and Southern oceans, and the
much smaller Arctic Ocean. These five ocean
Two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by the oceans. The landscape of the ocean floor, basins are relatively young, having evolved within
like the surface of the land, has been shaped by movements of the Earth’s crust over millions the last 80 million years. One of the most recent
2
of years to form volcanic mountain ranges, deep trenches, basins, and plateaus. Ocean plate collisions, between the Eurasian and African
䉱 The Indian Ocean accounts for
plates, created the present-day arrangement of approximately 20% of the total
currents constantly redistribute warm and cold water around the world. A major warm continents and oceans. area of the world’s oceans.
current, such as El Niño in the Pacific Ocean, can increase surface temperature by up to
10°F (8°C), causing changes in weather patterns which can lead to both droughts and flooding.
3

Sea level
If the influence of tides, winds, currents, and variations in Baren
gravity were ignored, the surface of the Earth’s oceans would
Arctic C
ircle Sea ts Kara
Sea
Laptev Sea ARCTI C
East Siberian
closely follow the topography of the ocean floor, with an Sea
4 underwater ridge 3000 ft (915 m) high producing a rise of up to Se a
rth Se a
3 ft (1 m) in the level of the surface water. No Baltic
Depressed sea level over Sea of
trough in ocean floor E U R O Okhotsk
Elevated sea P E
level over

Se a
A S I

Emperor Seamou
Black c

h
5 ridge in
A en

Se a
Sea

c
Tr

iati
ocean floor Base level of e
Med ril

ian
dr
the sea surface ite A Ku
Sea of

asp
Actual relief at 0 ft (0 m)

rra
C

h
Japan

renc
of ocean ea Northwest

n
nS (East Sea)

an T
floor ea Yellow
Pacific
Basin

nts
Sea

ap
How surface waters reflect the J
East

Per G u
6 relief of the ocean floor
ia China

s
Tropic of Cancer lf n Sea

it
tra
nS
Mi
Red Sea

d-P

iwa
Arabian ac i

Ta
fic M
Sea o untains
Bay

e n ch
7 of Bengal Philippine

ve Plateau

Tr
AFRICA Sea
Marian
a

Tha
South

Gul iland
Car

China

f of
lsb

Str
Sunda Sea
-Laccadi

ait
erg

Gulf of Shelf Celebes

of
Sea
Rid

M
Guinea
8
ge

lac
Equator Melanesian
I N D I A N

ca
Chagos

䉱 The low relief of many small Pacific islands such Somali Bismarck Basin
as these atolls at Huahine in French Polynesia Basin Sea
Mid-I

makes them vulnerable to changes in sea level. Mid-Indian Solomon

Ninety

Arafura Sea
Basin Sea
Mozambique Channel

Angola
ndian R

Timor
9 Ocean structure Basin Sea
Coral
M al a t e a u
P

east

The continental shelf is a shallow, flat seabed Sea

scarene

idge

Gr
ea
tB
surrounding the Earth’s continents. It extends to

arr
Rid

ier
the continental slope, which falls to the ocean South
Tropic of Capricorn

Re
AUSTRALIA

ef
floor. Here, the flat abyssal plains are interrupted Fiji
ge

Madagascar
Wal

Mo

10 Basin Perth Basin

by vast, underwater mountain ranges, the
vis R

zam

Basin
dg
idge

mid-ocean ridges, and ocean trenches which

biq

Cape
n Ri

South
ue

plunge to depths of 35,828 ft (10,920 m). Basin Tasman

O C E A N
Pla

Australian Bass Strait

Sea
tea

dia

Basin
u

Abyssal Oceanic
est In

Trench Seamount plain ridge Volcanic

Sou
11 thea ll
Flat-topped Agulhas st In be
mp eau
island dia
Ke n Ridge a
guyot Basin rgu C lat
thw

Continental ele P
shelf Ocean depth nP
ou

lat
S ea n
Sea level u South Indian Basi
200m / 656ft
1000m / 3281ft
Enderby SOUTHERN
12 Plain
2000m / 6562ft
3000m / 9843ft

ANTA RC TIC A
le
t i c Ci rc
4000m / 13,124ft Ant a rc
Typical sea-floor features 5000m / 16,400ft
6000m / 19,686ft

Black smokers Ages of the ocean floor

These vents in the ocean
floor disgorge hot, sulfur-rich
water from deep in the
Arctic
Earth’s crust. Despite the Circle
great depths, a variety of
lifeforms have adapted to
the chemical-rich
environment which Tropic of
surrounds black smokers. Cancer

Equator
䉱 Surtsey, near Iceland, is a
䉱 A black smoker in the volcanic island lying directly over Tropic of
Atlantic Ocean. the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It was Capricorn
formed in the 1960s following
intense volcanic activity nearby.
Plume of hot
Chimney mineral laden water Ocean floors
16 Antarctic
Mid-ocean ridges are formed by Circle
lava which erupts beneath the sea
and cools to form solid rock. This
Water
percolates Ocean floor process mirrors the creation of
Jurassic Tertiary (Paleogene) Jurassic
into the volcanoes from cooled lava on the Cretaceous Quaternary Cretaceous
sea floor Water heated
land. The ages of sea floor rocks Age uncertain
by hot basalt
17 increase in parallel bands outward 208 145 65 23 0 23 65 145 208 Continental shelf
Formation of black smokers from central ocean ridges. million years old Tertiary (Neogene) million years old and island arcs

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

xviii
 THE WOR LD’S OCE ANS
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Deposition Sediment accumulates at

head of underwater canyon
Continental
shelf Rocks and
1
Other debris,
of sediment Recently-
deposited
flow from
Storms, earthquakes, and volcanic shelf to
sediments
ocean floor
activity trigger underwater currents overlay
older rocks
known as turbidity currents which
scour sand and gravel from the
Deep sea 2
䉱 Currents in the Southern Ocean 䉱 The Pacific Ocean is the 䉱 The Atlantic Ocean was formed continental shelf, creating
turbidity
are driven by some of the world’s world’s largest and deepest ocean, when the landmasses of the eastern underwater canyons. These strong flow
fiercest winds, including the Roaring covering over one-third of the and western hemispheres began to
currents pick up material deposited
Forties, Furious Fifties, and surface of the Earth. drift apart 180 million years ago.
Shrieking Sixties. at river mouths and deltas, and
How sediment is deposited on the ocean floor
carry it across the continental shelf
and through the underwater 3

Gre canyons, where it is eventually laid

enl
an
d
down on the ocean floor in the
Se
a form of fans.
OC EAN Baffin Bay
Dav
Arctic C
ircle
Chukchi Beaufort Sea sS i
Sea tra
i
Hudson Strai t 4
t
Hudson L ab ra d or 䉴 Satellite image of the Yangtze
Bay Se a
Be ri n g (Chang Jiang) Delta, in which the
Sea Gulf of land appears red. The river
n c h Alaska M
id
Tr e deposits immense quantities of
an -A
Al euti silt into the East China Sea, much
t
of which will eventually reach the

la
Newfoundland deep ocean floor.
5

NORTH

nt
Basin

ic Ridge
c t ure Zone
Me n d o
c ino Fra AMERICA Surface water
North Ocean currents move warm water away from the Equator toward
e Zone American
Fr actur the poles, while cold water is, in turn, moved towards the Equator.
ur ray Basin
A T L A N T ICanaCry
M 6
Gulf
This is the main way in which the Earth distributes surface heat and
Tropic of Cancer is a major climatic control. Approximately 4000 million years ago,
ne of Mexico
re Zo Sargasso Sea
Haw rac t u Basin
a i’ i a kai F the Earth was dominated by oceans and there was no land to
nR
i dg Mol o Yucatan
interrupt the flow of the currents, which would have flowed as
e M Basin
one
ct ure Z id
dl straight lines, simply influenced by the Earth’s rotation.
n Fra e A Barracud
C lar io m eric Caribbean Sea a Fracture Z
one 7
a T
r
P A C I F I C Zone
Guate mala
en
ch

ure
Frac t B a sin
er ton
Central Clipp
Pacific Equator
8
Basin
e
is
R

SOUTH
c

Brazil
fi

AMERICA Idealized globe showing the

ci

Pe r u

Per u Basin movement of water around

ga Trench

Pa

Basin a landless Earth. 9

e -C
dg
hi
st

Ri

l e Tr e n c h

O C E A N
Ton

Ocean currents
ca
Ea

az

N Chile
Basin Tropic of Capricorn Surface currents are driven by the prevailing winds and by the
Sala y Gomez Ridge spinning motion of the Earth, which drives the currents into
circulating whirlpools,or gyres. Deep sea currents, over 10
Rio
se

O C E A N
ge

Grande 330 ft (100 m) below the surface, are driven by differences in water
Ri

id

Southwest Rise temperature and salinity, which have an impact on the density of
R
c

Pacific deep water and on its movement.

c
ti
fi

Basin
n
ci

la

Argentine t
a

-A Sur face temperature and current s 11

P

Basin
id
st

M Arctic
a

E Circle
e
idg
tic R
tarc
c-An Scotia Sea Tropic of
Pacifi OCEAN Cancer
ich

S o u t h e a s t Pa c i f i c
dw
Basin San h 12
South Trenc Equator
Amun dsen Sea Bel lin gsh aus en
Ross Antarcti
Sea c Circle Tropic of
Sea Weddell
Capricorn
Sea
Antarctic
Circle
13
Tides and waves High and low tides
Surface temperature and currents
Tides are created by the pull of the Sun and Moon’s gravity on The highest tides occur when the Earth, the Moon and
Ice-shelf (below 32˚F / 0˚C) 32–50˚F / F 0–10˚C warm current
the surface of the oceans. The levels of high and low tides are the Sun are aligned (below left). The lowest tides are Sea-ice* (average) below 28˚F / -2˚C 50–68˚F / 10–20˚C cold current
influenced by the position of the Moon in relation to the Earth experienced when the Sun and Moon align at right Sea-water 28–32˚F / -2–0˚C 68–86˚F / 20–30˚C
* Sea-water freezes at 28.4˚F / -1.9˚C
and Sun. Waves are formed by wind blowing over the surface angles to one another (below right).
of the water. 14

Highest Lowest
Tidal range and wave environment s high tides high tides Deep sea temperature and current s
Arctic Earth Arctic
Circle Circle
15
Sun Moon
Tropic of Tropic of
Cancer Cancer

Equator Equator
Tropic of Tropic of
Capricorn Capricorn
16
Antarctic Antarctic
Circle Circle
Tidal bulge
Tidal range and wave environments created by
Deep sea temperature and currents
gravitational pull
less than 7ft / 2m east coast swell tropical cyclone ice-shelf Ice-shelf (below 32˚F / 0˚C) Primary currents
7–13ft / 2–4m west coast swell storm wave Sea-water 28–32˚F / -2–0˚C (below 16,400ft / 5000m) Secondary currents 17
greater than 13ft / 4m Sea-water 32–41˚F /0–5˚C (below 13,120ft / 4000m)

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

xix
 THE WOR LD
A B C D E F G H I J K L M

The global climate

1
Global air circulation
Air does not simply flow from the Equator to the poles, it circulates in giant cells known as Hadley
and Ferrel cells. As air warms it expands, becoming less dense and rising; this creates areas of low
pressure. As the air rises it cools and condenses, causing heavy rainfall over the tropics and slight
The Earth’s climatic types consist of stable patterns of weather conditions averaged snowfall over the poles. This cool air then sinks, forming high pressure belts. At surface level in the
out over a long period of time. Different climates are categorized according to tropics these sinking currents are deflected poleward as the westerlies and toward the equator as
2 the trade winds. At the poles they become the polar easterlies.
particular combinations of temperature and humidity. By contrast, weather consists of
short-term fluctuations in wind, temperature, and humidity conditions. Different Warm air rises
climates are determined by latitude, altitude, the prevailing wind, and circulation of Cooled North Equator South
air sinks Pole Pole
ocean currents. Longer-term changes in climate, such as global warming or the onset of
3 ice ages, are punctuated by shorter-term events which comprise the day-to-day
weather of a region, such as frontal depressions, hurricanes, and blizzards.

䉱 The Antarctic pack ice expands its

The atmosphere, High
Westerlies
Low High
Rain falls in
Low High
Southeast
Low area by almost seven times during the
winter as temperatures drop and
4
wind and weather the tropics trade winds surrounding seas freeze.

The Earth’s atmosphere has been compared to a giant ocean of air

which surrounds the planet. Its circulation patterns are similar to
the currents in the oceans and are influenced by three factors; the Arctic C
5 Earth’s orbit around the Sun and rotation about its axis, and
ircle
P O L A R
Ja n u a r y
variations in the amount of heat radiation received from the Sun.
If both heat and moisture were not redistributed between Chinoo
k Ju l y ft

ri
the Equator and the poles, large areas of the Earth would Ju l y y
Januar

D
Ju l y
Ju l y
e nt

ic
be uninhabitable. Cu r r t

Bliz
Al a s k a a
n
6 W E S T E R tl
L I E S De A

zar

t
h

ren
cem rt
䉳 Heavy fogs, as here t u r re n Cu
r
No
N o r t h Pa c i f i c C b

ds
er– rador
in southern England, M Lab
a
form as moisture- W E S T E R L I E S

y
m

rc
ren

uar
a

h
laden air passes over e

Jan
r

ly
r
cold ground.

a Cu
t

–Ju
S

er
May
r th
7 f

Californi

No

l
Tornadoes
N O R T H

Ju l y
u
G
Tropic of Cancer

Ju l y

nt
re
E A S T

ur
No
rt
h

C
t
Cur
ren Eq
ua N O R T H ry
orial na

H
8 tor
Nor ther n Equat ial Ca

ar
m
T R A D E S uar
y Cu r re
nt at
tan
Ja n
E A S T
E q u a t o r i a l C o u n t e r Ju l y
C u r r e n t

Doldrums
T R A D E S
9 El Niño
Equator Doldrums
Temperature So
uth
Equator
i al Cur re
nt
The world can be divided into three major climatic ur rent
quator ial C
South E
zones, stretching like large belts across the latitudes: S O U T H Ju l y S O U T H
El

the tropics which are warm; the cold polar regions

Ni

E A S T

t
10
ño

re n
and the temperate zones which lie between them. P
E A S T
e

Cur
r
Temperatures across the Earth range from above 86°F T R A D E S
u

Bra z i l
(H

(30°C) in the deserts to as low as -70°F (-55°C) at the

T R A D E S
u
m

poles. Temperature is also controlled by altitude; Tro p i c o f C a p ri c o r n

bo

because air becomes cooler and less dense the higher it

ld

11 t
t

n
gets, mountainous regions are typically colder than those
)

re
Cu

C u r

areas which are at, or close to, sea level.

rre

Pampero
nt

d
F a l k l a n

Average Januar y temperatures We s t

12
s

Arctic
Circle
I E S
T E R L
W E S
Tropic of
Cancer We s
t Win
d Dr if
13 t
Equator
le
Ant a rc
t i c Ci rc
P O L A R
Tropic of
Capricorn

Antarctic
Circle
Climatic change
14 The Earth is currently in a warm phase between
ice ages. Warmer temperatures result in higher The greenhouse effect
Average July temperatures sea levels as more of the polar ice caps melt. Gases such as carbon dioxide are known as “greenhouse
Most of the world’s population lives near coasts, gases” because they allow shortwave solar radiation to enter
Arctic the Earth’s atmosphere, but help to stop longwave radiation
Circle
so any changes which might cause sea levels to
from escaping. This traps heat, raising the Earth’s
rise, could have a potentially disastrous impact.
15 temperature. An excess of these gases, such as that which
Tropic of results from the burning of fossil fuels, helps trap more heat
Cancer and can lead to global warming.

Equator
Incoming Deflected
Tropic of shortwave shortwave
16 Capricorn solar solar radiation
radiation
Antarctic
Circle Deflected
longwave Greenhouse
radiation emitted gases prevent
by the Earth the escape of
below -22˚F (-30˚C) 14 to 32˚F (-10 to 0˚C) 68 to 86˚F (20 to 30˚C) 䉱 This ice fair, painted by Pieter Brueghel the heats the longwave
17 -22 to -4˚F (-30 to -20˚C) 32 to 50˚F (0 to 10˚C) above 86˚F (30˚C) Younger in the 17th century, shows the Little Ice Age radiation
atmosphere
-4 to 14˚F (-20 to -10˚C) 50 to 68˚F (10 to 20˚C) which peaked around 300 years ago.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

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 T H E G L O B A L C L I M AT E
N O P Q R S T W X Y Z

䉳 The islands of the Oceanic water circulation Tilt and rotation

Caribbean, Mexico’s The tilt and rotation of the Earth during its annual orbit largely 1
Gulf coast and the In general, ocean currents parallel the movement of
control the distribution of heat and moisture across its surface,
southeastern US are winds across the Earth’s surface. Incoming solar energy is
often hit by which correspondingly controls its large-scale weather patterns. As
greatest at the Equator and least at the poles. So, water the Earth annually rotates around the Sun, half its surface is receiving
hurricanes formed far
out in the Atlantic. in the oceans heats up most at the Equator and flows maximum radiation, creating summer and winter seasons. The angle
poleward, cooling as it moves north or south toward the of the Earth means that on average the tropics receive two and a half
Arctic or Antarctic. The flow is eventually reversed and times as much heat from the Sun each day as the poles. 2
cold water currents move back toward the Equator. 䉱 In marginal climatic
zones years of drought can Earth’s axis Earth’s orbit
These ocean currents act as a vast system for moving
completely dry out the land tilted
heat from the Equator toward the poles and are a major and transform grassland
influence on the distribution of the Earth’s climates. to desert.

3
Map key
Rays from Day Night
Climate Ocean Prevailing Local the Sun
zones currents winds winds
ice cap mediterranean warm warm warm
subarctic semi-arid cold cold cold
tundra arid June 4
seasonal*
continental hot humid * (seasonal winds which
temperate humid equatorial can either be warm or cold)
warm temperate tropical

The Coriolis effect

E S ir cl e 䉱 The wide range of environments found The rotation of the Earth influences atmospheric circulation by
E R L I Arc ti c C
E A S T Ja n
uar in the Andes is strongly related to their deflecting winds and ocean currents. Winds blowing in the northern 5
Ju l y

y
Ju

y Ju altitude, which modifies climatic influences. hemisphere are deflected to the right and those in the southern
l

Ja n ly While the peaks are snow-capped, many

ua
ry hemisphere are deflected to the left, creating large-scale patterns of
Ju protected interior valleys are semi-tropical. wind circulation, such as the northeast and southeast trade winds
Ju l y ry l y
J a nua Ja n u a r y and the westerlies. This effect is greatest at the poles and least at
a n
B u r
y the Equator.
ar y
Ju l

Ja n u Ja n u a r y 6
Maximum deflection at Direction of Earth’s
Mistral

y
uar North pole rotation
Föhn

Ja n Ja n u a r y t
Bor

ren
ember

ra
Ju l

Bo r Deflection to right in Westerlies

E Cu
y

Ju tesia
Ju l y

o northern hemisphere,
Ju l y
y
ar

ne n u No deflection at
w
Ju l

–O Ja n creates northeast
Si
ept
ar y
y

cto Ju trade winds Equator

ro

be ly
y

Ja n u

r
l

Ku
Ju

-S

Polar Deflection to left in

7
sin

S i r
il

o easterlies southern hemisphere,

am

Ja n
r

c c p
o Kh Ja n u a r y S outhwes A uar
y
creates southeast
Ty

t Mons o on Tro p i c o f C a n c e r Maximum deflection at South Pole trade winds

p ho
on
ly

Ju
N

Ju l y or
Ju

Mo n s o th
ly

ry o O Equ
–

ua ct
Ja n ob atorial
Precipitation
n

er Current
Dr

8
ob

N O R T H
uar

if t
bo

When warm air expands, it rises and cools, and the

Ja n
Ha

E A S T water vapor it carries condenses to form clouds. Heavy,

y
Ju l

l Counter C E q u a t o r i a l C o u n t e r Cu r re nt regular rainfall is characteristic of the equatorial region,

o ria urr
at
T R A D E S
en
Ju l y

u t while the poles are cold and receive only slight

Eq
y

Ja n u a r

h So Doldrums
ar

nu Doldrums r
c ut h Equator snowfall. Tropical regions have marked dry and rainy 9
Ja a ea
st S
– M Mo o u t h E q u a t o r i a l C
seasons, while in the temperate regions rainfall
y

ns ur re nt
e r oo
o b Ju an nO
J

t ua is relatively unpredictable.
O c
ry

ly Ju
ar y

ua N o r t h e a s t M o n s o o n ly ry ct
ob
Ja n
W
nu

Ja er
ill

–
y

Equator ial Cur ren

M

uth
Ju l

ar
W

So t
ch
y

il

10
S O
Ju

li

y
U T H
Ja n u a r y
urrent

es

Ja
Ju nu
l y ar
Ja n u y Qu
ar y
E A S T
ela C

een
Hu

sla
nd
rr

Tro p i c o f C a p r i co r n
Ja n u a r y

ica
y
ngu

e nt

Ja n u a r

ne

T 䉱 Monsoon rains, which

R A D E
sJ

S
ur r

nu 11
a
Be

ar affect southern Asia from 䉱 Heavy tropical rainstorms

nC

y
May to September, are occur frequently in Papua New
ia

Ju
al

l y caused by sea winds blowing Guinea, often causing soil erosion

tr

s
Au Ju l across the warm land. and landslides in cultivated areas.
st y
We
Ju

Dr if t
ly

Wind
Average Januar y rainfall
12
We s
W E S T E
t W Arctic
R L I
ind Circle
E S
Dr
ift

Tropic of
Cancer
13
Equator
E
Ant arc t
A S T E R
i c Circ l
L I E
e
S Tropic of
Capricorn

Antarctic
Circle
14

Average July rainfall

Arctic
䉱 Violent thunderstorms occur along Circle
advancing cold fronts, when cold, dry
15
air masses meet warm, moist air,
䉱 The Atacama Desert in Chile is one which rises rapidly, its moisture Tropic of
䉱 The intensity of some blizzards in of the driest places on Earth, with an condensing into thunderclouds. Rain Cancer
Canada and the northern US can give average rainfall of less than 2 inches and hail become electrically charged,
rise to snowdrifts as high as 10 ft (3 m). (50 mm) per year. causing lightning. Equator

Moist air As air rises it cools Dry air in Tropic of

The rainshadow effect travels inland and condenses ‘shadow’ Capricorn 16
When moist air is forced to rise by mountains, it cools from the sea leading to cloud of mountain
and the water vapor falls as precipitation, either as Antarctic
Circle
rain or snow. Only the dry, cold air continues over the
mountains, leaving inland areas with little or no rain.
This is called the rainshadow effect and is one reason
0–1 in (0–25 mm) 4–8 in (100–200 mm) 16–20 in (400–500 mm)
for the existence of the Mojave Desert in California, 1–2 in (25–50 mm) 8–12 in (200–300 mm) above 20 in (500 mm) 17
which lies east of the Coast Ranges. The rainshadow effect 2–4 in (50–100 mm) 12–16 in (300–400 mm)

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

xxi
 THE WOR LD
A B C D E F G H I J K L M

Life on Earth
A unique combination of an oxygen-rich atmosphere and plentiful water is the Biogeographical regions
key to life on Earth. Apart from the polar ice caps, there are few areas which have
2 The Earth can be divided into a series of
not been colonized by animals or plants over the course of the Earth’s history.
biogeographical regions, or biomes, ecological
Plants process sunlight to provide them with their energy, and ultimately all the communities where certain species of plant and
Earth’s animals rely on plants for survival. Because of this reliance, plants are animal coexist within particular climatic conditions.
known as primary producers, and the availability of nutrients and temperature of Within these broad classifications, other factors
3 an area is defined as its primary productivity, which affects the quantity and type including soil richness, altitude, and human activities Polar regions
of animals which are able to live there. This index is affected by climatic factors – such as urbanization, intensive agriculture, and A layer of permanent ice at the Earth’s
poles covers both seas and land. Very little
cold and aridity restrict the quantity of life, whereas warmth and regular rainfall deforestation, affect the local distribution of living plant and animal life can exist in these
allow a greater diversity of species. species within each biome. harsh regions.

Broadleaf forests
Much of the northern
6 Tundra hemisphere was once covered by Temperate rain forests Deserts
A desolate region, with long, Needleleaf forests deciduous forests, which occurred In warmer wetter areas, Deserts are areas with negligible Mediterranean
dark freezing winters and short, cold With milder summers than the in areas with marked seasonal such as southern China, rainfall. Most hot deserts lie within Hot, dry summers and
summers. With virtually no soil and tundra and less wind,these areas variations. Most deciduous temperate deciduous the tropics; cold deserts are dry short winters typify these
large areas of permanently frozen are able to support large forests of forests have been cleared for forests are replaced by because of their distance from the areas, which were once
ground known as permafrost, the coniferous trees. human settlement. evergreen forest. moisture-providing sea. covered by evergreen
7 tundra is largely treeless, though it is shrubs and woodland, but
briefly clothed by small flowering have now been cleared by
A N
plants in the summer months. O C E humans for agriculture.
Arctic Circ C T I C ircle
le Greenland A R Arctic C

a
S i b e r i
ins

in
Ca

na Pla
a

8 dian an
ount

Shield ope
Eur
lains

North hiz Steppe

irg
ky M

Gobi
at P

Takla
Gre
Ro c

Me dite r ra Makan Desert

nea H
ATLANTIC n Se
a im
ala
9 yas
Tropic of Cancer An Nafud Thar
OCEAN Desert Tropic of Cancer

Sahara Arabian Deccan

Peninsula
Car ibbean
S ea PAC I F I C
Sahel
10 P A C I F I C OCEAN
Equator Equator
Amazon Basin Congo
Basin
O C E A N INDIAN
A
11 n
OCEAN
de

o ATLANTIC
ac

Kalahari
s

Ch

Tropic of Capricorn Desert Tropic of Capricorn

Gran

OCEAN Great
Victoria Desert
Pa
mp
as
12

World biomes
World biomes (continued)
polar
O U T H E R N O C E A N mediterranean
13 tundra S hot desert
le
t i c Ci rc Antarcti
needleleaf forest Ant a rc A N T A R
c Circle tropical grassland
C T I C
broadleaf forest A dry woodland
temperate rain forest tropical rain forest
temperate grassland mountain
cold desert wetland

14

15

Tropical and temperate

grasslands
The major grassland areas are found in
16 the centers of the larger continental
landmasses. In Africa’s tropical savannah
regions, seasonal rainfall alternates with
drought. Temperate grasslands, also known
as steppes and prairies are found in the
northern hemisphere, and in South
17 America, where they are known as
the pampas.
Wetlands
Rarely lying above sea level,
Mountains wetlands are marshes, swamps, and tidal
Dry woodlands Tropical rain forests Though the lower slopes of mountains flats. Some, with their moist, fertile soils,
Trees and shrubs, adapted to Characterized by year-round warmth may be thickly forested, only ground- are rich feeding grounds for fish and
dry conditions, grow widely spaced and high rainfall, tropical rain forests hugging shrubs and other vegetation will breeding grounds for birds. Others have
from one another, interspersed by contain the highest diversity of plant and grow above the tree line which varies little soil structure and are too acidic to
savannah grasslands. animal species on Earth. according to both altitude and latitude. support much plant and animal life.

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 LIFE ON EARTH
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Biodiversity Animal adaptation Polar animals

The frozen wastes of the polar 1
The degree of an animal’s adaptability to different
The number of plant and animal species, and the range of regions are able to support only a
climates and conditions is extremely important in small range of species which
genetic diversity within the populations of each species, ensuring its success as a species. Many animals, derive their nutritional
make up the Earth’s biodiversity. The plants and animals particularly the largest mammals, are becoming requirements from the sea.
which are endemic to a region – that is, those which are restricted to ever-smaller regions as human Animals such as the walrus (left)
development and modern agricultural practices have developed insulating fat, 2
found nowhere else in the world – are also important in stocky limbs, and double-layered
determining levels of biodiversity. Human settlement and reduce their natural habitats. In contrast, humans
coats to enable them to survive in
have been responsible – both deliberately and the freezing conditions.
intervention have encroached on many areas of the world
accidentally – for the spread of some of the world’s
once rich in endemic plant and animal species. Increasing most successful species. Many of these introduced
international efforts are being made to monitor and conserve species are now more numerous than the 3
the biodiversity of the Earth’s remaining wild places. indigenous animal populations.

Diversit y of animal species

5
Desert animals
Many animals which live in the Marine biodiversity
extreme heat and aridity of the The oceans support a huge variety
deserts are able to survive for of different species, from the
days and even months with very world’s largest mammals like
little food or water. Their bodies whales and dolphins down to the
are adapted to lose heat quickly 6
tiniest plankton. The greatest
Number of
and to store fat and water. The diversities occur in the warmer
animal species per country
Gila monster (above) stores fat seas of continental shelves, where
in its tail. more than 2000 plants are easily able to
1000–1999
700–999
photosynthesize, and around coral
Amazon rain forest 400–699 reefs, where complex ecosystems
200–399 are found. On the ocean floor, 7
The vast Amazon Basin is home to 100–199
the world’s greatest variety of 0–99 nematodes can exist at a depth of
animal species. Animals are data not available more than 10,000 ft (3000 m)
adapted to live at many different below sea level.
levels from the treetops to the
tangled undergrowth which lies Urban animals Endemic species
beneath the canopy. The sloth 8
The growth of cities has reduced the Isolated areas such as Australia and the
(below) hangs upside down in the amount of habitat available to many island of Madagascar, have the greatest
branches. Its fur grows from its species. A number of animals are now range of endemic species. In Australia, these
stomach to its back to enable moving closer into urban areas to include marsupials such as the kangaroo
water to run off quickly. scavenge from the detritus of the (below), which carry their young in pouches
modern city (left). Rodents, on their bodies. Destruction of habitat,
particularly rats and mice, have pollution, hunting, and 9
existed in cities for thousands of predators introduced
High altitudes years, and many insects, by humans, are
especially moths, quickly develop threatening this
Few animals exist in the rarefied atmosphere of
new coloring to provide them unique biodiversity.
the highest mountains. However, birds of prey
such as eagles and vultures (above), with their with camouflage.
10
superb eyesight can soar as high as 23,000 ft
(7000 m) to scan for prey below.

Plant adaptation Cold conditions Rain forests

In areas where Most of the world’s largest and
Environmental conditions, particularly climate, soil 11
temperatures rarely rise oldest plants are found in rain
type, and the extent of competition with other
above freezing, plants forests; warmth and heavy
organisms, influence the development of plants into a such as lichens (left) and rainfall provide ideal conditions
number of distinctive forms. Similar conditions in mosses grow densely, for vast plants like the world’s
quite different parts of the world create similar close to the ground. largest flower, the rafflesia (left).
adaptations in the plants, which may then be modified
12
by other, local, factors specific to the region.

Hot, dry conditions

Arid conditions lead to the 13
Diversit y of plant species development of plants whose
surface area has been reduced to
a minimum to reduce water loss.
In cacti (above), which can survive
Ancient plants without water for months, leaves
Some of the world’s most are minimal or not present at all. 14
primitive plants still exist today,
including algae, cycads, and many
ferns (above), reflecting the
success with which they have
adapted to changing conditions.
15

Number of
plant species per country Weeds 16
more than 50,000 Weeds such as bindweed (above)
Resisting predators 7000–49,999 are fast-growing, easily dispersed,
3000–6999
A great variety of plants have 2000–2999 and tolerant of a number of
developed devices including 1000–1999 different environments, enabling
600–999
spines (above), poisons, stinging 0–599 them to quickly colonize suitable
hairs, and an unpleasant taste or data not available habitats. They are among the 17
smell to deter animal predators. most adaptable of all plants.

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

xxiii
 THE WOR LD
A B C D E F G H I J K L M

Population
1
North America Europe
The eastern and western seaboards of the US, with With its temperate climate, and rich mineral and natural
huge expanses of interconnected cities, towns, and resources, Europe is generally very densely settled. The
suburbs, are vast, densely-populated megalopolises. continent acts as a magnet for economic migrants from

2 and settlement Central America and the Caribbean also have high
population densities. Yet, away from the coasts and
in the wildernesses of northern Canada the land is
very sparsely settled.
the developing world, and immigration is now widely
restricted. Birthrates in Europe are generally low, and in
some countries, such as Germany, the populations
have stabilized at zero growth, with a fast-growing
The Earth’s population is projected to rise from its current level of about elderly population.
7 billion to reach some 10.5 billion by 2050. The global distribution of this
rapidly growing population is very uneven, and is dictated by climate,
3
terrain, and natural and economic resources. The great majority of the
Earth’s people live in coastal zones, and along river valleys. Deserts cover
over 20% of the Earth’s surface, but support less than 5% of the world’s
population. It is estimated that over half of the world’s population live in 䉱 North America’s
cities – most of them in Asia – as a result of mass migration from rural central plains, the
4
䉱 Vancouver on Canada’s continent’s agricultural
areas in search of jobs. Many of these people live in the so-called west coast, grew up as a port heartland, are thinly 䉱 Many European cities, 䉱 Within the densely-
city. In recent years it has populated and highly like Siena, once reflected populated Netherlands the
“megacities,” some with populations as great as 40 million. attracted many Asian the “ideal” size for human reclamation of coastal
productive.
immigrants, particularly settlements. Modern wetlands is vital to provide
from the Pacific Rim. technological advances have much-needed land for

5 Patterns of settlement enabled them to grow far

beyond the original walls.
agriculture and settlement.

The past 200 years have seen the most radical shift in Population density
world population patterns in recorded history. (inhabitants per sq mile)

520–2600
260–520
130–260
6 Nomadic life 52–130
26–52
All the world’s peoples were hunter-gatherers 10,000 years ago. 13-26
Today nomads, who live by following available food resources, 3–13
Fewer than 3
account for less than 0.0001% of the world’s population. They are
mainly pastoral herders, moving their livestock from place to place
in search of grazing land. Europe
7

North
America
Population World land area
8 11% 7.1%

Population World land area Africa

8% 17%

Population World land area

Nomadic population South America 14% 20.2%
Nomadic population area
Most settlement in South America is clustered in a narrow
belt in coastal zones and in the northern Andes. During the
10
20th century, cities such as São Paulo and Buenos Aires grew
The growth of cities enormously, acting as powerful economic magnets to the
In 1900 there were only 14 cities in the world with populations of rural population. Shantytowns have grown up on the
more than a million, mostly in the northern hemisphere. Today, as outskirts of many major cities to house these immigrants,
more and more people in the developing world migrate to towns often lacking basic amenities.
11 and cities, there are over 70 cities whose population exceeds
5 million, and around 490 “million-cities.”

South
Million-cities in 190 0 America

12

䉱 Venezuela is one of the

Population World land area
most highly urbanized
䉱 Many people in western South countries in South America, 6% 11.8%
13
America live at high altitudes in the with nearly 90% of the
Andes, both in cities and in villages population living in cities
such as this one in Bolivia. such as Caracas.

Africa
The arid climate of much of Africa means
14 Million-cities in 1900 that settlement of the continent is
Cities over 1 million population sparse, focusing in coastal areas and
fertile regions such as the Nile Valley.
Million-cities in 20 05 Africa still has a high proportion of
nomadic agriculturalists, although many
15 are now becoming settled, and the
population is predominantly rural.
Asia
Most Asian settlement originally centered around the great river
valleys such as the Indus, the Ganges, and the Yangtze. Today, almost
60% of the world’s population lives in Asia, many in burgeoning cities
– particularly in the economically-buoyant Pacific Rim countries. Even
rural population densities are high in many countries; practices such
as terracing in Southeast Asia making the most of the available land.

16

䉱 Cities such as Nairobi

(above), Cairo, and
Johannesburg have grown
rapidly in recent years,
although only Cairo has a
17 Million-cities in 2005 significant population
Cities over 1 million population on a global scale.
䉱 Traditional lifestyles and homes persist 䉱 Many of China’s cities are 䉱 This stilt village in Bangladesh is built
across much of Africa, which has a higher now vast urban areas with to resist the regular flooding. Pressure
proportion of rural or village-based populations of more than on land, even in rural areas, forces many
population than any other continent. 5 million people. people to live in marginal areas.

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 P O P U L AT I O N A N D S E T T L E M E N T
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Population structures Population growth 1

Population pyramids are an effective means of showing the age structures of different countries, and highlighting Improvements in food supply and advances in medicine have both
changing trends in population growth and decline. The typical pyramid for a country with a growing, youthful played a major role in the remarkable growth in global population,
population, is broad-based (left), reflecting a high birthrate and a far larger number of young rather than elderly which has increased five-fold over the last 150 years. Food supplies
people. In contrast, countries with populations whose numbers are stabilizing have a more balanced distribution of have risen with the mechanization of agriculture and improvements
people in each age band, and may even have lower numbers of people in the youngest age ranges, indicating both a in crop yields. Better nutrition, together with higher standards of 2

high life expectancy, and that the population is now barely replacing itself (right). The Russian Federation (center) is public health and sanitation, have led to increased longevity
suffering from a declining population, forcing the government to consider a number of measures, including tax and higher birthrates.
incentives and immigration, in an effort to stabilize the population .
8
World population growth 3
Youthful population Declining population Ageing population
(India) (Russian Federation)
1500 to present day 6
(United States of America)

billion people
4
Males 80+ Females Males 80+ Females Males 80+ Females
70–79 70–79 70–79
60–69 60–69 60–69 2
50–59 50–59 50–59 4
40–49 40–49 40–49 0
30–39 30–39 30–39 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 2000
20–29 20–29 20–29
10–19 10–19 10–19
0–9 0–9 0–9
100 80 60 40 20 0 20 40 60 80 100 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 20 16 12 8 4 0 4 8 12 16 20
Population in millions Population in millions Population in millions
5
World nutrition
Asia
Two-thirds of the world’s food supply is consumed by the
industrialized nations, many of which have a daily calorific intake
far higher than is necessary for their populations to maintain a
healthy body weight. In contrast, in the developing world, about
6
800 million people do not have enough food to meet their basic
Population World land area
nutritional needs.
60% 29.1%

Daily calorie intake per capita

above 3000 2000–2499 data not available
2500–2999 below 2000 9

World life expectancy

Improved public health and living standards have greatly increased
life expectancy in the developed world, where people can now
Australasia expect to live twice as long as they did 100 years ago. In many of 10
& Oceania the world’s poorest nations, inadequate nutrition and disease,
means that the average life expectancy still does not
exceed 45 years.

Population World land area 11

1% 5.9%

Antarctica
12

Population World land area

Life expectancy at birth
0% 8.9% 13
above 75 years 55–64 years below 44 years
65–74 years 45–54 years data not available

Australasia and Oceania

This is the world’s most sparsely settled region. The peoples Average world birth rates World infant mortality
of Australia and New Zealand live mainly in the coastal cities, Birthrates are much higher in Africa, Asia, and South America than In parts of the developing world infant mortality rates are still high;
with only scattered settlements in the arid interior. The in Europe and North America. Increased affluence and easy access access to medical services such as immunization, adequate 14

Pacific islands can only support limited populations because to contraception are both factors which can lead to a significant nutrition, and the promotion of breast-feeding have been
of their remoteness and lack of resources. decline in a country’s birthrate. important in combating infant mortality.

䉴 Brisbane, on
Australia’s Gold Coast is
15
the most rapidly
expanding city in the
country. The great
majority of Australia’s
population lives in cities
near the coasts.
16

䉳 The remote highlands of

Papua New Guinea are
home to a wide variety of
peoples, many of whom still Number of births (per 1000 people) World infant mortality rates (deaths per 1000 live births)
subsist by traditional hunting above 40 20–29 data not available above 125 35–74 below 15
17
and gathering. 30–39 below 20 75–124 15–34 data not available

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

xxv
 THE WOR LD
A B C D E F G H I J K L M

The economic Trade blocs

International trade blocs are

2 system formed when groups of

countries, often already enjoying
close military and political ties,
join together to offer mutually
The wealthy countries of the developed world, with their aggressive, market-led preferential terms of trade for
economies and their access to productive new technologies and international both imports and exports.
markets, dominate the world economic system. At the other extreme, many of the Increasingly, global trade is
dominated by three main blocs:
3 countries of the developing world are locked in a cycle of national debt, rising
the EU, NAFTA, and ASEAN. They
populations, and unemployment. In 2008 a major financial crisis swept the world’s are supplanting older trade blocs
Trade blocs
banking sector leading to a huge downturn in the global economy. Despite this, such as the Commonwealth,
EU NAFTA ASEAN LAIA
China overtook Japan in 2010 to become the world’s second largest economy. CACM SADC ECOWAS CEEAC
a legacy of colonialism.

International
trade flows
World trade acts as a stimulus
5 to national economies, encouraging
growth. Over the last three decades,
as heavy industries have declined,
services – banking, insurance, tourism, Shipping Multinationals Primary products
airlines, and shipping – have taken an Ships carry 80% of international cargo, Multinational companies are Many countries, particularly in the Caribbean
6 and extensive container ports, where increasingly penetrating inaccessible and Africa, are still reliant on primary Service industries
increasingly large share of world trade.
cargo is stored, are vital links in the markets. The reach of many American products such as rubber and coffee, which Service industries such as banking,
Manufactured articles now account international transportation network. commodities is now global. makes them vulnerable to fluctuating prices. tourism and insurance were the
for nearly two-thirds of world trade; raw fastest-growing industrial sector in
materials and food make up the last half of the 20th century.
Lloyds of London is the center of
less than a quarter of the total. the world insurance market.
7

10

11 Balance of trade
(millions US$)

over 30,000
10,000–29,000 Surplus Direct foreign
1000–9999 investment
0-999
0–999
1000-9999 from USA
Deficit
12 10,000–29,999
over 30,000 from UK
data unavailable
from Japan

World money markets

13 The financial world has traditionally been dominated by three major centers –
Tokyo, New York, and London, which house the headquarters of stock exchanges, New stock markets The developing world
multinational corporations and international banks. Their geographic location New stock markets are now opening in International trade in capital and currency is
means that, at any one time in a 24-hour day, one major market is open for trading many parts of the world, where dominated by the rich nations of the
economies have recently emerged from northern hemisphere. In parts of Africa and
in shares, currencies, and commodities. Since the late 1980s, technological
state controls. In Moscow and Beijing, Asia, where exports of any sort are extremely
14 advances have enabled transactions between financial centers to occur at
and several countries in eastern limited, home-produced commodities are
ever-greater speed, and new markets have sprung up throughout the world. Europe, newly-opened stock simply sold in local markets.
exchanges reflect the transition to
Major money market s market-driven economies.

15

London
New York Tokyo
Kolkata

16

䉱 The Tokyo Stock Market crashed in 1990, leading

to a slow-down in the growth of the world’s most
powerful economy, and a refocusing on economic
17 Location of major stock markets policy away from export-led growth and toward
the domestic market.
Major stock markets
䉱 Dealers at the Kolkata Stock Market. 䉱 Markets have thrived in communist
The Indian economy has been opened up Vietnam since the introduction of a liberal
to foreign investment and many economic policy.
multinationals now have bases there.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

xxvi

N O P Q
World wealth disparity
A global assessment of Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) by nation reveals great
disparities. The developed world, with only a
quarter of the world’s population, has 80%
of the world’s manufacturing income. Civil
war, conflict, and political instability further
undermine the economic self-sufficiency of
many of the world’s poorest nations.
Urban sprawl
Cities are expanding all over
the developing world, attracting
economic migrants in search of work
and opportunities. In cities such as Rio
de Janeiro, housing has not kept pace
with the population explosion, and
squalid shanty towns (favelas) rub
shoulders with middle-class housing.
䉱 The favelas of Rio de Janeiro sprawl
over the hills surrounding the city.
Agricultural
economies
In parts of the developing world,
people survive by subsistence farming
– only growing enough food for
themselves and their families. With no
surplus product, they are unable to
exchange goods for currency, the only
means of escaping the poverty trap. In
other countries, farmers have been
encouraged to concentrate on
growing a single crop for the export
market. This reliance on cash crops
leaves farmers vulnerable to crop
failure and to changes in the market
price of the crop.
Tourism
In 2004, there were over 940 million tourists
worldwide. Tourism is now the world’s biggest
single industry, employing over 130 million
people, though frequently in low-paid unskilled
jobs. While tourists are increasingly exploring
inaccessible and less-developed regions of the
world, the benefits of the industry are not
always felt at a local level. There are also worries
about the environmental impact of tourism, as
the world’s last wildernesses increasingly
become tourist attractions.
Tourist arrivals
Tourist arrivals
over 20 million 5–10 million 1–2.5 million
10–20 million 2.5–5 million 700,000–999,000
N O P Q
T H E ECO N O M I C SYS T E M
R S T U V W X Y Z
Urban decay Booming cities 1
Although the US still dominates the Since the 1980s the Chinese
global economy, it faces deficits in both government has set up special
the federal budget and the balance of industrial zones, such as Shanghai,
trade. Vast discrepancies in personal where foreign investment is
wealth, high levels of unemployment, encouraged through tax incentives.
and the dismantling of welfare Migrants from rural China pour into 2
provisions throughout the 1980s have these regions in search of work,
led to severe deprivation in several of creating “boomtown” economies.
the inner cities of North America’s
industrial heartland.
䉱 Cities such as Detroit have 䉳 Foreign investment has encouraged 3
been badly hit by the decline in new infrastructure development in cities
heavy industry. like Shanghai.
Comparative world wealth Economic “tigers”
The economic “tigers” of the Pacific Rim
4
– China, Singapore, and South Korea
– have grown faster than Europe and
the US over the last decade. Their
export- and service-led economies have
benefited from stable government, low
labor costs, and foreign investment. 5
7
䉱 Hong Kong, with its fine natural
harbour, is one of the most important
ports in Asia.
World economies -
average GDP
The affluent West
per capita (US$) 8
The capital cities of many countries in
above 20,000 the developed world are showcases for
5000–20,000 consumer goods, reflecting the
2000–5000
below 2000 increasing importance of the service
data unavailable sector, and particularly the retail
sector, in the world economy. The idea 9
of shopping as a leisure activity is
unique to the western world. Luxury
goods and services attract visitors,
who in turn generate tourist revenue.
䉱 The Ugandan uplands are fertile, but poor
infrastructure hampers the export of 䉱 A shopping arcade in Paris displays a great 10
cash crops. profusion of luxury goods.
䉳 In rural
Money flows Southeast Asia,
babies are given
In 2008 a global financial crisis swept through the 11
medical checks
world’s economic system. The crisis triggered the by UNICEF as
failure of several major financial institutions and part of a global
aid program
lead to increased borrowing costs known as the sponsored by the
“credit crunch”. A consequent reduction in UN.
economic activity together with rising inflation 12
forced many governments to introduce austerity
measures to reduce borrowing and debt,
particulary in Europe where massive “bailouts”
䉱 Botswana’s Okavango Delta is an area rich
in wildlife. Tourists go on safaris to the region,
were needed to keep some European single
but the impact of tourism is controlled. currency (Euro) countries solvent. 13
International debt
14
15
16
International debt (as percentage of GNI)
17
under 700,000 over 100% 50–69% 10–29% data unavailable
data unavailable 70–99% 30–49% below 10%
R S T U V W X Y Z
xxvii
 THE WOR LD
A B C D E F G H I J K L M

The political world

Most densely populated country Smallest country
1 Monaco: 40,680 people per sq mile Vatican City: 0.17 sq miles (0.44 sq km)
Longest land borders
(15,646 people per sq km)
Russian Federation:
12,427 miles (20,000 km)
Longest single land border
There are 196 independent countries in the world today. With the exception of Largest country
Canada/USA: 5526 miles
Antarctica, where territorial claims have been deferred by international treaty, (8893 km) Russian Federation:
2
every land area of the Earth’s surface either belongs to, or is claimed by, one 6,592,735 sq miles
Most populous City
(17,075,200 sq km)
country or another. The largest country in the world is the Russian Federation, the
Tokyo: 36,900,000 Most sparsely
smallest is Vatican City. Some 60 overseas dependent territories remain, people populated country
administered variously by France, Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Mongolia:
3 Portugal, the UK, the US, and the Netherlands. Most populous country 5 people per sq mile
(2 people per sq km)
China: 1,347,350,000 people
Largest island country Smallest island country
International borders Australia: 2,967,893 sq miles Nauru: 8.2 sq miles
(7,686,850 sq km) (21.2 sq km)
The map shows three main types of boundary between ARC
4 states. Full borders represent internationally agreed and O C ET I C
AN
recognized territorial boundaries. Undefined borders Arctic C
ircle
exist where no fixed boundary between states has been USA Baffin Greenland Jan Mayen
Bay (to Denmark) (to Norway)
demarcated; the boundaries indicated in this way show (Alaska)
Bering
approximate areas of sovereignty. A disputed S ea
5 Reykjavik ICELAND
border is indicated where a de facto Hu d s on Faeroe Islands
territorial boundary exists, which is not Bay (to Denmark)
S)
agreed or is subject to arbitration. Aleutian Is (to U C A N A
D A UNITED
KINGDOM

IRELAND
Lake London
6 Isle of Man
Seattle Super ior (to UK)
Lake Ottawa Channel
Lake Huron Montreal Islands
Michigan Toronto St Pierre & Miquelon (to UK)
Lake (to France)
Chicago Ontar io
PAC I F IC U N I T E D S TAT E S Lake New York

AL
Er ie Madrid

PORTUG
San Francisco Washington, DC
OF AMERICA Azores
(to Portugal) Lisbon SPAIN
7
O CEAN Los Angeles Gibraltar (to UK)
Ceuta (to Spain)
Dallas Melilla (to Spain) Rabat
Bermuda Madeira Casablanca
Midway Islands
(to US)
(to UK) AT L A N T I C (to Portugal)
O
C
C
O

Guadalupe

R
O
(to Mexico) Canary Islands
O CEAN

M
Monterrey Gulf (to Spain)
Tropic of Cancer BAHAMAS
8 of
MEXICO Mexico WESTERN SAHARA

A
Turks & Caicos Is (to UK) (occupied by Morocco)
Hawaii Havana

NI
(to US) Guadalajara Puerto Rico (to US)
C UBA

TA
Revillagigedo Islands Cayman Is Virgin Is British Virgin Is (to UK)
(to Mexico) Mexico City (to US)

RI
(to UK) Anguilla (to UK)
HAITI DOM.
Ca

Johnston Atoll r i JAMAICA REP.

U
b ANTIGUA & BARBUDA Nouakchott
(to US)

A
BELIZE b e a I. ST KITTS & Guadeloupe (to France) CAPE VERDE
n S Navassa

M
DOMINICA
9 GUATEMALA e a (to US) NEVISMontserrat Martinique (to France)
Guatemala City HONDURAS SENEGAL
Curaçao (to UK) ST LUCIA Dakar
(to Neth.) ST VINCENT & THE GRENADINES MALI
EL SALVADOR GAMBIA
Guatemala City Aruba BARBADOS Bamako BURKINA
NICARAGUA (to Neth.) GRENADA GUINEA-
Caracas TRINIDAD & TOBAGO BISSAU GUINEA
Clipperton Island

NA
COSTA RICA
(to French Polynesia) PANAMA IVORY
VENEZUELA SIERRA LEONE

GHA
Kingman Reef Georgetown COAST
(to US) Palmyra Atoll Yamoussoukro
SURINAME
G U YA N

(to US)
Bogotá French Guiana LIBERIA
Abidjan Accra
Baker & (to France)
Howland Is COLOMBIA
A

(to US)
Equator Quito
Jarvis I
(to US) Galápagos Is ECUADOR
(to Ecuador)
Fernando de Noronha
(to Brazil)
K I R I B A T I
P E

B R A Z I L Ascension
Recife (to St Helena)
Tokelau
R

(to NZ)
AT L A N T I C
U

Cook Lima Salvador

Islands
SAMOA
12 Wallis &
(to NZ)
PAC I F IC
Lake
Titicaca Brasilia O CEAN
Futuna American La Paz
(to France) Samoa St Helena
BOLIVIA (to UK)
(to US)
O CEAN Belo Horizonte Trindade
Niue French Poly nesia (to Brazil)
PA

TONGA (to NZ) (to France) Rio de Janeiro

AG
R
C

São Paulo
UA
Y
13 Tropic of Capricorn San Felix Island Asuncion
Pitcair n
Sala y Gomez (to Chile)
H

Islands San Ambrosio

(to UK) Easter Island (to Chile) Island
A R G E

(to Chile) (to Chile)

I

Kermadec Islands
(to NZ) Santiago URUGUAY
Montevideo
Juan Fernandez Islands Tristan da Cunha
L

(to Chile) Buenos Aires

(to St Helena)
N T

14
E

Map key
I N

Gough Island
(to Tristan da Cunha)
A

Borders
15 full borders Chatham Islands
(to NZ) Falkland Islands
undefined borders (to UK) South Georgia & South
Sandwich Islands
disputed borders (to UK)

indication of country extent

(island territories only) South Orkney Islands
indication of dependent territory extent
South Shetland Islands
16 (island territories only)
U T H E R
Political status S O
M E X I C O : independent state Settlements Peter I Island
Gibraltar (to UK): self-governing dependent territory capital city
c Circle
(to Norway) A
Antarcti
Laccadive Is (to India): non self-governing major city Ronne Ice
Shelf
dependent territory, with parent state indicated other city
17
e
Ross Icelf
Sh

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

xxviii
 THE POLITICAL WOR LD
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

The world in 1914 Percentage of Earth’s land surface

controlled by colonial empires in 1914
Colonial empires in 1914
1
The early years of the 20th century saw
Independent: 29.8% Chinese: 6%
the mainly European colonial empires
reaching their greatest extents by 1914. Ottoman: 1.5%

Two world wars inaugurated their Russian: 15%

disintegration, but even in 1950 there 2
French: 7.7% Portuguese: 1%
were only 82 independent countries.
Belgian: 1.6% Spanish: 1%
Since then, over 100 have gained their
Italian: 1.8%
independence, culminating in the breakup
German: 1.6%
of the Soviet Union and former British: 21.5%
Japanese: 0.4% Dutch: 1.4% 3
Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.
United States: 7.6% Danish: 1.5%

TIC
ARC AN
O C E Colonial Empires in 1914 4

ircle Belgian Japanese

Arctic C British Ottoman
Svalbard
(to Norway) Baren ts Sea Chinese Portuguese
Danish Russian
Y Dutch Spanish
A

French United States

T I O N
W

EN

F E D E R A
German Independent
NOR

5
D

R U S S I A N Se Italian Disputed
SWE

FINLAND
Helsinki a
Oslo
of
St Petersburg O
Stockholm ESTONIA kh
Copenhagen LATVIA Moscow Lak e ot
Ba ika l sk

(to
DENMARK LITHUANIA
RUSS. FED.

Russi
Kurile Is
NETH. Berlin POLAND BELARUS
GERMANY Astana

an Fed.)
Warsaw Kiev
BELGIUM
CZECH REP. Ulan Bator 6
LUX. UKRAINE
Paris LIECH. Vienna SLOVAKIA N Harbin
FRANCE K A Z A K H S T A M O N G O L I
A
AUSTRIA Budapest MOLDOVA
SWITZ. HUNGARY Aral Lake
SLOVENIA Sarajevo ROMANIA C Sea Balka sh Urumqi
Shenyang
CROATIA Bucharest Almaty NORTH
MONACO UZ KOREA Sea of
as

B-H SERBIA B
IT Black Sea EK Bishkek
pi

SAN MARINO A L MON. KOS. BULGARIA GEORGIA IS Tashkent Beijing Dalian Pyongyang Japa n
an

Istanbul TA KYRGYZSTAN JAPAN

ANDORRA
Y
ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN T U R K N Tianjin Seoul (Ea st Sea )
VATICAN Rome
MACEDONIA Ankara ME TAJIKISTAN
Sea

Asgab at N Jinan Tokyo

ALBANIA GREECE IS SOUTH Daegu Nagoya
ƒzmir T U R K E Y
CITY Dushanbe
AZERB. T 7
Tunis Athens AN
C H I N A Qingdao KOREA
AN

Busan Osaka Yokohama

Xi’an
P A C I F I C
Algiers Tehran Kabul
IST

MALTA SYRIA
TUNISIA

CYPRUS Islamabad Nanjing

Mediter ranean Damascus
AN

LEBANON Baghdad
Sea Shanghai
ISRAEL I R A N Chengdu Wuhan
GH

O C E A N
Tripoli Alexandria IR AQ Lahore
Cairo JORDAN
AF

N Delhi N Chongqing
A EP BHUTAN
Giza ST Ryukyu Is
Pe

I A
New Delhi L (to Japan)
KUWAIT AK
rs

ALGERIA an P Tropic of Cancer

i

LIBYA Gu Kánpur Taipei 8

BAHRAIN lf
R

Karachi BANGLADESH Dhaka

EGYPT Riyadh Muscat
e

QATAR Chittagong Guangzhou TAIWAN

UAE Ahmadabad Kolkata
Hong Kong
d

(Calcutta) MYANM AR Hanoi

S AU D I Wake Island
(BURM A) LAOS (to US)
AN

ARABIA Mumbai I N D I A Nor thern

Nay Pyi Taw Vientiane Mariana Is
S

(Bombay) Bay Paracel Is

Hyderabad Yangon (to US)
O
e

Arabian Pune o f (Rangoon) (disputed)

NIGER
EN Manila
a

Khartoum Sanaa Sea Ben g a l 9

THAILAND South
V IE

ERITREA M
YE Chennai PHILIP PINES
Niamey CHAD SU DA N Socotra Bangkok
TNA M

(to Yemen) Bangalore (Madras) C h i n a Guam (to US)

Andaman Is CAMBODIA
Ndjamena
DJIBOUTI Laccadive Is (to India)
Phnom Penh
Sea
(to India) MARSHALL
BENIN

NIGERIA Ho Chi Minh City ISLANDS

Addis Ababa
Abuja Spratly Is
ON

Nicobar Is Davao
ETHIOPIA Colombo
IA

CENTRAL SOUTH (to India) (disputed)

RO

Lagos AFRICAN MICRONESIA

SUDAN
AL

REPUBLIC SRI LANKA BRUNEI

ME

TOGO Juba P A L AU
M
CA

Yaounde Bangui MALDIVES

O

EQUATORIAL
S Kuala Lumpar M A L A Y S I A
DA

GUINEA
Mogadishu
SINGAPORE
AN

Libreville D E M . R E P. KENYA
O

G
NG

CONGO
U

SAO TOME & GABON NAU RU

PRINCIPE Nairobi P A P UA
RWANDA
CO

Lake I N D O N E S I A K I RI BAT I
Victor ia NEW
Brazzaville BURUNDI SEYCHELLES
GUINEA
Kinshasa Java Sea
Lake Dar Es Salaam British Indian
ANGOLA Ocean Territory Jakarta
(Cabinda) Tangany ika
TANZANIA (to UK) Surabaya SOLOM ON
Luanda TUVAL U
Lake Agalega Islands Christmas EAST TIMOR I SL A N D S
Nyasa COMOROS Cocos
(to Mauritius) (Keeling) Island
ANGOLA Islands (to Australia)
MALAWI Mayotte Ashmore &
(to Australia)
ZAMBIA Lilongwe (to France) Cartier Islands
(to Australia)
Lusaka UE 12
AR

Q Coral Sea
BI
VANUATU
Harare Tromelin
INDIAN
SC

Islands
AM

(to Réunion) Rodrigues

ZIMBABWE (to Australia)
(to Mauritius)
GA

Antananarivo
NA

MOZ

New
O CEAN Cale doni a
DA

MAURITIUS
MI

Réunion (to France)

Windhoek BOTSWANA (to France) FIJI
MA
BIA

Gaborone
Pretoria
Johannesburg Maputo Tropic of Capricorn
13
SWAZILAND
A U S T R A L
Bloemfontein LESOTHO
I A
SOUTH Nor folk Island
AFRICA (to Australia)
Cape Town
Lord Howe
Island
(to Australia)
Amsterdam Sydney 14
Island Canberra
Melbourne
St Paul Island

Prince Edward Islands NEW ZEALAN

(to South Africa)
Frenc h South ern & D
Antar ctic Territ ories Wellington
Crozet Islands (to Franc e)
Kerguelen 15

Bouvet Island
Bounty Isl
(to Norway) Heard & McDonald ands
Islands Auckland (to
( to Australia) Islan Antipodes Islan NZ)
(to NZ) ds (to NZ) ds
Campbell
Islan
Macquar
ie (to NZ) d
(to AustralIsland
N O C E ia) 16
A N Scale 1:73,000,000
Km
N T A R C T I C A Antarcti
0 250 500 1000 1500 2000
c Circle
(All territorial claims are held in
0 250 500 1000 1500 2000
abeyance under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty) Miles
17
projection: Wagner VII
Ross
Ic
Shelf e

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

xxix
 THE WOR LD
A B C D E F G H I J K L M

States and
1
The changing world map New nations 1945 –1965
Decolonization
In 1950, large areas of the world remained

boundaries
under the control of a handful of European
countries (page xxix). The process of
2
decolonization had begun in Asia, where,
following the Second World War, much of
There are almost 200 sovereign states in the world southern and southeastern Asia sought and
today; in 1950 there were only 82. Over the last achieved self-determination. In the 1960s, a
half-century national self-determination has been a host of African states achieved
independence, so that by 1965, most of the
3
driving force for many states with a history of
larger tracts of the European overseas
colonialism and oppression. As more borders have empires had been substantially eroded. The
been added to the world map, the number of final major stage in decolonization came
international border disputes has increased. with the breakup of the Soviet Union and
In many cases, where the impetus toward the Eastern bloc after 1990. The process
4 continues today as the last toeholds of
independence has been religious or ethnic, disputes European colonialism, often tiny island New nations 1965 – present
with minority groups have also caused violent nations, press increasingly for independence.
internal conflict. While many newly-formed states
have moved peacefully toward independence,
5 successfully establishing government by multiparty
democracy, dictatorship by military regime or
individual despot is often the result of the internal
power-struggles which characterize the early stages
in the lives of new nations.
6

The nature of politics 䉱 Icons of communism, including statues

of former leaders such as Lenin and Stalin,
Democracy is a broad term: it can range from the ideal were destroyed when the Soviet bloc was
of multiparty elections and fair representation to, in dismantled in 1989, creating several
7 new nations.
countries such as Singapore, a thin disguise for single-
party rule. In despotic regimes, on the other hand, a Administration at the
single, often personal authority has total power; time of independence
institutions such as parliament and the military are mere Australia Netherlands
instruments of the dictator. Aust/NZ/UK New Zealand
8 Belgium Pakistan
China Portugal
䉳 The stars and stripes of Czechoslovakia South Africa
Egypt/UK Spain
the US flag are a potent Ethiopia Sudan
symbol of the country’s France UK
status as a federal France/UK Unified country
Indonesia USA
democracy. 䉱 Iran has been one of the modern world’s 䉱 North Korea is an independent communist republic. Italy USSR
9 few true theocracies; Islam has an impact on Power was transferred directly to Kim Jong-un in 2012 Japan Yugoslavia
every aspect of political life. following the death of his father Kim Jong-il. Malaysia

䉳 Afghanistan has suffered 䉳 In early 2011, Egypt

decades of war and occupation underwent a revolution,
resulting in widespread part of the so called
destruction. The hardline “Arab Spring,” which
10 Types of government Taliban government were resulted in the ousting
ousted by a US-led coalition in of President Hosni
Multiparty democracy for more than 10 yrs 2001 but efforts to stabilize the Mubarak after nearly 30
Multiparty democracy within last 10 yrs
country are still continuing over years in power.
Single-party government
ten years later. 䉱 In Brunei the Sultan has
Military regime
Theocracy ruled by decree since 1962;
Monarchy power is closely tied to the
11 royal family. The Sultan’s
Non-party system
Arctic C ir cl e
Transitional regime ircle
Baffin
Greenland
A RC TIC Barents Sea A rc ti c C brothers are responsible for
U SA (to Denmark)
(Alaska) Bay O C EA N N finance and foreign affairs.
A T I O
Y
Current civil unrest A
F E D E R
Be ri ng N
RW

R U S S I A N
DE

Se a
SWE

ICELAND FINLAND Sea

NO

Hudso n of
Bay UNITED RUSS. FED. ESTONIA
Lake O
C A N A D (Kaliningrad) LATVIA kh
KINGDOM Baikal o
A IRELAND NETH.
DEN.
POLAND BELARUS
LITHUANIA
ts

BELGIUM GERM.
k

Great SLVK.
12 LUX. LIECH.CZ. REP.
UKR AINE K A Z A K H S TA N
Lakes FR ANCE AUT. HUNG. MOLD. Aral Lake MONGOLIA Sea
SWITZ.
SLVN. CRO. ROM.
Sea Balkash of
MONACO SM B-H SERB. Caspian UZBE Japan
ITALY BULG.
Black Sea Sea K NORTH (East
IS KYRG.
U N I T E D S TAT E S ANDORRA
PORTUGAL VAT. CITY
MON.
KOSOVO
GEORGIA
ARM. AZERB. T U R
TA KOREA Sea)
PAC I F IC SPAIN KM TAJ.
N

OF AMERICA ALBANIA MACED. T U R K E Y E

N A SOUTH JAPAN
d ite r ran ean
AZERB.
GREECE
N
C H I KOREA
Me
PA C I F I C
SYRIA
.

O CEAN MALTA CYPRUS

AN

O TUNISIA Sea LEB. IRAN AFGHAN.

C
O C E A N
I R AQ
AT L A N T IC C ISRAEL KUWAIT NEPAL BHUTAN
ST
RO

KI
O

Tropic of Cancer Gulf BAHAMAS

O CEAN JORDAN
M

ALGERIA Persian Tropic of Cancer

A

of WESTERN SAHARA LIBYA BAHRAIN Gulf P

Mexico
IA

EGYPT QATAR BANGLADESH

Re

(occupied by Morocco) UAE TAIWA N

N

MEXICO CUBA S AU D I I N D I A
TA

AN

DOM. MYANMAR Nor t her n

ARABIA (BURMA)
RI

JAMAICA HAITI REP. Mar iana Is

Se

ANTIGUA & BARBUDA LAOS

AU
VI

BELIZE
O Arabian Bay (to US)
ET

ST KITTS & M MALI

a

DOMINICA CAPE VERDE NIGER N of THAI. PHILIPPINES

HONDURAS NEVIS ERITREA M E Sea
NA M

SENEGAL
GUATEMALA
EL SALVADOR ST LUCIA ST VINCENT & THE GRENADINES GAMBIA CHAD S U DA N YE Bengal CAMB. South Guam (to US)
NICARAGUA BARBADOS BURKINA China
GRENADA GUINEA-BISSAU DJIBOUTI MARSHALL
GUINEA Sea ISLANDS
IA

COSTA RICA TRINIDAD & TOBAGO NIGERIA

N

VENEZUELA G U YA NA
ROO

IVORY
AL

PANAMA SIERRA LEONE BENIN CENTRAL SOUTH ETHIOPIA SRI

SURINAME COAST
LANKA BRUNEI PALAU
LIBERIA AFRICAN REP. SUDAN
M

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CONGO KENYA Equator
UG
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& PRINCIPE Victoria PAPUA KIRIBATI
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ANGOLA Java Sea NEW GUINEA
NAU RU
B R A Z I L (Cabinda) Lake TANZANIA
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Tokelau Tanganyika
Lake EAST TIMOR SOLOMON TUVALU
(to NZ) Cook Nyasa ISLANDS
Islands AT L A N T IC COMOROS
R

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16
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French Southern &
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(to France)

17

Circle A N T A R C T I C A Antarcti
Antarctic (All territorial claims are held in
c Circle
abeyance under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty)

A B K L M

xxx
 S TAT E S A N D B O U N D A R I E S
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Lines on the map Enclaves 1

The shifting political map over the course
The determination of international boundaries can

S e a
of history has frequently led to anomalous ESTONIA
use a variety of criteria. Many of the borders between RU S S I A N
situations. Parts of national territories may
older states follow physical boundaries; some mirror F E D E R AT I O N

c
become isolated by territorial agreement,

l t i
religious and ethnic differences; others are the legacy forming an enclave. The West German part
L A T V I A
of complex histories of conflict and colonialism, while

B a
of the city of Berlin, which until 1989 lay a 2

others have been imposed by international hundred miles (160km) within East German
agreements or arbitration. territory, was a famous example L I T H UA N I A
RUSS. FED.
(Kaliningrad)
B E L A RU S 䉱 Since the independence of Lithuania and
Post-colonial borders POLAND Belarus, the peoples of the Russian enclave of
When the European colonial empires in Africa were dismantled Kaliningrad have become physically isolated. 3
during the second half of the 20th century, the outlines of the
new African states mirrored colonial boundaries. These Geometric borders
boundaries had been drawn up by colonial administrators, British Straight lines and lines of longitude and
Norwegian claim
often based on inadequate geographical knowledge. Such Antarctica Brazilian
zone of interest T
claim
C
I C rcOtic CEiA N (undefined limits) latitude have occasionally been used to
ta rc l e
arbitrary boundaries were imposed on people of different When Antarctic exploration began a L A N An determine international boundaries;
T 4
languages, racial groups, religions, and customs. This confused century ago, seven nations, Australia, and indeed the world’s second longest

A
Australian
legacy often led to civil and international war. Argentina, Britain, Chile, France, claim continuous international boundary,
New Zealand, and Norway, laid claim Argentinian between Canada and the USA follows
to the new territory. In 1961 the claim the 49th Parallel for over one-third of
Antarctic Treaty, now signed by its course. Many Canadian, American,

PA C I

EAN
Chilean claim
WESTERN ALGERIA 45 nations, agreed to hold all and Australian internal administrative 5

OC
FIC
SAHARA territorial claims in abeyance. boundaries are similarly determined

N
using a geometric solution.

IA
EA

C
N

D
IN
New Zealand French claim
claim Australian claim C A N A D A 6
M AU R I TA N I A
MALI 49th Parallel

World boundaries
U N I T E D S T AT E S
O F A M E R I C A
7

䉱 The conflict that has plagued many

African countries since independence
has caused millions of people to
Dates from which
become refugees.
current boundaries
have existed 9
Physical borders
1990–present
Many of the world’s countries are 1966–1989
1946–1965
divided by physical borders: lakes, 1915–1945
rivers, mountains. The demarcation of 1850–1914
1800–1849
such boundaries can, however, lead to Pre-1800
䉱 Different farming techniques in 10
disputes. Control of waterways, water
Canada and the US clearly mark the
supplies, and fisheries are frequent course of the international boundary in
causes of international friction. this satellite map.

Lake borders River borders Mountain borders 11

Countries which lie next to lakes usually fix their borders Rivers alone account for one-sixth of the world’s borders. Many great rivers form Mountain ranges form natural barriers and are the basis for many major
in the middle of the lake. Unusually the Lake Nyasa boundaries between a number of countries. Changes in a river’s course and borders, particularly in Europe and Asia. The watershed is the
border between Malawi and Tanzania runs along interruptions of its natural flow can lead to disputes, particularly in areas where water conventional boundary demarcation line, but its accurate determination
Tanzania’s shore. is scarce. The center of the river’s course is the nominal boundary line. is often problematic.

12
TA
N
Z
Lake
A GERMANY UKRAINE
N

Nyasa
Danu
be SLOVAKIA F R A N C E
IA

ZAMBIA
MAL

AUSTRIA P y
MOZAMBIQUE

H U NG ARY
r e A N D OR R A 13
n e
e s
AW

ROM AN I A
CROATIA
I

MOZA 䉱 Complicated Danube 䉱 The Danube S PA I N

MB agreements between SE R BI A
forms all or part 䉱 The Pyrenees form
I colonial powers led to BU LG ARI A of the border a natural mountain
Q

the awkward division of between nine border between France

UE

14
Lake Nyasa. European nations. and Spain.

Shifting boundaries – Poland

Borders between countries can change
dramatically over time. The nations of eastern Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow 15
Europe have been particularly affected by
changing boundaries. Poland is an example of a
R U S S I A
POLAND Warsaw POLAND P OL A N D
A

country whose boundaries have changed so SI

Warsaw S Warsaw Warsaw
significantly that it has literally moved around Kiev P RU Kiev Kiev Kiev
IA

Europe. At the start of the 16th century, Poland

R

was the largest nation in Europe. Between 1772 T 16

S
and 1795, it was absorbed into Prussia, Austria, and AU
Russia, and it effectively ceased to exist. After the
First World War, Poland became an independent 䉱 In 1634, Poland was the largest 䉱 From 1772–1795, Poland was 䉱 Following the First World War, 䉱 After the Second World War, the
nation in Europe, its eastern gradually partitioned between Poland was reinstated as an Baltic Sea border was extended
country once more, but its borders changed again
boundary reaching toward Moscow. Austria, Russia, and Prussia. Its independent state, but it was less westward, but much of the eastern
after the Second World War following invasions eastern boundary receded by over than half the size it had been in 1634. territory was annexed by Russia. 17
by both Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. 100 miles (160 km).

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

xxxi
 THE WOR LD
A B C D E F G H I J K L M

International disputes
1
Jammu and Kashmir 1
Disputes over Jammu and Kashmir have
caused three serious wars between India and
Pakistan since 1947. Pakistan wishes to annex
There are more than 60 disputed borders or territories in the world today. Although many of the largely Muslim territory, while India
these disputes can be settled by peaceful negotiation, some areas have become a focus for refuses to cede any territory or to hold a
2 referendum, and also lays claim to the entire 2
international conflict. Ethnic tensions have been a major source of territorial disagreement
territory. Most international maps show the
throughout history, as has the ownership of, and access to, valuable natural resources. The 䉱 Indian army troops maintain
“line of control” agreed in 1972 as the de their positions in the
turmoil of the postcolonial era in many parts of Africa is partly a result of the 19th century facto border. In addition, India has territorial mountainous terrain of
“carve-up” of the continent, which created potential for conflict by drawing often arbitrary disputes with neighboring China. The northern Kashmir.

3 lines through linguistic and cultural areas. situation is further complicated by a Kashmiri 3
independence movement, active since the
late 1980s.
North and South Korea Cyprus
Since 1953, the de facto border between Cyprus was partitioned in 1974, N C H I N A
A
North and South Korea has been a cease-fire following an invasion by Turkish

ST
4 A 'line of control' Claimed 4

NI
line which straddles the 38th Parallel and is troops. The south is now the Greek by India
was agreed between

HA
designated as a demilitarized zone. Both Cypriot Republic of Cyprus, while Pre 1947 India and Pakistan
Boundary in 1972.
countries have heavy fortifications and troop the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic

AFG
Aksai Chin
concentrations behind this zone. of Northern Cyprus is recognized Administered by
only by Turkey. China, claimed
Peshawar by India.
Srinagar JAMMU 5
C H I N A 䉱 The so-called
TURKISH REPUBLIC
ISLAMABAD & KASHMIR
“green line”
divides Cyprus OF NORTHERN CYPRUS sía Rawalpindi I N D I A CHINA
(recognized only by Turkey) r pa
into Greek and Ka
ns Demchok/
Turkish sectors.
Medite r ranean Kyrenia Mountai
NORTH S ea PA K I S T A N Demqog
KOREA Administered
NICOSIA Gujranwala by China,
PYONGYANG HIMACHAL claimed by India. 6
UK Sovereign Base Area
Tr o ó d o s PRADESH
䉱 Heavy fortifications on CYPRUS Lárnaka Faisalabad
Lahore
Amritsar
SEOUL the border between North Claimed by India.
Lemesós Medite r ranean P U N JA B
SOUTH and South Korea. UK Sovereign
Base Area (Limassol) S ea Ludhiana
KOREA
Ye l l o w
Sea
Conflicts and 7
international disputes
UN peacekeeping missions
2002-2012
R U S S I A N F E D E R AT I O N
Major active territorial
or border disputes
8 Kurile 8
Islands
Countries involved in
internal conflict
Chechnya
CROATIA KOS. NORTH
MOLDOVA Active territorial
B.&H. KOREA
BULG. GEORGIA
MACEDONIA ARMENIA
or border disputes
SPAIN AZERB. TAJIKISTAN C H I N A and internal conflict
Gibraltar TURKEY SOUTH
Melilla SYRIA Aksai Chin KOREA
Ceuta CYPRUS AFGHANISTAN
AN

LEBANON
IRAQ Jammu and Kashmir
CO

9 ISRAEL IRAN 9
C
IST

RO Arunachal Pradesh
MO
K

L I B YA Senkaku Islands
PA

ALGERIA BHUTAN
WESTERN EGYPT TAIWAN
MEXICO
Guantanamo Bay SAHARA INDIA MYANMAR
CUBA
(BURMA) V Paracel
MAURITANIA BANGLADESH IE
BELIZE HAITI NIGE R CHAD TN Islands
MALI ERITREA THAI. AM PHILIPPINES
YEMEN
SENEGAL
BURKINA
S U DA N CAMBODIA
10 VENEZUELA
NIGERIA 10
SOMALIA
The GU YA NA
SURINAME SIERRA LEONE
C.A.R.
SOUTH
SUDAN ETHIOPIA
Spratly
Islands
French Guiana LIBERIA BENIN
Falkland Islands COLOMBIA
IVORY
COAST
CAMEROON
DEM. REP. UGANDA
MALAYSIA
CONGO
O

The British dependent KENYA

NG

ECUADOR BRITISH INDIAN

O

C RWANDA OCEAN TERRITORY

territory of the Falkland Cabinda BURUNDI
11 Islands was invaded by 11
EAST TIMOR
Argentina in 1982, sparking a PERU
ANGOLA
B R A Z I L ZAMBIA
full-scale war with the UK.
BOLIVIA
Tensions ran high during 2012 in ZIMBABWE

the build up to the thirtieth BOTSWANA

12 anniversary of the conflict. 12

URUGUAY
CHILE
䉳 British ARGENTINA
warships in
Falkland Sound Former Yugoslavia
during the 1982 Following the disintegration in 1991 of
13 war with Falkland Islands the communist state of Yugoslavia, the 13
Argentina.
breakaway states of Croatia and Bosnia
Israel and Herzegovina came into conflict The Spratly Islands
Jenin with the “parent” state (consisting of The site of potential oil and natural gas
L

Israel was created in 1948 following the 1947 UN

Resolution (147) on Palestine. Until 1979 Israel had no Serbia and Montenegro). Warfare reserves, the Spratly Islands in the
E

Jordan

Tulkarm borders, only cease-fire lines from a series of wars focused on ethnic and territorial South China Sea have been claimed by 14
A

ambitions in Bosnia. The tenuous 䉱 Most claimant states

Qalqiliya
Nablus in 1948, 1967, and 1973. Treaties with Egypt in 1979 China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and
have small military
R

and Jordan in 1994 led to these borders being Dayton Accord of 1995 sought to garrisons on the the Philippines since the Japanese gave
WEST BANK
recognize the post-1990 borders, Spratly Islands. up a wartime claim in 1951.
I S

defined and agreed. Negotiations over Israeli

settlements and Palestinian self-government seen whilst providing for ethnic partition
N

and required international peace- S outh China

little effective progress CAMBODIA
AM

keeping troops to maintain the terms S ea PH I L I PPI N ES 15

D A

'Auja et Tahta LEBANON since 2000.

SYRIA

Ramallah Nu'eima Mediterranean

of the peace.
T

Jericho Sea GOLAN IE Philippine claim

HEIGHTS V
JERUSALEM T I A
O A Spratly
J O R

R Sava
WEST Island s
BANK Brâko
C

Bosna

Bethlehem Bihaá
GAZA Banja Luka Tuzla
STRIP Celeb es 16
Dead Jajce BOSNIA & Dr
RBIA

Hebron i S ea
N

Sea Srebrenica
na

(Israel retains HERZEGOVINA

RDA

15%control) ISR AEL

Gornji Vakuf Goraªde Malaysian claim
SARAJEVO
Ad

SE
EGY

Israeli S e i at Split Occupied by Taiwan

r

Mostar
JO

settlement a ic Occupied by Philippines

Palestinian
B RU N EI
PT

Palestinian control settlement Republika Srpska Occupied by Malaysia

Mixed control
䉱 Barbed-wire fences MONTENEGRO Occupied by China
West Bank Federacija Bosna i Dubrovnik M A L AYS I A
Israeli settlement block fence surround a settlement in Hercegovina Occupied by Vietnam INDONESIA 17
the Golan Heights.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

xxxii
ATL AS
OF THE WORLD
THE MAPS IN THIS ATLAS ARE ARRANGED CONTINENT BY CONTINENT, STARTING

FROM THE INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE, AND MOVING EASTWARD. THE MAPS PROVIDE

A UNIQUE VIEW OF TODAY’S WORLD, COMBINING TRADITIONAL CARTOGRAPHIC

TECHNIQUES WITH THE LATEST REMOTE-SENSED AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY.

 A B C D E F G H I J K L M

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Equ rt Teh
u re n fo d eca an
ato pe Clipper l
c h Go ns Co lo m bi
r ip ton Fo
La

16 Cl Island Albatross Basin Lago de

Lake Nicaragua
CA

RI o
R i s e

Siqueiro
P l a t e au B B Mo squ ito ién M aracaib
CO Gulf of Dar
s Fracture
Zone Guatemala CO
EA
N Gulf
Panam
uca

PL
d ale na

SP
B er LA AT s of
Isthmu Gulf of
entr Ca

lang
tal

TE E
a

a Ris
e
ciden

Panama
a O Mag
a

Basin
lf

l
nta
Gu

e Península
dg u
Co illera Oc

de Azuero
rie
ito

i
aC

Co c o s R N AZCA
17 sq
Mo
ller

C o l ó n R i
er

d g e Panama
PL

rdi

ill

Basin
rd

rd
ATE

Co
Co

A B C D E F G H I J K L M
 N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

North America 4

North America is the world’s third largest continent with a total area of 9,358,340 sq miles
Ro
Ice RASIA RICAN

5
ck
lan

all
NO

EU

(24,238,000 sq km) including Greenland and the Caribbean islands.

Ri s
d B PLATE ATE
RT
Re
HA

e
asi
ykj

ME

n
ane

It lies wholly within the Northern Hemisphere.

s Ba
sin

PL

6
n e
Zo
re Greatest extent, North–South: 4600 miles / 7400 km

L abrad
or
i bb
sF
r ac
tu
A Greatest extent, East–West: 3500 miles / 5700 km
in
-G

Batesr Bay
lie
ar

Most northerly point: Most easterly point: 7

Ch

swa Kap Morris Jesup, Nordøstrundingen,

Gro
MI

northern Greenland northeast Greenland

e
Isl

83° 38’ N 12° 08’ W

D-
e
ell

Most westerly point:

of B

AT

d
lan Attu, Aleutian Islands, USA
t

nd
L
Strai

fou 172° 30’ E

AN

New mi
sh Lowest recorded
Fle ap
TIC

Cape Prince of temperature: 8

C
d

Wales (168° 4’ W) Northice, Greenland

n lan

of
R

Gulf ence -87° F (-66° C)

N T

e
rcl
ks
ID

wr
d

St La an
Ci
B n c ti
c
ou si
s
GE

C a b ot S t rai t nd Ar
ore

Gra f
w a
Ne B
Az

one Boothia Peninsula

tia rges re Z
co Geo k o Fratu (71° 59’ N)
Pic 9
Ban
aS
Nov

I C

Battle Harbour
Zone Highest point:
Brown
s acture (55° 35’ W)
Oceanographer Fr Mount McKinley (Denali),
Bank Alaska, USA
20,322 ft (6194 m)

10

Ne w Largest lake:
En g l
and Lake Superior, Canada/USA
S ea ner
O C E A

mo C o r u nt s 32,142 sq miles (83,270 sq km)

ancer

un San Francisco
ts e a mo Washington DC
S e
on
ic of C

amo
unt tu re Z Highest recorded temperature:
ville
Se
At l a n t i s Fra c Death Valley, California, USA
Trop

Nash in 135°F (57°C ) 11

m Pla cer
NORTH AMERICAN PLATE

S oh Can
ic of
Trop
uda Lowest point:
AFRICAN PLATE

da Berm
Bermu Death Valley, California, USA
Rise -282 ft (-86 m) below sea level
h
Nor t
Plain

ican
12
Hatteras

Amer e Zo
ne
n actur
Basi Kane Fr
Most southerly point:
Sea
N

Península de Azuero
Península de Azuero,
asso
(7° 15’ N)
southeast Panama
Sarg 7° 15’ N
de
sin Ver

n 13
Plai
pe

s
Nare
Ca
Ba

Rocky Mountains Great Plains Great Lakes Appalachian

Mountains Washington DC
Indi San Francisco
We s t e a Fra
cture
Zone
ud
ico Trench
Puerto R Le uda
NORTH Barrac 14
AN PLATE
s

Barbigua AMERIC
MI

ERIC AN
ew

iola Ant SOUTH AM

Hispan
ar

upe PLATE
D-
dI

R ico Nevis adelo

slan

to u
illes

Puer G
AT

inica
ds

Dom ique Cross-section from San Francisco to Washington DC

LA

Ant illes 0 500 1000 Km

ana
tin
Mar ia
Islands
r Ant

uelan Gui sin

NT
Win enada Basin

uc os
Venez sin St L arbad a
0 500 1000 Miles
15
a B
IC

rar line of cross-section

Ba Ba
Gr Ridge

Se me
dward

De lain
RI
A se

a
nad
uela

re P
DG

G
ve s
s

E
Le
nez

idad
f Ve

Trin
fo

ra
era
ul

G E
PLAT ATE Dem eau
I BB EAN N P L Pla t
CAR AMERICA o
tor

16
H c
ua

SOUT Or i
no
Eq
Caroní

e
Apur Gui
ana
Hig h azo
n
a land Am Fan
Met s
Orinoco

re 17
v ia
Tro
nco

Gua
mbetas
Bra

on
az
Am

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

1
 NORTH AMERICA
A B C D E F G H I J K L M

Physical North America

1
The Canadian Shield
Spanning northern Canada and Greenland,
this geologically stable plain forms the
heart of the continent, containing rocks
The North American continent can be divided into a number of major structural more than two billion years old. A long
areas: the Western Cordillera, the Canadian Shield, the Great Plains, and Central history of weathering and repeated
Lowlands, and the Appalachians. Other smaller regions include the Gulf Atlantic glaciation has scoured the region, leaving
Coastal Plain which borders the southern coast of North America from the flat plains, gentle hummocks, numerous
small basins and lakes, and the bays and
southern Appalachians to the Great Plains. This area includes the expanding Mississippi Delta.
islands of the Arctic.
A chain of volcanic islands, running in an arc around the margin of the Caribbean Plate, lie to the
Hudson Bay was depressed by the Once overlain by sedimentary
3 east of the Gulf of Mexico. The hard bedrock of
ice sheet to form North America’s rocks, erosion has reexposed the
the Canadian Shield
largest basin ancient Laurentian Mountains
is slowly rising
The weight of the
The Western Cordillera ice sheet, 1.8 miles
(3 km) thick, has
About 80 million years ago the depressed the land
Pacific and North American plates to 0.6 miles (1 km)
4 below sea level A A
collided, uplifting the Western
0 100 200 Km
Cordillera. This consists of the Section across the Canadian Shield showing where the ice sheet
has depressed the underlying rock and formed bays and islands.
Aleutian, Coast, Cascade, and Sierra 0 100 200 Miles

Nevada mountains, and the inland

Rocky Mountains. These run
Map key
5 Elevation Plate margins
parallel from the Arctic to Mexico.  This computer-generated view
shows the ice-covered island of (for explanation see page xiv)
Greenland without its ice cap.
Strata have been thrust 3500m / 11,484ft constructive
eastward along fault lines The Rocky Mountain Trench is the
3000m / 9843ft destructive
Volcanic rock longest linear fault on the continent
2500m / 8203ft conservative
6
2000m / 6562ft uncertain

1500m / 4922ft
B B
1000m / 3281ft physiographic
Cross-section through the Western Cordillera showing regions
direction of mountain building. 500m / 1640ft

A T
line of
7 0 50 100 Km 250m / 820ft cross-section
G r
0 50 100 Miles e e 100m / 328ft

L A
ASIA n sea level
l
ng Strait a
B er i

N T
n
B eaufor t Scale 1:42,000,000
Br

d
B af f in
oo

s S ea Km
k
Al

B e r ing R
an B ay 0 200 400 600 800 1000

I C
eu

ti ge
an S ea Mackenzie Baffi Da 0
Miles
200 400 600 800 1000

Isl Mount McKinley 6194m n I vi

Delta s projection: Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area
and k a R an g e sl an S
s as
e Al M
ac
tr

9 Al e ut i an R ang
Ma c k e

k
d

O C E A N
ai
en

Foxe
t
zi

nzi
eM

NO Basin
e

Great Bear Lake

oun

R L abrador
Co

Hu d s o n St r
The Appalachians
T

Gu l f o f Al a s
tains

ai t
H

S ea
ast M
AM

W E S s
R

A
PA C I F I C P L AT E

10
ka

E R I C A N P L AT E

Great Slave Lake

N
ountain

A Lab
o c

C Lake Athabasca Hud son ra

The Great Plains & D do
E B ay r
Central Lowlands N A I A
T E R

Laurentian
Reindeer Lake A
k

11 T N
Mountains Newfoundland
B B R
y

S
H
JU

Lake
I E
A

L D
AN

Winnipeg
M
N

tia
DE FUCA PL

co

Lake Manitoba
ec

aS
ren
R
o
e

Mount The Appalachian Mountains, uplifted

ang

Lake Superior
Nov
aw

12 Rainier 4392m
S
L

St L
de R

G about 400 million years ago, are some

E

Mount St Helens
u

2549m re Lake Huron

N
Casca s

of the oldest in the world. They have

O
C O
e

at
A

Lake Ontario
Missouri
n g

n
A

L a k e s Cape Cod been lowered and rounded by erosion

TE

C tains
W
T
R a

Great and now slope gently toward the

t a

Lake
Basin
H
L

Michigan Atlantic across a broad coastal plain.

n
R
C o a s t

ou

Great Salt Lake

Sie

13 Lake Erie
A
S an Jol l e y

M
r ra

o
rad
D

Softer strata has been

L A

Deposits left by retreating glaciers

i n

A
Colo

Sedimentary strata Hard

Va

an

San
Ne va d a

C C crumpled against the

N D
a qu

and rivers have made this vast flat area Andreas Horizontal folded and faulted basement
I

Colorado hio
hi

harder basement rock

L

Fault Death O strata into ridges and valleys rock

in

Plateau
ac

very fertile. In the north this is the Valley

L

D D
A

-86m Grand
al

Ark
I N S

an
issipp

result of glaciation, with deposits up to Canyon

pp
s

Mojave sa
P
L

s
A

Desert
S

14 one mile (1.7 km) thick, covering the

Miss

IN
E

basement rock. To the south and west, the Sonoran C C

A

PL
R

Desert
massive Missouri/Mississippi river system has L
I C C O A S TA
Cross-section through the
A
Low

ANT
0 25 50 Km
for centuries deposited silt across the plains, Appalachians showing the numerous
L
AT
er

creating broad, flat floodplains and deltas. folds, which have subsequently been 0 25 50 Miles

LF
P

Sier
Ca

weathered to create a rounded relief.

U Mississippi
Ri o

15
G
lif

Si Delta
A

Gu iforn
Ca i a

ra

e
Gr
or
l
lf o ia

i e
an
rr
Ma

I n d
de
n

aM
C

Gulf of t
W e s
dr

Sedimentary layers Upland rivers drain Confluence of the

ad

s
eO

Missouri and
re O

overlay domed south toward the

I

Mexico
c
ci

basement rock Mississippi Basin Mississippi Rivers

de

rient

nt
F

G s
al r e l e
l e s

16 E
AT a t i l
PL TE
I

al

Yucatan e r n t
C Volcán Pico A N L A A
il

de Orìzaba Península IC N P
Sie
5700m ER BEA nt
rra AM IB r A
D D O Ma H AR Caribbean L e s s e
dre
del Sur RT C
O
Section across the Great Plains 0 200 400 Km C N Sea
17 and Central Lowlands showing E E E
SOUTH
river systems and structure.
0 200 400 Miles
A CAR
IBB
Lake
Nicaragua AT AT AM ERICA
N EA
N N
PL PL
N
PL Ist f Panama EA CA
AT hmus o BB ERI
A B C D E F E I
R M K L M
CA H A
2 UT
SO
 PHYSICAL NORTH AM ER ICA
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Climate Climate
1
North America’s climate includes ice cap
tundra
extremes ranging from freezing Arctic subarctic
conditions in Alaska and Greenland, cool continental Eismitte

Ar

le
irc
warm humid

ct i
to desert in the southwest, and

cC
cC
semiarid

cti
Nome

irc

Ar
tropical conditions in southeastern arid

le
Resolute
humid equatorial 2
Florida, the Caribbean, and Central tropical Fairbanks
Aklavik
America. Central and southern daily hours of
sunshine, January Kugluktuk
regions are prone to severe storms
daily hours of Iqaluit
including tornadoes and hurricanes. sunshine, July Haines Junction
 “Tornado alley” in the Mississippi direction of hurricanes
Valley suffers frequent tornadoes. tornado zones Juneau 3

Fort Vermillon Churchill Happy Valley - Goose Bay

Temperature
Fort St John
Torbay

Arctic Vancouver
Circle 4
Medicine Hat Winnipeg Montréal
60° N
Toronto
40° N Boise
Sioux City New York
Tropic of Salt Lake City Denver
Cancer San Francisco 5
20° N Las Vegas
 Much of the southwest is Phoenix Atlanta Cape Hatteras
semi-desert; receiving less than 12 Average January temperature Average July temperature Los Angeles
Little Rock
inches (300 mm) of rainfall a year.
Temperature
Houston
-22°F (below -30°C) 32 to 50°F (0 to 10°C) Guaymas New Miami
-22 to -4°F (-30 to -20°C) 50 to 68°F (10 to 20°C) Chihuahua Orleans Nassau 6
of
-4 to 14°F (-20 to -10°C) 68 to 86°F (20 to 30°C) Tropic o
f Cance Tropic
Rainfall 14 to 32°F (-10 to 0°C) 86°F (above 30°C) r Cance
r
Santo Domingo
Mérida Fort-de-France

Arctic Kingston
Circle
Acapulco
Rainfall
60° N
San Salvador
0–1 in (0–25 mm)
1–2 in (25–50 mm) San José
40° N 2–4 in (50–100 mm)
Tropic of 4–8 in (100–200 mm)  The lush, green
Cancer 8–12 in (200–300 mm) mountains of the Lesser
12–16 in (300–400 mm) Antilles receive annual 8
20° N
16–20 in (400–500 mm) rainfalls of up to
more than 20 in (500 mm) 360 inches (9000 mm).
Average January rainfall Average July rainfall

Shaping the continent

Glacial processes affect much of northern Canada, Greenland, Periglaciation 9
and the Western Cordillera. Along the western coast of North 2 The ground in the far north is nearly always frozen: the
America, Central America, and the Caribbean, underlying plates surface thaws only in summer. This freeze-thaw process
produces features such as pingos (left); formed by the freezing
moving together lead to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
of groundwater. With each successive winter ice accumulates
The vast river systems, fed by mountain streams, constantly producing a mound with a core of ice.
erode and deposit material along their paths. Post-glacial lakes
Ice core pushes up ground to form pingo 10
3 A chain of lakes from Great Bear Lake to
Volcanic activity the Great Lakes (above) was created as the ice
Unfrozen lake
1 Mount St. Helens volcano (right) in the retreated northward. Glaciers scoured hollows
Cascade Range erupted violently in May Groundwater in the softer lowland rock. Glacial deposits at
1980, killing 57 people and leveling large attracted to the lip of the hollows, and ridges of harder
areas of forest. The lateral blast filled a ice core rock, trapped water to form lakes.
11
valley with debris for 15 miles (25 km). Periglaciation: Formation of
Ice-scoured hollow filled with
Molten rock Vertical a pingo in the Mackenzie Delta Retreating glacier glacial meltwater to form a lake
at volcano’s eruption
core
The evolving landscape Harder rock creates a
barrier between lakes
Lateral explosion
increases extent 12
of damage Softer lowland rock

Landslide
fills valley Post-glacial lakes: Formation
of the Great Lakes
Volcanic activity: Eruption
2
of Mount St Helens Landscape
13
limestone region
sinking land
stable land
uplifting land

14
3

1 active volcano
Seismic activity Weathering
area of tectonic
5 The San Andreas Fault (above) activity 4 The Yucatan Peninsula is a vast, flat
places much of the North America’s limit of limestone plateau in southern Mexico.
5
west coast under constant threat from 6 permafrost Weathering action from both rainwater 15
earthquakes. It is caused by the Pacific maximum limit and underground streams has enlarged
Plate grinding past the North American of glaciation fractures in the rock to form caves and
Plate at a faster rate, though in the ocean current hollows, called sinkholes (above).
River erosion Soft rock is easily
same direction.
6 The Grand Canyon (above) in the eroded into
gentle slopes Rainwater erodes
Pacific Plate San Andreas Fault Colorado Plateau was created by the Porous limestone porous rock
downward erosion of the Colorado 4 plateau forming sinkholes 16
Fault is caused River, combined with the gradual uplift Hard rock
by faster resists erosion
of the plateau, over the past 30 million Sea level
movement of
Pacific Plate years. The contours of the canyon
Underground
North formed as the softer rock layers eroded stream further
American Plate into gentle slopes, and the hard rock Colorado River cuts
erodes rock
down through rock
Seismic activity: Action layers into cliffs. The depth varies from Weathering: Water erosion 17
of the San Andreas Fault 3855–6560 ft (1175–2000 m). River Erosion: Formation of the Grand Canyon on the Yucatan Peninsula

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

3
 NORTH AMERICA
A B C D E F G H I J K

Political North America ASIA

Democracy is well established in some parts of the continent but is
a recent phenomenon in others. The economically dominant A R C T I C
Strait
nations of Canada and the US have a long democratic tradition but ring
Be
elsewhere, notably in the countries of Central America, political

Br
turmoil has been more common. In Nicaragua and Haiti, harsh B eaufor t

oo
dictatorships have only recently been superseded by s S ea

k
R
an

A
3 democratically elected governments. North America’s largest B e r ing ge

le
u U N I T E D STAT E S
countries, Canada, Mexico, and the US have federal state systems, ti
an S ea OF AM E R IC A
sharing political power between national and state governments. Is
la Victoria
The US has intervened militarily on several occasions in Central nd A L A S K A
s
America and the Caribbean to protect its strategic interests. e
Aleut i an Rang

Mackenzie
4
Anchorage

Ma
cke
Y U KO N Great Bear Lake
Transportation

nzie
T E R R I T O RY
In the 19th century, railroads opened up the North Gulf of

Mount
NORT HW E ST
Whitehorse
5 American continent. Air transportation is now Alaska T E R R I TOR I E S
more common for long distance passenger travel,  This busy suburban interchange

ains
Yellowknife
although railroads are still extensively used for in Los Angeles is part of the US’s Juneau
Interstate freeway system. Great Slave
bulk freight transportation. Waterways like the Construction of the 55,000 mile Lake
Mississippi River are important for the (88,500 km) freeway network began in
6 transportation of bulk materials, and the Panama the 1950s, and it now connects most Lake Athabasca
major cities, and carries one-fifth of BRITISH
Canal is a vital link between the Pacific and the US’s road traffic.
Atlantic Oceans. In the 20th century, road Queen COLUM BIA
C A N
transportation increased massively, with the Charlotte
Islands
introduction of cheap, mass-produced motor cars Prince George A L B E RTA
7 and extensive highway construction.
Edmonton

Vancouver Saskatoon
Island Calgary
Vancouver SASKATCHEWAN
Victoria
Regina
Seattle
Olympia
Tacoma
WA S H I N G TO N
Fairbanks MON TA NA
Tuktoyaktuk Salem Portland
Dutch Harbor Helena
Anchorage Eugene
9
OREGON IDAHO
Boise

Skagway W YOM I NG

Hay River
Reno Great Salt Lake Salt Lake
U N I T E D
Cheyenne
10 Santa Rosa Carson City City do
Prince Rupert Oakland Sacramento a

r
Colo
San Francisco Stockton N E V A D A U TA H Denver
St.John’s San Jose COLORADO
Prince George Salinas Fresno
Edmonton Colorado Springs
C ALIFORN IA Pueblo
Las Vegas
Bakersfield
11
Nanaimo Vancouver Calgary

Thunder Québec Halifax

Simi Valley O F A M Santa Fe
Seattle Winnipeg St.John Los Angeles Riverside ARIZONA
Bay
Spokane Sault Ste. Montréal
Portland Marie Albuquerque
Duluth Oceanside San Diego Phoenix
Butte
Fargo Albany NEW MEXICO
Coos Bay Minneapolis Boston Tijuana
Toronto Mexicali
Tucson
New York
Sioux Falls Detroit Newark El Paso
12 Chicago Toledo Philadelphia
Cheyenne Baltimore Ciudad Juárez
Lo

Oakland Salt Lake City Omaha Washington DC

Transportation
we

San Francisco
Denver Kansas City
Saint
Norfolk Hermosillo
r

Louis major roads and highways

Gu
Ca

Nashville major railroads

Los Angeles Chihuahua
lf

Long Beach major canals

li

Oklahoma City Wilmington

Memphis Charleston international borders
of

Albuquerque Atlanta
fo

13 San Diego Phoenix transport intersections

Birmingham Savannah
Ca
rn

Dallas international airports

lif

Jacksonville
ia

El Paso Mobile major ports

o rn

New Orlando
Isla Cedros Houston Tampa
San Antonio Orleans Durango
ia

Chihuahana
Corpus Christi Miami
Mazatlán
14 Monterrey
ME
Mazatlán Havana
San Juan
Tampico
Guadalajara
Mérida
Kingston
Mexico City
Manzanillo Manzanillo
Toluca
Coatzacoalcos
15
Salina Cruz
Guatemala San Salvador
City
Corinto Panama Canal
Balboa Panama City UNITED STATES Kaua‘i H AWA I I
Ni‘ihau O‘ahu
OF AMERICA
Moloka‘i
16 Honolulu Maui
 The 40 mile (65 km) long Panama
PA

Lana‘i
Canal cuts through the Isthmus of IF
C

Kaho‘olawe
Panama, a narrow strip of land  Low-density housing developments SCALE 1:13,300,000 IC
Km
connecting North and South such as this one on the outskirts of 0 50 100 150 200 OC
America. Opened in 1914, the canal Phoenix, Arizona, reflect the US’s EA Hawai‘i
N
reduced the journey between the abundance of land and a dispersed 0 50 100 150 200
Atlantic and Pacific oceans by almost population, dependent on the car for Miles
17
8000 nautical miles (14,800 km). personal mobility.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

4
 POLITICAL NORTH AMERICA
S T U V W Z

N 1

A E S K
C E I
M
O Ellesmere
Island
O
-
A
A L E
T U T 2
Language groups H
A B
A S
Greenland American Indian C A
N
Germanic
B af f in (to Denmark) Romance
Eskimo-Aleut
Uninhabited
B ay ALGONQUI
N
H
3
C
Map key N
Da E
Baffi vi Population
F R
Island n I s E
sla S NUUK above 5 million N G L
n tr 1 million to 5 million I S H
ai 500,000 to 1 million
d

Foxe
t 100,000 to 500,000
EN
Basin Iqaluit
50,000 to 100,000 GL
ISH
(Frobisher Bay) L abrador 10,000 to 50,000 /SP
AN
N U N AV U T below 10,000 IS
H
Hu d s o n S S ea FRENCH/
t rait State / Province capital U
AZ TO-
ENGLISH ENGLISH/
EN
GL
TECAN SPANISH IS
Country capital H
S PA N I S H OLE C
Borders FRENCH CRE

RE
OLE
N
full international border A
Y
A EOLE
CR
Hud son state border M
S PA
NEWFOUNDLAND N
I
B ay AND LABR AD OR

SH
A D A Languages
Reindeer Lake St.John’s
Newfoundland The three major official languages of North
MANITOBA America are of European origin, brought by
QU É BE C
St Pierre & Miquelon settlers in the 16th century. In Canada,
Lake Winnipeg
PRINCE (to France) French and English are spoken; in the US,
EDWARD

ON TA R IO
ISLAND
Charlottetown N English is the main language, with large
NEW BRUNSWICK Spanish-speaking areas in the southwest;
A

Fredericton NOVA SCOTIA Mexicans are Spanish-speaking; while the 8

Winnipeg Québec
ce

Halifax
ren

Lake Superior Caribbean islands use French, English, and

aw

Thunder Bay MAIN E

L

 Land in northern Canada has Spanish as well as the hybrid Creole tongues.
C
St.

Montréal Augusta
NORTH DA KOTA M I N N E S O TA
Lake Huron
OTTAWA
Montpelier been set aside for Inuit reserves, In isolated areas, languages of the indigenous
O

VERMONT NEW HAMPSHIRE allowing the Inuit and other Native

Bismarck
Concord American groups to maintain their
peoples still exist, such as Inuit in the far
MICHIGAN Lake Ontario
Oshawa Boston 9
Saint Paul Lake Michigan Toronto
Albany
Rochester MASSACHUSETTS traditional practices and culture. north of the continent.
SOUTH DA KOTA NEW YORK Providence
Minneapolis WI SCONSI N Hamilton RHODE ISLAND
Miss

Hartford
Pierre
Sioux Falls Milwaukee
Lake Erie
Buffalo
Lansing
Newark
CONNECTICUT
Population
our

MadisonDetroit PENNSYLVANIA New York

i

I C

Trenton
S TAT E S Des Moines
Toledo
Cleveland
Chicago
Pittsburgh
Harrisburg
Baltimore
NEW JERSEY
Philadelphia
Much of North America is almost empty,
NEBRASKA I O W A Davenport OH IO Dover DELAWARE
Annapolis
especially the frozen far north.
10
s

Omaha INDIANA Columbus

ain

Lincoln
ILLINOIS
Cincinnati WEST
WASHINGTON DC
MARYLAND
Population densities are highest in
T

Springfield
nt

Indianapolis VIRGINIA
Richmond the highlands of Mexico and
ou

Kansas City Charleston

Topeka Saint Louis hio VIRGINIA
Frankfort Norfolk
M

O
K A N S A S Jefferson City Central America; the coastal plain
N

Louisville
n

Evansville
ia

MISSOURI KENTUCKY
Wichita NORTH Raleigh stretching from the Gulf of Mexico
ch

Springfield C A ROL INA

E R I C A Nashville
la

along the Atlantic coast; the Great Lakes

L A

Charlotte
pa

11
i

TENNESSEE
issipp

Ap

Ar k a n s a s
Tulsa A R K A N S AS Columbia area; and the Pacific coast. Large conurbations
Memphis
Oklahoma City
Miss

Atlanta SOUTH
Amarillo OKLAHOMA
Little Rock Birmingham
C A ROL INA have developed, notably the San-San (San
GEORGIA
Lubbock MISSISSIPPI
Columbus
Francisco–San Diego), Boswash (Boston–
A T

ALABAMA
Savannah
Fort Worth
Dallas Shreveport Montgomery Washington), and Main Street (Toronto–
Jackson
Jacksonville Montréal). The populations of the Caribbean
T E X A S Tallahassee
LOUI SI ANA Mobile islands are small, but settlement is dense, due to
Austin Baton Rouge Orlando
Houston
New Orleans the limited amount of land available.
Tampa
San Antonio
Rio

Mississippi Saint Petersburg FLORIDA

British Virgin
Gr

Delta Fort Lauderdale

Corpus Christi
an

NASSAU Islands
de

Miami Virgin Islands (to US) (to UK) Anguilla (to UK)
BA HA MAS
Monterrey
Gulf of W e s t I n d i e s
Guantanamo Bay Turks & Caicos Puerto Rico ANTIGUA & BARBUDA
HAVANA (to US) Islands (to UK) (to US)
Mexico Santa Clara
C U BA
DOMINICAN Guadeloupe (to France)
REPUBLIC SAN JUAN DOMINICA
X ICO Tampico G r
Santiago de Cuba HAITI SANTO ST KITTS & NEVIS Martinique (to France) Population density
DOMINGO Montserrat (to UK) ST LUCIA (people per sq mile) 14
León
San Luis Potosí
Mérida Cayman Islands e a PORT-AU-PRINCE BARBADOS
(to UK) t e Navassa Island (to US) ST VINCENT & below 25
Irapuato r A n
Querétaro Yucatan
JAMAICA
t i l l e s THE GRENADINES 25–124
s

Peninsula KINGSTON e
Morelia GRENADA 125–259
MEXICO CITY ll
t i 260–649
Toluca Puebla e r An TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 650–1300
BELIZE Aruba L e s s PORT-OF-SPAIN above 1300
Villahermosa
BELMOPAN Caribbean (to Neth.) 15
Acapulco Bonaire
HONDURAS Curaçao (to Neth.)
GUATEMALA San Pedro Sula Sea (to Neth.)

GUATEMALA CITY TEGUCIGALPA

SAN SALVADOR NICARAGUA
SOUTH
EL SALVADOR
MANAGUA
Lake
Nicaragua AMERICA 16
Scale 1:31,000,000 PANAMA CITY
SAN JOSÉ
Km
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 COSTA RICA PANAMA
 Mexico City is one of the world’s
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Miles largest and highest cities. Fresh water
projection: Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area supplies are dwindling, while air 17
pollution regularly creates thick smog.

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

5
 NORTH AMERICA
A B C D E F G H I J K L M

North American resources Standard of living

The US and Canada have one of the
highest overall standards of living in the
The two northern countries of Canada and the US are richly endowed with natural resources world. However, many people still live in
that have helped to fuel economic development. The US is the world’s largest economy, poverty, especially in urban ghettos and some rural
although today it is facing stiff competition from the Far East. Mexico has relied on oil revenues areas. Central America and the Caribbean are
but there are hopes that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), will encourage markedly poorer than their wealthier northern
trade growth with Canada and the US. The poorer countries of Central America and the Caribbean depend neighbors. Haiti is the poorest country in the
largely on cash crops and tourism. western hemisphere.
3 Standard
of living
 After its purchase from
Industry Russia in 1867, Alaska’s
(UN human
development index)
frozen lands were largely
The modern, industrialized economies of the US ignored by the US. Oil high
and Canada contrast sharply with those of Mexico, reserves similar in
4 Central America, and the Caribbean. Manufacturing magnitude to those in
eastern Texas were low
is especially important in the US; vehicle production discovered in Prudhoe Bay,
is concentrated around the Great Lakes, while Alaska in 1968. Freezing
temperatures and a fragile
electronic and hi-tech industries are increasingly environment hamper
found in the western and southern states. oil extraction.
5
Mexico depends on oil exports and assembly work,
taking advantage of cheap labor. Many Central
American and Caribbean countries rely heavily on
agricultural exports.

6
N
C E A
RUSS.
O
FED. A R C T I C
tr ait
gS
7 r in
B eaufor t
Be

Greenland
S ea B af f in (to Denmark)
B e r ing Prudhoe Bay
B ay
S ea
USA

L abrador
Gulf of S ea
Hu d s on S
9 Alaska t rai t
 Fish such as cod, flounder, and plaice
are caught in the Grand Banks, off the
Newfoundland coast, and processed in
Hud son many North Atlantic coastal settlements.
B ay
10
C A N A D A
P

Vancouver Calgary
N
11
A

Seattle Winnipeg
A

Portland Montréal
C

 South of San Francisco,

C

“Silicon Valley” is both a

O

Boston
national and international Minneapolis Toronto
Albany
12 center for hi-tech industries, Buffalo
I

electronic industries, and Milwaukee New York

research institutions. U N I T E D S T AT E S Detroit
Cleveland
I C

Chicago
F

Pittsburgh Philadelphia
Dayton Baltimore
San Francisco O F A M E R I C A
T

Denver Cincinnati
I

Kansas City
Saint Louis
N

13 Greensboro
Wichita
L A
C

Nashville
Los Angeles Charlotte
Tulsa
Atlanta
Phoenix Birmingham
A T

San Diego
Tijuana  The health of the Wall Street stock
Dallas
market in New York is the standard
Jacksonville
14 El Paso measure of the state of the
O

Ciudad Juárez
New Orleans
world’s economy.
Houston Orlando
Tampa
 Multinational companies rely on
C

cheap labor and tax benefits to W e s t I n d

Miami
Virgin Islands i e
facilitate the assembly of vehicle s
E

(to US) British Virgin

parts in Mexican factories. Monterrey Gulf of BAHAMAS Turks & Caicos Islands Anguilla (to UK)
Islands (to UK) (to UK) ST KITTS & NEVIS
15 Mexico Puerto Rico ANTIGUA & BARBUDA
A

Havana
(to US) Montserrat (to UK)
C UBA DOMINICAN
San Juan Guadeloupe (to France)
Industry MEXICO HAITI REPUBLIC DOMINICA
N

Port-au-Prince Santo Domingo Martinique (to France)

G r ST LUCIA
e a
aerospace printing & publishing Cayman Islands t e BARBADOS
Guadalajara JAMAICA r A n
s

t i l l e s
(to UK) ST VINCENT &
brewing research & development
le

THE GRENADINES
Navassa Island l
car/vehicle manufacture shipbuilding Mexico City ti GRENADA
(to US) A n TRINIDAD &
16 chemicals sugar processing
Aruba
Lesser TOBAGO Port-of-Spain
defense textiles BELIZE
Caribbean (to Neth.)
electronics timber processing GNI per capita (US$)
engineering tobacco processing GUATEMALA
HONDURAS Sea Curaçao Bonaire
(to Neth.)
below 1999 (to Neth.)
film industry Guatemala City Tegucigalpa
coal 2000–4999 VENEZUELA
finance
oil 5000–9999
food processing EL SALVADOR San Salvador NICARAGUA
gas 10,000–19,999
hi-tech industry
A

Managua
BI

17 iron & steel industrial cities 20,000–24,999

M

above 25,000 San José Panama City

pharmaceuticals major industrial areas
LO

COSTA RICA
CO

PANAMA

A B C D E F G K L M

6
 NORTH AMERICAN RESOURCES
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Environmental issues Mineral resources Mineral resources

1
oil field
Many fragile environments are under threat throughout the region. Fossil fuels are exploited in considerable quantities throughout the gas field
In Haiti, all the primary rain forest has been destroyed, while air continent. Coal mining in the Appalachians is declining but vast open pits coal field
bauxite
pollution from factories and cars in Mexico City is among the worst exist further west in Wyoming. Oil and natural gas are found in Alaska, copper
in the world. Elsewhere, industry and mining pose threats, Texas, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Canadian West. Canada has large gold
iron
particularly in the delicate arctic environment of Alaska where oil quantities of nickel, while Jamaica has considerable deposits lead
2

spills have polluted coastlines and decimated fish stocks. of bauxite, and Mexico has large nickel
phosphates
reserves of silver. silver
N uranium
N
A R E A A R EA
C T I C O C C T I C O C

B eaufor t B eaufor t 3
B e r ing S ea B af f in S ea B af f in
B e r ing
B ay S ea B ay
S ea

Gulf of L abrador L abrador

S ea Gulf of S ea
Alaska 4
Alaska
Environmental issues Hud son
Hud son
B ay
son B ay
national parks Nel
Fraser
P A C

P A C
risk of acid rain N

A
tropical forest Vancouver

E
N
Sudbury Montréal 5

C
forest destroyed Columbia

E
I

Hu
James

O
I
D e l aw a

desert

C
Hamilton
dson

en
am to
F

F
Chicago
Sacr

risk of desertification Pla e New York

re
I

I C
tt i
M

I
sso
polluted rivers Denver
C

ur i i
o

Oh
C

Sa

anoke

C
TI

Jo Saint Louis

N T
n

radioactive a q rka Ro
A

contamination uin nsas

ppi

AN

Los Angeles
a
Alabam
Mi s s i s s i

L A
marine pollution San Diego Red
Phoenix Rive
r
AT L

heavy marine pollution Houston

O

A T
O
 In addition to fossil fuels,
Ri o

poor urban air quality

C

C
Gr

an
de Gulf of North America is also rich in
Havana
E

Mexico exploitable metallic ores. This

E
Gulf of
vast, mile-deep (1.6 km) pit is a
A

A
Mexico
Mexico City copper mine in New Mexico.
N

N
Caribbean
Sea
Caribbean
Sea

N G r
 Wild bison graze in A e e
Yellowstone National Park,
A E n
the world’s first national
park. Designated in 1872, ring
Strait
R C
T I C O C l
Be
geothermal springs and
a
Br

boiling mud are among B eaufor t 9

n
B af f in
oo

its natural spectacles, k S ea

d
B e r ing sR
making it a major an B ay
tourist attraction. S ea ge

M
ac
Ma c k

Al e ut i a n R a ng e k
10
en

enzie

 In agriculturally marginal areas

zi
eM

L abrador where the soil is either too poor, or

oun

Gulf of S ea the climate too dry for crops, cattle

Hu d s on S
Alaska t rai ranching proliferates – especially in
tain s

t
Mexico and the western reaches of
Using the land and sea the Great Plains.
R o

Hud son 11
Abundant land and fertile soils stretch from Using the land and sea
B ay
the Canadian prairies to Texas creating North
c

cropland
America’s agricultural heartland. Cereals and cattle forest
k

ice cap
ranching form the basis of the farming economy, Newfoundland
y

Edmonton mountain region

with corn and soybeans also important. Fruit and pasture
tundra 12
Calgary
vegetables are grown in California using irrigation,
M

Vancouver wetland
G r

desert
ce

while Florida is a leading producer of citrus fruits.

ren

Winnipeg
o

Grea Québec major conurbations

aw

Seattle
Caribbean and Central American countries depend t L
N
St L

a Montréal
P A

cattle
u

ke
e a

s
A

on cash crops such as bananas, coffee, and sugar Portland Ottawa goats
n

Boston pigs
cane, often grown on large plantations. This Saint Paul Toronto
Cape Cod poultry 13
C
t
t a

Minneapolis Buffalo reindeer

reliance on a single crop can leave these countries
C

New York
O

Miss
Milwaukee Detroit Cleveland sheep
ns

vulnerable to fluctuating world crop prices. Toledo Philadelphia

ou

bananas
P l a

Chicago
ntai

IC
ri

Pittsburgh Baltimore
I

Sacramento
i n

do citrus fruits
ora Columbus
Washington DC
San Francisco Oakland coffee
l
Co

Denver Indianapolis io Cincinnati

ou

Kansas
F

San Jose City Oh Louisville corn

M

Saint Louis cotton

s

Ar ia fishing 14
I

ip p i

Nashville
L A
i n s

ka Charlotte
ch

 Sugar cane is nsa fruit

i ss

s Tulsa
la

Memphis
Miss
C

Cuba’s main Albuquerque maple syrup

pa

Los Angeles San Diego Oklahoma

AT

agricultural crop, and Phoenix City peanuts

Ap

Atlanta
is grown and rice
Tucson Dallas shellfish
Lo

processed throughout El Paso Jacksonville

soybeans
we

the Caribbean. Austin sugar cane

Houston
r

Fermented sugar is Tampa timber 15

Ca

used to make rum. Mississippi

Rio

San Antonio tobacco

O

Delta
li

Gra

Miami vineyards
fo

nd

e wheat
C

rn

Monterrey Gulf of
ia

Havana San Juan

E

Mexico
A
 The Great Plains support N Guadalajara
Santo
Domingo
16
Yucatan
large-scale arable farming
Península
throughout central North Mexico City
America. Corn is grown in a
Caribbean
belt south and west of the
Sea
Great Lakes, while farther
west where the climate is Guatemala City 17
drier, wheat is grown. Managua

N O P Q R S T U X Y Z

7
 NORTH AMERICA
A B C D E F G H I J K L

N
s
A
Canada

d
 The Selwyn Mountains in

n
1

E
196
northwestern Canada form

l a
part of the Rocky Mountains.

C
Canada is the second largest country in the world, and with only about one- The highest point, Keele Peak,

s
rises to 9750 ft (2972 m).

I
O
tenth of its land area inhabited, it is one of the most sparsely populated. Canada Cape
y
Stallworth
became a confederation in 1867, though Newfoundland did not join until 1949.

h
2
As a founding member of the UN and of the Commonwealth, Canada has played

t
l
Axe

C
e
an important role in international affairs. A constitutional crisis, focusing on the i berg

b
H e

I
nd

a
French-speaking Québécois, and Inuit, and Native American land rights, Is l a
dominated politics in the 1990s. In 1999, part of the Northwest Territories, Tliz Sverdrup Is
lan
ds
3 Nunavut, became a self-governing homeland for the Inuit. C EPrince
Gustaf
Ellef
Ringness
d
Amun ss
Ringned
Rn Adolf Island Islan

Transportation and industry  Canada has one of the

A e
e Mackenzie Sea
King
Lougheed
u Island
Island
nell
Grin sula
world’s highest rates of energy Q PaPrtriinckce Penin
Abundant energy in the form of coal, oil, natural gas, and hydroelectric consumption per person. It is Land
s End Island
4 power underpins Canadian industry. Over 75% of manufacturing is endowed with vast hydroelectric
r y I s l a
concentrated in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence region, including prospering
potential from which more
than 60% of its electricity M' P a r Bathurst
Island
Cl
ur
aerospace, transportation, and hi-tech industries. Across Canada as a whole, requirements are generated. Ca
P pe
eS Melville Island
t rin ra Resolute)
manufacturing has developed around a diversified, high-quality resource Alfre ce ittuq
d (Qausu

it
Pa r r y C h a n n e l
P
base and a wide range of metallic and nonmetallic minerals.
e lv i l l e S o u n d

eel
M
Passage ount

Sou
Thomsen
5
Point Vi s c
IC
Be

nd
CT Ban Stefansson
AR AN ait
au I s l a nk s
Island
C E Ba Str Peel Point f
ffi
P ri n ce o

A
O n B es
f d al

M’C
Had
A

Se ort
ay Ca P r in ce Wa le s

IC
Kelle pe

W
S
U

ley B
tt Sachs Al be r t

of
Is la n d
a Cap (Ikaa Harbour

lin
Pe ni n su la

ce
huk)

ER
Her

ay
Mo u nta
e Ba

to
Pr in
sch

Am
B ri ti sh s
el Is thur
Ma un

ck
Whitehorse cke lan st Ch
d d
16 Bay nzie
AM
se an
P A C I F IN

La Cape C pe
n G Wollastaon
OCEA

Yellowknife bra Parr Zeta Lake ne

in
do Tuk y Holman
toya ulf l
r S ktu Frank Vic tor ia

And rson
ea Eski k lin Cap

M o u n t a i no n
Rich ard s
C A N A D A Lak mo Bay e Lyon Prince Albert Sound
L a r se n
Arc O
Porcu ld Cro Island
C

e
OF

tic Inu es

Do
Hu d s on
Cir
cle
pine w Ak l
avik ik
v Paulatu
k
lp
hin Wollaston Sound
Bay Peninsula
A)

St. John's &

r For Un

Horn
ve tM y
Ri cPh i on Cambridge Ba
ES

7 Edmonton e Stra
s Tsi erson it (Ikaluktutiak) Lind

aday
SK

pin
Eagle

(Ar igehtch lf Jenny

Porcu

Hor ton
Calgary Saskatoon ctic Bluenose Qu

Ca
i
Red c Lake G u Kent la Island
AT

Victoria

Arctic Red Riv

ee n

rnw
Vancouver Riv n nsu M au d G
LA

Peel
Winnipeg Québec St. John er) Rae
tio Pen
i ulf

ath
Regina Halifax a
Coron
ST

Ba
Thunder Bay Montréal Kugluk
(Copperm tuk

Ellice
Yuk

UN

thu
(A

ITE OTTAWA Hare Ind ine)

C
ian
m
er
D S
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rst
IC
o

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K i k
n

ES OF Toronto ws YU r ts Fort
i t

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AMERICA on (Rád Good Ho

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C N

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8 eyilik e Hood
Ken K O
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Major industry
Bonnet

k
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rm
TE

e
Snak

Ra

sid
oH
il l N
AT

Norm

ine
and infrastructure

rn
White

L ake Ec
IT

RR an W
B ear
ain

Garry Lake

Bu
e

l
en

Stewartume ell
P

Délìn s ho Bay Takijuq

nt

Da Ma
I T yo at
ou

aerospace e re
M

Tulit Lake
OR
UN

Transportation network
zi
ws Nislin

G
Sel

car manufacture Gle

nlyo
on

Keele Macke Hottah Lake

nP Y
eM
Ra

chemicals eak Back

2 Aberdeen
wyn
R OM

309,019 miles 10,500 miles 190

A
Ais
ng

engineering Mo m Kee
hih Lake
g

unt 2972le Peak

e
Sa

nzie

(497,375 km) (16,900 km) ik L Car

L N
ne

food processing 595 ogan ake m

int

9 ma O
sto

9m Yu cks Far d R Aylmer elon

o u n h Na ni

hi-tech industry o Re T
Elias

Mo

T H

Th
8049 miles 1864 miles Klu W E S T Lake
kon

hydroelectric power ane E

Pel

ss

(12,995 km) (3000 km) Wrigle R Lake

Ro

Lak y R Clinton-Colden
Mountains

Lak

ife
I
unt

oil & gas e So T

ly

e La O

kn
Ha Lac La M R S
berg t I E
ut

mining Mt H artre
Jun ines Hanbur y
tain s

w
e ns Wha Ti
Teslin

2743unt

Yello
In recent years the road network has been ctio Willowlak
ain s

timber processing Wh m h an e
Dubawnt
P A C I F I C

expanded, especially links to remote n Tung Edzo

C

capital cities iteh sten Reliance Lake

ors
Ho
Mou

N
major towns areas. Meanwhile, for long-distance e nt M
rn
d

ur Fort Sim Yellowknife

Tesl 2162ray Îutselk’e (Snowdrift)
lan

10 international airports travel, air transportation now supersedes Wh

in pson
880 ite Pass m
Hy

Sn o d r i f t
major roads the declining rail network, which focuses m Liard w
Coal

Fort Pro
ak e
K

Atli vidence Nonacho

wnt
major industrial areas mainly on east–west routes. Atlin n ve L
Sim Wats Sl a Lake

n
2173pson Pea

Duba
u Lake on L t

Taltso
ak
MeTs
m k Lowe
ake Trou
t
Hay River Gre a Fort
Be

zah r Pos Fort Lia Resolution Thoa

av

Using the land and sea Pe Deas

e t rd Wholdaia
Y

Pine Point
er

2164ak De
m a Lake
Ca

Tele L se Kasba

A
C o

g ra ake Fort
For

ph C Nels Petitot Smith Lake

The majority of Canada’s agricultural land is found in the
ssi

reek
t

11 Mou Moun o Bistcho Steen River

nt R Roose t Selwyn Lake
n

Slave
313 atz Stikine 2972mvelt
ar

Lake
Hay

prairies, which cover 140 million acres (57 million ha) and support Mou Ca rib ou Uranium City Phelps
6m
Sk 2787 nt Edziz M Fort N
elson Mo untai ns eace
tn
a s

m a Lake
wheat and grain-fed cattle. More specialized crops, such as fruit Moun
P

Mou
s 2942m t Sylvia
Fontas Fort Chipewyan Lake Athabasca Black Lake
M

Will nt High Leve

ee

2515 War l Wollaston

na

and vegetables, are grown in pockets of agricultural land in the m e

e
Trutch Fort Vermilion rlan Lake
am
M

D
Finla

Sustu
t

Willi
ou

east and west. Of Canada’s many islands, only Prince Edward Wollaston
cFa
Lake Claire
ga

t Pea
O min

k Be

Cree
ha
nt a

2470 Lake
Ma
Peace

Chinc
y

ills
O

m
att

h
Island has notable farmland. Further north, boreal forests,
S A S K A T C H E WA N ar
H
Birc tains
in s

12
on

Ca
Nas

Willis Fort C l e m
Mou
n
eca

to
M o

Lake n
G r

exploited for timber, run in an almost unbroken arc, giving way Cap Takla Manning Reindeer
s

Cree Lake
ero

e KnDixon L St.John Wa
er
a A b Lake
n

Clear t
Mtn

S k a a
ox Entr even e L sca w Lake
a Turnor
I
U
O C

to uncultivable tundra and ice sheets in the far north. Prin anc Peak Sis
s 275 ters Peace B E R aba sc
Qu

ce R e Terrac T A
Ath

5 Pe ac Fort La Loche
s

u e m e River
Gra Ma pert Smit Mack Dawso
e

enzie Desmarais McMurray Churchill Lake

h s hers Creek n ky
e

Isla am set High Uti

u n

IC eena H Pinehouse Lake ill

n

CT
AR AN nd KitSik oust Sentin
el Peak Prairie kuma Lake Peter Pond Buffalo
Smo
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N
C h ar l ot

E Ba m at o n 25 G ra Les ser
C F ort St. 15 m n de Slave Lake Lake Narrows Missinipe
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n B P O
V a nder Stu Ja mes Prairie lle yv iew Sla Lac La Ronge
13 Mor r ince o tsa Lak h oof ve La ke Primrose Lake La Ronge
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ay
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ar

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n Athabasca
e

A
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Islan al B R I ce George Swan Hills

te Is

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nd
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COL TISH
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l

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it
an

n Fa Grande Barrhead
King lls U M
sca

C ac Ed Mo rinville Meadow Lake ew

B
ds

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Whitehorse Bell
F r a s eI A Quesnel ab tch Edmonton
Char en Rivers In
d Co o a Grove
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PAC I F I C O C E A N

s
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bra
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N

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lu

do Mount Sir Rocky

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r S vers Inlet rch M W Wilfrid La Mountain Camrose Wainwright Battle ford

mb

14 C A N A D A e i 35 3 ou il li a b urier 35 Wet North

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ri

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l

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4016mn Queent Kicking Red Deer att Martensville

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Hu d s on 3313m ss B e Ho B Unity Sas kat
a

Bay rse Pass

1627m Red D
eer Lanigan Wynyard
Mo

C Olds Biggar
Vanc ampbell Riv Wedg Clinto
n
Nu n t a i n s

St. John's Drumheller Rosetown Outlook

o u e L il lo
i

Edmonton ve r e Mounta o et Chase Golden Ba nff Wa tro us

Islan r Courte in
2891m Ly tt Oyen Kindersley
Vancouver Calgary Saskatoon d nay Squ on K mlo
Merria
Invermer Calgary
n

Victoria Charlottetown amish o p e Lake Diefenbaker Fort Qu'Appelle

Winnipeg Québec St. John North
tt
Vernon
s
High River
Okotoks
Lumsden s
S

15 Regina Halifax Nana Vanco

Travers
Swift Current
imo
UN Thunder Bay
OTTAWA Montréal
IC Ric
u v e r Kelown
Penticto aKim
Cro ws nes t Pass Ma
For
cleod
t Reservoir
Vanco
Redcliff Medicine Hat Moos e Jaw Regina
Esquimhmond
ITE
D S n berley 1356m uver Old Wives Lake Weyburn
EA T

TAT Leth brid s

N

a ge l l
OC AN

lt i Assiniboia
Cy press H
ES OF Toronto Castlegar Cran
AMERICA brook Pincher Creek n
d MtRoc
Victor Woo kglen
L

Val Marie
Milk River
UNIT
AT

ia Cardston

16
The urban/rural population divide
Land use and 16
E D S TAT E S O F
urban 77% rural 23% agricultural distribution
cattle pasture  The climate and topography Scale 1:14,700,000
cereals cropland of the prairies makes them Km
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 forest
fishing ideally suited to farming. Long 0 25 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

Population density Total land area

fruit wetland summer days, moderate
timber mountain region temperatures, limited rainfall, 0 25 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
17 9 people per sq mile 3,559,294 sq miles capital cities barren Miles
(3 people per sq km) (9,220,970 sq km) tundra
and flat plains provide excellent
major towns projection: Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area
conditions for wheat farming.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

8
 pe N O RT H A M E R I CA : CANADA
Ca ecla
H P Q R S T U V W X Y

ak

GREE
rbeau
Ba 616m
Pe
The landscape  Permanently frozen ground
Permanently
Top layer thaws
in the summer
(to D
2 frozen ground
ke known as permafrost is common 1
La azen Glaciers on islands in the Arctic Ocean are the last Marginal areas of permafrost
H in Canada’s northern tundra. It
ere
NL thaw in summer
remnants of the ice sheet that once covered and
en
thickens farther north, becoming
m Unfrozen ground
ma

le s shaped Canada. Hudson Bay is the center of the hundreds of yards deep in parts
A Nk )
d
El slan
where temperature
r

of the Arctic.
Canadian Shield, a huge, eroded plateau marked at is more moderate
D

I gass ap
iz
its southern extremity by a string of lakes running
A C
Ice 196  Along the northeastern
The Mackenzie river, flowing north Fertile prairies stretch Exposure to three phases of 2
southeastward from Great Bear Lake to the Great from the southern rim mountain-building and
coast of Baffin Island the
over the permafrost, forms a wide
Lakes. In contrast to the rolling relief of the Shield of the Canadian Shield, subsequent erosion over millions mountains rise to 8000 ft
river channel with many tributaries.
of south into the US. of years has molded the ancient (2440 m). Glaciers move down
nce and the central lowland region, the Rocky Mountains Together with the Peel river it has
Pri ales d created a long, narrow delta at its Canadian Shield into a series of through the valleys to the sea,
W fiel
Ice rise to peaks of over 13,000 ft (4000 m), stretching mouth. The entire river freezes basins and ridges. eroding wide U-shaped valleys.
during the winter.
500 miles (800 km) along the west coast. Great Bear Lake
d 3
ior
se F q)
Gri usuitu
(A

nd
S ou
es on
Jo
n DevCap d
n d s Ice
pe
She
rar
B a
Is l an d Ca f f i n
von B a y
De ound
st er S Q
n ca i k
La r
den
B or sula
i q pe K
ate
In l e t

rset n Ca enry
S ome Pe n
i t a H e
m Davis
g e nt

Is la n d a Ho Bay St
Rowley

l u ra
B af
e Re

q it
r a pe
deu fin k ju )
ar nd nd Ca yer
Bro s u l a
inc

qt la la a The Rocky Mountains The Great Lakes lie on the Canada–US

in iki n Is r D
Pe n rd
b e s u l tung
Pr

ffo Q to were formed some 80 million border. The basins they now occupy
Gi
Is h
Gu

ug um nin gnir
Hantzs

d ro years ago, when the Pacific were fashioned by repeated ice The St. Lawrence River is 2350 miles (3782 km)
lan B C
Pe Pan
lf

(
unk e y Is la plate was driven under the advance. At one time, Lakes Superior, long. It flows from the western shore of Lake
of

M l
ch

s w
Jen sland Ro North American plate, Huron, and Michigan formed a single Superior through the Great Lakes and on to 6
Bo

t h i a o l i k I ce
Boo l a th Iglo
o
e ac
h
ce or
r F nd Cu m b e r l a n d S o
u
forcing up the land. large lake, Lake Nipissing. the Atlantic Ocean. From December to April,
s u i a l B i n s A i cle n d
Pe n i n
l
Isla Lemie
n

Ha P r ar le ir the St. Lawrence Seaway freezes between

y o a k ) Cape an h d c t ic C ux I
s Lake Ontario and Montréal.
Talo nce Bay pm C l an Ar lan
d

(Spe Cha e I s lling a k d s

i ju
o mm
itte
N ett Lake ad a ll la
 The Great Lakes are drained by
xe
Rae Strait

Kin g C m d
aruk Bay le A ke M H n su La
n
Kuga Bay) lv il l a La
William
Fo sin ni ks
cKeand the St. Lawrence River which
y ales M e n
Peninsula

(Pell ma e Lo nd
Simpson

n d W d s u w it P l a
Isla Islan nin Bo ay lu
qa ay) nI
s flows down through a wide
Ba
H av en P e B I B F r o b i s h e r B ay i o tectonic depression. It forms a
Gjoa er Me t a In c o t
(Uqsuq
tuuq) y u l a s h g n s olu
B a
nd er ns bi ita R e
ds and broad estuary for much of its
ulse Isla rchest eni ro t Pe n i n s u l a
Rep art et (F ru an l course, the width varying from 1.2
Hay
sitt Do x eP ors mi our) Isl ek Is
es
o t Va n
Ca p e F o
pe
Ca bur y
D m
Ki arb sla
n d
an Bu
ce tt o n
Ki
lli n L A miles (1.9 km) in the upper reaches
e T Fox eH i gI dv t B R to 90 miles (145 km) at its mouth.
Roes Welcome Sound

is Bi
V
U
p t o n
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han
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Tadoule Isl Ku la-Ba ser an pt rt- rti

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an

th er or o a s au M 8 é S
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a
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a L e C t
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Gillam
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Leaf Rap Win uper Ca on Bat atha

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nin

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L A e h N
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t L ak ChaIslandganisht) t-Je Ri
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au

a i g k m a p
Sa

n L B s a L u m n t
Wabow de Oxfo rd
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m o Ed s BR o c n
For y WFort R M omo t Joh sor
i sk

nce

Win e bo -L al l H
w ap i s k at

A n
N o n e ( h i c o du F e
ap

to t
VA

Creigh Mols Lak Lak an i r - 13

ay

K
Alb ry Ha C
Ch quiè vière d ton Or ain ind wa
wre

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r ri ge
Lake
er
n e Fa c oui Jon Ri -Paul Gr ric S W
rid
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a B
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M A N I
e

t ta

i ie-
a
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am Rés
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Alb

Ba urg
N

e A tag
y Lak aga Ma s eorg
es
Lake Sand Caribou e esbo
i

Lake Kes Lake

L ak

Bel
aib

The Pas Lake

Pip

d y at u c re
B ay of

N n k l
Gatineau

ébe Riv St
a O q iè G
S Lake Attawapis
A
ssin

Cedar North Tu har

l

-
R I La
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s C
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s e
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ap id g r a é s g
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p e Berens T O mi rst Co
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Ground

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g gla usk
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min he-
me D
érô l é al
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ntr
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Ba ldy G y p su m ville Lake eph
t.Jo s
Arm Kap
ak e L i sk ear oir
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r v -A
Ste es-M
L
Mo
A 64
h

c Seul S ke dL
og

Canora Mountain ake a

La

e d L L a L a n N D w d
R alls kout on t irk
l a y
Nipig
ke

831m ale
Eriksd Gimli Ear F x Loo atho
n
unta
in
eye K Ot Kip ke bur A
Lac ay bro es
Siou Mar Top Mo Fol
AW
Ma

Yorkton Dauphin gon a taw

B ing Pem Hawk Map key
Nipi am ke a
en ip g a t h T
nit

y d T o L r s
Riding Selkirk Dr
c des 640m a G
aga
mi No e Nipis 's T
ob

Mountain
ip eg Kenora Eagle Lake eine LMa illes Lacs der Bay Waw Tem Lak Ba y
rr y O
ille
a

n s
Minnedosa Prairie W bachin n y H a ith ckv Population Elevation
Thu ur a B Sm Falls 15
S

Portage la tein y Lake n u lt rie Sudb n ola rk’s libur ton Bro
an S R a in k o k a a
S .Ma sp a u lls H ighlands on 1 million to 5 million
on ar m A ti E B st
Su p e r i o r
le nd C a d g
Carly Bra ey Winkler ds Ste F oun oe Kin
Killarn the WoRoainy River Forratnces ke lin n arr y S imc
500,000 to 1 million 6000m / 19,686ft
Melita Lake of La er itou rg i a ke S o
F Riv Man land Geo y P a r i
CA
d L a 100,000 to 500,000
Great L Blin Ba land a
Is g h a w t 4000m / 13,124ft

AMERI
Midood ou sh On
L ak w Peter m
bor O ke 50,000 to 100,000
e a o
ont
g L 3000m / 9843ft
ak Col
l in
Mapton
rkh
a
Fal
ls
Tor
10,000 to 50,000
Hu

ara
L a k e Mi c hi g an

a g 2000m / 6562ft
m Ni rie below 10,000 16
ro

e
Braner rt E
n

he c n Fo to
1000m / 3281ft
Kit n mil 16
HTahomas
s

do 500m / 1640ft
Lon
St.
 Isolated pillars, known as hoodos near Red Deer nia ri 250m / 820ft
e

Sar r E
river in the badlands of Alberta are a product of Clai 100m / 328ft
ke

eSt.
wind and water erosion, especially flash floods. Lak
La

r
dso ton sea level 17
The badlands lie in the rain shadow of the Rocky Wineaming
Mountains, which creates a semiarid climate. L

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

9
 NORTH AMERICA Be
au
A B C D E F G for K L M

e t S
Hersch
el Islan
a

A
Canada:
d
British Ma
1 ck e n

RIC
Moun zie Bay
tains

WESTERN PROVINCES

ME

Ric
2  The Fraser River valley is a major

hard
Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Old C
row
area of settlement in British
Columbia. Railroads cross the

F A
Porcupine
S a s k a t c h e w a n , Yu k o n Te r r i t o r y

son M
Rocky Mountains via this valley.

The mountains of the west coast, incorporating British Columbia

ountains
and the Yukon Territory, descend into the vast, flat prairies of

e
E ag l e
S O

in
Arcti u p
c Cir rc
cle Po
Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The empty lands and

Pee
Eagle

)
Plain
fertile soils of the prairie provinces attracted migrants, and

l
KA
the descendants of early European immigrants still make up

TE
a large proportion of the population. The mechanization Peel

N
O g i lv
AS
4 O g i lv i e
of agriculture has reduced the need for labor, and rural

TA

Mack
e
population densities remain low. The majority of the

Sn ak
Ogilv

Bo
ie
ie

(AL
YUK

Wind

nn

O
people live within 100 miles (160 km) of the southern

et P
ou

M
Clinto
n Cre
ON nt a

lu m
D S
ek
Canada–US border, and in British Columbia, one of the leading Canadian

Yu
in s

e
 Established in 1907,
TERR

Ha
on
provinces in terms of economic wealth. The Yukon Territory, in the far Daw Jasper National Park lies

r
5 son

enz
I TO R

R T
north, remains a relatively unspoiled wilderness, containing large, Glenb in the heart of the Rocky
oyle

Y Mountains. It is noted for

Selw
ITE
Stewa
untapped mineral reserves. This province has a significant population of rt Riv
er Keno H
ill
its spectacular alpine
Mayo St e w a r t scenery and contains
Native American people, many of whom maintain a traditional lifestyle. rt

ie M
S te wa part of the large

Wh
Stewa

yn
rt Cro
ssing

it e
Coffe Columbia Icefield.
e Cre

D a
ek Hess
6 16 UN Pelly

Mo
Beav Ma Keele Pe
er Cr cMil 2972m ak
Using the land and sea

w
e ek l an
Minto

H
s o

un
ou
Yu
Koid ko
ern

Nis
Wheat farming is the economic mainstay of Alberta, Manitoba, and

n
n Glenly
Carm 2190m on Peak

tai a i n
l
BE ek g acks

in
AU

R
Saskatchewan, which contain 82% of farmland in Canada. Cattle
j

nt
D on
SE F
Burw

a
n Faro
S

OR

ash L
A

ns
E R AT E

andin g
T

are also raised on the prairies. Forestry and fishing are the most

W
s
A

g e Pe

s
Sa

Ross R

Ro
Klua
IC

iver
AM ST

prominent resource-based industries in British Columbia. Despite L ak e n e Aishih

ik ll
L ak e Pe
in

y
OF TED

Moun lly
t Log M
t

the mountainous terrain, fruit and specialized grains can be grown 5959m an La ou
Labergke
I
UN

El

Dawson
Yukon in the Okanagan and Fraser valleys. S e wa
rd Gla Ha
e nt

E
ai

R
Cham

s
Junctiines
ia

Land use and

Tes
cier pagne
Territory on ns Mount H

li
s

agricultural distribution 2743m unt

n
White
S
M

ut hor
Joh se

nd
Whitehorse
n av
ou

Nu Jakes nsons

la
PA

cattle Crossin
Nor t Carcro Corner

Hy
h w e s t Te r r i t o r i e s

al
g
nt

cereals

Co
T
CIF

Churchill ss Mount M
k

O
Al se

urra
fishing 2162m y
ai

Chilko Teslin
ot Pas

Liar
IC O

1067ms
S as

fruit
n
Ontario

d
s

Fort Thompson timber

kat

McMurray White
Upper Li
ard
CEAN

Manitoba major towns Atlin Simpson Peak Watson

880m Pass

Be
che

Lake ve
British Lower Po

a
Alberta 2173m st r

C
Columbia pasture

Cas
wa

cropland Atlin
P

Edmonton

Teslin
L ak e Go o d H
n

Prince ope La Coal River

forest Nakin
George
Cassiar ke

rd
Winnipeg a
wetland

Lia
u

Saskatoon k
ea se

si
barren Ta D Liard Rive
Kamloops r

K
Regina tundra

Kec
ar
Calgary Fo
C

Mesza rt
Vancouver 2164mh Peak Nelso

hi
A

A n

ka
IC Muncho La
Victoria MER Dease L ke

M
F A
U N I T E D S TAT E S O ake o Fort Nelson
10 u
n
o

Telegra Mount Roos

Y
Gleno ph evelt
The urban/rural population divide Moun ra Mount
Creek tik
S in e ta 2972m
Mount Sylvi
3136m t Ratz 2787m Edziza in a
C

2942m Prophet River

urban 83% rural 17% Sk Mount W s
aStikine

e 2515m ill Mount Lloyd

George

Fi n l a y
en

Bronlund 2972m Trutch

Peak Ware
a

2594m Great Snow Mo

untain f
M

2896m
hi e
ass

11
ou
s

Si k anni C

Fi n
100
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
 Large, highly-mechanized and N O m
I

Sikanni Chief
nt

l ay
Population density Total land area often very specialized farms,
ai

Mount Pa
tt
BRITI M Pink Mountai
n
ns

requiring huge investment but little 2729m ullo Wonowon

i n

8 people per sq mile 1,230,547 sq miles

SH
t

labor, characterize modern Meziadin

Ca
(3 people per sq km) (3,187,120 sq km) Sustut Peak
StewarJu nction ero

m
farming in the prairies.
e c

2470m n
F

t
Williston La
Nas

ke
COLU
Hudson's Ho
O
a
s

12 Transportation & industry Transportation network Cranber

Junctiory
Portlan
d
MBIA
pe
M

S k ee n Inlet
n
The western provinces contain a wealth of mineral resources.
o

Kitwanga Hazelto
M

Takla
I

82,438 miles n
u

(135,145 km) New Haz Lake

Dixon Seven Sist Pine Pass
U
Alberta holds the bulk of Canada’s fossil fuels; the other ers Peaks elton
n

Entran Granisle Babine Mackenzie 869m

ce P 2755m a
t

Cape K Ter McLeod

provinces contain reserves of metallic ores, such as zinc, lead, 6459 miles nox rince R race Smithers Lake i Lake
(10,401 km) Masse upert n Sentinel Peak
o

t Telkwa
Quee

s
C

and silver. Isolation from markets has slowed the development Graha Porcher
Port Ed Sk e e n a H ouston
2515m
13 Islandm Island ward Stuart Fort St.Jam
N
24,041 miles es
of manufacturing, restricting it to the large cities like Vancouver, (38,694 km) Douglas Kitimat Burns Lake La ke
Port C
Hecate

Channel ua
nC

St
Pit

Queenlements rt
u

Winnipeg, and Calgary. Hydroelectric power is widely exploited, Fraser Lake

t Is

Charlo Sin
None tte Ootsa Lake Vanderhoof clair Mills
h

ko
lan

Sandsp
although there is increasing concern about potential it
arl

Banks Kemano
ha
d

Moresb Island c Prince

Island y Eutsuk La Ne George
ecological damage.
ott

ke
n

Princess
The transportation network of
Stra

Royal
eI

14
BE
AU
Major industry and infrastructure the western provinces is Aristaza Island
O

bal
sla

SE F dominated by east–west routes Island Nazko Barkerville

it
OR
S

aerospace major towns

A

that weave through mountain Quesnel

E R AT E

nd
T

Ocean Fa Hagensb
A

chemicals international airports passes and spread across the lls org
IC

Likely
s

Anahim La
AM ST

d
coal major roads plains. Access to some northern Cape St. Bella Bel an Bella Coo ke Ma
James Isl Burke la rguerite
OF TED

la
engineering major industrial areas areas is restricted to air travel. F ra se r
a

Channel Mount
ng

Queen
C

food processing Sa Williams

2908m ugstad
Ki

Namu Alexis Cr
I

Charlott Kleena Kleeeek

UN

Dawson hydroelectric power M Lake

e Dawsons L Rivers In onarch Mountain ne
mining Sound an di ng Rivers le t 3533m Tatla Lake Hanceville
15 Yukon 192 Inlet
i

oil & gas Cape Cau

Territory
timber processing Que
tion Mount Wad
dington
100 Mile House P la te a u
ut
E

Fraser

4016m
Whitehorse n av en Mount Queen
Nu Cape Sc C ha
PA

Nor 3313m Bess

t h w e s t Te r r i t o r i e s ott rlo
n

tte Knight Clinton

CIF

Churchill Winter Port Har

Harbou dy Str Inlet Mount Gilbe
r ait rt Cache Creek
Port Alice Po rt 31 09 m
s
IC O

British Manitoba
S as

McNeill Bute Inlet

Ontario

Cape Coo Sa Lillooet

Columbia Fort Thompson k Vancouve yward Pemberton Ashcroft
kat

16 McMurray r Campb
CEAN

Island ell River Whistler Wedge Ly tton

che

Str

Alberta Gold Riv Mountain

er
ait

Tahsis Powell Rive 2891m

wa

Comox r Bosto
N

 Much of the Yukon Territory Squamish n Bar

of

Edmonton Courtenay
n

Prince
Ge
d

George is uninhabited tundra. Industry o un Se No rth

org

Saskatoon chelt Va
Winnipeg aS Port Parksville ncouver Hope
No o t k
ia

is based on the extraction of Tofino Alberni

Gibsons
Kamloops Calgary mineral resources, and to a N
Richmon d Vancouver
Regina Ucluelet an aimo Burnaby
La smith Vancouver
17 Vancouver lesser extent, on the scattered
ou nd Bamdy fie Langley Chilliwack
A S ld Lak e Cowichan Abbotsford
RIC forests of the south. ley
Victoria
F AM
E Bark tr
Duncan
U N I T E D S TAT E S O
S

ait Victoria

A B C D E F G H I J
o f J Esquimalt
uan
d e Fu c a U
10
 N O RT H A M E R I CA : CANADA – WE ST E R N PROVI N CE S
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y

The landscape The Columbia Icefield in

the Rocky Mountains is
Vegetated island

River flow is diverted by

Bar

Sand flat
1
The massive Rocky Mountains form a Mount Logan rises 19,551 ft the source of two major deposited sediments
(5959 m). It is the highest rivers, the Athabasca  Braided rivers are shallow
continental divide between rivers flowing peak in Canada. and the North and fast-flowing. The
eastward and westward. The interior plains lie Saskatchewan.
interlaced branches are
east of the mountains, stretching from the formed when excess
sediments, which can no
Arctic Circle south into the US. Covered with longer be transported, are 2
The badlands of Alberta
glacial deposits from the last Ice Age, these deposited. The sediments
were created when
collect in the river channel  Across the tundra of northern
are interspersed with hilly regions and long, east-flowing rivers, swollen
forming bars and sand flats. Manitoba, widespread permafrost
by meltwater at the end of inhibits water from permeating the
steep escarpments. the last Ice Age, cut deep, Islands form when the bars
are colonized by vegetation. soil. This causes rivers like the
wide canyons producing
eroded, barren landscapes.
Churchill to flow in many channels,
South Saskatchewan River which can be frozen for up to six 3
Map key months during the winter.
Population
500,000 to 1 million The Nelson and Churchill rivers drain
100,000 to 500,000 northward across the Canadian Shield
to Hudson Bay. The shield covers
50,000 to 100,000 three-fifths of Saskatchewan. 4
10,000 to 50,000
below 10,000 Setting Lake
The Rocky Mountain Trench is
the longest linear fault in the
Elevation
world. It has formed a straight,
flat-bottomed valley between
6000m / 19,686ft 2–9 miles (4–15 km) wide, and 5
up to 3280 ft (1000 m) deep.
4000m / 13,124ft

3000m / 9843ft Hundreds of islands dot the

fjord-indented coast of The Alberta and Saskatchewan plains
2000m / 6562ft British Columbia; the largest bear strong testament to past
is Vancouver Island. glaciations. The Assiniboine,
 Ancient granite outcrops, part
1000m / 3281ft of the Canadian Shield, rise above
Saskatchewan and Qu’Appelle rivers 6
500m / 1640ft occupy flat-bottomed, steep-sided the surface of Setting Lake, which
Three major passes cut through valleys eroded during the was initially formed by meltwater
250m / 820ft the Rocky Mountains: Yellowhead, last Ice Age by glacial meltwater. from the last Ice Age.
Kicking Horse, and Crowsnest.
100m / 328ft The Cypress Hills rise to 4806 ft (1465 m)
They are all used as transportation The lowlands of Manitoba are a basin that
above the surrounding plain. Having
routes through the mountains. once held the vast post-glacial Lake Agassiz,
sea level escaped the last glaciation they contain
remnants of which include Lake Winnipeg,
unique plant and animal life. The silvery 7
Lake Winnipegosis, and Lake Manitoba.
lupine, bunchberry, and lodgepole pine all
Scale 1:8,250,000 grow in the cool, moist climate of the hills.

Km
0 25 50 100 150 200 250

0 25 50 100 150 200 250

Miles
8
H
V U T
projection: Lambert Conformal Conic

A u
N U N d
T S L ak e s
E R R I T O R I E Nueltin
nilini L
ake Caribou
Cape hill
o
n
Selwyn Lake Neja 9
Churc
S e al hill B
Bistcho Lake Churc ay
Sl a

Petitot Indian Cabins

Steen River
Uranium City Phelps Lake Lampre
y
ve

Fond-du-Lac Black Lake L ak e

n Tadoule
e
Hay

ra
ca Stony Rapids ch
abas
c et
du-La Co Lac Broch

il l
Fond-
Ath
Peace Point m
Tatna

ch
Caribou
C ap e
ur
Meander River
ke Ch
La

Hay Mountains Fort Chipewyan S e al

ce Wollaston South mer
a Lake Herch
ne

High Level Pe Lake Claire Pasfield Lake Brochet

a c Fa r l a

ke
Wollaston La
rchi l l
Fontas Rainbow Lake
l li am

ll

Ha C hurc hi
Fort Vermilion ke
ee

y n
Southern
C hu
Wi

Cr

n
a
M

i ch

o
rL
R

ard India iver

Nels
Weir R
tle

s on
Reindee

L a ke
Cree Lake

es
e Go
Lit
s

Beatton n dian Lak

s ca
ga

ai
Hay
River South In askaiowaka attaw
a
ch a

ds
aba

un Lynn Lake W L ak e Gillam Sham

I O
Twin Lakes
in

o
ie
Wab

Ch o
Be Kinoosa
Ath

e ik

M ids ak e
at
to h Fort MacKay G
Fox Mine Leaf Rap Split L
a

rc le Lake Ilford
s ca

Bi Granv il Kelsey
n

Nel son
Peace

Tur nor Lake Foster Lakes wo

o d

BA
Manning ear water Southend Hone t
Fort McMurray Cl Frobisher Lake son
ke House Thomp
n

Macoun La
r Hills Nelson
O
Bu r

Clea
Rei

Fort
G A L B E RTA La Loche

I T Sipiwes
k

R
nd

St.John Hine
House

MAN
s Creek agan
Churchill Lake Pukataw
ee r

Taylor Peace Peace River Oxford

ca

Grimshaw r row s ho us e La ke rd L a ke
Pete Buffalo Nar Pine Charles issi ssing Oxfo ake
Athabas

Fairview Desmarais
Spirit River Utikuma Lake Pond Missinipe i l K k L ak e Lake Gods Lws
C h u r c h Sandy Bay Sipiwes abowden Go d s
A
l

Rycroft Sandy Lake Lake L ak e Narro

osse
r

Chetwynd Dawson Creek Donnel ly Gift Lake Conk lin Île- à-la -Cr s Set eti n g W
a k e
Falher Lac La arrow Snow Lake Cross L
s
n

ye

McLennan Pelikan N
Nipi

Tupper Lesser Slave Lake L ak

Ha

High Prairie Ronge L ak e

Beauval La Ronge Creighton erry Portage Ponton

E WA N
Nelson

Hythe Sexsmith e
Kinuso n L ak Island
T

Beaverlodge Slave Lake ra nb Molso

S A S K AT C H
C
e

Calling Lake
Wembley Grande ValleyviewFaust Flin
Prairie Wallace Smith Primrose Flon ant House
Tumbler Ridge Hondo ult Amisk Cormor
Mountain Lake Deschamba Lake Lake Norway
1259m Doré Lake
it i
B e av e r

13
N

Lac La Biche
a

p Boyle Cold Lake

Wa Little Smoky Swan Hills Cold Lake Montreal
Athabasca se
Pierceland Green Lake and Hou The Pas Moose Lake
Lake Cumberl
oky

La

Fox Creek Grand Centre

Mount Sir Alexander S t t l e Sm o k y Bonnyville adow Lake askesiu Lake Lake a tchewan tray
m

Westlock Smoky Lake

ke

Me W k ake
t

s Wes Cedar L
O

3274m Li Whitecourt Barrhead St.Paul Big River Candle Lake Sa

Redwater Elk Point Tobin oiceland Rapids
W
T

nd Poplar
ill

Grande Cache Mayerthorpe Morinville Fort Willing don Nor t h Ch Carro t G ra ille
Easterv
in
asca

Fr St.Albert Saskatchewan St.Walburg Meath Park

H

Sas
a
Sherwood Two Hills k atc N ip aw in R iver i a River Rapid
s ip
n

Edson Spruce Grove wayn e wo od o t u n s

Mar Grand eg
se

h irit rt r re
asq son
e Sp r Be
Prince Albe Ca
ab

Evansburg Park Mundar ew Turtleford Barrows

r

McBride th Vegreville Vermilion P B e re n s Little

C Mount Robson A Stony Plain
Edmonton Gla sly n
ShellbrookDuck
s
Birch HillMelfort Hud s 14
an

Devon
3954m Hinton Drayton Valley
wan Tofield Mannville
Lloydminstere Lashburn North Blaine Lake ewan Bay il l
A

iver
Tête Jaune Ca Yellowhead Pass he Edmonton Leduc Camrose Viking tl Maidstone Lake .Louis Tisdale H Birch R Lake osis Dauphin R
iver
uck Baynas Winnipeg
for d St
tc h

m b in a ttle
Saskatc

che 1131m Jasper ock

o

e
Daysland Wainwright Ba ve
t

P
Pine D
in

er n aw er D
Ba

Wetaskiwin Cut sth ak R es

rd Ro W mville
a sk a

Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier Haffo id dle Naicam in ito

up
lu

M Sw an M y p su
3505m Valemount Jasper Rimbey Ponoka Killam Marsden Knife Battleford Waldheim La ke el vi ng to n er C o wan ko w n an G
r
P

Watson K S Rive
c

Riv
th S

Borden Aberdeen
North

Hardisty Benito Fisher

Por

National Park Nordegg Bashaw B Unity Wilkie lle egosis

Bentley Martensville Preecevia Winnip tagan
m

S ou

Car iboo Lacombe at ost t Duckntain

Kinbasket Stettler tle Prov HumboQldui
I

Lake Rocky Mountain House Sylvan Lake klin Saskatoon ll Lakes n W ad en ay ou t e r B ranch Manigo
Mountain s Castor Mac
at oo n ni ga N orqu M el er
b n shern Fis h
sk
b

Mica Sa La rd E th ai A
Mount Columbia Red Deer Coronation Allan g Wynya sack ount ton ach
Blue River Biggar Canora sin Kam Baldy M u Lac River Arborg ria Be
As
l

Creek 3741m Kerrobert Delisle Youn hin

lin 831m Daup Ste.Rose d
i a

Innisfail Delburne
oe am Lake ib
oi Rob Victo s 15
Clearwater Co
lu Columbia Sundre Olds Trochu Consort
Sm iley Dundurn Watrous Daf Fo Theodore n d v ie w re a ry E r ik sd ale P in e Fall
Raymore ountain Yorktonats e Grange ch
Selk

McC Gimli
N

R Icefield d Deer Three Hills Hanna Youngstown Rosetown Outlook eg Bea Bonnet
Re id a k e
m er

Little Fort Kicking sley st M lt co rc h br in g L t in n ip u

iv

Didsbury Morrin Kinder Davidson La Chu ussell Rid k Poin Lac d awa
bi

Jasmin Sa nW
a

anitoba Oa nt Teulo ll
a

Horse Pass
Crossfield Carstairs Lake elville R ssburn Pinur
Drumheller Alsask y Rountain M e
irk
M

Rogers Pass 1627m

Eston Elrose Elbow uthey alM nburg re
Barrière 1327m Lake Louise Airdrie Beiseker Re
dD Oyen Eatonia Strasbourg So B carres Langeelle Esterhaz M o o al L ak a St.Laustone Stonew
a
ir k B e ausejo ennie
Golden Banff Cochrane Calgary h e wan berla in u'App Foxwarre n S h paw Gla d S e lk R
er n
ip ge Falcoen
Mo

Glacier t c efe nb ak Ch am av en rt Q N ee r re e
o u

e k a Lake Di Cr Fo a
Revelstoke Canmore Strathmore Sas
Calgary Riverhurst Regina Be
ach Lumsden
ead
IndianGHrenfell Qu’Appell Minnedo
sa
e la Pra
irie WWinnipeg
W inn.A
er

g r
S

Chase Leader ta g o n L ak
Pu

Mount Assiniboine r n
un

P o MeacG
re
ut h

Bassano y
Cabri Stewart Valleaplin Tuxford Regina Balgonie Whitewood min Hamiotaivers arberr y olphe Ste
e

Salmon Arm Sicamous 3618m ach

rce

Okotoks
ib o i
n St.Ad Steinb
Red River

a C
tai

Ch
So

Turner Valley Black in ooso R e

Enderby Diamond R eg ey M n f th
n t a

i
l

s Val ley Jaw Se dl k s o 16

Kamloop Armstrong Brook Fox rbert Moose Langbanirden Brandon As lo Lake Woods
lM

Radium Hot Springs High River Kipling an

Logan Lake s Swift Current He Hodgeville Old Wives Lake Carm Morris St.Ma
n

V olland
n

Invermere kler
s

oun

Cold strea m Nanton Vulcan Bow City w G ra ss b ey o u ri s H in r s on

Vern Nakus ins Ardill ne llo K is S o u W e
Merritt on Okanagan
p Tompk Milesto Ye Pilot Manit Em
Kootenay

Suffield le
Travers Reservoir Gull Lake elbourg Weyburn ton Carly Reston vain en
tains

New Medicine Hat d

Kelowna Lake Vauxhall Redcliff Grav Pangman ough Redvers Melita Boisse Moun al Mord Altona
Denver Elkford Claresholm Maple Creek Ponteix lle St
r

r yst
ve

oi a ad vi ow C
i n s

Peachland Wes Kaslo Wa lsh dil lac che As sin ib R O xb in e ey

Columbia Ri

Crowsnest Pass Ca

C A
Taber Lafle Delora Killarn City
tbank Balfour Kimberley Sparwood 1356m Fort Coaldale Bow Island ll s Shaunavon Willow Bunch Horizon Tribune Bienfait
s

Princeton Summerland Macleod Lethbridge

Foremost Cy pre
ss Hi Carndu
ff
d Mankota
Crawford BayFernie n inton an
I
O k an ag

Pincher Creek Eas ten M ou nt ai M E st ev

Coleman Wood
E R
Penticton Nelson Magrath Raymond Coronach
Grand Castlegar Cranbrook Robsart Rockglen
Oliver Creston Cardston Milk River Climax Val Marie 16 17
Osoyoos Forks Trail se
M
an

Wild Hor
Rossland
Kingsgate Roosville
A
N I T E E S O F
D S T A T X Y Z

11
 NORTH AMERICA
A B C D E F G H I J K L M

Canada: EASTERN PROVINCES H u

d s
Charles Island
o
196

N e w B r u n s w i c k , N e w f o u n d l a n d & L a b r a d o r, N o v a S c o t i a , O n t a r i o , Ivujivik
n
Salluit
Pri n ce E dwa rd I s l a n d , Q u é b e c , St Pi e rre & M iq u e lo n (to Fra n ce)

T
2
Mansel
Déception S
Colonized by both the English and the French during the 16th century, Canada’s 8
Péninsule t

N U N AV U
Island
eastern provinces are still marked by their dual influences. They contain the last
Kangiqsujuaq
r
fragment of once-sizeable French territories, the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. irnituq’ Cap Hopes
e Puv Advance

ed
Lac Nantais Quaqtaq
French remains Canada’s second official language and Québec’s first language. The Cape Smith

Riv ier
3 Smith Island
population of the eastern provinces is highly concentrated in the south, especially Akpatok
Lac Klotz Island
along the border with the US. A recent decline in fishing in the Atlantic d’ Ungava
provinces has encouraged a steady flow of westerly migration to more Puvirnituq
aud Kangirs
uk
Arn U
prosperous regions. The north, around Hudson Bay, remains snow-covered for Ottawa n g
Islands
Ri v
4 most of the year and the indigenous Inuit people make up the bulk of its sparse population. ière Lac Payne
Ko
ga luk
Gyrfalcon
Islands
Lac Tassialouc
 Rocher Percé, is 290 ft Lac aux Feuilles
(88 m) high. Lying off the Scale 1:7,750,000
Tasiujaq

es
southeastern coast of Québec, Km Inukjuak

ill
0 50 100 150 200 (Port Harrison) e u
it is a sanctuary for sea birds. 25
xF
5 au
0 25 50 100 150 200 Ri v i è re
k
Miles so a
ok

K
projection: Lambert Conformal Conic Sleeper
Islands
ze

Nasta

s
élè
King George
vi ère aux M
Ri

poka Islands
Islands Lac Minto
uc
k

6 kD North Belcher
Bl a c
ib i Islands
Nis
k
Fort Seve n Sanikiluaq

H u d s o
rn Lac
10

Ca
n Guillaume-Delisle
S e ve r

ni
Lacs des

ap
B a y
Loups Marins

i
A

sca
u
Lac à l’ Eau Claire
7 B Stull L
Belcher Islands Peti
te Ri v i è r e d e

O ak e Peawanuc l a B a l e in
e
e

k Lac d'Iberville
es

o s e Kuujjuarapik
hi g pa
T S ac Wa Wi n i s k t to n (Poste-de-la-Baleine)
o

Su
h se

n
Sachigo w G ra n d e R i v i è r
Su

Fa ed
s

Long Island
Lake Sachigo Lak
Kinu

e la
I

B al e in e
a

tt

e
aw

Lac Bienville
James
on
m at t

Big Tro
N

ig

ut Lake
co w
we

Sandy Big Trou ps

ha

Lake t Lake d a au
he

S
Ka n
i

ge Réservoir de
As

Bay
MA

s Caniapiscau
Winisk

S a n dy Shibogam
L ak e a
Wunnum Lake Swan Chisasibi La Gra
nde Riv ière
min Lake Ekwan (Fort George)
ux
North C
a ribou L Winisk La North Twin Island
Radisson Rése r
voir la Grande De de
Gran Rivièr
ak e ke La e
At
taw t
ne api ska
B e re n P i p e s to Lac Sakami
s Attawa