 Below is a list of countries which use the definite article “the”.

In English, we use "the" if a country has a

political title in its name eg. The Democratic Republic of Congo or if it refers a group of islands or regions eg.
the Bahamas / the UK / the USA / the Netherlands
 For rivers, oceans, and seas we normally use the definite article eg. the Pacific Ocean / the (River) Mersey.
 For lakes, we don’t say ‘the’ before the name eg. Lake Windermere, not the Lake Windermere.
 For single mountains, we don’t typically add the definite article before the mountain name eg. Mont Blanc /
Everest. However, for groups of mountains (we call them mountain ranges) we do. Eg the Alps / the
Himalayas
 For directions, we use ‘the’ when we say:
in the north of / in the south of etc. I live in the north of England. / I live in the south of France.
to the north / to the south The Faroe Islands are to the north of Scotland.
on the right / on the left Go past the traffic lights and the post office is on the right.
But I live in northern Spain NOT I live in the northern Spain.
 For buildings, if it is the name of a specific building, we normally use ‘the’: the Hilton, the Tate Museum, the
Empire State Building. But proper nouns such as airports, parks, squares normally do not have ‘the’:
Manchester Airport, Bold Park, Central Square

Countries Rivers Gulfs, Oceans, Seas, Mountain Ranges Other Features

Straits
the Bahamas the Amazon the Adriatic Sea the Alps the Gobi (desert)
the Cayman Islands the Danube the Aegean Sea the Andes the Kalahari
the Central African the Euphrates the Arabian Sea the Appalachians (desert)
Republic the Ganges the Arctic Ocean the Atlas the Sahara
the Channel Islands the Huang the Atlantic (Ocean) Mountains (desert)
the Comoros the Hudson the Baltic (Sea) the Caucasus the Middle East
the Czech Republic the Indus the Black Sea the Himalayas the Far East
the Dominican the Jordan the Caribbean (Sea) the Pyrenees the Orient
Republic the Lena the Caspian (Sea) the Rockies (the the Panama
the Democratic the Mackenzie the Coral Sea Rocky Mountains) Canal
Republic of Congo the Mekong the Gulf of Aden the Urals the North Pole
the Falkland Islands the Mississippi the Gulf of Mexico the South Pole
the Isle of Man the Missouri the Gulf of Oman the Suez Canal
the Ivory Coast the Niger the Tropic of
the Leeward Islands the Nile Cancer
the Maldives the Rhine the Tropic of
the Marshall Islands the Rhone Capricorn
the Netherlands the Rio Grande the equator
the Antilles the Thames
the Philippines the Tiber
the Solomon Islands the Tigris
the Turks and Caicos the Volga
Islands the Yangtze
the United Arab
Emirates
the United Kingdom
(of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland)
the United States (of
America)
the Virgin Islands

Quiz: https://www.engvid.com/english-resource/the-with-country-names-lakes-rivers/#quiz
https://www.engvid.com/when-to-use-the-with-bodies-of-water/
Complete the quiz with a, an, the, or no article.

1. How many states are there in __________ USA?

2. How many people are on ___________ American football team?
3. What is _____________ smallest city in _________ UK?
4. Where is __________ Lake Como?
5. Which sea surrounds _____________ Barbados?
6. Which ___________ southern state is ___________ Mississippi River in?
7. Do you live in __________ house or __________ apartment?
8. Which letter is to __________ right of B on __________ keyboard?
9. Which country can you find ______________ pandas in?
10. What is _________ baby elephant called?
11. Do you normally go on _____________ beach holiday or on ______________ city breaks?
12. What’s ___________ highest mountain in ___________ Himalayas?
13. How many countries make up ___________ Britain? How many countries make up __________ United
Kingdom?
14. Do you prefer ______________ tea or ______________ coffee in the morning?
15. Which country is to ______________ west of ___________ southern Norway?
16. Where are ______________ Isles of Scilly?
17. Have you ever swum in __________ waterfall?