Completely revised and updated, it gives readers a tour of the world, its natural features, and the ever-changing mark humans make on our planet, answering 1,200 questions from the trivia (longest, hottest, tallest) to how geography has influenced history, religion, architecture, and the location of cities. With up-to-date maps and country information, this book let’s you bring the world home. The Handy Geography Answer Book gives directions to the world, its people, its countries, its history, and more.

Table of Contents

• About the Author
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• PHOTO SOURCES
• INTRODUCTION
• DEFINING THE WORLD
• Definitions and History
• The Earth
• Continents and Islands
• Human Civilization
• People and Countries
• MAPS
• History and Instruments
• Latitude and Longitude
• Reading and Using Maps
• Modern Mapping
• THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
• The Earth's Materials and Internal Processes
• Natural Resources
• Landscapes and Ecosystems
• Asteroids and Near Earth Objects
• WATER AND ICE
• High, Low, Big, Small, and Wondrous
• Oceans and Seas
• Rivers and Lakes
• Precipitation
• Glaciers and Fjords
• Controlling Water
• CLIMATE
• Definitions
• The Atmosphere
• Ozone
• Climate Trends
• Weather
• Wind
• HAZARDS AND DISASTERS
• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes
• Tsunamis
• Hurricanes
• Floods
• Tornadoes
• Lightning
• Other Hazards and Disasters
• TRANSPORTATION AND URBAN GEOGRAPHY
• Cities and Suburbs
• Urban Structures
• Air Transportation
• Roads and Railways
• Sea Transportation
• POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY
• Colonies and Expansionism
• The United Nations
• NATO and the Cold War
• The World Today
• The World Economy
• CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
• Population
• Language and Religion
• Dealing with Hazards
• Cultures around the World
• TIME, CALENDARS, AND SEASONS
• Time Zones
• Daylight Saving Time
• Keeping Time
• Calendars
• The Seasons
• EXPLORATION
• Europe and Asia
• Africa
• The New World
• The Poles
• THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• Physical Features and Resources
• The States
• Cities and Counties
• People and Culture
• History
• NORTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN
• Canada
• Greenland and the North Pole Region
• Mexico
• Central America
• Caribbean
• SOUTH AMERICA
• Physical Features and Resources
• History
• People, Countries, and Cities
• WESTERN EUROPE
• History
• People, Countries, and Cities
• RUSSIA AND EASTERN EUROPE
• Russia and the Former Soviet States
• Eastern Europe
• ASIA
• China and East Asia
• Japan and the Korean Peninsula
• Southeast Asia
• India and West Asia
• THE MIDDLE EAST
• The Land and Its History
• Religion
• People, Countries, and Cities
• AFRICA
• Physical Features and Resources
• History
• People, Countries, and Cities
• OCEANIA AND ANTARCTICA
• Oceania
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Antarctica
• COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD
• FURTHER READING
• GLOSSARY