WHAT YOU HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT PHYSICAL EUROPE.

Oceans and Seas: the Atlantic O., the Artic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Aegean Sea, the
Black Sea, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea

Coastal items: GULF, BAY, STRAIT, CAPE, FJORDS/RIAS

the North Cape, the Land’s End, the St. Matthew Cape, the Finisterre Cape, the St. Vincent
Cape, the Matapan Cape, the Bay of Biscay, the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Lion, the Gulf of
Genoa, the Gulf of Taranto, the Strait of Kattegat, the English Channel- the Strait of Dover, the
Strait of Gibraltar, the Strait of Messina, the Norwegian Fjords, the Galician Rias
Peninsulas: the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Jutland Peninsula, the Britanny Peninsula, the
Iberian Peninsula, the Italian Peninsula, the Balkan Peninsula, the Anatolian Peninsula, the
Crimean Peninsula
Islands: Iceland, Shetlands, Hebrides, Zealand, the British Islands, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia,
Corsica, Sicily, Malta, Crete, Cyprus.
Lakes: Ladoga Lake, Onega Lake, Geneva Lake.
Rivers: the Volga, the Dnieper, the Danube, the Vistula, the Oder, the Elba, the Rhine, the
Seine, the Garonne, the Douro, the Tagus, the Guadalquivir, the Ebro, the Rhone, the Po,
Mountain ranges: the Scandinavian Mountains, the Highlands, the Pyrenees, the Cantabrian
Mountains, the Central Sierras, the Baetic Mountains, the Alps, the Apennines Mountains,
the Dinaric Alps, the Balkan Mountains, the Carpathian Mountains,
Plains: the Finland Plains, the Iberian Meseta, the Atlantic Plains, the Central Plains
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The use of articles with geographical names has certain patterns. For example, the name of a river is used with the
definite article, and the name of a lake is used without any article. The name of one mountain (or one island) is used
without any article, and the name of a mountain chain (or a group of islands) is used with the definite article.

The words "island, state, city, district" are capitalized if they are part of the geographical name (Atlantic City, Ellis
Island). If they are not part of the name, they are not not capitalized (the city of Boston, the island of Greenland).
Such words are capitalized in titles (A Brief History of the City of New York) and may be capitalized in formal writing.

The words "north, east, south, northern, southern, western, central", and the like are capitalized if they are part of
the geographical name (the North Sea, Northern Ireland, Central America) or part of the name of the region
regarded as a unit (the West, Western Europe, the East, the Far East). If such words are used for indicating direction
or as descriptive terms, they are usually not capitalized (the north, the west, the southeast, the south of France,
western Asia, northern Africa, central Australia.

No article
Continents (North America), a Lake (Lake Michigan, Lake Titicaca), Islands (Cyprus Island), single
mountains ( Teide, Aneto, Mont Blanc mountain), Countries and States ( Spain, France), cities (Madrid)
With article
Hemisphere (the Southern Hemisphere), Oceans and Seas (The Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean),
Gulfs and Bays (the Gulf of Finland, the Bay of Biscay), a group of lakes (The Great Lakes), Rivers,
straits, canals, currents, waterfalls ( the Nilo, The Danube, the strait of Gibraltar…), a group of islands
(the Canary Islands), Mountain ranges and plateaus ( the Pyrenees, the Alps, The Meseta, the Himalaya
Plateau), deserts and valleys (The Gobi desert, the Sahara desert), a state formed by nations ( the USA,
the UK).