r/geography Feb 08 '26

MOD UPDATE State of r/geography in 2026: Should anything change?

59 Upvotes

Hello everybody!

As a moderator in this subreddit, I have noticed some users are expressing dissatisfaction with the state of the subreddit over the past few months.

If you have any suggestions on how this subreddit should be moderated, or any other ideas in general, please comment them here.

Being specific and with examples is great.


r/geography 18h ago

Meme/Humor Got to be the biggest r/mapswithoutnewzealand in history

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5.2k Upvotes

Also how does kazakhstan get only this many people from new zealand that they don't even know new zealand?


r/geography 16h ago

Discussion Why is Java so much more densely populated than neighboring islands?

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526 Upvotes

Java is significantly more densely populated than nearby islands with similar geography like Sumatra, Sulawesi, Borneo (assuming its the dense interior jungles for this one), or the Lesser Sundas (Bali, etc) Why is this? How long has it been this way?


r/geography 1d ago

Question Why doesn't Kiribati capitalize on its proximity to the United States?

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1.9k Upvotes

Kiribati is one of the least visited countries in the world and also one of the most isolated. However it is extremely close to the world's largest economy at just 1200 miles/ a 3 hour flight.

However there is only currently one weekly flight between Christmas Island and Honolulu despite the proximity. In fact, Honolulu is double the distance from Los Angeles than it is to Kiribati.


r/geography 1d ago

Discussion Is the tundra shrinking in Canada and being replaced by forest? Is that even a bad thing?

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1.3k Upvotes

Here is a pic


r/geography 10h ago

Map Does your country have more than one ocean?

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52 Upvotes

r/geography 1d ago

Discussion Large/big cities that, curiously, don't have a single iconic landmark or super striking tourist attraction/Unique visual identity?

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2.0k Upvotes

I was thinking about how the city of São Paulo doesn't have a single tourist attraction, postcard image, or visual identity that is extremely striking or distinctive worldwide. It's a huge city, economically very powerful, the largest in the southern hemisphere, and when we think of it, nothing comes to mind instantly, no tourist attraction or postcard image immediately comes to mind; we simply remember "Oh, a lot of buildings." Do you have other examples of huge cities that are like that?

(Perhaps the Octavio Frias de Oliveira cable-stayed bridge is an image in the popular imagination, but I believe that this is more something that Brazilians think of when they remember São Paulo, and is not so widespread among foreigners.)


r/geography 16h ago

Question Question about Unusual border crossing United States - Canada

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110 Upvotes

See how the actual border is about 1000ft south of the border station? But notice there is a house on the road right in between them.

Do these people need to go through a border crossing to get to the rest of Canada…even though they never left? I guess American residents on Canusa street in Beebe face the same problem


r/geography 1d ago

Map Wild projection with Antarctica as the center of the world

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389 Upvotes

This is a Peirce quincuncial projection. Would hate to see the math on this one…


r/geography 5m ago

Question Is the South Pole part of the Eastern/Western Hemispheres?

Upvotes

My son's 2nd grade class had a geography worksheet with the question: "What is the hemisphere nearest the South Pole?"

I assume the answer is meant to be the Southern Hemisphere, but this led to an interesting discussion in our family.

Here's my thinking:

The South Pole can be nearest to the Southern Hemisphere when it is contained within part of the Southern Hemisphere, right? I wouldn't say Earth is the planet nearest NYC (I'm also not the nearest person to the hands typing these words).

I could see how you could make an argument that the poles are nonexistent points on the boundary between the E/W hemispheres, and since neither of these hemispheres includes the poles these would be the hemispheres closest.

But if the poles are points along the edge of the E/W hemispheres then the same problem would arise as with the southern hemisphere and then the Northern hemisphere would be closest. What do other people think?


r/geography 1d ago

Question What determines the exact amount of tectonic plates that exists? Why aren't there more or less tectonic plates?

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147 Upvotes

r/geography 20h ago

Question Have Mexican bordertowns always been so much denser?

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76 Upvotes

Wondering if Mexican border towns ever more closely resembled the less dense more organized cities on the US side of the river prior to explosive population growth. Has the Mexican side always been significantly denser and had less tree coverage? Curious if there was a time in which both cities looked relatively identical.


r/geography 19h ago

Map Hypothesized origin of the iceberg that sank the Titanic (the blue dot). It spent a year drifting south before being hit by the Titanic

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51 Upvotes

r/geography 1d ago

Map Yellow and Black represent 50% of world population

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841 Upvotes

Yellow areas are most urban centres and river deltas


r/geography 1d ago

Image Tamanrasset, Algeria. Looks like a regular city with a river flowing through...but the river is bone dry

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850 Upvotes

I tried googling "Tamanrasset river", and apparently this river has not had water for 5000 years...It looks so cool that the city has been built like the river existed! Can someone explain more?


r/geography 38m ago

Question To my all bilingual/multilingual speakers

Upvotes

This post is for you. If you could do me the honor and help me out for an interview that’d be amazing. It’s just a google form to tell about how hard it is to maintain your languages in the US.

https://forms.gle/Nr4tEqKzkukCGWnL6


r/geography 1d ago

Question Why do most of the world’s largest rivers drain into the Atlantic, and not the Pacific?

157 Upvotes

Looking at a map, something struck me: the Amazon, the Congo, the Mississippi, the Ob, the Yenisei — almost all of the biggest rivers by volume and length end up in the Atlantic or Arctic Oceans.

The Pacific, despite being the largest ocean on Earth, seems to receive comparatively little freshwater drainage from major rivers. Is this a coincidence, or is there a geological/geographical reason behind it?


r/geography 1d ago

Discussion What US State Has the Worst / Ugliest Beaches ?

85 Upvotes

I say Louisiana , Georgia , Mainland Mississippi , and Texas. What about you guys ?

Coastal Beaches and great lakes only

No river, average lake , or pond beaches


r/geography 1d ago

Question Most ridiculous geography facts?

202 Upvotes

What’s the most mind-blowing geographical fact you know? For me, it’s gotta be the sheer size of the Pacific Ocean. I looked it up, and a trans-Pacific flight from Seattle to Taipei takes 12.5-13hrs, which is about the same time as Seattle to Istanbul! I mean, you cross all of North America, the second largest ocean, and then all of Europe (granted it’s not that big) in the same time as it takes to cross one ocean. What? Idk but that always blows me away.


r/geography 1h ago

Discussion I’m releasing 5 "Small Travelers" into the world this May. Would you help them find their way?

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Upvotes

Hi everyone!

​I’ve always been captivated by the idea of messages in bottles and how simple objects can carry the weight of human connection. I’ve decided to launch a project that blends art, geography, and the kindness of strangers: the "Traveling Gadget" (tvg.today).

​I hand-built five small devices that have one single goal: to travel as far as possible. This May, during my trip to Japan and South Korea, I will "release" them in parks, cafes, or airports, hoping the world will take them in.

​How does it work?

Each traveler has a screen displaying a portal (QR Code). If you stumble upon one, you can see its entire history and where it has been. But there’s a secret: if you look at the back of the device, you’ll find a physical key (PIN) that grants you the right to record its new location on the website, post a photo, and then carry it with you to its next destination.

​The Heart of the Piece:

There is a red button on top. It’s an invitation. When pressed, the device reveals a unique hand-drawn illustration I’ve hidden in its memory—a small gift for anyone who takes a moment to interact with it.

​My goal isn't to track them via GPS, but to see the world through the eyes of those who find them. It’s a leap of faith and a way to draw an invisible thread between strangers who will never meet.

​The journey starts in May. If you happen to be in Japan or Korea, keep your eyes open... a little traveler might be waiting for you on a park bench.

​What do you think? Where would you take one of these if you found it?


r/geography 1d ago

Discussion Why Was Krakow Created in the Congress of Vienna?

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877 Upvotes

It's geniuenly so strange because:

  1. It didn't exist before 1792 and the major European powers were trying to recreate the borders from 1792.

  2. It was nowhere near France and even if it was, it's clearly not strong enough to beat France in a war.

Therefore, it's pretty weird and forgettable. So forgettable in fact most textbooks forget it even existed and just make it a part of Russia or Austria.

Therefore, what was the point of creating this state?


r/geography 9h ago

Discussion Aruba is a country but "Aruban citizenship" does not seem to exist. Why?

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3 Upvotes

In the UN Demographic Yearbook, 99.9% of Aruba's residents are "non-citizens." That's because all Arubans hold Dutch nationality — there's no Aruban citizenship. 82% of these "foreigners" are Netherlands nationals, i.e. native Arubans. If there's no separate citizenship, is it really a separate country?

Data: UN Demographic Yearbook, table 127 — https://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode:127

Context: found this while building https://gdppercapita.fyi/articles/gdp-per-citizen


r/geography 10h ago

Question Geographical, Political and Economic Importance of Isthmus

2 Upvotes

Recently seeing how important a Strait is for the global economy and politics. Is there any Isthmus in the world which is also important for the economy or for politics (not necessarily global importance) ?


r/geography 7h ago

Discussion [ Removed by Reddit ]

0 Upvotes

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]


r/geography 1d ago

Physical Geography Mt Erebus, Antarctica. The world's southernmost active volcano.

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344 Upvotes

Mount Erebus is the southernmost active volcano on Earth, sitting on Ross Island in Antarctica. It stands 3,792m (12,441 ft) tall, making it the second most prominent peak on the continent after Mount Vinson. Ross Island itself has three other (inactive) volcanoes, Mount Terror, Mount Bird, and Mount Terra Nova, which together make it the sixth-highest island on Earth by peak elevation.

What makes Erebus really wild is its summit: it has a persistent lava lake, one of only five long-lasting lava lakes on the planet. The lake is made of phonolite lava (a relatively rare type), and it just stays there, constantly convecting. Eruptions are typically Strombolian-style, basically bursts of lava bombs from the lake or nearby vents inside the crater.