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945475f9cae308c6ebd38760d1441404 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Assam | Assam | Assam
Assam, state of India. It is located in the northeastern part of the country and is bounded to the north by the kingdom of Bhutan and the state of Arunachal Pradesh, to the east by the states of Nagaland and Manipur, to the south by the states of Mizoram and Tripura, and to the west by Bangladesh and the states ... |
1716647a9de54c898686f22bf222cc9f | https://www.britannica.com/place/Assyria | Assyria | Assyria
Assyria, kingdom of northern Mesopotamia that became the centre of one of the great empires of the ancient Middle East. It was located in what is now northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey. A brief treatment of Assyria follows. For full treatment, see Mesopotamia, history of: The Rise of Assyria.
Assyria was a ... |
1ae769c2f25cd6ef0751ec3460d9dc7a | https://www.britannica.com/place/Astoria-Canyon | Astoria Canyon | Astoria Canyon
Astoria Canyon, submarine canyon and fan-valley system of the Pacific continental margin, off the coast of Oregon, U.S. The canyon’s head is in water about 330 feet (100 metres) deep, 11 miles (18 km) west of the mouth of the Columbia River. The canyon crosses the seaward half of the continental shelf i... |
a6806c782d4861d877150ac268937d7a | https://www.britannica.com/place/Astoria-Oregon | Astoria | Astoria
Astoria, city, seat (1844) of Clatsop county, northwestern Oregon, U.S., on the south bank of the Columbia River (there bridged to Megler, Washington) near its mouth on the Pacific Ocean. It is near the site of Oregon’s first military establishment, Fort Clatsop, built by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which ... |
e014c5c1cd1159d7f3b7a0e6d40e4724 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Aswan-governorate-Egypt | Aswān | Aswān
Aswān, also spelled Assuan or Assouan, muḥāfaẓah (governorate), Upper Egypt, embracing the Nile River floodplain and immediately adjacent territories. Long and narrow in shape, it is the most southerly Egyptian governorate along the Nile; its short southern boundary forms part of the international frontier with ... |
f8d4ef33a891f6d4cf2d0ce0cb7d568a | https://www.britannica.com/place/Atapuerca | Atapuerca | Atapuerca
Atapuerca, site of several limestone caves near Burgos in northern Spain, known for the abundant human (genus Homo) remains discovered there beginning in 1976. The site called Sima del Elefante (“Pit of the Elephant”) contains the earliest evidence of humans in western Europe—fragments of a jawbone and teeth... |
02b671443fa779151c8e02be06a46bda | https://www.britannica.com/place/Atbarah | ʿAṭbarah | ʿAṭbarah
ʿAṭbarah, also spelled Atbara, town, northeastern Sudan. It lies on the right (east) bank of the Nile River, at the mouth of the seasonal Atbara River.
Because ʿAṭbarah lies at the junction of two major roads and railway lines to Khartoum, it has become an important commercial and agricultural centre. Sudan’s... |
8d8f806c36c281944f30fd6d38d72988 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Athens | Athens | Athens
Athens, Modern Greek Athínai, Ancient Greek Athēnai, historic city and capital of Greece. Many of Classical civilization’s intellectual and artistic ideas originated there, and the city is generally considered to be the birthplace of Western civilization.
Athens lies 5 miles (8 km) from the Bay of Phaleron, an ... |
f686592da271f59f6bef7fa100a60dfd | https://www.britannica.com/place/Athens-Alabama | Athens | Athens
Athens, city, seat (1819) of Limestone county, northern Alabama, U.S., in the Tennessee River valley, about 25 miles (40 km) west of Huntsville. Settled in 1807 and named for Athens, Greece, it grew as an agricultural and timber centre. During the American Civil War, the town was occupied at intervals by Union ... |
8777af1aa348b51a058cf097d48731c9 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Athens-Georgia | Athens | Athens
Athens, city, seat (1871) of Clarke county (with which it was consolidated in 1990), northeastern Georgia, U.S., situated on the Oconee River. Founded in 1801 as the seat of the University of Georgia (chartered 1785), it was probably named for Athens, Greece. The city grew with the university, was spared the de... |
866a25fa88c189ca5b3367ad14b225a3 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Athens-Ohio | Athens | Athens
Athens, city, seat (1805) of Athens county, southeastern Ohio, U.S. It lies along the Hocking River, about 75 miles (120 km) southeast of Columbus. It was founded in 1800 by the territorial legislature as the seat of the American Western University, which was renamed Ohio University in 1804. Athens and the univ... |
d3154f74e5a8f37b45986aea81c2dffa | https://www.britannica.com/place/Athens-Tennessee | Athens | Athens
Athens, city, seat of McMinn county, southeastern Tennessee, U.S. It lies in the Tennessee River valley, between the Great Smoky Mountains (east) and the Cumberland Plateau (west), about 55 miles (90 km) southwest of Knoxville. It was founded in 1821 as a seat of justice, and the courts were moved there in 1823... |
a6a5aa6111afdf57c6483531db9fc233 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Atlantic-Ocean | Atlantic Ocean | Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean, body of salt water covering approximately one-fifth of Earth’s surface and separating the continents of Europe and Africa to the east from those of North and South America to the west. The ocean’s name, derived from Greek mythology, means the “Sea of Atlas.” It is second in size to the P... |
a67fb78254548f4d1820851513e067f6 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Atlantic-Ocean/Islands | Islands | Islands
Among purely oceanic islands (i.e., those without any foundation of continental rock, usually formed as the result of volcanic action) are Iceland, the Azores, Ascension, St. Helena, Tristan da Cunha, Bouvet, and Gough, which all rise from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; and the Canary, Madeira, and Cape Verde islands ... |
023917c82f35f4698a083bd90dcfed7a | https://www.britannica.com/place/Atlas-Mountains | Atlas Mountains | Atlas Mountains
Atlas Mountains, series of mountain ranges in northwestern Africa, running generally southwest to northeast to form the geologic backbone of the countries of the Maghrib (the western region of the Arab world)—Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. They extend for more than 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometres), from ... |
7c167db0342d30b5b8f088a684e5ce9b | https://www.britannica.com/place/Atlas-Mountains/Climate | Climate | Climate
The Atlas Mountains are the meeting place of two different kinds of air masses—the humid and cold polar air masses that come from the north and the hot and dry tropical air masses that move up from the south. To the influences of altitude and latitude must be added that of aspect or exposure.
Rain is more plent... |
27c07115b72696fd9832376d0cb1964e | https://www.britannica.com/place/Attica-ancient-district-Greece | Attica | Attica
Attica, Modern Greek Attikí, ancient district of east-central Greece; Athens was its chief city. Bordering the sea on the south and east, Attica attracted maritime trade. In early times there were several independent settlements there, centring on Eleusis, Athens, and Marathon. Athens may have been paramount in... |
b459766e13d90dbeb68d2d39d78dc1de | https://www.britannica.com/place/Attleboro-Massachusetts | Attleboro | Attleboro
Attleboro, city, Bristol county, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies just northeast of Pawtucket and Providence, Rhode Island. Settled in 1643, it was part of the adjacent town of Rehoboth until separately incorporated as a town (township) in 1694 and named for Attleborough, England. In 1887 it was divi... |
9090d59d02bbe528aea8e55972e46536 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Atyrau-Kazakhstan | Atyrau | Atyrau
Atyrau, Kazak Atyraū, also spelled Aterau, formerly (until 1992) Guryev, also spelled Gurev, Guriev, or Gurjev, city, western Kazakhstan. It is a port on the Ural (Zhayyq) River near its mouth on the Caspian Sea. Founded as a fishing settlement in the mid-17th century by the fishing entrepreneur Mikhail Guryev,... |
a3c3c618a89ff85bebe87e2794d07e95 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Auburn-New-York | Auburn | Auburn
Auburn, city, seat (1805) of Cayuga county, west-central New York, U.S. It lies at the north end of Owasco Lake, in the Finger Lakes region, 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Syracuse. Founded in 1793 by John Hardenbergh, an officer in the American Revolution, on the site of a Cayuga Indian village called Wasco, it... |
9765a4340913bc5dcba467ef660e819c | https://www.britannica.com/place/Aunuu-Island | Aunuu Island | Aunuu Island
Aunuu Island, also spelled Aunu‘u, volcanic island off the east coast of Tutuila, American Samoa, in the south-central Pacific Ocean. The island has a land area of about 0.6 square mile (1.6 square km) and rises to 275 feet (84 metres). Pop. (2000) 1,768.
|
e209a56a91e2b3c66413b71a9b79a928 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Aurangabad | Aurangabad | Aurangabad
Aurangabad, city, west-central Maharashtra state, western India. It is situated in a hilly upland region on the Kaum River.
The city, originally known as Khadki, was founded by Malik Ambar in 1610. Its name was changed by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who built the Bibi Ka Maqbara tomb near the city as an i... |
3eb6725a14d8f01af7ad4e920fdad0e9 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Austin-Minnesota | Austin | Austin
Austin, city, seat (1856) of Mower county, southeastern Minnesota, U.S. It lies about 100 miles (160 km) south of St. Paul. Austin is situated along the Cedar River, just north of the Iowa state line, in a farming area specializing in corn (maize), soybeans, peas, and livestock. It was settled in 1853, laid out... |
4f1e883078a2577477abd08dec0abc52 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Austin-Texas | Austin | Austin
Austin, city, capital of Texas, U.S., and seat (1840) of Travis county. It is located at the point at which the Colorado River crosses the Balcones Escarpment in the south-central part of the state, about 80 miles (130 km) northeast of San Antonio. Austin’s metropolitan area encompasses Hays, Williamson, Bastro... |
f0534c23ffd516fa3d388e68132dcb79 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Australasia | Australasia | Australasia
Australasia, geographical term that has never had a precise definition and that was originally employed to denote land believed to exist south of Asia. In its widest sense it has been taken to include, besides Australia (with Tasmania) and New Zealand, the Malay Archipelago, the Philippines, Melanesia (New... |
c015d01b6832c7d08bafbcc07ea3401f | https://www.britannica.com/place/Australia/A-major-shift-1830-60 | A major shift: 1830–60 | A major shift: 1830–60
The three decades between 1830 and 1860 saw rapid change. The impact was most evident in politics and the economy, but culture was no less affected. Not until 1825 did the European population pass 50,000; in 1851 it was about 450,000, and by 1861 it had reached 1,150,000.
Four of Australia’s six ... |
e6d1435fe0e017fc65364110bdd329ef | https://www.britannica.com/place/Australia/Animal-life | Animal life | Animal life
The distribution of climates, topography, and soils that has produced the zones and ecological variation of Australian vegetation has also been reflected in the distribution of animal life. Australia probably has between 200,000 and 300,000 species, about 100,000 of which have been described. There are some... |
5aa955123a46b2553568a4af95262316 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Australia/Economy | Economy | Economy
Australia’s established world reputation has long been that of a wealthy underpopulated country prone to natural disasters, its economy depending heavily on agriculture (“riding on the sheep’s back”) and foreign investment. This description was reasonably fair during the first century of European settlement, wh... |
c317f5d382e184399937935606b6fafb | https://www.britannica.com/place/Australia/History | History | History
This article discusses the history of Australia from the arrival of European explorers in the 16th century to the present. For a more detailed discussion of Aboriginal culture, see Australian Aboriginal peoples.
Prior to documented history, travelers from Asia may have reached Australia. China’s control of Sout... |
2741aeab29407765a592bc05bab0b494 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Australia/Labour-and-taxation | Labour and taxation | Labour and taxation
The most prominent labour organization is the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), formed in 1927, which has some 50 affiliated trade unions. Similar to trends in most countries, union membership has been declining since the last decades of the 20th century, dropping from about half the labour... |
df84a96bf4525c3b8b22fcb5b285d5c5 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Australia/Several-small-democracies-1860-1900 | Several small democracies: 1860–1900 | Several small democracies: 1860–1900
Between 1860 and 1900 the colonies had little formal relation with each other; instead they concentrated their attention inward on their capitals. The separate histories of each state therefore have particular importance for this period. Withal, patterns were similar, and federation... |
8ae605023d6a6aa06f7beb85e43561b5 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Australia/Stratigraphy-and-structure | Stratigraphy and structure | Stratigraphy and structure
This major period of geologic time can be subdivided into the older Archean and the younger Proterozoic eons, the time boundary between them being some 2.5 billion years ago. In Australia the main outcrop of the Archean and older Proterozoic rocks is in the Yilgarn and Pilbara blocks of the s... |
8318bac5a3e645903d7e80671d569719 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Australian-Alps | Australian Alps | Australian Alps
Australian Alps, mountain mass, a segment of the Great Dividing Range (Eastern Uplands), occupying the southeasternmost corner of Australia, in eastern Victoria and southeastern New South Wales. In a more local sense, the term denotes the ranges on the states’ border forming the divide between the wate... |
ba7e5da09488765d9b17e749cdeb92a8 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Australian-External-Territories | Australian External Territories | Australian External Territories
Australian External Territories, group of non-self-governing dependencies of Australia; apart from claims in Antarctica, the external territories of the Commonwealth of Australia are made up entirely of islands and cover an area almost as large as Australia itself. They consist of innum... |
15afed66dec41b0edb163dc0044ff577 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Australian-Museum | Australian Museum | Australian Museum
…what was to become the Australian Museum in Sydney.
Other cultural institutions include the Australian Museum (1827), the country’s oldest museum and largest natural history collection, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales (1874), which has a large collection of Aboriginal art.
…scientist in mammal... |
fdb8d6bec3a35b48dd391f50438d67b4 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Austria | Austria | Austria
Austria, largely mountainous landlocked country of south-central Europe. Together with Switzerland, it forms what has been characterized as the neutral core of Europe, notwithstanding Austria’s full membership since 1995 in the supranational European Union (EU).
A great part of Austria’s prominence can be attr... |
e018184ce091d5f6d07fc7b52dc53ebd | https://www.britannica.com/place/Austria/Transportation-and-telecommunications | Transportation and telecommunications | Transportation and telecommunications
Austria has a dense road system inherited from its centuries as the hub of a vast continental empire. The country serves as an important link between western, northern, and central Europe and Italy, eastern Europe, and the Balkans. It has a highly developed transportation infrastru... |
4411355ce275a285f4762ded7cde33e9 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Austrian-Netherlands | Austrian Netherlands | Austrian Netherlands
Austrian Netherlands, (1713–95), provinces located in the southern part of the Low Countries (roughly comprising present Belgium and Luxembourg), which made up what had been the major portion of the Spanish Netherlands.
Following the death of the Habsburg Charles II of Spain (1700), Spain and the ... |
b05e0a797aa1361ec20f49cd9d9049e9 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Auvergne | Auvergne | Auvergne
Auvergne, historical region and former administrative région of France. As a région, it encompassed the central départements of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal, and Haute-Loire. In 2016 the Auvergne région was joined with the région of Rhône-Alpes to form the new administrative entity of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
Mos... |
5fcdc1d828b620842190213398a9bd5d | https://www.britannica.com/place/Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, région of east-central France created in 2016 by the union of the former régions of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. It encompasses the départements of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal, Haute-Loire, Loire, Rhône, Ain, Haute-Savoie, Savoie, Isère, Drôme, and Ardèche. It is bounded by the ... |
8e30a49154470e08af7082a93a57052f | https://www.britannica.com/place/Avalon-legendary-island | Avalon | Avalon
Avalon, island to which Britain’s legendary king Arthur was conveyed for the healing of his wounds after his final battle. It is first mentioned in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia regum Britanniae (c. 1136), while the same author’s Vita Merlini (c. 1150) described it as “the island of apples [‘Insula pomorum’],... |
4a0ca43cf1f2be13225accac67792e47 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Avarua | Avarua | Avarua
Avarua, town and capital of the Cook Islands, South Pacific Ocean. It is located on the north-central coast of the island of Rarotonga, in the southern Cook Islands, about 2,100 miles (3,400 km) north of New Zealand. Avarua is Rarotonga’s main town and commercial centre.
The town is situated on a relatively fla... |
97196922f6764c8eeb3cc8e5c78c0fb5 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Avignon | Avignon | Avignon
Avignon, city, capital of Vaucluse département, Provence–Alpes–Côte d’Azur région, southeastern France. It lies at a point on the east bank of the Rhône River where the narrow valley opens into a broad delta plain, northwest of Nîmes. It was the capital of the papacy from 1309 to 1377. Recognized for its archi... |
5e566f455bc933b09eeed913f0c5c707 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Avondale-Arizona | Avondale | Avondale
Avondale, city, Maricopa county, central Arizona, U.S. Originally a station of the Southern Pacific Railroad some 20 miles (30 km) west of Phoenix, Avondale is situated near the Gila River in the Salt River valley, on the edge of the Sonoran Desert. In the early 20th century the city grew to embrace a small b... |
603df2bb510bd847e00adba2ff53af9f | https://www.britannica.com/place/Awali | ʿAwālī | ʿAwālī
ʿAwālī, municipality in the state and emirate of Bahrain, on central Bahrain island, in the Persian Gulf. Founded in the 1930s by the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), it is situated just north of Bahrain’s oil fields and southwest of the country’s oil refinery, one of the largest in the world. The municipalit... |
2e2a11be5c79a9d7b47c25a2178ecebd | https://www.britannica.com/place/Ayutthaya-Thailand | Ayutthaya | Ayutthaya
Ayutthaya, in full Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Ayutthaya also spelled Ayudhya, Ayuthia, or Ayuthaya, town and former capital of the Tai state of Ayutthaya (Siam) located in central Thailand, about 55 miles (89 km) north of Bangkok. The site of immense temples and other structures that are important both histor... |
58f9a3a8819534762b8a2f0bee321d49 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Azerbaijan/Trade | Trade | Trade
Azerbaijan exports chemicals, machinery, food (particularly grapes and other fruits and vegetables), beverages, petroleum and natural gas, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, and other products; its imports include iron and steel, machinery, and food and beverages, particularly meat and milk. Azerbaijan’s primary ... |
dfdb51176e11ff5e704f071bb71ed8d1 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Azores | Azores | Azores
Azores, Portuguese in full Arquipélago dos Açores, archipelago and região autónoma (autonomous region) of Portugal. The chain lies in the North Atlantic Ocean roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 km) west of mainland Portugal. It includes nine major islands. The Azores are divided into three widely separated island group... |
341ef7d92864e2eaafde48687503ed5b | https://www.britannica.com/place/Babri-Masjid | Babri Masjid | Babri Masjid
Babri Masjid, also called Mosque of Babur or Baburi Mosque, formerly Masjid-i Janmasthan, mosque in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, India. According to inscriptions on the site, it was built in the year 935 of the Islamic calendar (September 1528–September 1529 ce) by Mīr Bāqī, possibly a bey serving under the Mu... |
92e3213013458cf958a1289f3423e521 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Babruysk | Babruysk | Babruysk
Babruysk, also spelled Bobrujsk, Russian Bobruysk, city, Mahilyow oblast (region), east-central Belarus, on the right bank of the Berezina River. Founded in the 16th century, it was held in turn by Lithuania, Poland, and Russia and was the scene of a major battle in World War II. The fortress of 1769 survives... |
a8f6c5fdb079d5a025b5d5d57c01928c | https://www.britannica.com/place/Babylon-ancient-city-Mesopotamia-Asia | Babylon | Babylon
Babylon, Babylonian Bab-ilu, Old Babylonian Bāb-ilim, Hebrew Bavel or Babel, Arabic Aṭlāl Bābil, one of the most famous cities of antiquity. It was the capital of southern Mesopotamia (Babylonia) from the early 2nd millennium to the early 1st millennium bce and capital of the Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) empire i... |
404a2ba28f3fbd542a7598ea09f5cbee | https://www.britannica.com/place/Babylon-New-York | Babylon | Babylon
Babylon, town (township), Suffolk county, southeastern New York, U.S. It lies on southern Long Island, along Great South Bay, east of Freeport. Established in 1872 after separation from Huntington (founded 1653), it includes the villages of Babylon (incorporated 1893), Amityville (1894), and Lindenhurst (1923)... |
bc6758b3742d26afdbdbb8503f7944dd | https://www.britannica.com/place/Babylonia | Babylonia | Babylonia
Babylonia, ancient cultural region occupying southeastern Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (modern southern Iraq from around Baghdad to the Persian Gulf). Because the city of Babylon was the capital of this area for so many centuries, the term Babylonia has come to refer to the entire cult... |
47400c322a634a7f505a33e7082022ed | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bacau-Romania | Bacău | Bacău
Bacău, city, capital of Bacău județ (county), eastern Romania, near the confluence of the Bistrița and Siret rivers, 150 miles (240 km) northeast of Bucharest. Bacău was an early customs post, where trade routes came together at a ford over the Bistrița. It was first mentioned in documents in 1408. The manufactu... |
2ee3bc9aa53782daed56c24aa9fb09a0 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bad-Reichenhall | Bad Reichenhall | Bad Reichenhall
Bad Reichenhall, city, Bavaria Land (state), southern Germany. It lies in the Alpine Saalach River valley, 9 miles (14 km) southwest of Salzburg, Austria. Bad Reichenhall is a noted health and winter resort surrounded by mountains, including the Predigtstuhl (5,413 feet [1,650 metres]), ascended by cab... |
1ca0fe707503d4e17cee077ff2e9bebd | https://www.britannica.com/place/Badminton-England | Badminton | Badminton
Badminton, also called Great Badminton, village (parish), South Gloucestershire unitary authority, historic county of Gloucestershire, southwestern England.
Badminton House, seat of the dukes of Beaufort, stands in a large park in the locality. The original manor of Badminton was acquired in 1608 from Nichol... |
4bec38ec58b4997fccc78250cd70503d | https://www.britannica.com/place/Baetica | Baetica | Baetica
…tales of games held in Baetica (the Spanish region of Andalusia) in which men exhibited dexterity and valour before dealing the death blow with ax or lance to a wild horned beast. The Iberians were reported to have used skins or cloaks (precursors to the cape) to avoid the repeated…
…three provinces were forme... |
9e8a1b53279c01ac48171c0859601af0 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bafata-region-Guinea-Bissau | Bafatá | Bafatá
Bafatá, region located in north-central Guinea-Bissau. Bafatá is crosscut by the Gêba River, which flows east-west through the northern half of the region and is navigable to Bafatá town, the regional capital. The Corubal River flows east-west to form Bafatá’s southern border with the Quinará and Tombali region... |
1c2b9092680c2cc4c9fb28085a21e8a4 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Baffin-Island | Baffin Island | Baffin Island
Baffin Island, island lying between Greenland and the Canadian mainland. With an area of 195,928 square miles (507,451 square km), it is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest in the world. Baffin Island is separated from Greenland on the north and east by Baffin Bay and Davis Strait and from... |
7ff6002c4758fc407ebd71173291b8bc | https://www.britannica.com/place/Baghdad | Baghdad | Baghdad
Baghdad, also spelled Bagdad, Arabic Baghdād, formerly Madīnat al-Salām (Arabic: “City of Peace”), city, capital of Iraq and capital of Baghdad governorate, central Iraq. Its location, on the Tigris River about 330 miles (530 km) from the headwaters of the Persian Gulf, is in the heart of ancient Mesopotamia. ... |
8ad031ef35fef04516f42f09dd4db4c7 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Baghdad/History | History | History
Archaeological evidence shows that the site of Baghdad was occupied by various peoples long before the Arab conquest of Mesopotamia in 637 ce, and several ancient empires had capitals located in the vicinity. (See Babylon; Seleucia on the Tigris; Ctesiphon.) The true founding of the city, however, dates to 762,... |
8871f6537e18d7b42f49b1084247bc88 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Baghlan | Baghlān | Baghlān
Baghlān, city, northeastern Afghanistan, near the Qondūz River, at an elevation of 1,650 feet (500 m). Baghlān is the centre of beet-sugar production and has a sugar refinery. Cotton textiles are also manufactured. The city’s industrial development has led to rapid population growth. Recently built major highw... |
17ce42ec74c882a7928f14a2e7c63953 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Baghmati-River | Baghmati River | Baghmati River
Baghmati River, river in south-central Nepal and northern Bihar state, northeastern India. It rises in several headstreams in the lowland area of Nepal and flows southward through the Siwalik (Shiwalik) Range, the southernmost range of the Himalayas. It continues across the plains of Tarai into Bihar an... |
1f9dc9c237c872d59e6466adbf819e84 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Baguio | Baguio | Baguio
Baguio, city, west-central Luzon, Philippines. After the United States occupied the Philippines in 1898, Governor William Howard Taft and other officials proposed the pleasant site nestled in pine-clad hills at about 4,900 feet (1,500 metres) to serve as the summer capital of the Philippines. The idea was adopt... |
0397a35652c7b175bd9f474e06109cec | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bainbridge | Bainbridge | Bainbridge
Bainbridge, city, seat (1823) of Decatur county, far southwestern Georgia, U.S. It lies along the Flint River, near the Florida border, about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of Tallahassee, Florida. The city was founded in 1823 near Fort Hughes, an earthwork defended by the troops of Andrew Jackson during the Fi... |
48c07961b5190a45f089f706138cdf57 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Baker-City | Baker City | Baker City
Baker City, city, seat (1868) of Baker county, northeastern Oregon, U.S. It is situated along the Powder River, in Baker Valley, between the Blue Mountains (west) and the Wallowa Mountains (east). Lying on the old Oregon Trail and settled during the Oregon gold rush (1861–62), it was laid out in 1865 and na... |
d6532f0ae7d673827c664d8d95a73608 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Balkh | Balkh | Balkh
Balkh, also called Vazīrābād, village in northern Afghanistan that was formerly Bactra, the capital of ancient Bactria. It lies 14 miles (22 km) west of the city of Mazār-e Sharīf and is situated along the Balkh River. A settlement existed at the site as early as 500 bc, and the town was captured by Alexander th... |
ec2677c2158195e1fb4bc03b103b6c59 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Balochistan | Balochistan | Balochistan
Balochistan, also spelled Balūchistān, westernmost province of Pakistan. It is bordered by Iran (west), by Afghanistan (northwest), by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces (northeast and east), by Sindh province (southeast), and by the Arabian Sea (south).
Although an indigenous population of the region... |
2ed7b39c44369e471656b98104d02390 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltic-states | Baltic states | Baltic states
Baltic states, northeastern region of Europe containing the countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea.
The Baltic states are bounded on the west and north by the Baltic Sea, which gives the region its name, on the east by Russia, on the southeast by Belarus, and... |
efaa4797254816c046e3ce3877b55eaa | https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltic-states/Soviet-republics | Soviet republics | Soviet republics
Postwar political, industrial, and agricultural policies wrought fundamental changes in the economic and social structures of the Baltic lands. Their economies were integrated into the general Soviet system of planning and development. Considerable increases in production resulted from heavy investment... |
3294b4ef6276b4ab69ec73e6b13a2ab0 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltimore | Baltimore | Baltimore
Baltimore, city, north-central Maryland, U.S., about 40 miles (65 km) northeast of Washington, D.C. It lies at the head of the Patapsco River estuary, 15 miles (25 km) above Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is Maryland’s largest city and economic centre and constitutes the northeastern hub of the Baltimore-Washingt... |
d8eae7ae5e52821ca0f87ee02f865ed6 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltimore-county-Maryland | Baltimore | Baltimore
Baltimore, county, north-central Maryland, U.S. It almost surrounds (but excludes) the city of Baltimore and is bounded by Pennsylvania to the north, the Gunpowder River and Chesapeake Bay to the southeast, and the Patapsco River to the south and southwest. The county contains Patapsco Valley State Park in t... |
c02b59e17d65f13ea2c7e98e53a951e7 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Baltistan | Baltistan | Baltistan
Baltistan, geographic region of Gilgit-Baltistan, in the Pakistani-administered sector of the Kashmir region, in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. Drained by the Indus River and tributaries such as the Shyok River, Baltistan is situated on the high Ladakh Plateau and contains the loftiest peaks o... |
a23acc8b69a12c39acc80fc0bf621026 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Baluan-Island | Baluan Island | Baluan Island
For example, the people on Baluan made bird-shaped bowls, ladles, and spatulas; on Lou, obsidian was carved into great hemispheric bowls; on Rambutyo figures and anthropomorphic lime spatulas were common; and the people on Pak made beds (used nowhere else in Melanesia) and slit gongs. Although the Matanko... |
503a5ab13169214fac453ff51da32ff5 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bamako | Bamako | Bamako
Bamako, capital of Mali, located on the Niger River in the southwestern part of the country. When occupied for the French in 1880 by Captain Joseph-Simon Gallieni, Bamako was a settlement of a few hundred inhabitants, grouped in villages. It became the capital of the former colony of French Sudan in 1908, four ... |
96487268ead29e3d5f5a6356ac69f703 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bambara-states | Bambara states | Bambara states
Bambara states, two separate West African states, one of which was based on the town of Ségou, between the Sénégal and Niger rivers, and the other on Kaarta, along the middle Niger (both in present-day Mali). According to tradition, the Segu kingdom was founded by two brothers, Barama Ngolo and Nia Ngo... |
f370e60861853ae42be1cb024a5c4a27 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Banaba | Banaba | Banaba
Banaba, also called Ocean Island, coral and phosphate formation, part of Kiribati, in the west-central Pacific Ocean. It is located 250 miles (400 km) west of the nearest Gilbert Islands and has a circumference of about 6 miles (10 km). Banaba is the location of the highest point in Kiribati, reaching 285 feet ... |
69891ca58d070cfdcbb8745959a0b93e | https://www.britannica.com/place/Banaue-rice-terraces | Banaue rice terraces | Banaue rice terraces
Banaue rice terraces, system of irrigated rice terraces in the mountains of north-central Luzon, Philippines, that were created more than 2,000 years ago by the Ifugao people. Although located in several villages, they are collectively known as the Banaue rice terraces. In 1995 various sections of... |
f25be443de8da67e4396469fbbfc70df | https://www.britannica.com/place/Banda-Aceh | Banda Aceh | Banda Aceh
Banda Aceh, kota (city), capital of the autonomous Aceh daerah istimewa (special district; with provincial status), Indonesia. It is located on the Aceh River at the northwestern tip of the island of Sumatra, facing the Andaman Sea.
Banda Aceh is known as the “doorway to Mecca,” for historically it has been... |
a52d706a0da1b17e3a89c9a046cd74c8 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bandar-e-Abbas | Bandar-e ʿAbbās | Bandar-e ʿAbbās
Bandar-e ʿAbbās, port city and capital of Hormozgān province, on the Strait of Hormuz, the main maritime outlet for much of southern Iran. It lies on the northern shore of Hormuz Bay opposite the islands of Qeshm, Lārak, and Hormuz. The inhabitants are mainly Arabs and African blacks. The summer climat... |
0da51ad3a1a83c44629dc01c170301c6 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bandon-Ireland | Bandon | Bandon
Bandon, Irish Droichead na Bandan, town, County Cork, Ireland, 17 miles (27 km) southwest of Cork. Founded in 1608 by Richard Boyle, later 1st earl of Cork, Bandon was initially populated by English and Scottish settlers. Parts of the original town wall remain; the ruins of a 15th-century castle are nearby. Kil... |
807b5ec8592fa318076d3199e13038dd | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bandung | Bandung | Bandung
Bandung, also spelled Bandoeng, kotamadya (municipality) and capital of West Java (Jawa Barat) propinsi (province), Indonesia, situated in the interior of Java on the northern edge of a plateau nearly 2,400 feet (730 metres) above sea level.
The city, founded in 1810 by the Dutch, has a mild and pleasant clima... |
ff015fd3617af0efcb7c36eb72a6843c | https://www.britannica.com/place/Banffshire | Banffshire | Banffshire
Banffshire, also called Banff, historic county, northeastern Scotland, extending from the Grampian Mountains to the North Sea. The northeastern portion of the county, including the historic county town (seat) of Banff, is part of the council area of Aberdeenshire, while the remainder of the county lies with... |
79e2b42327697454ba37743eac06c0a2 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bangka | Bangka | Bangka
Bangka, also spelled Banka or Banca, Indonesian Pulau Bangka, island, Bangka Belitung propinsi (or provinsi; province), Indonesia. The island is situated off the eastern coast of Sumatra across the Bangka Strait, which is only 9 miles (14 km) wide at its narrowest point. On the east, Gelasa Strait separates Ban... |
c829e27ba38627190f1af5440fc75750 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bangladesh | Bangladesh | Bangladesh
Bangladesh, country of South Asia, located in the delta of the Padma (Ganges [Ganga]) and Jamuna (Brahmaputra) rivers in the northeastern part of the Indian subcontinent.
The riverine country of Bangladesh (“Land of the Bengals”) is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, and its people ar... |
8badd2116df9e38f5ece68a6ffb2faa9 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bangladesh/Government-and-society | Government and society | Government and society
While Bangladesh’s constitution of 1972 specifies a parliamentary form of government under a prime minister and a president elected by a national assembly, its implementation has been interrupted by coups. In 1975 a military coup led to a regime of martial law, and, though the form of government ... |
a31a693b3c9aad05cc483db4c6bc8047 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bangladesh/Languages | Languages | Languages
Bengali (Bangla), the national language of Bangladesh, belongs to the Indo-Aryan group of languages and is related to Sanskrit. Like Pali, however, and various other forms of Prakrit in ancient India, Bengali originated beyond the influence of the Brahman society of the Aryans. The Pala rulers of Bengal (8th ... |
6abe56c8a5fe90d3f4378ced89f7d738 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bangladesh/Plant-and-animal-life | Plant and animal life | Plant and animal life
Bangladesh in general possesses a luxuriant vegetation, with villages appearing to be buried in groves of mango, jackfruit, bamboo, betel nut, coconut, and date palm. However, only a small portion of the country’s land surface is covered with forests.
Bangladesh has four different areas of vegetat... |
df5080699486daf5999417fc49d9e45d | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bangladesh/The-arts | The arts | The arts
The Bengali language began to assume a distinct form in the 7th century ce, and by the 11th century a tradition of Bengali literature had been established. Litterateurs received official patronage under both the Pala (8th to 12th century) kings and early Muslim rulers; under the Senas (11th and 12th centuries)... |
fa2c453e8f707f4f3dd975563d2c9dce | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bangladesh/The-British-period-c-1700-1947 | The British period, c. 1700–1947 | The British period, c. 1700–1947
During the rule of the emperor Aurangzeb (reigned 1658–1707), the English East India Company was permitted to establish its base at Calcutta (Kolkata). The British gained strength in the region as the Mughal empire weakened. In 1757, following a battle in the town of Plassey between for... |
7f23894c2dfa567d80887d976d8433fe | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bangor-Maine | Bangor | Bangor
Bangor, city, seat (1816) of Penobscot county, east-central Maine, U.S. It is a port of entry at the head of navigation on the Penobscot River opposite Brewer. The site, visited in 1604 by Samuel de Champlain, was settled in 1769 by Jacob Buswell. First called Kenduskeag Plantation (1776) and later Sunbury (178... |
4c746c90b649c1b3f7b166b1f8646630 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Banja-Luka | Banja Luka | Banja Luka
Banja Luka, also spelled Banjaluka, city, northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies along the Vrbas River at its confluence with the Vrbanja. It serves as the capital of the Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serb Republic), one of the two largely autonomous entities that make up the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina... |
99b9f79c18d641c4fc5bb81d9212d00d | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bannockburn | Bannockburn | Bannockburn
Bannockburn, town, Stirling council area, historic county of Stirlingshire, Scotland. Located slightly to the east of the famous battlefield to which it lent its name, The Battle of Bannockburn, fought June 23–24, 1314, was a decisive event in Scottish history. Bannockburn was known in the 18th and 19th ce... |
e88063ead42c45099fb35ee421079cdd | https://www.britannica.com/place/Banque-Generale | Banque Générale | Banque Générale
…ambitious scheme for a royal bank in France foundered in 1720 because it was linked to his Louisiana company and its inflated prospects. After its failure tax farmers resumed their hold over state finance, and as a result interest rates remained higher than those of Britain because there was no…
In 171... |
5231b05ce29484cb1d2dc36cf6e87dfa | https://www.britannica.com/place/Banqueting-House | Banqueting House | Banqueting House
In 1619 the Banqueting House at Whitehall was destroyed by fire; and between that year and 1622 Jones replaced it with what has always been regarded as his greatest achievement. The Banqueting House consists of one great chamber, raised on a vaulted basement. It was conceived internally as…
…sliding-sa... |
34ca52c48a4b184827b141dc564d609f | https://www.britannica.com/place/Bansang | Bansang | Bansang
Bansang, town, east-central Gambia, on the south bank of the Gambia River. Bansang is a local trade centre for peanuts (groundnuts), rice, and fish among the Malinke, Fulani, and Wolof peoples, and it is a port of call for the government steamer from Banjul, 188 miles (303 km) downstream. Bansang is the site o... |
6304d2f49713511367d9222049c3dc19 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Banswara | Banswara | Banswara
Banswara, town, southern Rajasthan state, northwestern India. It is situated in an upland region of low hills just west of a large reservoir formed by damming the Mahi River.
The area once constituted the princely state of Banswara, founded about 1530, of which the walled town of Banswara was the capital. Ear... |
4231d4042d4e1a596171dd4c18bec1e8 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Banten-former-sultanate-Indonesia | Banten | Banten
…became the first sultan of Banten, and the population in the port area subsequently converted to Islam. It is from this historic sultanate that the province of Banten draws its name. The new sultanate extended its authority southward by sacking the remains of Pajajaran in 1579 and northwestward by subjugating…
|
cd9ed262ebf615bff41f8aeb3ae3b578 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Banten-province-Indonesia | Banten | Banten
Banten, propinsi (or provinsi; province), western Java, Indonesia, bounded to the north by the Java Sea, to the northeast by the special capital district of Jakarta, to the east by the province of West Java (Jawa Barat), to the south by the Indian Ocean, and to the west by the Sunda Strait, across which lies th... |
b1798667eca11d192f4bf60572bb2ab5 | https://www.britannica.com/place/Baranya | Baranya | Baranya
Baranya, megye (county), southern Hungary, bounded by the counties of Tolna to the north and Bács-Kiskun to the east, by Croatia to the south, and by the county of Somogy to the west. Pécs is the county seat.
With adjacent Somogy county, it is the most sparsely populated part of Hungary. Over half of the count... |
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