Top Ten Common Geography Mistakes

1. Africa is a country

   

   Oh my gosh, this is so true. Every American I know says Africa is a country. You meet a person who thinks they know more about geography than you and says, I know what Africa is. I say, Then what is it? They say, A country. I say, Okay, you either ditched geography or are really stupid. Africa is a continent, ya goon.

   Every American be like:

   But honestly, it's pretty sad that this is number one and most Americans still believe this. Like, people, there is so much diversity in this continent, but you people just want to hide in your little box and group it all together. Either you're a racist or you flunked Geography class. Oof, man. Oof.

2. Greenland is as big as Africa

   

   This is just a mistake that happens with the warped maps. Stop trying to convert a globe into a rectangle!

   An effect of the Mercator projection, this is by no means accurate. Africa is really 14 times larger than Greenland.

   It's actually smaller than countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Algeria.

3. Toronto is the capital of Canada

   

   Toronto is the capital of Ontario, whereas Ottawa is the national capital of Canada.

   It seems like major cities are often mistaken as capitals, at least most of the time.

   It's actually Ottawa, but to be fair, both cities are in the same province.

4. England and the United Kingdom are the same thing

   

   England is one of the four nations that make up the UK. I hope it stays that way. England is the main political and economic part of the country, but I cannot imagine it without Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Lots of the greatest figures from 'England' are actually from other nations in the UK.

   I hope that Brexit does not end the UK, because although England doesn't seem to give much credit, those other three vital nations have done a lot. Call the Titanic English if you want, but it was made in Belfast. Sure, Wellington did well at Waterloo, but he was actually Scottish. What are we going to call the heir to the throne if Wales wasn't part of the UK? We couldn't call them the Prince/Princess of Wales anymore.

   England is not the UK and I want it to stay that way.

5. Deserts always have high temperatures

   

   While many deserts around 30 degrees latitude can reach significantly high temperatures (Sahara, Mojave, etc.), there can be some cold deserts. A desert refers to any area with less than 10 inches of rain a year. This includes Antarctica and the Gobi Desert.

   The definition of a desert is not "a place with lots of sand and very high temperatures," it's "an area with rainfall less than 10 inches per year." So Antarctica, technically, is a desert.

   They are dry, which means in the daytime they are very hot, but at night you could freeze to death.

6. America is a country

   

   The Americas or America comprises many different countries including the United States of America, which is a country in North America, one of the regions of the Americas.

   If you grow up in the U.S., you use United States of America and America interchangeably.

   But most other countries distinguish between the U.S.A. and America.

   Sometimes when you talk about America, you're referring to the United States of America.

7. Holland is a country

   

   Holland is just a small coastal area of the Netherlands which doesn't refer to the entire country. I believe people think it's the same thing, since in other languages a form similar to Holland is used.

   I thought that because when I went to the Netherlands everyone was saying Holland instead of the Netherlands, so I assumed Holland was another name for the Netherlands.

   Many Americans refer to the Netherlands as Holland, but really, Holland is just a large area of the Netherlands. Important cities are in Holland, including Amsterdam and The Hague.

8. Moscow is in Asia

   

   Moscow is the capital and most populous city of Russia. It is located in western Russia along the Moskva River. Moscow is a major political, economic, and cultural center and is home to the Kremlin, Red Square, and numerous historic landmarks.

   Moscow is in the European continent because the western part of Russia is in Europe (cough cough, Kaliningrad). Sometimes others confuse this (cough cough, Crimea). Therefore, Moscow is not in Asia.

   Moscow, the capital of Russia, is in Europe. You need to know that Russia lies on two continents, Asia and Europe.

   It's really weird how it probably took a war (Russo-Ukrainian War) to make people now know Moscow is closer to Minsk and not Tokyo.

9. Sydney is the capital of Australia

   

   The reason for this is that they couldn't decide whether Melbourne or Sydney should be the capital. I think Melbourne is a better city (imho), but they obviously should've made Sydney the capital.

   And I don't blame people who think this, because Sydney is way more famous than Canberra.

   Sydney is the largest city in Australia. Canberra is the capital. I can see why people get it wrong every time, though.

   Sydney is the largest city in Australia, but Canberra is the capital city of Australia.

10. Australia is an island

    

    Technically it consists of a few islands, so that technically makes it an archipelago. The continent it's located in is Oceania.

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11. ?

    North Korea and South Korea are the same country

    

    Haha, sensitive topic. In other words, they hate each other. However, in South Korea, I think they refer to South Korea as simply Korea informally. I don't want any South Koreans to get mad at me or think I'm misinforming anyone, but in South Korea - where my mother studied - she said to just call it Korea.

12. ?

    Afghanistan is a city in India

    
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13. The Statue of Liberty is in New York

    

    I didn't know that, but that's not necessarily dumb. Like, do you know which Indian state the Taj Mahal is in? Pretty much the same thing.

    Geographically, the Statue of Liberty falls under New Jersey's borders.

14. Central American countries are in South America

    

    Those are two different continents, although you could argue that the whole of America could count as one continent. Eh, anyway, you get my point.

15. Colorado is a perfect square

    Also, the latitude and longitude will bend it, as shown on a satellite image.

16. Maine is the easternmost U.S. state

    While yes, Maine is the easternmost of the lower 48, it isn't the easternmost of the whole US. Alaska leans so far west it actually passes the prime meridian and is partly in the Eastern Hemisphere.

    It depends on how you interpret the International Date Line.

17. Charleston is the capital of South Carolina

    Charleston is a major city in South Carolina, but the capital is Columbia. West Virginia's capital is Charleston, so basically, two cities have the same name.

    I commonly make this mistake. I'm into birds, and a lot of bird history took place in Charleston, so often this is the only SC city I can remember.

    Charleston is actually the capital of my state, West Virginia.

18. Shanghai is the capital of China

    It's the biggest city, but not the capital.

19. Europe is a country

    

    Really? The UK, France, Sweden, Western Russia, Lithuania, and many more are one united country?

    European here. Every European country is different from each other.

    I can't believe someone believes this.

20. Rio de Janeiro is the capital of Brazil

    

21. Jamaica is in Africa

    

    So, you're racist?

    Just because a country has a lot of Sub-Saharan descent doesn't mean it's African. If that was the case, say hello to our new African countries, Haiti and the USA!

    See how dumb you are?

    Why do you think that? It looks like it's in Africa?

22. Rangoon is the capital of Myanmar

    Rangoon is not the capital of Myanmar. The capital is Naypyidaw. It used to be Rangoon, but it changed to Naypyidaw in 2006. I can see how people might confuse the present and past capitals, though.

    Rangoon isn't the capital of Myanmar. I think it's a major city. The capital is Naypyidaw.

    In 2006, the capital was changed to Naypyidaw.

23. Austria and Australia are the same

    

    WHO WOULD THINK THAT?!? Okay, in 4th grade, when we did a report on countries of the world, I picked Austria. On presentation day, a boy asked me if Austria was Australia's capital and why a country would be so arrogant to name the capital after themselves. It was so funny.

    Sorry, Austria, your capital Vienna sounds like Venice in Italy, so people think your country is full of frauds.

    The name Australia is based on its original name, Terra Australis, which means southern land. We did not copy the name.

    It's funny because the accents from these two countries couldn't be more different.

24. The Philippines is part of Oceania/Australia

    

    The Philippines is officially part of Southeast Asia and is about 500 miles off the coast of China. Indonesia, however, is partially in Oceania/Australia because it takes up half of New Guinea.

    Indonesia is closer to Australia than the Philippines.

25. Palestine is a country

    

    Palestine is a UN observer territory, not officially a country yet, as it isn't recognized by many Western nations.

26. Puerto Rico is a country

    

27. Antarctica is a country

    

    Although parts of it are owned by different countries, Antarctica is not a country. If you believe this, why don't you take a trip there yourself? It's the biggest desert too, so you should wear your summer clothes. Trust me, it's a great experience.

    It's a continent with several regions occupied by seven countries.