Part 1

LITTLE BLUE BOOK NO. 1259 Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius

A Dictionary of Geographical Names

Compiled by Leo Markun

HALDEMAN-JULIUS PUBLICATIONS GIRARD, KANSAS

Copyright, 1927, Haldeman-Julius Company

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A DICTIONARY OF GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

_Aachen._ The ancient Aquisgranum, in French: Aix-la-Chapelle. A city of Rhenish Prussia, Germany. Formerly the capital of Charlemagne and Pepin the Little.

_Aar._ A Swiss river.

_Aargau._ In French: Argovie. A canton of Switzerland.

_Aberdeen._ Old city of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Now an important manufacturing center.

_Aberdeen_ or _Aberdeenshire_. A Scottish county.

_Aboukir_ or _Abukir_. Village fifteen miles from Alexandria, Egypt. In Abukir Bay was fought the Battle of the Nile, in which Nelson won a great victory.

_Abydos._ An ancient town on the Hellespont (Dardanelles). More frequently, an Egyptian city near the western bank of the Nile, no longer in existence.

_Abyssinia._ Independent state in Africa, governed by a monarch.

_Acadia._ In French: Acadie. Former name of Nova Scotia.

_Achaia._ Northern coast of the Peloponnesus or a district in Thessaly, in ancient times. The whole of southern Greece as a Roman province.

_Acre._ City in Beirut Vilayet, Syria. Important in the Crusades.

_Actium._ Promontory in Acarnania, at entrance to the Ambracian Gulf, where Augustus gained a great victory over Antony and Cleopatra.

_Adelaide._ Capital of South Australia, important commercial center.

_Aden._ British fortified settlement and coaling station in Arabia.

_Adirondacks._ Mountains in northern New York, part of the Appalachian system.

_Adrianople._ Anciently, Hadrianopolis or Adrianopolis, the city of Hadrian. City in Turkey, once the capital of the Ottoman Empire.

_Adriatic._ Sea, branch of Mediterranean, east of Italy.

_Aegean._ Sea, between Mediterranean and Sea of Marmora, between Greece and Asia Minor.

_Afghanistan._ Country in Asia, north and west of India.

_Africa._ Continent, connected with Asia by a small strip of land (cut by Suez Canal) and separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea. Northern Africa was known to the ancients, but Europeans have only lately learned to know the southern part and the interior well. Most of Africa is occupied by European colonies. Area, 11,608,000 sq. mi.

_Aisne._ River in northern France. Battlefield in Great War. Department of France.

_Aix-la-Chapelle._ See Aachen.

_Ajaccio._ Capital of Corsica, birthplace of Napoleon.

_Alaska._ Territory of U. S., in northwestern part of North America.

_Alba Longa._ Most ancient town in Latium, near Rome. Destroyed by Tullius Hostilius.

_Albania._ Ancient country east of Iberia. Country in the Balkans.

_Albany._ Capital of New York. Name of various other cities and towns, mostly in U. S. River in Ontario.

_Albion._ Old name for England.

_Albuquerque._ City in New Mexico. City in Philippines.

_Aleppo._ City in Syria, controlled by French.

_Alexandria._ Several cities founded by Alexander the Great bore this name. Old capital of Egypt, now an important seaport. Ancient cities near Troy, at entrance of Syria, at the mouth of the Tigris. Modern cities in Virginia, in Rumania.

_Algeria._ French colony in northern Africa.

_Algiers._ In French: Alger. Capital of Algeria, important seaport.

_Alps._ Mountain system in Europe.

_Alsace-Lorraine._ Region long disputed between France and Germany. These provinces are now French.

_America._ Two continents, North and South America. The New World.

_Amiens._ French city with a celebrated cathedral.

_Amsterdam._ The most important city of the Netherlands. A great seaport.

_Amu Darya._ River in central Asia.

_Anatolia._ Asia Minor, part of Turkey.

_Andes._ Mountain system in the western part of South America.

_Andorra._ Semi-independent republic in the Pyrenees, controlled by France. The language is Catalan. In French: Andorre.

_Angola._ Portuguese dependency in western Africa.

_Angora._ Province of Turkey and city in the province. Now one of the capitals of the republic.

_Annam._ French protectorate in Indo-China, also called Anam. Nominally a kingdom.

_Annapolis._ Capital of Maryland, seat of U. S. Naval Academy.

_Antarctic._ Ocean around South Pole.

_Antilles._ West Indies, islands in Atlantic, off Central America and southern North America, or two groups of them.

_Antioch._ City of Syria, important in ancient times.

_Antipodes._ Lands on the opposite side of globe, as Australasia. A group of islands near and under the control of New Zealand.

_Antwerp._ Capital of province of same name, chief city of Belgium, important industrially and commercially.

_Appalachian._ Mountain system in eastern North America.

_Arabia._ Peninsula of southwestern Asia. Political divisions include Aden, Asir, Hejaz, Jebel Shammar, Kuweit, Nejd and Hasa, Oman, and Yemen.

_Aragon._ Old kingdom, now part of Spain.

_Arcadia._ Ancient country of Greece. This mountainous district was supposed to be occupied by contented shepherds. The name is often to be found in literature, sometimes under the poetical form of Arcady. Literary Arcadia owes much to Virgil, Sannazzaro, and Sidney.

_Archangel._ Russian city, of interest because it is farther north than any other of equal importance. Base of operations against Bolshevists.

_Arctic._ Ocean around North Pole.

_Argentina_ or _Argentine Republic_. One of the greatest countries of South America.

_Argos._ A town in Argolis, Greece, still in existence, but recorded here for its ancient importance. In Homer, Argos stands sometimes for the town itself, sometimes for the region of Argolis or for Agamemnon’s kingdom, or even for the entire Peloponnesus. The “Argives” are all the Greeks assembled against Troy in most cases.

_Armenia._ Ancient country of Asia, at one time divided between Roman and Persian Empires, Recently, divided among Russia, Persia, and Turkey. The Christians of A. evidently took considerable pleasure in being massacred by the Turks. (Russian) Armenia is one in the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics. In the Bible: Minni.

_Aroostook._ River and county in Maine. The county depends largely upon the potato crop.

_Asia._ Continent of the Old World. With Europe, part of Eurasia. A. is the largest of the continents, and it is very likely the place where civilization first arose. Area: 17,040,000 sq. mi. Name applied by ancients to the western part of Asia Minor, to the whole continent, to a Roman province formed out of the kingdom of Pergamus.

_Asia Minor_ or _Anatolia_. Roughly, the part of Asia north of the Mediterranean Sea. Long part of the Ottoman Empire.

_Athens._ The center of ancient Greek culture and capital of Attica. Now a flourishing city and the capital of Greece. Has been under Roman, Byzantine, and Turkish rule. Most celebrated for antique remains.

_Atlantic._ Ocean dividing Europe and Africa from America. Sometimes considered as two oceans, North and South Atlantic.

_Atlantis._ According to old tradition, a great island in the Atlantic, swallowed up by the ocean because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.

_Atlas._ System of mountains in northwestern Africa, where Atlas, son of Iapetus, is said once to have held up the skies.

_Australasia._ Arbitrary term used in maps to describe a part of the earth, including Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and the Fiji Islands. Sometimes many other island groups are also included.

_Australia._ Continent of the southern hemisphere, between Indian and Pacific Oceans. May be considered an island rather than a continent. The Commonwealth of Australia is an autonomous part of the British Empire. Area: 2,948,000 sq. mi.

_Austria._ Republic of Europe, once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Has now only an area of about 32,000 sq. mi.

_Avignon._ Old city of southern France, once called Avenio by the Romans. Has been a republic, part of Papal States, seat of the Popes.

_Azerbaijan._ One of the Socialist Soviet Republics. Formerly a Persian province. Between Armenia and the Caspian Sea.

_Azores._ Portuguese islands in the Atlantic Ocean.

_Babylon._ Great city of antiquity. Built on both banks of the Euphrates, long subject to Assyrian Empire, then the capital of Babylonia.

_Bagdad._ City of Mesopotamia, now in Iraq. Still of some importance.

_Bahia._ State of Brazil and its capital, the oldest city of Brazil.

_Balearic._ Spanish islands in the Mediterranean.

_Balkan._ Mountain system in southeastern Europe, peninsula between Black and Adriatic Seas. The Balkan countries may be said to include Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Jugo-Slavia (with Montenegro), and Rumania.

_Baltimore._ Important seaport city of Maryland.

_Baluchistan._ Country in British India, of which part is divided into native states.

_Bangkok._ Chief commercial city of Siam, also the capital.

_Barbados_, also _Barbadoes_. The most eastward of the West Indian islands. British colony.

_Barcelona._ Province of Spain and its capital, seaport and important city.

_Basel._ In French: Bâle. Swiss canton and city in it; manufacturing, commercial, university town.

_Basque_ or _Biscayan_. The region and language of the western Pyrenees. Basque provinces of Spain include Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa, and Álava.

_Batavia._ Dutch residency, bay, city, in East Indies. City is capital and most important commercial center of Dutch East Indies. In ancient writings and sometimes in modern ones, B. stands for the Netherlands or the general district of the Low Countries. In French Revolutionary times, there was a Batavian Republic in Europe. The Batavia were a Celtic people, for a time allied with the Romans.

_Batum._ Province and city, formerly in Russian Empire, now in Georgia.

_Beirut._ Seaport of Syria, now under French control. In ancient times, Berytus, a Phoenician port.

_Belfast._ Important commercial city in Northern Ireland, i.e., not in the Free State. Center of linen trade.

_Belgium._ In French: Belgique. Kingdom of western Europe, part of the Low Countries. Anciently, the territory of the Bellovaci, part of the Belgae, a Germanic people.

_Belgrade._ In Serbian: Beograd. Capital of Jugo-Slavia, commercial city and port.

_Benares._ District of India and its capital, an ancient city and a holy place for the Hindus.

_Bengal._ Presidency of British India, including mouths of Ganges and Brahmaputra. Bay, really part of Indian Ocean.

_Berlin._ Capital of Prussia and German Republic. One of the great cities of the world, of historical as well as present importance.

_Bermuda._ Islands, British colony, 580 miles from North Carolina. Haven for thirsty Americans.

_Berne_ or _Bern_. Canton of Switzerland and its capital, also the capital of the country. Once a free city.

_Bethlehem._ Town in Palestine, traditionally the birthplace of the Son of God. City in Pennsylvania, home of the Bethlehem Steel Company and the Moravian Theological Seminary.

_Bhutan._ Nominally independent kingdom in the eastern Himalayas.

_Birmingham._ City, civic county and borough of Warwickshire, England. Great manufacturing city, leading hardware center of the world. Also manufacturing city of Alabama, and several smaller places in U. S.

_Biscay._ Bay, part of Atlantic, north of Spain and west of France.

_Biscayan._ See Basque.

_Black._ Sea, also called Euxine, south of European Russia. The Greeks knew the sea at an early period, calling it Pontus or Pontus Euxinus.

_Blenheim_ or _Blindheim_. Village in Bavaria, Germany, where the French were badly beaten in 1704.

_Boeotia._ District in ancient Greece. The Boeotians were proverbially stupid.

_Bohemia._ Old kingdom, long a crownland of Austria, now part of Czecho-Slovakia. In Bohemian (Czech): Cechy.

_Bokhara._ Country of central Asia, dependent upon Russia.

_Bolivia._ South American republic, west of Brazil.

_Bologna._ Italian city, the Felsina and Bononia of the ancients. Capital of province of same name. Famous for medieval architecture, modern commerce, and sausage.

_Bombay._ Governmental district of India, island, and city, capital of the presidency. Great commercial city.

_Bordeaux._ French city of considerable antiquity. Port, university city, famous for wine. Capital of France for a short time when Paris was threatened during World War.

_Bosnia._ Former Turkish province. Annexation by Austria-Hungary one of the causes of World War. Now in Jugo-Slavia.

_Bosporus._ Strait between Black and Marmora Seas. Of great political and economic importance.

_Boston._ Capital and chief city of Massachusetts, “Hub of the Universe” for New Englanders. City and port in Lincolnshire, England, after which the American Boston was named.

_Bothnia._ Gulf extension of Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden.

_Boulogne_ or _Boulogne-sur-Mer_, to distinguish it from Boulogne-sur-Seine. Seaport of France, where Napoleon made preparations for the invasion of England. B.-sur-Seine is a suburb of Paris.

_Brabant._ Old duchy, now divided between Belgium and Netherlands.

_Bradford._ City of Yorkshire, England. Textile manufacturing center. Also a small city, B.-on-Avon, and various places in the U. S.

_Brahmaputra._ Important river of India.

_Brazil._ Officially, United States of Brazil. One of the great countries of South America. Language: Portuguese. Climate mostly tropical.

_Bremen._ German seaport city, long a free city and one member of the Hanseatic League. The port of Bremen is called Bremerhaven.

_Breslau._ Capital of Silesia, Germany.

_Brest-Litovsk._ City of Grodno, Russia. Here was signed the treaty of peace between Germany and Soviets, later annulled by the Allies.

_Bristol._ City of Gloucestershire, England, formerly second only to London in importance, and a celebrated port. Cabot started to the New World from B.

_Brittany._ In French: Bretagne. Old province of France. The people of Brittany are called Bretons. The duchy was long independent of the French crown, and was for a time an English fief.

_Bronx, the._ Borough of the city of New York, principally residential.

_Brooklyn._ Formerly a city of New York state, now part of the city of New York.

_Bruges._ Capital of West Flanders, Belgium. Much more important in middle ages than now. Many medieval buildings destroyed during World War.

_Brussels._ Most important city of Belgium.

_Bucharest_ or _Bukharest_. In Roumanian: Bucuresti. Capital of Roumania.

_Budapest_ or _Budapesth_. Capital of Hungary. Formed of two cities, Buda and Pest, on opposite sides of the Danube.

_Buenos Aires._ Capital of Argentina, largest city of South America. Of manufacturing, commercial, educational importance.

_Buffalo._ City of New York, of second importance in the state.

_Bukowina._ Former crownland of Austria, now in Roumania.

_Bulgaria._ Kingdom of Europe. Balkan state, formerly part of Turkish Empire. Limited in area as penalty for joining Central Powers in World War.

_Burgundy._ In French: Bourgogne. Former duchy, kingdom, province of France. Acquired by France in eleventh century and then lost. At times a dangerous rival to France. Burgundy wine is usually red.

_Burma._ Country of eastern India under British control.

_Byzantium._ A town on the Bosporus founded by the Megarians, built anew by Constantine in 330 and called Constantinople.

_Cádiz._ Province of Spain and its capital, on the island of Leon. The city, known to the Romans as Gades, was founded by the Phoenicians.

_Caen._ City in department of Calvados, France. Was an important place in old Normandy.

_Cairo._ Capital and chief city of Egypt. Commercial, educational, religious (Mohammedan) importance.

_Calais._ Seaport and fortified city of France, on English Channel.

_Calcutta._ Largest city of India, formerly capital.

_Caledonia._ For the Romans, the northern part of Britain. Now a poetic name for Scotland.

_Cambridge._ University city of England. City of Massachusetts, near Boston, seat of Harvard University.

_Canada._ Autonomous country in British Empire, north of U. S. Includes provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan, also territory of Yukon and Northwest Territories.

_Canary._ Islands in Atlantic, ruled by Spain. Also, Canaries, and in Spanish, Canarias.

_Canberra._ New capital of Australia.

_Canterbury._ City of Kent, England, chief center of Anglican Church. Shrine of St. Thomas à Becket brought many pilgrims in middle ages.

_Canton._ In Chinese: Kwangchowfu. Capital of Kwang-fung, China. Great commercial and manufacturing city, center of foreign trade.

_Cape Colony_ or _Cape Province_ or, now officially, _Cape of Good Hope_. Province in Union of South Africa.

_Capetown._ Also: Cape Town. Capital of Cape of Good Hope, legislative seat of Union of South Africa. Founded by the Dutch.

_Cappadocia._ Ancient district of Asia Minor. Tiberius made C. a Roman province.

_Cardiff._ City of Glamorganshire, Wales. Important for coal trade.

_Caria._ Ancient district of southwestern Asia Minor. Part of the Roman province of Asia.

_Caribbean._ Sea south of the West Indies.

_Carinthia._ Former crownland of Austria, now in Austrian Republic. In German: Kärnten.

_Carmel._ Mountain of Palestine. Holy place for many centuries. Here, biblically, Jehovah proved himself to be a greater god than Baal by sending down fire from heaven.

_Carniola._ In German: Krain. Former crownland of Austria, now divided between Italy and Jugo-Slavia.

_Carpathian._ Mountains, now chiefly in Czecho-Slovakia and Roumania, before the World War mostly in Hungarian territory.

_Carthage._ One of the most important and most celebrated cities of the ancient world, called Carthago or Magna Carthago by the Romans. Located in Africa, northeast of Tunis. Founded by the Phoenicians. The Carthaginians built up a state rivalling that of Rome.

_Caspian._ Sea or lake. By far the largest saltwater lake in the world. Surrounded by European and Asian Soviet Republics and Persia.

_Castile._ In Spanish: Castilla. Former kingdom of Spain. Castilian is literary and standard Spanish.

_Catalonia._ In Spanish: Cataluña. Former division of Spain. The inhabitants of C. are called Catalans. The Catalan language is spoken in part of northern Spain and southern France.

_Catania._ Province of Sicily and its capital, Catana or Catina of the ancients. Founded B. C. 730, came under Roman rule in the first Punic war. At the foot of Mt. Etna, and has suffered much from earthquakes and volcanic disturbances.

_Caucasus._ Mountains dividing Europe from Asia, in Soviet territory between Black and Caspian Seas.

_Cawnpore_ or _Cawnpur_. District of British India and its capital, an important railroad junction. Scene of massacre of English residents in Sepoy rebellion.

_Celebes._ Island in Dutch East Indies.

_Chaeronea._ Ancient town in Boeotia, where Philip of Macedon won a great victory and Sulla defeated Mithridates.

_Chalcedon._ Old Greek city at the entrance of the Bosporus, opposite Byzantium. Long independent, then subject to Bithynia.

_Chalcis._ Several ancient towns. An important city of Euboea, town in Aetolia, city of Syria.

_Chaldea._ Old Babylonian province. Name also applied to all Babylonia.

_Châlons-sur-Marne._ City of France, capital of department of Marne, place where Attila’s Huns were defeated, A. D. 451.

_Champagne._ Old province of France. Champagne wine is usually white and sparkling.

_Changchowfu._ City of Fukien, China.

_Changsha._ Capital of Hunan, China. Treaty port.

_Changteh._ City of Hunan, China.

_Charlottenburg._ Important suburb of Berlin, Germany.

_Chautauqua._ Township of western New York, where summer courses are conducted.

_Chemnitz._ City of Saxony, Germany.

_Cheng-tu_ or _Ching-tu_ (sometimes without hyphens). City of Szechuan, China.

_Cherbourg._ Port and naval station of Manche Department, France.

_Chersonesus._ Greek word for peninsula. Without qualifications, it meant for the Greeks Gallipoli, peninsula of the Dardanelles. C. Taurica or Scythica was Crimea. Gallipoli is also called Chersonese.

_Cheshire_ or _Chester_. County of England. A Cheshire cat is a person with a fixed grin.

_Chicago._ Second city of U. S. County seat of Cook County, Illinois. Founded, as Fort Dearborn, in 1804.

_Chile_ or _Chili_. Important republic of South America.

_China._ Great Asiatic republic, before 1912 an empire. People of China possess an ancient and significant civilization. Although C. is not a “great power,” i.e., is of small military strength, and has been the scene of exploitation by European and other well-armed countries, it must be reckoned with, even as a potential maker of war.

_China._ Sea, part of Pacific Ocean, south and east of China.

_Chosen._ See Korea.

_Christiania._ See Oslo.

_Chungking._ City of Szechuan, China.

_Cincinnati._ City of Ohio, on Ohio River, manufacturing and commercial center.

_Cleveland._ Largest city of Ohio.

_Cochin China._ French colony, part of French Indo-China.

_Colchis_ or _Aea_. District of Asia, south of Caucasus Mountains, important in Greek legend.

_Cologne._ In German: Köln. District of German Rhine Provinces and its capital, of great historical importance. Once renowned for its perfumery.

_Colombia._ Republic of South America. Has been known as New Granada, Granadine Confederation, United States of Colombia.

_Colombo._ Capital of Ceylon, a British colony.

_Colophon._ Old Ionian (Greek) city which claimed to be the birthplace of Homer.

_Colorado._ State, river, desert, of U. S.

_Congo._ River and country of Africa. The old Congo Free State is now a Belgian colony.

_Constance._ In German: Konstanz, also Kostnitz. City of Baden, Germany, important historically.

_Constantinople._ Turkish: Istamboul. City of Turkey in Europe, on the Bosporus. Of international significance because of its location, at entrance to Black Sea, and because it is the modern center of Mohammedanism, at least in Turkey. Has been an important Christian center and capital of (Eastern) Roman Empire. On the site of old Byzantium. Long the capital of Ottoman Empire, now one of the capitals of Turkey.

_Copenhagen._ Danish: Köbenhavn or Kjobenhavn. Capital and fortified seaport of Denmark. Great commercial city, cultural center of Scandinavia.

_Cordova._ Spanish: Córdoba. Province of Spain and its capital.

_Corea._ See Korea.

_Corfu._ Island in Ionian Sea, known to the Greeks of antiquity as Corcyra, seat of an important Corinthian colony.

_Corinth._ Isthmus of Greece; ancient city located on it, whose territory was known as Corinthia. Important commercial and colonizing city of ancient times. The city on its site is now known as New Corinth. There is also a Gulf of C. or Lepanto, north of Corinthia.

_Corsica._ Island in Mediterranean, north of Sardinia. French department. In French: Corse.

_Costa Rica._ Republic of Central America.

_Cressy._ French: Crécy or Crécy-en-Ponthieu. Place in France where Edward the Black Prince badly defeated the French in 1346.

_Crete_ or _Candia_. Island in the Mediterranean belonging to Greece. The ancient Creta, with a civilization of some importance in Homeric times. Much later, a Roman province.

_Crimea._ Russian: Krim. Peninsula of Russia. Chersonesus Taurica of the ancients.

_Croatia._ Formerly a Hungarian crownland, now in Jugo-Slavia. People of C. are called Croats, their Slavic language is Croatian.

_Ctesiphon._ Old city of Assyria, winter residence of the kings of Parthia.

_Cuba._ Republic. Island of West Indies. The language is Spanish.

_Czechoslovakia._ Republic formed after the World War, composed of Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, Southern Ruthenia, and Silesia. Languages spoken include Bohemian or Czech, German, and Ruthenian, which is practically the same as Ukrainian.