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Capitalizing Geographic Names
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Capitalizing Geographic Names

key point Geography is the study of the Earth.

Tip: Geographic names just means names of places, land features, or directions.

Let's learn rules for capitalizing different types of geographic names.

Capitalizing Names of Places

key point Always capitalize names of places and regions. 🌍

Here are some examples:

Rocky Mountains, Hudson River, West Coast, North Texas

Capitalizing Directions

key point There are four compass directions: north, south, east, and west.

They help you get around the world.

If someone asks you for directions, knowing the compass directions comes in really handy.

You can tell them something like:

Drive north two more blocks. They live on the east side of the street.

key point If you go north you'll end up at the North Pole. It's cold there. 🌨

key point The sun always rises in the east and sets in the west, wherever you are on the planet.

Compass Directions Cardinal Directions North South East West Compass on Globe North Pole South Pole

Usually we don't capitalize directions:

Birds fly south in the winter.

key point Capitalize directions only if they are included in the name.

North Pole

But if you add "the" before a direction, it turns into the name of a location!

Birds fly to the South in the winter.

This sentence is showing a location, the South. The South is a region.

key point Capitalize region names like "the North".

Beach scenery with a surf board in the sand and a seagull flying in the sky.

More Rules

key point Do not capitalize “the” in front of geographic names unless it is the first word of the sentence.

Incorrect: ❎

We went to The Grand Canyon.

Correct: ✅

We went to the Grand Canyon.


North America, Europe, Asia
English, Spanish, French

Tip: we don't capitalize:

french fries

French in french fries is not capitalized because french is a type of cut of a potato! It doesn't mean the country France.

French would be capitalized if talking about the language, or something by that country.

I am studying French in school.
I enjoy French food.

Practice Capitalizing Geographic Names

Is the geographic name capitalized correctly?

I wanted mexican food for dinner.


Mexican should be capitalized. 😎

I wanted Mexican food for dinner.
A man dressed in a taco costume.

Let’s try another one. 💪

Is this geographic name capitalized correctly? 👇

We went fishing on the Great Salt Lake.
A boy catching a large fish in a lake.

Yes! The Great Salt Lake is the complete name of the lake and capitalized correctly.

Let’s try one more! 😃

Is this geographic name capitalized correctly?

Go North 5 miles and take a right.

No, north is a direction in this sentence! This sentence is giving directions so north should not be capitalized.

Go north 5 miles and take a right. ✅

Watch and Learn

Great job learning to capitalize names of places, regions, and directions! 😺

Now complete the practice to master these rules for yourself. 

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