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Geographical

Official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)

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Geographical Magazine home

The rush for rare earth elements

The rush for rare earth elements

QUIZ: Geography Trivia

QUIZ: Geography Trivia

Hope and memory in Hiroshima: A journey from Mount Fuji to global zero

Hope and memory in Hiroshima: A journey from Mount Fuji to global zero

Scotland’s ecocide bill could set a global legal precedent

Scotland’s ecocide bill could set a global legal precedent

UK risks missing global ocean treaty deadline as EU nations accelerate ratification

UK risks missing global ocean treaty deadline as EU nations accelerate ratification

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Opinion

The rush for rare earth elements

The rush for rare earth elements

Rare earths are the world’s most in-demand elements. Marco Magrini reports on the battle for their future — and ours
Pakistan is extremely water-stressed

When water becomes a weapon: The rise of global water tensions

Tim Marshall examines why water is fast becoming a trigger for conflict, from South Asia to the Middle East – and why climate change is raising the stakes
Map of Gulf of Mexico

Digital cartography on trial: Mexico sues Google for ‘Gulf of America’ label

Mexico sues Google over renaming the Gulf of Mexico ‘Gulf of America’, raising concerns about digital sovereignty and cartographic power
Glowing clouds below sun during sunrise

A fading shine: why earth’s dimming glow spells climate trouble

Marco Magrini considers the climate consequences of a dimming planet
Don’t care about the Arctic because it’s empty and distant – care because it’s busy and close

Don’t care about the Arctic because it’s empty and distant – care because it’s busy and close

An Arctic resident’s view of the row about Camilla Hempleman-Adams’ trek across Baffin Island
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Geo explainers

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Eagle Creek Wildfire in Columbia River Gorge forest, Oregon
Science & Environment

Geo explainer: Why are wildfires getting worse?

Discover the several reasons behind increasingly common wildfires around the world, including those in California
After the heavy rains and floods of last week in Merzouga, beautiful lakes have formed along the edges of Erg Chebbi.
Science & Environment

Geo explainer: Will the Sahara flood again?

Discover the Sahara Desert’s fascinating past – and why climate change may make flooding a likely part of its future.
Container cargo ship at industrial port
Briefing

Geo explainer: Where in the world are the busiest shipping lanes?

Take a deep dive into the world’s busiest shipping lanes according to the number of vessels passing through them each day.
Cape Town city and table mountain in the background during sunset
Briefing

Geo explainer: Exploring Africa’s economy and GDP

Five countries account for half of Africa’s total GDP, playing crucial roles in the continent’s economy – but where exactly are they?
Train of Phosphate in Sahara of Tunisia
Briefing

Geo explainer: What is phosphate mining – and why is it important?

Phosphate rock is an essential element for life on Earth. Discover its applications and why its mining threatens planetary health…

Editor’s Pick

How maps tell the story of war in Ukraine
Geopolitics

How maps tell the story of war in Ukraine

The way maps are created can have a significant impact on the way we view conflict, as shown by the war in Ukraine
China’s controversial security deal with the Solomon Islands
Geopolitics

China’s controversial security deal with the Solomon Islands

Journalist and broadcaster, Tim Marshall, shares his thoughts on the Solomon Islands’ shift towards a security deal with China
Old and new in El Alto, Bolivia’s highest city
Culture

Old and new in El Alto, Bolivia’s highest city

Shafik Meghji visits El Alto, Bolivia’s youngest and highest city, a place where the past and the future collide.
Roseberry Topping: the Yorkshire Matterhorn
Culture

Roseberry Topping: the Yorkshire Matterhorn

Rory Walsh follows in the footsteps of a famous explorer for views over the North York Moors and an adventure-inspiring climb
The lost continent of Balkanatolia
Science & Environment

The lost continent of Balkanatolia

An ancient lost continent, dubbed Balkanatolia, could explain the movement of mammals millions of years ago

Geo explainers

Eagle Creek Wildfire in Columbia River Gorge forest, Oregon
Science & Environment

Geo explainer: Why are wildfires getting worse?

Discover the several reasons behind increasingly common wildfires around the world, including those in California
After the heavy rains and floods of last week in Merzouga, beautiful lakes have formed along the edges of Erg Chebbi.
Science & Environment

Geo explainer: Will the Sahara flood again?

Discover the Sahara Desert’s fascinating past – and why climate change may make flooding a likely part of its future.
Container cargo ship at industrial port
Briefing

Geo explainer: Where in the world are the busiest shipping lanes?

Take a deep dive into the world’s busiest shipping lanes according to the number of vessels passing through them each day.
Cape Town city and table mountain in the background during sunset
Briefing

Geo explainer: Exploring Africa’s economy and GDP

Five countries account for half of Africa’s total GDP, playing crucial roles in the continent’s economy – but where exactly are they?
Train of Phosphate in Sahara of Tunisia
Briefing

Geo explainer: What is phosphate mining – and why is it important?

Phosphate rock is an essential element for life on Earth. Discover its applications and why its mining threatens planetary health…
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Book reviews

The Biodiversity Gardener: Establishing a Legacy for the Natural World, by Paul Sterry
The Future of Geography: How Politics in Space will Change Our World, by Tim Marshall
The Last Drop: Solving the World’s Water Crisis, by Tim Smedley
The Half Known Life: Finding Paradise in a Divided World, by Pico Iyer
The Explorer and the Journalist: Frederick Cook, Philip Gibbs and the Scandal that Shocked the World, by Richard Evans
Flying Green: On the New Frontiers of Aviation, by Christopher de Bellaigue
Sea Bean: A Beachcomber’s search for a magical charm, by Sally Huband
The Land Beneath the Ice: The Pioneering Years of Radar Exploration in Antarctica, by David J Drewry
Explorer: The Quest for Adventure and the Great Unknown, by Benedict Allen
Home Waters: Discovering the Submerged Science of Britain’s Coast, by David Bowers
Time on Rock: A Climber’s Route into the Mountains, by Anna Fleming
Wounded Tigris: A River Journey Through the Cradle of Civilisation, by Leon McCarron

Discovering Britain

The lavender fields at Castle Farm

Discovering Britain: Darent Valley, earthly paradise

Scrabo Tower, overlooking Strangford Lough

Discovering Britain: Strangford Loch

The city grid of Milton Keynes

Milton Keynes: Soulless suburb or urban utopia?

Worcester Cathedral with Watergate in foreground

Discovering Britain: the watery tale of Worcester

Spurn Point Lighthouse East Riding Yorkshire

Discovering Britain: Spurn Point in the Humber Estuary

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Long reads

Concept art of a mushroom cloud from a nuclear explosion

Hope and memory in Hiroshima: A journey from Mount Fuji to global zero

Marauiá mountain range. Yanomami Indigenous Territory, state of Amazonas, Brazil, 2018

Remembering Sebastião Salgado

Glaciologist Ricardo Jaña of the Chilean Antarctica Institute, research chief at the Union Glacier Joint Scientific Polar Station

Life, science and climate urgency on Antarctica’s Union Glacier

Odysseus tied to the mast. Image from an ancient vase found in the Black Sea

Mapping the myth: In search of Homer’s enchanted islands

The Zealandia reserve, with the suburbs of Wellington in the background

Into the urban jungle: how Zealandia became Wellington’s wild heart

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Published in the UK since 1935, Geographical is the official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG).

Informative, authoritative and educational, this site’s content covers a wide range of subject areas, including geography, culture, wildlife and exploration, illustrated with superb photography.

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