Articles with geographical locations

Articles with geographical names  

Rules and examples of using articles with geographical names 

Geographical locations	Rules	Examples
Oceans and seas	use «the» before the names of oceans and seas.	They sailed across the Pacific Ocean. We had a vacation by  the Mediterranean Sea.
Rivers	use «the» before the names of rivers	The Nile flows through Egypt. Paris is located on  the Seine.
Mountain ranges	use «the» before the names of mountain ranges.	They went hiking in theRocky Mountains. The Himalayas are home to Mount Everest.
Groups of islands	use «the» before the names of groups of islands	They spent their honeymoon in the Maldives. The Bahamasare a popular tourist destination.
Countries, cities	use no article with the names of countries and cities  (but  the USA, the UK, the Check Republic)	She lives in France.  He has a business meeting in  New York. He travelled through  the United Kingdom.
Single islands and mountains	use no article with the names of separate islands and mountain peaks	Last summer we went to Sicily. The Himalayas are home to  Mount Everest.

1.1 Use «the» before the names of oceans, seas and rivers.

Examples

The Indian Ocean is known for its warm waters.

Have you ever been to the coast of the Red Sea? 

The Mississippi River runs through the United States.

1.2 Use «the» before the mountain ranges and groups of islands. But no article is placed before the separate islands or mountain peaks.

Examples

The Andes stretch across South America. (=mountain range)

She plans to hike Mount Kilimanjaro. (=single peak)

The Canary Islands are located near Africa. (=group of islands)

He dreams of living on Bali. (=separate island)

1.3 Do not use «the» before the names of countries and cities. However, use «the» with countries that have names with Republic, States, Kingdom.

Examples

They are visiting Japan next summer.

They spent their vacation in Rome.

They are dreaming of visiting the USA.