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Geography: Reference Materials

Reference Materials

Why Reference Sources?

Is your research topic too big to cover in a short paper?  Is your topic so specific that sources will be hard to find?

Before you even begin your research, start the process with reference sources-- in the Library's Reference Section or online in our databases.  Reference books, like subject encyclopedias, can give you a head start and make your research easier in the long run.  Use reference sources to:

  • find a topic
  • narrow your topic
  • find keywords
  • get background information on your topic

MOST IMPORTANT:  Encyclopedia of Geography

Collections of Many Online Reference Books in one place:

Credo Reference     and    Gale eBooks / Gale Virtual Reference Library   and   Salem Press

Oxford Reference and Sage Knowledge Reference also have thousands of scholarly, academic articles, but they are a bit more difficult to use.   Click here to find instructions on how to use these collections of reference books.

Adventurer's Glossary

An Atlas of Geographical Wonders:  From Mountaintops to Riverbeds.  Reference  GA 300 .B 2513 2019

ARCGis Living Atlas of the World

The Borderlands: An Encyclopedia of Culture and Politics on the U.S. - Mexico Divide .

Columbia Gazetteer of the World.  Reference  G 103.5 .C 65 1998

Cultural Geography: A Dictionary of Key Concepts.   General  GF 4 .C 858 2005.

Dictionary of Geography.  Reference  G 63 .E 47 2007.

Elevations and Distances in the United States.

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online

Encyclopedia of Community: From the Village to the Virtual World

Encyclopedia of Global  Studies

Encyclopedia of Human Geography.

Encyclopedia of Islands

Encyclopedia of World Geography

Geography Basics.  Reference  G 116 .G 475 2004.

Geography Today:  An Encyclopedia of Concepts, Issues, and Technology.

Glossary of Flood Terms. (floodsmart.gov)

Historical Dictionary of World Political Geography: An Encyclopedic Guide.  Reference  D 20 .R 16 2001.

International Encyclopedia of Human Geography

Key Concepts in Community Studies.

Key Concepts in Historical Geography.  Reference  G 141 .M 68 2014

Merriam - Webster's Geographical Dictionary .

Reading Weather Maps.

Research Guide to Cartographic Resources

Topographic Map Symbols from the USGS.

21st Century Geography:  A Reference Handbook

Water Encyclopedia, Volume 2: Water Quality and Resource Development.  Reference TD 345 .L 393 2005 v.2

World Civilizations Glossary: Concepts, Values, Terms.

The World's Oceans.

List of COD Statistics databases

  • URL: https://library.cod.edu/geography
  • Last Updated: Feb 21, 2024 1:40 PM
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