CZ:Geography Workgroup/Gazetteer

The Gazetteer is a project to create articles for every continent, country, region and city. It is a subset of the Geography Workgroup. See CZ talk:Geography Workgroup/Gazetteer for discussion of the rules.

Subject Checklists

The following is a guide to help authors and editors to write articles for the Gazetteer. Articles should touch on most of these aspects in order to be comprehensive. This is not as list of sections headers to be copy pasted into articles like a template. Nor is the order of this list important or significant. Each country is different and so must be treated individually when writing. This list is simply so that you can check whither you have comprehensively covered the topic or whither you have omitted something.

Countries and regions

Introduction - Start with the name in English. If there is more than one way to write this name or more than one transliteration, give the alternatives. Do not over do the names. If there is a significant amount to say about the names leave that till later in the article. E.g. in an etymology section if relevant.

Next detail where the country or region is. Name the next biggest geographical entity(s) in which the country belongs. Give an general location with that entity. E.g. North West Africa. Define the boundaries of your region or country. Name the other regions that border and the orientation of that border. If the region has a coast, name the seas or lakes. Describe the form of the region e.g. plain, peninsula, island(s), etc.

Pick out any key features such as major rivers, lakes, mountains. Name the main city(s) and give their location within the region. Give a very brief overview of the government, history and culture. Pick out key items but leave the fine detail to later.

• Government - National, Local/Regional, Current leaders, Recent political history
• Geography & Natural History - Topography and topographical landmarks, Agriculture, Plants and wildlife, Transportation, Geology, Climate, Environment, etc
• Economy - Agriculture, Industry, Mining, Fishing, Transportation, Telecommunications, etc
• Demography - Ethnicity/Race, Religion, Language, etc
• Education - History, System, Great institutions (if any) e.g. Oxford, Harvard
• Culture - Literature, Sport, Media, Religion, Language, Cultural Landmarks, etc
• History - Story of the area, Historical locations, Historical landmarks
• References

Towns and Cities

• Introduction - Name, Location (inc central, northern, eastern wherever), Nearest larger town and distance to. Nearest provincial capital and country capital and distance/orientation to. Brief overview of the other items listed below. About three paragraphs is enough. Concentrate on key points and leave the fine detail to later.
• History - When and why was the town founded. Detail major steps in the growth of the town.
• Architecture - Any buildings of note within the town. Try to keep to fluid narrative and avoid a list.
• Education - Describe the main schools and universities if any.
• Culture - Museums and galleries, Performing arts, Music and film, Open spaces, Language, Media, Sport, Religion
• Infrastructure - Health, Transport, Utilities
• Economy - Industry, Commerce, Tourism, etc
• Geography - Areas or districts, Climate, Demography, Geology ,Topography, etc
• Government - How is the area governed, by who, how are the appointed, what subdivisions of government are there. What is the higher level of government above this one.
• Twinned or Sister towns and cities

Candidate articles for the Gazetteer

These are examples of the sort of article that falls under the scope of the Gazetteer

• Country/Catalogs

Asia

• People's Republic of China
  • • Subdivisions of the People's Republic of China
• Afghanistan

Europe

• Ukraine
• United Kingdom
  • Subdivisions of the United Kingdom
    • England
      • Regions of England
        • London, United Kingdom
    • Wales
    • Scotland
      • Council areas of Scotland
    • Northern Ireland

North America

• United States of America
  • U.S. States and Territories
    • California (U.S. state)
    • New York (U.S. state)
      • New York, New York