Geography Exceptions to the Rule

Geography Exceptions to the Rule

This page details odd or historical geographical terms and hierarchy that you may encounter while using EMu.

Mismatched Geography Hierarchy in EMu

Azores: autonomous archipelago of Portugal situated in Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean. Continent: Africa (not Europe), Country: Portugal

Bermuda: country in the Atlantic Ocean. Continent: North America (sometimes miscategorized in West Indies)

Islas Canarias (Canary Islands): autonomous archipelago of Spain situated in Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean. Continent: Africa (not Europe), Country: Spain

Easter Island (Rapa Nui, Isla de Pascua): island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. Continent: Oceania (not South America), Country: Chile

Hawaii: state of the United States of America situated in the Pacific Ocean. Continent: Oceania (not North America), Country: United States of America

Madeira: autonomous archipelago of Portugal situated in Macaronesia in the North Atlantic Ocean. Continent: Africa (not Europe), Country: Portugal

Trinidad and Tobago: the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Continent: South America (not West Indies)

Important Hierarchical Variations to Note

United Kingdom: Province/state level (primary administrative subdivision) does not match Statoids provided list. Province/state list values consists of the four countries of the United Kingdom: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, which deviates from the primary administrative division list provided by Statoids (http://www.statoids.com/ugb.html). The primary administrative division list for the U.K. provided by Statoids (http://www.statoids.com/ugb.html) was incorporated as the secondary administrative division values in EMu, by country.

Brazil: District/county list values (secondary administrative subdivision) in EMu do not match Statoids provided "Microregions" (http://www.statoids.com/ybr.html). Microregions "...have no administrative function; they were defined by the federal government for purposes of convenience" (Law, 2007). Alternatively, the secondary administrative units (municipalities) were gathered from the Wikipedia page "List of Municipalities of Brazil," according to State (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_municipalities_of_Brazil).

Puerto Rico: As a commonwealth associated with the United States, there are no first-level administrative subdivisions as defined by the U.S. government. The second-level administrative subdivisions are municipios (https://welcome.topuertorico.org/government.shtml#:~:text=Administrative%20Divisions%20None%20%28Commonwealth%20associated%20with%20the%20U.S.%29%3B,The%20mayor%20appoints%20a%20secretary-auditor%20and%20a%20treasurer). For our intents and purposes, we cite the second-level administrative subdivisions as the first-level, listing the municipios as the State/Province for the country, and use the third-level administrative areas (barrios) as the secondary political subdivisions, as “the barrios of Puerto Rico are the primary legal divisions of the seventy-eight municipalities of Puerto Rico” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrios_of_Puerto_Rico). This is also in agreement with Statoids (http://www.statoids.com/upr.html) although Statoids does not provide the list of barrios.

Belgium: The technical first-level administrative subdivisions of Belgium are the regions (3): Flanders (Dutch-speaking region), Wallonia (French-speaking region), and Brussels (bilingual Dutch and French), which are then subdivided into provinces. For our intents and purposes, we cite the second-level administrative subdivision (province) as the first-level. Arrondissements are the next sequential administrative level between province and municipality (cited by Statoids as the second-level administrative subdivision, http://www.statoids.com/ybe.html), but we will be referencing municipalities of the provinces as the second-level administrative division.

Non-exhaustive list of historical country names in relation to present-day names

Abyssinia : Ethiopia

Annam : Vietnam (colonial French term)

Bangal : region consisting of parts of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal

Bohemia : Czech Republic

British Honduras : Belize

British Guiana : Guyana

British North Borneo : Malaysia

Burma : Myanmar

Cambodge : Cambodia

Ceylon : Sri Lanka

Formosa : Taiwan

French Indochina : region consisting of Cambodia, Laos, and parts of China and Vietnam

Hispanola : second largest Caribbean Island divided politically into Haiti (west) and the Dominican Republic (east)

Macedonia : North Macedonia

Moravia : Czech Republic

New Granada : region consisting of Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela

New Hebrides : Vanuatu

New Holland : Australia

Northern Rhodesia : Zambia

Persia : Iran

Siam : Thailand

Southern Rhodesia : Zimbabwe

Yugoslavia : region consisting of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia

Zaire : Democratic Republic of the Congo

Please email egjieli@nybg.org if you come across other terms that should be added to this list.