🗺️ Geography - Geografía

Aa ⏱ ≈ 15 minutes

Beginner Spanish · Geography and locations

Geography and Places in Spanish

Geography vocabulary becomes much more useful when you can locate a city, describe what is nearby, and explain where one place is in relation to another.

Your next small win: name common geographic features, ask where a place is, use hay to describe what exists nearby, and use simple compass directions.

Start with the map

Core Geography Vocabulary

These words help you talk about places on a map before moving into landscapes and location phrases.

mundo
World
mapa
Map
país
Country
continente
Continent
ciudad
City
capital
Capital city

Useful detail: mapa ends in -a, but it is masculine: el mapa.

Name three map words

Say “map, country, and city” in Spanish.

Describe the landscape

Natural Geography

These landscape words are useful for describing what surrounds a city, town, or region.

montaña
Mountain
valle
Valley
bosque
Forest
desierto
Desert
volcán
Volcano
isla
Island
río
River
lago
Lake
More water and coastal geography
océano
Ocean
mar
Sea
costa
Coast
playa
Beach

Describe a landscape

Say “mountain, forest, river, and lake” in Spanish.

Say where places are

Estar and Hay

Use estar to locate a specific place or feature. Use hay to say what exists in an area.

Use estar for a specific location

La ciudad está cerca de la costa.
The city is near the coast.
El pueblo está entre las montañas.
The town is between the mountains.

Use hay for what exists nearby

Hay un lago cerca de la ciudad.
There is a lake near the city.
Hay varias islas frente a la costa.
There are several islands off the coast.

Key contrast: La ciudad está... tells you where a particular city is. Hay un lago... introduces something that exists in the area.

Talking about the landscape

A
¿Qué hay al otro lado del valle?
What is on the other side of the valley?
B
Hay un bosque grande y, más lejos, un lago.
There is a large forest and, farther away, a lake.

Use estar and hay

Say that the city is near the coast and that there is a lake near the city.

Add compass directions

North, South, East, and West

Use these phrases when describing the position of one place in relation to another.

al norte de
North of
al sur de
South of
al este de
East of
al oeste de
West of
La isla está al sur del continente.
The island is south of the continent.
La ciudad está al norte, cerca de las montañas.
The city is in the north, near the mountains.
El bosque está al oeste del lago.
The forest is west of the lake.

Contraction: de + el becomes del. For example, al sur del continente.

Looking at a map

A
¿Dónde está la ciudad que vamos a visitar?
Where is the city we're going to visit?
B
Está al norte, cerca de las montañas.
It's in the north, near the mountains.

Locate two places

Say that the island is south of the continent and the forest is west of the lake.

More geography in context
El río pasa por varios pueblos antes de llegar al mar.
The river passes through several towns before reaching the sea.
La isla está rodeada de pequeñas playas.
The island is surrounded by small beaches.
La pequeña isla está a varios kilómetros de la costa.
The small island is several kilometers from the coast.
En el mapa podemos ver diferentes países.
On the map we can see different countries.

Your turn · 8 quick questions

Practice: Geography and Locations

Choose the answer that best fits each situation. Focus on landscapes, estar, hay, and compass directions.

Audio uses your device's Spanish text-to-speech voice. Listen to each geography word or phrase, then practice describing where places and landscape features are located.