Geographic Names
10.3.1 Geographic Names
Capitalize names of cities, towns, counties, states, countries, continents, islands, airports, peninsulas, bodies of water, mountains and mountain ranges, streets, parks, forests, canyons, dams, and regions.
the Antarctic |
the Loop [Chicago] |
Arabian Gulf |
Mexico City |
the Bay Area |
Mississippi River |
Central America |
New Hampshire |
the 23rd Congressional District |
New York State [but: the state of New York] |
Cook County |
Oman or Sultanate of Oman [either is correct] |
Dismal Swamp |
Quebec City |
El Paso |
Saudi Arabia or Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [either is correct] |
the Florida Panhandle |
the Silk Route |
Grand Canyon |
Third World |
Hoover Dam |
United Kingdom |
the Iron Curtain |
Upstate New York |
the Isle of Skye |
the West Coast |
Kennedy Expressway |
|
LaGuardia International Airport |
|
Lake Placid |
If a common noun is capitalized in the singular, it is generally not capitalized in the plural.
Atlantic and Pacific oceans
Kennedy and Eisenhower expressways
Mississippi and Missouri rivers
Compass directions are not capitalized unless they are generally accepted terms for regions.
There is a large time difference between Europe and the Far East.
Walk east until you arrive at the lake.
There is no party like a West Coast party because a West Coast party doesn't stop.
He lives in northern Michigan.
The practice of meditation is finding followers in the Western world.