World Atlas Map Legend

Cities with less than 200,000 inhabitants are not shown unless they are either a national capital or the center of a large urban area.

Please note that the designation of a "region with separatist movement(s)", which displays areas where separatist sentiments are present, is controversial. This in no way means that the majority of the population in these areas is necessarily in favor of independence.

The maps in the World Atlas use the Equidistant Cylindrical projection, which is characterized by severe distortion of area, shape, and distance, particularly near the poles.

The diagram at left is an approximate key to elevation colors on the relief maps.

Red characters are used for land features (mountains, islands, plains, etc.) and blue characters are used for lakes, rivers, oceans, and other water features.

The relief maps also use the Equidistant Cylindrical projection, described above.