Geographical Use of Definite Article The

English uses the definite article the in front of some geographical names but not in front of others. If in doubt, your best bet is to look it up in a dictionary or online. Here’s a general list of guidelines:

Do not use the before the name of:

• most countries or territories (e.g. Canada, China, New Zealand)
• towns, cities or states (e.g. Ottawa, Paris, California/
• streets (e.g. Front Street, Lakeview Avenue, Dogwood Crescent)
• lakes (e.g. Lake Ontario, Lake Placid, Bear Lake)
• bays, where the term bay comes after the name (e.g. the Bay of Fundy)
• mountains (e.g. Mount Everest, Mount Kilimanjaro)
• continents (e.g. North America, Africa)
• islands (e.g. Fiji Islands, Prince Edward Island)

Do use the before the name of:

• rivers, oceans, seas (e.g. the Mississippi River, the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean)
• bays, where the term bay comes first (e.g. the Bay of Fundy, the Bay of Bengal)
• gulfs and peninsulas (e.g. the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Peninsula)
• mountain ranges (e.g. the Rockies, the Dolomites, the Laurentians)
• points on the globe (e.g. the Equator, the North Pole)
• geographical areas (e.g. the Middle East, the South)
• deserts and forests (e.g. the Gobi Desert, the Black Forest)

N.B. Language is always changing. Fifty years ago, Argentina was known as the Argentine, and the Balkan Islands always had the definite article in front of it. In many places, formal writing may accept the use of the word Argentina, and people may say, “I come from Balkan Islands.”