Geographical

Established in 1935, Geographical is the official magazine of the Royal Geographical Society and one of the leading magazines in its field, with stunning photography, great writing and first class design. For an authoritative voice on geography, culture, wildlife and exploration institutions should look no further than Geographical.

Here is a list of article recommendations, compiled by the editorial team at Geographical.

The World’s Loneliest Places

‘Lonely Bouvet Island’, Edward Dickinson
August 1967, Pages 292-298

A history of the mysterious, arguably the most isolated island in the world, with explanations of Bouvet’s geography and wildlife thanks to maps, diagrams and photographs.

‘Keeping Pitcairn in Touch with the World’, Joanna Barlow
March 1984, Pages 140-147

Pitcairn, one of the most remote small island communities faces issues it faced in 1984 still today. Economic and social issues plague an island so remote, yet its strongly held beliefs and unique history unite the small island.

‘Socotra’s Road to Ruin’, Susan J Christie
May 2005, Pages 60-64

An isolated island in the Arabian sea and home to unique flora and fauna, yet threatened by future investment in infrastructure.

‘Lonely Tristan Da Cunha’, Allan Crawford
February 1987, Pages 65-67

A history of the settlement on Tristan Da Cunha, a remote island in the Atlantic.

‘A Tristan Year’, Robert Kauders
February 1987, Pages 68-72

A history of the settlement on Tristan Da Cunha, a remote island in the Atlantic.

‘Easter Island: enigma of the stone statues’, Alexander Henriksen and Matjaz Krivic
March 2004, Pages 42-45

Insight into the famous Easter Island statues with great pictures.

The World’s Greatest Rivers

‘The Yangtze’
August 1998, Page 58

‘Clear Water Revival’
February 1993, Page 10-14

‘Hunting Party on the River Indus’
February 2017, Page 14-15

Australia/Aboriginal Art History and Tourism

‘Welcome to our land’, Lisa Sykes
October 1995, Pages 22-25

‘A Nation Divided’, Matthew Brace
November 2001, Pages 14-19

June over the Years

‘Last stand of the tropical forest’, M.J Eden
June 1975, Pages 578-582

A view on the harmful effects of deforestation and how cattle and bulldozing forests were clearly causing environmental degradation.

Urbanisation Map
June 2007, Pages 14-15

A map representing global urbanisation and megacities from over a decade ago. Shows how much urban centres have grown since 2007.

‘The Burning Question’
June 2009, Pages 30-37

An outline of the true unsustainability and harmfulness of coal.

July over the Years

‘The Geography Of Disease’, Professor A. Leslie Banks
July 1964, Pages 175-182

Gives an insight into the awareness of the spread of disease in the 1950’s and clear choropleth maps regarding life expectancy in the UK.

‘Mapping with Chips’, John Wright
July 1985, Page 353

Wright speaks on the ‘mapping revolution’ and the future of maps being computerised onto small screens in our cars.

‘Fishing For Trouble’, David Gwyer
July 1991, Pages 20-23

Outlines the issues caused by overfishing, and how fishermen and government policies were reacting to these changes.

‘Cause for concern (interview with David Bellamy)’
July 1999, Pages 14-16

David Bellamy as a crusading environmentalist, extremely moving and empowering interview, still incredibly relevant to today’s climate crisis.

‘The Road Less Travelled’
July 2001, Pages 14-23

Zanskar: A largely unknown place with rich and complex cultures coinciding with stunning pictures, yet also struggling with the future of becoming more globalised.

‘Toxic Technology’
July 2009, Pages 22-29

A photo story illustrating the modern environmental issue of electronic waste. Harsh, telling images showing how this waste is taking over dumps in places like Ghana, further harming human health and the environment.

‘Nowhere to Hide’, Hazel Southam
July 2013, Pages 50-56

An insight, through giant pandas, into how environmental degradation may eventually mean certain species can survive only with the help of animal and nature reserves.

August over the Years

‘Lonely Bouvet Island’, Edward Dickinson
August 1967, Pages 292-298

A history of the mysterious, arguably the most isolated island in the world, with explanations of Bouvet’s geography and wildlife thanks to maps, diagrams and photographs.

‘A world wilder than we think’
August 1990, Pages 15-16

Page 16 provides a map of the world from 1990 showing areas of ‘wilderness’. This article describes how the threat of population growth, even thirty years ago, was known to threaten the nature and environment of our planet.

‘Hot and cold climates in prehistoric Britain’
August 1977, Pages 685-698

An explanation of glaciation in the British Isles. Includes scientific posters and maps showing the British Isles change over time.

‘Sitting on a gold mine’, Melody Kemp
August 2010, Pages 34-40

A reflection of the conflict between small island communities, and the threat of investment from TNC’s which would cause environmental and cultural degradation. It poses the question of how small island communities, reliant on their own environment, are threatened by globalisation.

‘The Chinese Puzzle’, Erling Hoh
August 1999, Pages 52-57

Great pictures of the Chinese countryside and an intriguing answer as to whether there was ever a Roman city in China.

‘Sumatra - Island of promise’, Charles A. Fisher
August 1972, Pages 759-766

A history of Sumatra, complete with impressive pictures of the Indonesian countryside. Also, a look into Sumatra’s future economic development, and how it will move away from primary industry.

‘Monuments which do not Decay’, Paul H. Temple
August 1972, Pages 767-771

Incredible pictures of mountain ranges along with physical geography information on the formation and location of such ‘monuments’.