General Geography Information
Environment & Habitats
India
Maps
Rivers
Settlements
Tropical Rainforests
Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Mountains & Caves
Weather
Yorkshire
Other Useful Sites
   

General Geography Information: 

Back To School
This new site from Save the Children helps teachers get to grips with the citizenship component of the national curriculum. Part of the charity's Forgotten Children Campaign, the site contains structured lesson plans in Art, English, Drama and PSHE / Citizenship, along with case studies and maps highlighting the plight of the 13 million internally displaced children who have been forced from their homes by conflict but remain within the borders of their own countries.
CIA -- The World Factbook
Look up any fact, geographical, political or economic, about any country you care to think of. This site has been set up by the CIA, so presumably is useful for any would be spies!!!
The Commonwealth Institute
A source of information on commonwealth countries. As well as information on the Institute itself, there is a Teachers Resource section, which is only a prototype at the moment, but which looks extremely promising. Aimed at teachers of KS2 and KS3, it offers curriculum focussed information, including links to the learning grids of many other countries, accompanied by some learning activities and worksheets. At the moment the only country included is South Africa, but there are plans to extend this to cover all commonwealth countries.
The Constants and Equations Page
This is really useful.  Do you want to know the mass of the Earth, its volume or the time of sunrise in Kabul on January 18th? Do you know how many gallons there are in a dry pint? Do you know what a slug or G-pound is and how many Kg it is equal to? This site has over 4500 pages of information about scientific, mathematical or astronomical constants and equations.You can get a table of sunrise/set times for any place on Earth - useful for the KS2 QCA Unit on Sun Earth and Moon.
The Disaster Area
Floods, Hurricanes, Volcanoes, Tsunami, Storms, Wildfires and more... Learn about natural disasters.Simple explanations, lively graphics. Kids will enjoy this one.
Earth and Moon viewer
A definite must for work on the Earth in Space! View a map of the Earth showing day and night regions right at this moment, as seen from the sun, the moon, or a satellite. Or view the moon from above named locations. There is also a link to an interactive orrery.
Earth View
Part of the above site.
E-Conflict World Encyclopedia
The Ellis Island, New York, site
Lots of links and search facilities relating to the millions who passed through there and into a new life in the States.
Geography Essentials (4Learning)
Part of Channel 4's educational offering, this interactive site has sections called "Investigating Our Local Area", "People and Places" and "The Environment". There is also an A-Z of geographical terms. Each section has several subsections, is referenced to the QCA scheme and has information, a quiz, downloadable worksheets, a bank of clip art and photographic images,web links and activities to do at home.
Geographia Homepage
GeoNet
The Guardian 07.01.97.described this as 'a one man bid to set up the definitive web site for Geography teachers'. Good on ideas and is gradually developing its resources.
GeoNet Internet Geography
No apparent connection with the above but this is another really useful site for geographers.It contains geographical resources for both teachers and students. The site contains hundreds of links, downloadable teacher resources, revision help and an ask a geographer facility. Well worth a closer look.
GeoResource
Provides all the Geographical links that you ever wanted - on one easy to navigate site!
Japan
Lots of information relating to Japan. Site run by English speaking architects based in Tokyo.
Map Worksheet Factory
If you have used the excellent Maths Worksheet Factory then you will want to have a go at this one. You can download a trial version for free. (The full product is only $20).
National Geographic
Gives access to an online version of the National Geographic magazine. There is also the facility to print out maps, and to view an archive of photographic images. Provides links to travel and tourism sites. Some of the pages are very slow to load.
The National Railway Museum, York
Definitely one for railway buffs! Perhaps not so much for teachers, although there is a nice section on the history of railway posters. The graphics can make it slow to download.
The National Tramway Museum
The UK's premier museum about trams, at Crich in Derbyshire.
Screen Cam Links
This site is a  gateway to web cams all over the world - see what's happening out there, live!
Teaching Ideas for Primary Geography
This site contains a selection of activities and worksheets to download dealing with mapwork, learning about places and weather. You are also able to contribute your own ideas.
US-Africa
Comprehensive information about each of the countries in Africa. (The site has annoying pop-up ads on every page, though)
World Desk Reference
1000s of charts and illustrations, 100s of maps, 25000 facts and statistics.AN excellent resource from Dorling Kindersley.
 

Environment & Habitats
 

Biomes
Excellent information about the types of habitat that are found on our planet.
Earthlights
A Photograph of the Earth's surface at night, taken from space showing the lights of settlements. Amazing but takes a long time to download.
Encyclopedia of the Atmospheric Environment
A Canadian site with masses of information on the atmosphere and weather. Includes lots of stuff on the health of the atmosphere eg. acid rain, air quality, ozone depletion. Many of the pages are presented at "younger" and "older" levels (but even the "younger" pages are a bit wordy).
Environment Agency of England and Wales
Lots of information from this National Agency.
Glaciers
A very good site for anyone studying Antarctica. Suitable for upper key stage2+.
What's It Like Where You Live?
Pages about tundra, desert, temperate forests,grasslands, taiga This site is part of a the larger Evergreen Project site called "Biomes of the World".  A well thought out and comprehensive resource. The Evergreen Project also has two other sections that might be of interest on Freshwater ecosystems and Marine Ecosystems.
Wild Places
This is the Friends of the Earth site and it places emphasis on our need to protect our wild areas. Best bit of the site is where you can type in your postcode and a map of your local arae is generated showing local sites of special scientific interest (SSSI). Clicking on them shows information about each site and whether it is under threat.
 

India
 

Lonely Planet: Destination India
India Tourism and Travel - Government of India Tourist Office, New York
Itihaas The History of India
India Culture, Travel, Cuisine, Business, Leisure, Arts and Crafts
An Introduction to India
 

Maps
If you are looking for Maps there are lots here. Many of the UK sites will let you search for maps by postcode. 

The AA
No actual maps but the routefinder is excellent. Children can plan a road journey and then follow it on a map or atlas. The route planner gives full details of the route, mileage and expected journey time.
Atlapedia
Gives access to full colour physical and political maps of the countries of the world as well as a comprehensive collection of key facts and statistics about the countries. A very useful site for general geographical information.
This is a popular site and access is limited when it is busy. It is often available during the day.
Children's Atlas
This is an interactive atlas with basic information about different parts of the world (eg country populations and other simple information) presented in a colourful way. It is a carrot for a purchasable atlas with much more information.
How Far is it?
Look up the distance as the crow flies between two places on the Earth's surface. You can ask for towns or give longitude and latitude. Some of those crows fly HUGE distances!
Mapquest
Travellers' guides to cities in the USA. You can get up to date traffic details as well as locations of places of interest. You can also get maps of cities worldwide and mark them with places of interest. I found it tediously slow with a 56K modem.
Multimap World Maps
Multimap UK Maps
Find anywhere in the world (including street maps).
Streetmap.co.uk
Excellent site for UK maps. Street maps of London and some other areas and lots of other easily navigated maps.
World Atlas : Maps and Geography of the World
This one is from About (The Human Internet) and is crammed full of maps and data about the different countries of the world. I have only had a quick look but it looks good.
World Time Interactive Atlas
You have a globe. See where it is day and where it is night. Click on a spot to turn the globe to face you. Zoom in or out. Find out the time and the times of sunrise and sunset for today in the cities of the country you have selected. Or choose your country from an alphabetical list. The site is simple, clear and quick.
Lonely Planet: Visit Any Country
Lonely Planet: Destination Europe
RAC

Rivers 

Niagra Falls
The Amazon River
A simple site about the Amazon with maps, photos and basic information. Some nice photos of wildlife and a really good aerial shot of meanders
The River Thames
All sorts of stuff about Old Father Thames.Useful links page.
River Derwent
The River Trent
This site follows the River Trent from source to mouth, including aerial photographs, narrative and useful vocabulary along the upper, middle and lower course of the river. It has sections on River facts, Flooding, Settlement, Uses and Conservation. A very useful site!
 

Settlements 

Coalport, Shropshire
Coalport is in the Ironbridge Gorge, the first World Heritage Site. This site has is a must if you are planning to visit the area. There is a virtual tour of Coalport and news and views about what is going on locally, particularly with relation to the museums.
Cotswold Villages
Not so much an educational site, more a travellers' guide to 15 Cotswold towns and villages. Written in a pleasantly personal style and giving good information about the interesting features of the villages, together with photographs. If you are planning a visit to the Cotswolds, or use them as a contrasting region of study, you will find these pages very useful.
Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust
The Ironbridge Gorge was the Silicon Valley of the first Industrial Revolution and was the first area to be awarded the status of World Heritage Site.Information about the area and the museums and the beginning of a collection of project activities for pupils who are visiting the museums (in the Resources section).
Ironbridge, Shropshire (Virtual Tour)
A virtual tour of the town of Ironbridge. Each page has a good quality photograph, written information and navigation arrows to take you further along the street or round the next corner. An excellent way of preparing children for a visit to the area and its superb museums.
Limavady
Jochen Lueg, who produced this excellent site says, "This site is full of irrelevant but valuable information about the Town of Limavady and some of the people that have the good fortune to live there." Limavady is in Ulster. The site contains photos of the town and some of its events and characters and lots of information about life in the town.
Lonely Planet:Destination England
A not entirely flattering potted guide to England, its geography, history, economy and places of interest. Useful background if you are an American thinking of visiting us!
Guide to the Peak District
If you are planning a visit to the Peak District then visit this site first. It is packed with information about the area, its history, geography, events and accommodation. The site is well structured and the presentation is both simple and attractive.

An virtual toShrewsbury, Shropshireur of Shrewsbury, by the same team that produced the virtual tour of Ironbridge (see above).
Travellers World: Guide to the UK
A Travel, Tourism and Accommodation guide to the UK. A potentially useful American site but currently with little hard information. It can, though, produce useful area maps and lists of local links.

Reviewer's note: There are many sites on the internet which give local information. Why not visit a search engine such as Google and simply type in the name of the place you want to know about? You never know what you will find!
 

Tropical Rainforests
 

Amazon Interactive
Learn about the geography of the Amazon Rainforest. Find out about the inhabitants, and how they live off the land. Try running an ecotourism project in a simulation based on those on the Rio Napo in Ecuador.
Photojourney through the Costa Rican Rainforest
Well described and lots of good quality photos. Lots of short, quick-loading pages.
Rainforest Action Network: Kids' Corner
Rainforest Action Network works to protect the rainforests and the people who live there through education and the organising of non-violent campaigns. Find out about their work, and what you can do to help.
The Rainforest Tram
The Rainforest Tram is an aerial tramway in the Costa Rican rainforest. This site give information about the tram and access to useful pages of links and information. The Quicktime panoramas of the rainforest are worth looking at.
Rain-Tree's company website
Rain-Tree specialises in medicinal products of rain forest origin. The site has useful information about the economics of rainforest usage, access to a database of rainforest plants and their medicinal properties, a fascinating page of rainforest facts, and a really useful page of categorised links to help with school projects. There is also a general links page and much much more. A really good resource..
What's It Like Where You Live? Rainforest
A site full of easy to find information, from flora and fauna, to the causes of destruction. There is information on both temperate and tropical rainforests.
Zoom Rainforests
A Wealth of basic information about many aspects of rainforests with links to further information all pitched at a level that is accessible for children. Particularly good are the pages about rainforest animals.
 

Volcanoes, Earthquakes,  Mountains & Caves
 

Old Faithful Webcam
Watch the famous geyser in Yellowstone National Park. The picture is updated about every 20 seconds.
Peakware World Mountain Encyclopedia
"Welcome to the web's premier resource on world mountains and mountaineering. Here you can explore the world, and network with others who share your love for the high country". An excellent site for mountain information, well produced - the enthusiasm of the production team shows through.
The Virtual Cave
This is a great site for those interested in caves. Wonderful photographs.
Volcanoes of the World Part of the Volcano World site. Links to key parts of Volcano World's Massive site.
Volcano World
This is an excellent site for finding out about volcanoes.
Volcano World Movie Clips
A collection of movie clips to download, presented in both Quicktime and MPEG formats. Some of the files are quite large but worth the wait!
 

Weather & Seasons
 

Clouds
This site excellent by Carl Wosniak is all about clouds. There is an excellent page of downloadable photos. Carl writes: Clouds comprise a wonderful focus for classroom study. They're ubiquitous, ever-changing, scientifically interesting and, most importantly for teachers, ... they're cheap.
The Met. Office
The Weatherman's website! Everything you'd ever need for a "Weather" topic.... and then some! Look in the "Education" section first on this huge searchable site.
Latest Weather Satellite Pictures
Part of the Met Office site. Great pictures in jpeg format updated every six hours. This is what the Net was made for!
On-Line Weather Forecasts: UK
If you want the latest weather forecast for your region then this is the site for you. Climatic data for the major cities, satellite pictures and even a "weather window" for your own website. It's all here!
The Tornado Project
All you ever wanted to know about tornadoes but were afraid to ask?  Some useful stuff for teachers can be found in "The Storm Cellar".
The Weather Dude
American TV weather man, Nick Walker is the Weather Dude. This site includes an online textbook called Weather Basics in which The Weather Dude explains the weather in simple terms. There are useful pages on Precipitation, Lightning and Thunder, Clouds, Snow, the Sun and much more...There are songs about the weather with lyrics and sound clips. There are also lots of useful links for parents, teachers and pupils.
What are Clouds
World Climate
Weather data from around the world. 
 

Yorkshire 

Yorkshire Information Centre
North York Moors, Yorkshire Wolds and Yorkshire Coast
Yorkshire Tourist Board
Whitby Museum
Elizabeth Botham and Sons, Bakers of Whitby
Captain James Cook: the World's Explorer

Other Sites
 

The Inca Trail
An informative photographic tour of the towns and mountains around Machu Picchu in Peru.