Antarctica the Antarctic Circle the Antarctic Continent Antarctic Circumpolar Current Australian Antarctic Territory Antarctic beech [a type of Southern Hemisphere tree] [Use lower case for antarctic when meaning extremely cold.]
the Arctic the Arctic Circle Arctic waters a mass of Arctic air [Use lower case for arctic when meaning extremely cold.]
the poles the North Pole the North Polar ice cap the South Pole polar regions
Southeast Asia central Asia
Asia–Pacific region but Indo-Pacific
the Australian Alps the Alps
an Alpine village [if in the European or Australian Alps] but alpine pastures in the mountains
the equator equatorial climate the Equatorial Current
the tropics tropical the Tropic of Cancer the Neotropics Neotropical [of the New World biogeographical region] the subtropics subtropical
New World [the Americas]
Old World [regions known to Europeans before the discovery of the Americas – Africa, Asia and Europe]
the Far East [historical term used in Europe to refer to a region east of the Near East and the Middle East]
Near East [historical term used in Europe to refer to a region east of the Mediterranean. It has included different countries from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean and Aegean to the western side of India, and is now mostly replaced by Middle East.]
Middle East
central Africa [if referring to a location] Central Africa [if referring to Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda]
the West [refers to countries of western Europe and those with a western European background, such as North America and Australia. See Developed versus developing countries for more information on using this term.]
the East the Orient [both refer to countries east of Europe]
continental Europe [‘the Continent’]
continent of Australia mainland of Australia [both terms exclude Tasmania]
Eurasia [the landmass of Asia and Europe]
Use initial capitals for political divisions when they are part of the formal name but not when used generically:
Eastern Highlands Northern Province Milne Bay [all provinces of Papua New Guinea, but province is part of only one of the names]
South Sulawesi [a province] the province of South Sulawesi
the United Kingdom Great Britain Britain not the kingdom
Melbourne City the city of Melbourne
port of Darwin Darwin Port
the Commonwealth of Australia the Commonwealth [when used in reference to Australia] the state of New South Wales the Australian Capital Territory
