Words Unravelled with RobWords and Jess Zafarris Can a hill be taller than a mountain? | GEOGRAPHY WORDS
Oct 22, 2025
A lively tour of geography words and their origins. They trace poles, compass points and how north, south, east and west got their names. Hear why equator, tropics, latitude and longitude were named that way. Explore words for mountains, hills, continents, forests, deserts, wetlands and biomes. Find out where compass terms and Arctic names come from.
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Celebrating The 100,000 Subscriber Play Button
- Rob and Jess celebrated surpassing 100,000 YouTube subscribers and show the YouTube play button.
- They joked about reading the plaque and asked listeners to subscribe if they haven't.
Desert Means Deserted Not Sandy
- Desert originally meant a place deserted by people, not sand; 'desert island' means an uninhabited island.
- Jess Zafarris and Rob Watts note biblical and Johnsonian usage equated wilderness with deserted places of people.
Place Names Often Repeat The Same Meaning
- Many place names are pleonastic because languages layered terms, yielding tautologies like Sahara Desert or Lake Tahoe (Lake Lake).
- Jess Zafarris gives examples: Mississippi River (Great River River), Lake Tahoe, River Avon, showing repeated native + English elements.