Geographic Locations
Havana, officially Ciudad de La Habana, is the capital city, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city is one of the 15 Cuban provinces. The city/province has 2.1 million inhabitants, the largest city in Cuba and the second largest in the Caribbean region, after Santo Domingo. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbours: Marimelena, Guanabacoa, and Atarés. The sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay.
Haugesund is a town and municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The majority of the population of Haugesund lives in the main urban area surrounding the city centre, with the northwestern part of the municipality being fairly rural. The town also offers a much wider range of goods and services than might be expected from a city of its size (approx. 32,000 inhabitants; 42,000 including all suburbs), due to its position as the definite center of its relatively populous region.
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located in Hartford County on the Connecticut River, north of the center of the state, 24 miles south of Springfield, Massachusetts. Its 2006 population was 124,512. Hartford ranks as the state's third-largest city, after Bridgeport and New Haven, 40 miles to the south and the sixth largest in New England. Greater Hartford is also the largest metro area in Connecticut, and 45th largest in the country (2006 census estimate) with a metropolitan population of 1,188,841. Nicknamed the "Insurance Capital of the World", Hartford houses many of the world's insurance company headquarters, and insurance remains the region's major industry. Almost 400 years old, Hartford is among the oldest cities in the United States, and following the American Civil War, Hartford took the mantle of the country's wealthiest city from New Orleans. In 1868, Mark Twain wrote, "Of all the beautiful towns it has been my fortune to see this is the chief."
Harare (officially called Salisbury until 1982) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. Situated in the north-east of the country in the heart of historic Mashonaland, the city. The city was founded in 1890 by the Pioneer Column, a small military force in the service of the British South Africa Company, and named Fort Salisbury after the British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury. Salisbury was thereafter the seat of the Southern Rhodesian (later Rhodesian) government and, between 1953 and 1963, the capital of the Central African Federation. It retained the name Salisbury until 1982, when it was renamed Harare on the second anniversary of Zimbabwean independence.
Harare is Zimbabwe's leading financial, commercial, and communications centre, and a trade centre for tobacco, maize, cotton, and citrus fruits. Manufactured goods include textiles, steel and chemicals, and gold is mined in the area. The city's suburbs include Borrowdale, Mount Pleasant and Avondale; the most affluent neighbourhoods are to the north. The University of Zimbabwe, the country's oldest university (founded in 1952), is situated in Mount Pleasant, about 6 km (3.7 mi) north of the city centre. Harare is home to the country's main Test cricket ground, Harare Sports Club, and to Dynamos F.C., Zimbabwe's most successful association football team.
Harar, formerly written Harrar and known to its inhabitants as Gē, is a walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It was formerly the capital of Hararghe and now the capital of the modern Harari Region of Ethiopia. Located on a hilltop in the eastern extension of the Ethiopian Highlands, Harar has been a major commercial centre, linked by the trade routes with the rest of Ethiopia, the entire Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and, through its ports, the outside world. Harar Jugol, the old walled city, was listed as a World Heritage Site in 2006 by UNESCO in recognition of its cultural heritage. It is sometimes known in Arabic as مدينة الأَوْلِيَاء "the City of Saints". According to UNESCO, it is "considered 'the fourth holy city' of Islam" with 110 mosques, three of which date from the 10th century and 102 shrines.
Hanover or Hannover, on the River Leine, is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later described as the Elector of Hanover). At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Electorate was enlarged to become the capital of the Kingdom of Hanover.
With a population of over 500,000, Hanover is a major centre of Northern Germany and the country's thirteenth largest city. The city also hosts annual commercial trade fairs such as the Hanover Fair and the CeBIT. Every year Hanover hosts the Schützenfest Hannover, the world's largest marksmen's festival, and the Oktoberfest Hannover, the second largest such festival in Germany. In 2000, Hanover hosted the world fair Expo 2000. The Hanover fairground, due to numerous extensions, especially for the Expo 2000, is the largest in the world. Hanover is of national importance because of its universities and medical school, its international airport and its large zoo. The city is also a major crossing point of railway lines and highways (Autobahnen), connecting European main lines in both the east-west (Berlin–Ruhr area) and north-south (Hamburg–Munich, etc.) directions.
Hanoi, estimated population nearly 6.5 million (2009), is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyễn Dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam. The city is located on the right bank of the Red River. Hanoi is located at 1,090 miles north of Ho Chi Minh City. October 2010 officially marked 1000 years since the establishment of the city. On this occasion, Hanoi was named by Frommer's travel guide as one of the world's "Top Destinations 2010".
Hangzhou, formerly known as Hangchow, is a major city located in the Yangtze River Delta region of the People's Republic of China, and the capital of Zhejiang (浙江) province. It is governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2004, its entire administrative division or Prefecture-level city had a registered population of 6.4 million people. The Urban agglomeration of the Hangzhou metropolitan area has a resident population of 3.9319 million as of 2003, of which 2.6367 million are permanent residents.
Hangzhou is renowned for its historic relics and natural beauty. It is known as one of the most beautiful cities in China, also ranking as one of the most scenic cities. Although Hangzhou has been through many recent urban developments, it still retains its historical and cultural heritage. Today, tourism remains an important factor for Hangzhou's economy. One of Hangzhou's most popular sights is West Lake, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The West Lake Cultural Landscape covers an area of 3,323 ha (8,210 acres) and includes some of Hangzhou's most notable historic and scenic places. Adjacent to the lake is a scenic area which includes historical pagodas, cultural sites, as well as the natural beauty of the lake and hills, including Phoenix Mountain.
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe. Residents of the old city are known as Hamiltonians.
The city is home to the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, the Bruce Trail, McMaster University and Mohawk College. McMaster University is ranked 4th in Canada and 94th in the world and has a well-known medical school. A growing arts and culture community, the city is Canada's largest steel producer and a major Great Lakes port.
Hamburg, a major port city in Germany, is connected to the North Sea by the Elbe River. It has a well-deserved reputation as Germany's Gateway to the World. It is the country's biggest port and the second-busiest in Europe. Hamburg is proud of its status as a "Free and Hanseatic City" and thus shares the same status as a province, making up one of Germany's 16 federal-states or Bundesländer. The city is also a notable tourist destination for both domestic and overseas visitors; it ranked 16th in the world for livability.