Geographic names, directions and regions AP style

Basic guidelines Do not use postal abbreviations for states names. See state names entry in the stylebook. Abbreviate Saint as St. (But abbreviate Sault Sainte Marie as Sault Ste. Marie.) Spell out Mount when used as name of communities or mountains. Foreign names – check dictionary or

Capitalize Capitalize common nouns when they are an integral part of a proper name. Lowercase common nouns when they stand alone. For example: Pennsylvania Avenue. The avenue. Also: The Phillippine Islands. The islands. The Mississippi River. The river.

Lowercase and datelines Lowercase common nouns that are not part of a specific name: the Pacific islands, the Swiss mountains, Zhejiang province. Datelines – placed at the start of a story to indicate where the city where the story originated. For any questions on whether city names can stand alone, without the state name, refer to the datelines entry of the stylebook.

Directions and regions In general, lowercase north, south, northeast, northern, etc. when they indicate compass direction. Capitalize North, South, Northeast, Northern, when they designate regions. “General” example: He drove west. The cold front is moving east. “Region” example: Snow is expected to pound the Midwest. The storm should carry to the East Coast and deliver rain throughout the Northeast.

Other examples Settlers in the East went to the West in search of new lives. He has a Southern accent. Drive south about four miles to get to the fair. The northeast corner of the county is slated for major drain improvements. The storm started in the South Pacific.

With names of nations Lowercase unless they are part of a proper name or are used to indicate a politically divided nation. northern France; eastern Canada; the western United States; Northern Ireland; South Korea; North Korea.

With states and cities Lowercase compass points when they describe a section of a state or city. western Texas, southern Atlanta Capitalize when part of a proper name. North Dakota, West Virginia Capitalize when denoting widely known sections. Southern California, the South Side of Chicago, the Lower East Side of New York. If in doubt, lowercase.

In forming proper names Capitalize when combining with another common noun to form the name for a region or location. the North Woods, the South Pole, the Far East, the Middle East, the Western Hemisphere.

Coast Lowercase when referring to the physical shoreline – Atlantic coast, Pacific coast, east coast. Capitalize when referring to regions of the United States lying along the coastlines. Atlantic Coast states; a Gulf Coast city; the West Coast. Do not capitalize when referring to smaller regions: the Virginia coast. Capitalize “the Coast” when standing alone only if the reference is to the West Coast.

In general Capitalize when referring to specific regions organized under a governmental or social unit. Lowercase references to general regions and everything else. As always, check the stylebook and dictionary.

Questions?