The mark consists of the Gamma Theta Upsilon badge which is a key that signifies the achievement of quality in a field of science. The base or body of the key is a seven-sided shield. Each bevel carries the initial of one of the Earth's continents. Beginning with Europe at the top, there are the continents of the Old or Eastern World, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. To the key's left are North America, South America, and Antarctica, the three great land masses brought into recorded geographical knowledge as humanity expanded westward from the Old World to the New World. Spread across the key's base are five wavy blue lines signifying the five great bodies of water that have carried voyagers to all the lands of the Earth: the Atlantic, the Indian, the Pacific, the Arctic, and the Southern Ocean. Above the waves is located a white star which is symbolic of Polaris, the great guide to travelers over the vastness of the northern hemisphere oceans. At the key's top stand the letters Gamma, Theta, and Upsilon. These initials of the three Greek words, Ge (Earth), Thalassa (sea), and Hypaithrios (atmosphere), serve as a reminder of the three great environmental domains with which geography deals. The colors of Gamma Theta Upsilon are symbolic of geography's three domains: brown for the Earth, light blue for the sea, and gold for the sunlight or sky. The color black appears as the outline for the shield or key, all the letters in the mark and the design inside of the letter O are in black, and the outline of the star is in black. The inside of the star is in white.