For those that like to sit at the window and know what they are looking at, I found a good IOS app :
http://fc.umn.edu/
It's called flyover country. You tell the app your city pairs and it downloads a map before you fly. Then, in the air with airplane mode on, it uses your GPS to show where you are on the map. In addition to roads and towns it shows you points of interest on the map and tells about them, with geology being the largest part of what it shows. It works quite well, though does eat through the battery.