Zariski introduced an abstract notion of Riemann surface associated to, for example, a finitely generated field extension $K/k$. It's a topological space whose points are equivalence classes of valuations of $K$ that are trivial on $k$, or equivalently valuation rings satisfying $k\subset R_v\subset K$. If $A$ is a finitely generated $k$-algebra inside $K$ then those $R_v$ which contain $A$ form an open set.

In the case of transcendence degree 1 all of these valuation rings are the familiar DVRs -- local Dedekind domains -- and they serve to identify the points in the unique complete nonsingular curve with this function field. (There is also the trivial valuation with $R_v=K$, which corresponds to the generic point of that curve.)

In higher dimensions there are lots of complete varieties to contend with -- you can keep blowing up. Also there are more possibilities for valuations. Most of the valuation rings are not Noetherian. A curve in a surface gives you a discrete valuation ring, consisting of those rational functions which can meaningfully be restricted to rational functions on the curve: those which do not have a pole there. A point on a curve on a surface gives you a valuation whose ring consists of those functions which do not have a pole all along the curve, and which when restricted to the curve do not have a pole at the given point. The value group is $\mathbb Z\times \mathbb Z$ lexicographically ordered. A point on a transcendental curve in a complex surface, or more generally a formal (power series) curve in a surface gives you a valuation by looking at the order of vanishing; the value group is a subgroup of $\mathbb R$.

This space of valuations has something of the flavor of Zariski's space of prime ideals in a ring: it is compact but not Hausdorff, for example. It can be thought of as the inverse limit, over all complete surfaces $S$ with this function field, of the space (Zariski topology) of points $S$.

Zariski introduced an abstract notion of Riemann surface associated to, for example, a finitely generated field extension $K/k$. It's a topological space whose points are equivalence classes of valuations of $K$ that are trivial on $k$, or equivalently valuation rings satisfying $k\subset R_v\subset K$. If $A$ is a finitely generated $k$-algebra inside $K$ then those $R_v$ which contain $A$ form an open set.

In the case of a (finitely generated and) transcendence degree 1 extension all of these valuation rings are the familiar DVRs -- local Dedekind domains -- and they serve to identify the points in the unique complete nonsingular curve with this function field. (There is also the trivial valuation with $R_v=K$, which corresponds to the generic point of that curve.)

In higher dimensions there are lots of complete varieties to contend with -- you can keep blowing up. Also there are more possibilities for valuations. Most of the valuation rings are not Noetherian. A curve in a surface gives you a discrete valuation ring, consisting of those rational functions which can meaningfully be restricted to rational functions on the curve: those which do not have a pole there. A point on a curve on a surface gives you a valuation whose ring consists of those functions which do not have a pole all along the curve, and which when restricted to the curve do not have a pole at the given point. The value group is $\mathbb Z\times \mathbb Z$ lexicographically ordered. A point on a transcendental curve in a complex surface, or more generally a formal (power series) curve in a surface gives you a valuation by looking at the order of vanishing; the value group is a subgroup of $\mathbb R$.

This space of valuations has something of the flavor of Zariski's space of prime ideals in a ring: it is compact but not Hausdorff, for example. It can be thought of as the inverse limit, over all complete surfaces $S$ with this function field, of the space (Zariski topology) of points $S$.