diff --git a/torchgeo/datasets/geo.py b/torchgeo/datasets/geo.py
index 26a035d427d..cdce123ce8f 100644
--- a/torchgeo/datasets/geo.py
+++ b/torchgeo/datasets/geo.py
@@ -435,6 +435,7 @@ def __init__(
             cache: if True, cache file handle to speed up repeated sampling
 
         Raises:
+            AssertionError: If *bands* are invalid.
             DatasetNotFoundError: If dataset is not found.
 
         .. versionchanged:: 0.5
@@ -446,6 +447,9 @@ def __init__(
         self.bands = bands or self.all_bands
         self.cache = cache
 
+        if self.all_bands:
+            assert set(self.bands) <= set(self.all_bands)
+
         # Populate the dataset index
         i = 0
         filename_regex = re.compile(self.filename_regex, re.VERBOSE)