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PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
i
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11
EDI T ION
PHYSICAL
GEOGRAPHY
JAMES F. PETERSEN
Texas State University
DOROTHY SACK
Ohio University
ROBERT E. GABLER
Western Illinois University, Emeritus
Australia • Brazil • Mexico • Singapore • United Kingdom • United States
iii
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James F. Petersen, Dorothy Sack, WCN: 02-200-203
Robert E. Gabler
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Preface
P hysical geography concerns understanding Earth as an inte-

grated system, how it functions, and how it and its envi-
ronments vary over space and time. Earth is a complex
environmental system driven by interactions among factors that
include climate, weather and the atmosphere, organisms and their
The text covers a wide range of topics, including the atmosphere,
the solid Earth, oceans and other water bodies, and the living
environments of our planet.
Engaging Graphics Visual aids greatly enhance the study of

communities, water, landforms, and soils. Understanding these geography; therefore this text includes an array of illustrations and
factors and how they change and interact is crucial for making photographs that make the concepts come alive. There are more
informed decisions about the use and preservation of Earth’s envi- than 200 new or significantly improved images, figures, and graph-
ronments and resources. Our interactions with the environment ics. Clear, easy to understand, and colorful diagrams illuminate
are also important, as they can either benefit or endanger our own important concepts. Stunning photographs that show excellent
living conditions as well those of future generations. The more examples bring the physical world to the student. Locator maps
we know about the Earth system and how it operates, the more accompany selected photographs to provide a spatial context and
effective we can be in working toward preservation, stewardship, help students identify the place or feature’s geographic position on
and sustainability on a local, regional, and global basis. Earth. Questions are included with most figures to invite interpre-
Recognition of geography’s importance to society as a major tive thinking about Earth’s features, environments, and concepts.
field of inquiry, and as a professional career focus, is growing along
with environmental awareness. Geographic knowledge, skills,
and techniques are increasingly valued in the workplace. Physi- Clear Explanations The text uses an easily understandable,
cal geographers use the latest technologies to observe, study, map, narrative style to explain the origins, development, significance,
and measure features and processes and their interactions as parts and distribution of processes, physical features, and events that
of the Earth system. They work on understanding and modeling occur within, on, or above Earth’s surface. The writing style is
environmental responses and interactions. Physical geographers targeted toward rapid comprehension and making the study of
analyze digital images from satellites and aircraft, and employ digi- physical geography meaningful and enjoyable.
tal mapmaking techniques (cartography), geographic information
science (GIS), the global positioning system (GPS), and other tools Introduction to the Geographer’s Tools Digital tech-
for analysis and problem solving. nologies have revolutionized our abilities to study Earth’s natural
Physical Geography 11th edition’s focus on relevance is supported processes and environments. A full chapter is devoted to maps,
by explanations of geographic tools and methods. Practical appli- digital imagery, data, and technologies used by geographers. Illus-
cations that use geographic data, maps, satellite images, and land- trations include maps and images with interpretations provided for
scape photographs are provided in this book.These activities, along the environmental attributes shown in the scenes. There are also
with the text material, encourage spatial thinking and give students introductory discussions of many techniques that geographers use
opportunities to apply effectively the geographic knowledge they for displaying and analyzing environmental features and processes,
are acquiring. including remote sensing, geographic information systems, cartog-
At the college level, physical geography is an ideal science raphy, and global positioning systems.
course for students who want to make informed decisions that
consider environmental limits and possibilities as well as people’s
wants and needs. Today’s students will be the decision makers of Focus on Student Interaction The text continually encour-
tomorrow, dealing with issues that affect what people need and ages students to think, conceptualize, hypothesize, and interact with
want, while considering environmental limits and possibilities. It is the subject matter of physical geography. Activities at the end of
for these students that Physical Geography has been written. each chapter can be completed either individually or by a group,
and are designed to engage students and promote active learn-
ing. Review questions reinforce concepts and prepare students for
exams, and practical application assignments require active solutions,
Features such as sketching a diagram, performing data calculation and analy-
Comprehensive View of the Earth System Physical sis, or exploring geographic features using Google Earth®. Questions
Geography introduces all major aspects of the Earth system, iden- following most figure captions prompt students to think beyond, or
tifying physical phenomena and natural processes and stressing to use, the map, graph, diagram, or image, and to give further con-
their characteristics, relationships, interactions, and distributions. sideration to the topic. Latitude/longitude coordinates for selected
photographs and climatic location examples invite students to fur- (Chapter 2), lakes (Chapter 16), rivers (Chapter 17), deserts
ther explore physical geography using satellite imagery provided by ( Chapter 18), glaciers (Chapter 19), and coasts (Chapter 20). There
Google Earth or other Internet system for viewing Earth locations. is also a weather map and satellite image interpretation activity at
Detailed learning objectives at the beginning of the chapters provide the end of C hapter 7. Many chapters also include new images to
a means for assessing comprehension of the material. interpret in the Thinking Geographically series. Students are
asked to interpret an image that features a scene related to the
Three Unique Perspectives Physical geography is a subject chapter content. These images offer additional practice in look-
that seeks to develop an understanding and appreciation of our ing closely and visually evaluating a landscape by recognizing the
Earth and its environmental diversity. In approaching this goal, this geographic features they see, their significance, how they may be
textbook employs feature boxes that illustrate three major perspec- related, and to think about how landscapes and landforms develop.
tives of physical geography. Through a spatial science perspec-
Four Major Objectives

tive, physical geography focuses on understanding and explaining
the locations, distribution, and spatial interactions of natural
phenomena. Physical geography can also be approached from a Ever since the first edition of this book, the authors have sought
physical science perspective, which applies the knowledge and to accomplish four major objectives:
methods of the natural and physical sciences, for example, by using
the scientific method and systems analytical techniques. Through To Meet the Academic Needs of the Student In con-
an environmental science perspective, physical geographers tent and style, Physical Geography, 11th edition, was written specifi-
consider impacts, influences, and interactions among human and cally to meet the needs of students, the end-users of this textbook.
natural components of the environment. Basically, this means Students can use the knowledge and understanding obtained
understanding how Earth’s environments and environmental pro- through the text and its activities to help them make informed
cesses influence human life and how humans affect environments decisions involving the environment at the local, regional, and
on scales from local to global. global scales. The book also considers the needs of beginning stu-
dents—those with little or no background in the study of physical
Map Interpretation Series Developing map interpretation geography or other Earth sciences. Examples from throughout the
skills is a priority in a physical geography course, and beneficial in world illustrate important concepts and help students bridge the
many career fields. To meet the needs of students who do not have gap between theory and practical application.
access to a laboratory setting, this text includes map activities with,
full-color maps generally printed at their original scale, satellite To Integrate the Illustrations with the Written Text
images, and interpretation questions. These maps give students an The photographs, maps, satellite images, scientific visualizations,
opportunity to develop valuable map-reading skills. In courses that block diagrams, graphs, and line drawings have been carefully cho-
have a lab section, the map interpretation features offer an excel- sen to illustrate important concepts in physical geography. Figures
lent supplement to lab activities, where each student has access are called out in the conceptual discussions so that students can
to the same map, image and activity. These interpretive activities easily make the connection between an illustration and its related
provide strong links to lectures, the textbook content, and practi- text. Some examples of topics that are clearly explained through
cal lab applications. the integration of visuals and text include: map and image interpre-
tation (Chapter 2), the seasons (Chapter 3), Earth’s energy budget
New Features (Chapter 4), surface wind systems (Chapter 5), storms (Chapter 7),
soils (Chapter 12), plate tectonics (Chapter 13), rivers (Chapter 17),
Understanding Map Content Thematic maps have the glaciers (Chapter 19), and coastal processes (Chapter 20).
a bility to present a great deal of geographic data in graphic form.
The goal of the Understanding Map Content feature is to help To Communicate the Nature of Geography The
students understand the information, geographic-spatial repre- nature of geography and three major perspectives of physical
sentations, and data presented on a thematic map. Students are geography (spatial science, physical science, and environmental
encouraged to answer questions based on a map’s content. This science) are discussed in Chapter 1. In subsequent chapters,
opportunity for practice will increase students’ comprehension important geographic topics are discussed that involve all three of
of how much useful information is contained in a thematic map these perspectives. For example, location is a dominant topic in
through the visual presentation of geographic data. These activities Chapter 2 and remains an important theme throughout the text.
illustrate the usefulness of being able to read and really understand Spatial distributions are stressed, providing context to the elements
the information that maps present, not only while studying geog- of climate in Chapters 4 through 6. The changing Earth system
raphy but also in their daily lives. is a central focus in Chapter 8. Characteristics of climate regions
and their associated environments constitute Chapters 9 and 10.
Thinking Geographically Most chapters dealing with Spatial interactions are demonstrated in explanations of weather
Earth surface processes and landforms include map activities in systems (Chapter 7), soils (Chapter 12), and volcanic and tectonic
the Map Interpretation series. These full-size topographic map activity (Chapters 13 and 14). Feature boxes present interesting
excerpts are presented at the end of chapters that discuss elevation and important examples of each geographic perspective.
vi PREFACE
To Fulfill the Major Requirements of Introductory strong storms, and tornado outbreaks. Recent disasters are dis-
Physical Science College Courses The Earth as a system cussed in terms of human impacts and efforts toward minimiz-
and the physical processes that are responsible for the location, dis- ing, or avoiding the effects of such tragedies in the future. These
tribution, and spatial relationships of physical phenomena beneath, events and others are addressed as examples of Earth processes and
at, and above Earth’s surface are examined in detail. Scientific human–environment interactions.
method, hypotheses, theories, and explanation are stressed. End-
of-chapter questions that involve understanding, analyzing, and New and Revised Text Revising Physical Geography for an
interpreting graphs of environmental data (or graphing data for eleventh edition involved thoughtful consideration of the input
analysis), quantitative transformation or calculation of environ- from many reviewers with varied opinions. Many topics have been
mental variables, and/or hands-on map analysis all support science rewritten for greater clarity, discussions have been expanded where
learning. Models and systems are frequently cited in the discussion more explanation was required, and new feature boxes have been
of important concepts, and scientific classification is presented in developed. Great concern has been given to recent occurrences
several chapters—some of these topics include air masses, torna- of unusual weather conditions and the impacts of climate change.
does, and hurricanes (Chapter 7), climates (Chapters 8, 9, and 10), Earth systems approaches are reinforced with new content, illustra-
biogeography (Chapter 11), soils (Chapter 12), rivers (Chapter 17), tions, and examples.
and coasts (Chapter 20). Most sections of the book contain new material, line art,
Physical geography plays a central role in understanding envi- and photographs. For example, the following are some examples
ronmental aspects and issues, human–environment interactions, of the discussions and features that are new or improved in this
and approaches to environmental problem solving. The begin- edition: the importance of sustainable development (Chapter 1);
ning students in this course include the professional geographers geographic information systems, 3-D digital landscape models, and
of tomorrow. Spreading the message about the importance, rel- LIDAR (Chapter 2); star circles and Earth rotation (Chapter 3);
evance, and career potential of geography in today’s world is photosynthesis, the greenhouse effect, and urban heat islands and
essential to the strength of geography at educational levels from green roofs (Chapter 4); global isobar map, volcanoes and air travel,
precollegiate through university. Physical Geography seeks to rein- and recent El Niño/La Niña conditions (Chapter 5); H urricane/
force that message. Superstorm Sandy, 3-D block diagrams of fronts and midlati-
tude cyclonic storms, and hazard warning systems on cell phones
Eleventh Edition Revision (Chapter 7); recent atmospheric CO2 levels, climate change, Saha-
ran dust and the Amazon rainforest (Chapter 9); lake effect snowfalls
This new edition has been revised so that the latest and most (Chapter 10); plant succession (Chapter 11); continental growth by
important information is presented to those who are studying accretion (Chapter 13); 2015 earthquake in Nepal (Chapter 14);
physical geography. Not only is our planet ever-changing, but so deadly huge landslide in Oso, Washington, and lethal earthquake-
are the many ways that we study, observe, measure, and analyze induced avalanches on Mt. Everest (Chapter 15); cars in a sudden
Earth’s characteristics, environments, and processes. New scien- sinkhole collapse at the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky
tific findings and new ways of communicating those findings are (Chapter 16); and removal of large dams on rivers and catastrophic
continually being developed. The eleventh edition introduces or flash floods in central Texas (Chapter 17).
expands discussions of technology, such as LIDAR imaging and
satellite weather maps. Students have greater access to geographic
tools than ever before; therefore, latitude/longitude coordinates
Enhanced Illustration Program More than 200 new and
updated figures are included in this edition. Textbook illustra-
are provided for places shown in photographs and maps as well
tions have been revised, updated, or improved, and many have
as climate stations that so students may further explore an area or
been replaced by excellent new examples. Topics that are new
phenomenon on their own, using an interactive mapping tool
or expanded in this edition required new, updated or improved
such as Google Earth.
figures, including numerous photographs, satellite images, maps,
As authors, we continually seek to include physical geogra-
and all climographs. Selected photographs include a locator map
phy topics that will spark student interest. In this edition, climate
to provide a spatial reference for the feature or place pictured.
change is given a greater emphasis, and sustainable living is dis-
Additionally, two new illustrated features invite student inquiry:
cussed, along with global movements to better manage environ-
Understanding Map Content and Thinking Geographically.
mental impacts on Earth and its climate. Attention has been given
An example of one feature or the other appears in most chapters.
to recent environmental concerns, findings, and occurrences of
natural hazards—we explain the events, the conditions and pro-
cesses that led to those events, and how they are related to physical Locate and Explore Activities Exercises at the end of
geography. many chapters, titled Locate and Explore require you to use
This edition has been updated to include discussions of the Google Earth or a similar technology. Google Earth allows you
most recent natural disasters, including Superstorm Sandy, flooding to interactively locate, display, and investigate geographic imag-
in the Atacama Desert (the world’s driest place) and in other areas, ery and data from anywhere in the world. To perform these
heavy lake effect snowfalls in the eastern United States, wildfires exercises, you should have the latest version of Google Earth
throughout California and the West, recent volcanic eruptions, installed on your computer. Some of the exercises require you
PREFACE vii
to use some data layers that are included with Google Earth, as York, New Paltz; Peter Siska, Austin Peay State University; Richard
well as some additional data layers that you must download. For W. Smith, H arford C ommunity College; Ray Sumner, Long
detailed instructions about using Google Earth, and to d ownload Beach City College; Michael Talbot, Pima Community Col-
the necessary data, visit the book’s Geography MindTap at lege; Colin Thorn, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
www.cengagebrain.com. David L. Weide, U niversity of Nevada, Las Vegas; Thomas Wikle,
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater; Glynis Jean Wray, Ocean
County C ollege; Amy Wyman, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and
Acknowledgments Craig-ZumBrunnen, University of Washington, Redmond.

The photographs throughout the book are courtesy of:
This edition of Physical Geography would not have been possible Rainer Duttmann, University of Kiel; Richard Earl, Texas
without the encouragement and assistance of editors, friends, State University; Dan Satterfield, WOBC, Salisbury, MD; Erin
and colleagues from throughout the country. Great appreciation Himmel/National Park Service; Delphine Farmer, Colorado State
is extended to Martha, Emily, and Hannah Petersen, and Greg University; Lynn Betts/NRCS; Melissa Gabrielson, Chuck Young,
Nadon, for their patience, support, and understanding. The teach- and Fred B roerman, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Bob DeGross,
ing and learning acumen of Dr. Robert E. Gabler, the original Everglades National Park; J. Good, National Park Service; Michael
author of this text, guided us as we worked on this edition, and M cCollum/McCollum Associates; Jason Neely, Polar Field

will continue to do so in future editions. Services; Christoph W. Borst and Gary L. Kinsland, University
Special thanks go to the splendid freelancers and staff mem- of Louisiana at Lafayette; VORTEX II/Sean Waugh, NO-AA/
bers of Cengage Learning. These include Morgan Carney, Earth NSSL; Michael Studinger, NASA; John Shea, FEMA; USGS Alaska
Sciences Product Manager; Jeffrey Hahn, Nedah Rose, and Aileen Volcano Observatory, D. Josefczyk; National Scenic Byways/Digital
Berg, Development Editors; Rebecca L. Lazure of SPi Global, Pro- Library; Sasan Saatchi, NASA/JPL-Caltech; Wind Cave National
duction Manager; Kellie N. Petruzzelli, Associate Content Devel- Park; Emily Petersen; Parv Sethi; Martha Moran, White River
oper; Hal Humphrey, Content Project Manager; Michael C. Cook, National Forest; Mark Muir, Fishlake National Forest; National
Senior Designer; Liz Harasymczuk, Interior Designer; Denise Park Service, Cape Cod National Seashore; Mark Reid, USGS;
Davidson, Cover Designer; Veerabhagu Nagarajan of Lumina Dawn Endico; Gary P. Fleming,Virginia Natural Heritage Program;
Datamatics, Photo Researcher; illustrators SPi Global, Graphic Tessy Shirakawa, Mesa Verde National Park; Bill Case, Chris
World Inc., Lumina Datamatics, Accurate Art, Precision Graphics, Wilkerson, and Michael Vanden Berg, Utah Geological Survey;
and Rolin Graphics; Victor Luu, Product Assistant; and Dr. Chris Center for Cave and Karst Studies, Western Kentucky University;
Houser, creator of our wonderful Locate and Explore activities. Hari Eswaran, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service;
Colleagues who reviewed the plans and manuscript for Richard Hackney, Western Kentucky University; David Hansen,
this and previous editions include Peter Blanken, University of University of Minnesota; Susan Jones, Nashville, Tennessee; David
Colorado; Brock Brown, Texas State University; Greg Carbone, Hansen, University of Minnesota; L. Elliot Jones, U.S. Geological
University of South Carolina; Richard A. Crooker, Kutztown Survey; Greg Nadon, Ohio University; Anthony G. Taranto Jr.,
State University; Joanna Curran, Texas State University; J. Michael Palisades Interstate Park—New Jersey Section; Justin Wilkinson,
Daniels, University of Wyoming; Ben Dattilo, University of Earth Sciences, and NASA Johnson Space Center. Spectacular
Nevada, Las Vegas; Leland R. Dexter, Northern Arizona U niversity; images taken by two government photographers, Bob Wick of the
James Doerner, University of Northern Colorado; Percy “Doc” Bureau of Land Management, and Tim Rains of the National Park
Dougherty, Kutztown State University; Daniel Dugas, New Service, appear in several places. Michael Kuhwald, University of
Mexico State University; Richard Earl, Texas State University; Kiel, Germany, and Bob Stafford, Texas State University produced
Tom Feldman, Joliet Junior College; Mark Fonstad, University of digital landscape models for us. We would also like to thank Matt
Oregon; Roberto Garza, San Antonio College; Greg Gaston, Uni- Melancon and Matthew Murphy, Texas State University, and
versity of North Alabama; Beth L. Hall, Towson University; Perry Shawn Trueman, Central Lakes College, Ohio.
Hardin, Brigham Young University; David Helgren, San Jose State The detailed comments, suggestions, and imagery from the
University; Chris Houser, University of West Florida; Kenneth preceding individuals have been instrumental in bringing about the
Hundreiser, Roosevelt University; Karen Johnson, North Hennepin many changes and improvements incorporated in this latest edition
Community College; Fritz C. Kessler, Frostburg State University; of the book. Countless others, both known and unknown, deserve
Elizabeth Lawrence, Miles Community College; Jeffrey Lee, Texas heartfelt thanks for their interest and support over the years.
Tech University; Michael E. Lewis, University of North Carolina, Despite the painstaking efforts of all reviewers, there will
Greensboro; Elena Lioubimtseva, Grand Valley State U niversity; always be questions of content, approach, and opinion associated
Kangshu Lu, Towson University; John Lyman, Bakersfield Col- with the text. The authors wish to make it clear that they accept
lege; Charles Martin, Kansas State University; Christopher F. full responsibility for all that is included in the eleventh edition of
Meindl, University of South Florida; Debra Morimoto, M erced Physical Geography.
College; Andrew Oliphant, San Francisco State University; James James F. Petersen
R. Powers, Pasadena City College; Joyce Quinn, California State Dorothy Sack
University, Fresno; George A. Schnell, State University of New Robert E. Gabler
viii PREFACE
Foreword to the Student
Why Study Geography? Reading Assignments

In this global age, the study of geography is absolutely essential to ■ Read the assignments before the material is covered in class by
an educated citizenry of a nation whose influence extends through- the instructor.
out the world. Geography deals with location, and a good sense of ■ Compare what you have read with the instructor’s presenta-
where places or features are, especially in relation to other places tion in class. Pay particular attention if the instructor introduces
or features in the world. Such knowledge is an invaluable asset new examples or course content not included in the reading
whether you are traveling, conducting international business, or assignment.
browsing the Internet. ■ Ask questions in class and seek to understand any material that
Geography examines the characteristics of places and areas on was not clear from your first reading of the assignment.
Earth, their roles as part of the Earth system, how they interact with ■ Reread the assignment as soon after class as possible, concen-
other locations, and the changes and processes involved in these trating on areas that were emphasized in class. Highlight only
interactions. Geography also gives strong consideration to the rela- those items or phrases that you now consider to be important,
tionships between humans and their environments. Today, everyone and skim those sections already mastered.
shares the responsibility of learning more about our physical environ- ■ Record in your class notes important terms, your own comments,
ment so that we can preserve and protect it for future generations. and summarized information from each reading assignment.
Geography provides essential information about the distribution
of features on Earth’s surface and the interconnections of places. The
distribution pattern of volcanoes, for example, p rovides an excellent
Understanding Vocabulary
indication of where Earth’s great crustal plates come in contact with ■ Mastery of basic vocabulary often becomes a critical issue
one another; and the violent thunderstorms that plague Illinois on a in the success or failure of students in a beginning science
given day may be directly associated with the low-pressure system course.
spawned in Texas two days before. G eography, through a study of ■ Focus on terms that appear in boldface type in your reading
regions, provides a focus and a level of g eneralization that allows assignments. Do not overlook additional terms that the instruc-
people to examine and understand the immensely varied environ- tor may introduce in class.
mental characteristics of Earth. ■ Develop your own definition of each term (representing a fea-
As you will note when reading Chapter 1, there are many ture, process, or characteristic) or phrase and associate it with
approaches to the study of geography. Some courses are regional in related terms in physical geography.
nature; they may include an examination of one or all of the world’s ■ Identify any physical processes associated with the term. Often,
political, cultural, economic, or physical regions. Some courses are knowing the process will help to define the term.
topical or systematic in nature, dealing with human geography, ■ Whenever possible, associate terms with location.
physical geography, or one of the major subfields of the two. ■ Consider the significance to humans of terms you are defining.
A great advantage of taking a general course in physical geog- Recognizing the significance of terms and phrases can make
raphy is the permanence of the knowledge learned. Although them relevant and easier to recall.
change is constant and often sudden in human aspects of geogra-
phy, alterations of the physical environment on a global scale are
generally slow unless they are influenced by human intervention. Learning Earth Locations
Theories and explanations may differ, but the broad patterns of ■ A good knowledge of place names and of the relative locations
atmospheric and oceanic circulation and of world climates, land- of physical and cultural phenomena on Earth is fundamental to
forms, soils, natural vegetation, and physical landscapes will be the the study of geography.
same tomorrow as they are today. ■ Take personal responsibility for learning locations on Earth.
Your instructor may identify important physical features
Keys to Successful Study and place names, but you must learn their locations for
yourself.
Good study habits are essential if you are to master science courses ■ Thoroughly understand latitude, longitude, and the Earth
such as physical geography, where the topics, explanations, and grid. They are fundamental to finding and describing loca-
terminology are often complex and unfamiliar. To help you suc- tions on maps and globes. Practice locating features by their
ceed in the course in which you are currently enrolled, we offer latitude and longitude until you are entirely comfortable using
the following suggestions. the system.
ix
■ Develop a general knowledge of the world political map. ■ Outline where possible. Preparing an outline helps you to dis-
The most common way of expressing the location of physical cern the logical organization of information. As you take notes,
features is by identifying the political unit (state, country, or organize them under main headings and subheadings.
region) in which it can be found. ■ Take the instructor at his or her word. If the instructor takes
■ Make liberal use of outline maps. They are a key to learning the time to make a list, then you should do so, too. If he or she
the names of states and countries and the locations of specific writes something on the board, it should be in your notes. If the
physical features. Personally placing features correctly on an instructor’s voice indicates special concern, take special notes.
outline map is often the best way to learn location. ■ Come to class and take your own notes. Notes trigger the
■ Cultivate the habit of using an atlas. The atlas does for the memory, but only if they are your notes.
individual who encounters place names or the features they
represent what the dictionary does for the individual who
encounters a new vocabulary word.
Doing Well on Tests
Follow these important study techniques to make the most of your
time and effort preparing for tests.
Utilizing Textbook Illustrations ■ Practice distillation. Do not try to reread but skim the assign-
The secret to making good use of maps, diagrams, and photo- ments carefully, taking notes in your own words that record as
graphs lies in understanding why an illustration has been included economically as possible the important definitions, descriptions,
in the textbook or incorporated as part of your instructor’s and explanations. Do the same with any supplementary readings,
presentation. handouts, and laboratory exercises. It takes practice to use this
■ Concentrate on the instructor’s discussion. Taking notes about technique, but it is much easier to remember a few key phrases
photographs, maps, graphs, and other illustrations will allow that lead to ever-increasing amounts of organized information
you to follow the same line of thought at a later date. than it is to memorize all your notes. And the act of distillation
■ Study all the textbook illustrations. Be sure to note which of in itself is a splendid memory device.
them received considerable attention in the lecture. Do not ■ Combine and reorganize. Merge all your notes into a coherent
quit examining an illustration until it makes sense to you, study outline.
until you can read the map or graph, or until you can rec- ■ Become familiar with the type of questions that will be asked.
ognize what a diagram or photograph has been selected to Knowing whether the questions will be objective, short-
explain. answer, essay, or related to diagrams and other illustrations can
■ Hand-copy important diagrams and graphs. Few of us are help in your preparation. Some instructors make old tests avail-
graphic artists, but you might be surprised at how much better able so that you can examine them or discover their evaluation
you understand a graph or line drawing after you reproduce it styles if you inquire. If not, then turn to former students; there
yourself. are usually some around the department or residence halls who
■ Read the captions of photographs and illustrations thoroughly have already experienced the instructor’s tests.
and thoughtfully. If the information is included, be certain ■ Anticipate the questions that will likely be on the test. The
to note where a photograph was taken and in what way it is really successful students almost seem to be able to predict the
representative. What does it tell you about the feature, process, test items before they appear. Take your educated guesses and
region, or site being illustrated? turn them into real questions.
■ Attempt to place the concept that is being illustrated in new ■ Try cooperative study. This can best be described as role-
situations. Seek other opportunities to test your skills at inter- playing and consists very simply of serving temporarily as the
preting similar maps, graphs, and photographs and think of instructor. So go ahead and teach. If you can demonstrate a
other examples that support the text. technique, illustrate an idea, or explain a process or theory
■ Remember that all illustrations are reference tools, particularly to other students so that they can understand it, there is lit-
tables, graphs, and diagrams. Refer to them often. tle doubt that you can answer test questions over the same
material.
Taking Class Notes ■ Avoid the “all-nighter.” Use the early evening hours the night
A good set of class notes is based on selectivity. You cannot, and before the test for a final unhurried review of your study out-
should not, try to write down every word uttered by your class- line. Then get a good night’s sleep.
room instructor.
Learn to paraphrase. With the exception of specific quota-
The Importance of Maps
■
tions or definitions, put the instructor’s ideas, explanations, and

comments into your own words. You will understand them Like graphs, tables, and diagrams, maps are excellent reference
better when you read them over at a later time. tools. Familiarize yourself with the maps in your textbook to bet-
■ Be succinct. Never use a sentence when a short phrase will do, ter judge when it is appropriate to seek information from these
and never use a phrase when a word will do. Start your recall important sources.
process with your note taking by forcing yourself to rebuild Maps are especially useful for comparison purposes and
an image, an explanation, or a concept from a few words. to illustrate relationships or the possible associations of two
x FOREWORD TO THE STUDENT
features, areas, or processes. But the map reader must beware. Chapter Activities At the end of each chapter, Consider and
The associations of phenomena by their locations and distri- Respond questions and Practical Applications require you to go
butions are not necessarily cause-and-effect relationships. In beyond a routine chapter review. The questions and problems
some instances the similarities in a distribution result from are designed so that you can apply your knowledge of physical
another factor that has not been considered or mapped. For geography and, on occasion, personally respond to critical issues
example, a map of worldwide volcano distribution is almost in society today. Locate and Explore activities (found at the end of
exactly congruent with one of incidence of earthquakes, yet many chapters) teach you how to use the Google Earth application
volcanoes are not the cause of major earthquakes. A third fac- as an exploratory learning tool. Check with your instructor for
tor, the location of tectonic plate boundaries, explains the first answers to the problems.
two phenomena.
Finally, remember that a map is the most important tool of Caption Questions Most illustrations and photographs in
the professional geographer. It is also useful to all natural and social your textbook, have a caption that links the image with the chapter
scientists, engineers, politicians, military planners, road builders, text it supports. Read the captions carefully because they explain
farmers, and countless others, but maps are essential expressions of the illustrations and may also contain new information. Wherever
the geographer’s primary concern with location, distribution, and appropriate, questions at the ends of captions have been designed
spatial interaction. to help you seize the opportunity to consider your own personal
reaction to the subject under consideration.
About Your Textbook Map Interpretation Series A major goal of your textbook
This textbook has been written for you, the student. It has been is to help you become an adept map reader, and the Map Inter-
written so that the text can be read and understood easily. Explana- pretation Series in your text has been designed to help you reach
tions are as clear, concise, and uncomplicated as possible. Illustra- that goal.
tions have been designed to complement the text and to help you
visualize the processes, places, and phenomena being discussed. In Environmental Systems Viewing Earth as a system com-
addition, the authors do not believe it is sufficient to offer you a prising many subsystems is a fundamental concept for researchers,
textbook that simply provides information to pass a course. We instructors, and students in physical geography. The concept is
urge you to think critically about what you read in the textbook introduced in Chapter 1 and reappears frequently throughout your
and hear in class. textbook. The interrelationships and dependencies among the
As you learn about the physical aspects of Earth environments, variables and components of Earth systems are important. Many
ask yourself what they mean to you and to people throughout the of the illustrations included in the text will help you visualize
world. Make an honest attempt to consider how what you are how systems work. There are also diagrams designed to help you
learning relates to the problems and issues of today and tomor- understand how human activities can affect the delicate balance
row. Practice using your geographic skills and knowledge in new that exists within many Earth systems.
situations so that you will continue use them in the years ahead. As authors of your textbook, we wish you well in your stud-
Your textbook includes several special features that will support ies. It is our fond hope that you will become better informed about
learning, encouraging you to go beyond memorization and to our home—Earth and its varied environments—and that you will
reason geographically. enjoy the study of physical geography.
FOREWORD TO THE STUDENT xi
Brief Contents
1 Physical Geography: Earth Environments and Systems 3

2 Representations of Earth 27
3 Solar Energy and Earth–Sun Relationships 61
4 The Atmosphere, Temperature, and Earth’s Energy Budget 81
5 Atmospheric Pressure, Winds, and Circulation Patterns 111
6 Humidity, Condensation, and Precipitation 141
7 Air Masses and Weather Systems 171
8 Global Climates and Climate Change 201
9 Low-Latitude and Arid Climate Regions 233
10 Midlatitude, Polar, and Highland Climate Regions 257
11 Biogeography 289
12 Soils and Soil Development 323
13 Earth Materials and Plate Tectonics 353
14 Tectonism and Volcanism 385
15 Weathering and Mass Wasting 419
16 Subsurface Water and Karst 447
17 Fluvial Processes and Landforms 471
18 Arid Region and Eolian Landforms 505
19 Glacial Systems and Landforms 537
20 Coastal Processes and Landforms 571
xiii
Contents
1 Physical Geography: Earth Remote Sensing of the Environment 50
Digital and Photographic Images 50
Environments and Systems 3 Remote Sensing Systems 51
The Study of Geography 4 Geography’s Physical Science Perspective: Polar versus
Geostationary Satellite Orbits 53
Physical Geography 5
Multispectral Remote Sensing 54
Geographic Tools and Technology 6
Map Interpretation: Topographic Maps 58
Major Perspectives in Physical Geography 7
Spatial Science Perspective 7
Geography’s Spatial Science Perspective: Natural Regions 10 3 Solar Energy and Earth–Sun
Physical Science Perspective 11
Environmental Science Perspective 13
Relationships 61
Geography’s Environmental Science Perspective:

The Solar System and Beyond 62
Human–Environment Interactions 16 The Solar System 62
Using Models and Systems 19 The Planets 63
Systems Analysis 19 The Earth–Sun System 64
Open and Closed Systems 20 The Sun and Solar Energy 64
Equilibrium in Earth Systems 21 Solar Energy and Atmospheric Dynamics 66
Physical Geography and You 23 Movements of Earth 67
Insolation, Sun Angle, and Duration 70
2 Representations of Earth 27
Geography’s Environmental Science Perspective: Passive Solar
Energy—An Ancient Concept 71
Maps and Location on Earth 28 The Seasons 72
Earth’s Shape and Size 29 Geography’s Physical Science Perspective: Using the Sun’s Rays
to Measure the Spherical Earth—2200 Years Ago 73
Globes and Great Circles 30
Latitude and Longitude 30 Latitude Lines Delimiting Solar Energy 75
The Geographic Grid 32 The Analemma 76
Parallels and Meridians 32 Variations of Insolation with Latitude 76
Longitude and Time 33
The International Date Line 34 4 The Atmosphere,
The U.S. Public Lands Survey System 34
Global Navigational Satellite Systems 36
Temperature, and Earth’s
Maps and Map Projections 37 Energy Budget 81
Advantages of Maps 37 The Nature of Our Atmosphere 83
Limitations of Maps 37 Atmospheric Composition 83
Map Projections 37 Atmospheric Environmental Issues 85
Properties of Map Projections 38 Vertical Layers of the Atmosphere 88
Map Basics 40 Energy Transfer Processes 89
Thematic Maps 43 Geography’s Physical Science Perspective: White Clouds,
Topographic Maps 44 Blue Skies, Red Sunsets, and Rainbows 90
Geography’s Spatial Science Perspective: Using Vertical Radiation 90

Exaggeration to Portray Topography 46 Conduction 90
Modern Mapmaking 47 Convection 91
Geographic Information Systems 47 Advection 91
Geographic Information System in the Workplace 49 Latent Heat Exchange 91
xiv
Earth’s Energy Budget 92 Ocean–Atmosphere Interactions 133
Heating the Atmosphere 92 Ocean Currents 133
Energy Balance 93 El Niño 135
Air Temperature 94 North Atlantic Oscillation 137
Temperature and Heat 94
Short-Term Temperature Variations 95
Vertical Temperature Distributions 97
6 Humidity, Condensation,
Controls of Earth’s Surface Temperatures 99 and Precipitation 141
Temperature Distribution at the Surface 102 The Hydrologic Cycle 143
Annual Temperature Changes 102 Water in the Atmosphere 144
Geography’s Spatial Science Perspective: The Urban Heat Island 103 The Water Budget 144
Weather and Climate 106 Water and the Energy Budget 145
Complexity of Earth’s Energy Systems 107 Saturation and the Dew Point Temperature 146
Humidity 146
5 Atmospheric Pressure, Winds, Geography’s Spatial Science Perspective: The Wettest and
Driest Places in the World 148
and Circulation Patterns 111 Sources of Atmospheric Moisture 149
Atmospheric Pressure 112 Evaporation Rates 149
Air Pressure, Altitude, and Elevation 113 Potential Evapotranspiration 149
Horizontal Pressure Variations 113 Condensation, Fog, and Clouds 150
Cells of High and Low Pressure 114 Condensation Nuclei 151
Convergent and Divergent Circulation 114 Fog 151
Mapping Pressure Distributions 114 Dew and Frost 153
Wind 115 Clouds 153
Pressure Gradients and Wind 115 Adiabatic Heating and Cooling 155
The Coriolis Effect and Wind 115 Stability and Instability 156
Cyclones, Anticyclones, and Wind Directions 116 Precipitation Processes 157
Geography’s Environmental Science Perspective: Forms of Precipitation 158
Harnessing the Wind’s Energy 118 Factors Necessary for Precipitation 159
Global Pressure and Wind Systems 119 Geography’s Physical Science Perspective: The Lifting
A Model of Global Pressure 119 Condensation Level 161
Seasonal Pressure Differences 120 Distribution of Precipitation 163
Global Wind Systems 122 Distribution over Time 163
An Atmospheric Circulation Model 122 Spatial Distribution of Precipitation 163
Winds in Latitudinal Zones 123 Precipitation Variability 166
Thinking Geographically 124
Latitudinal Migration with the Seasons 124 7 Air Masses and Weather
Longitudinal Variations in Pressure and Wind 125
Upper Air Winds and Jet Streams 126
Systems 171
Regional and Local Wind Systems 128 Air Masses 172

Monsoon Winds 128 Air Mass Modification and Stability 172
Geography’s Spatial Science Perspective: Volcanic Eruptions, Upper North American Air Masses 173
Air Winds, and Aviation Routes 129 Fronts 174
Local Winds 130 Cold Fronts 175
CONTENTS xv
5 years later
Warm Fronts 175 Tropical Savanna Climate 242

Stationary and Occluded Fronts 176 Arid Climate Regions 244
Atmospheric Disturbances 176 Desert Climates 247
Anticyclones and Cyclones 176 Geography’s Environmental Science Perspective:
Midlatitude Cyclones 178 Desertification 248
Hurricanes 182 Steppe Climates 251

Geography’s Spatial Science Perspective: Hurricane Landfall
Probability Maps 184
Thunderstorms 187
10 Midlatitude, Polar, and
Tornadoes 189 Highland Climate Regions 257
Snowstorms and Blizzards 191 Mesothermal Climate Regions 258
Geography’s Environmental Science Perspective: Receiving Mediterranean Climate 258
Warnings about Tornadoes and Other Natural Hazards 193 Humid Subtropical Climate 262
Weather Forecasting 194 Marine West Coast Climate 264
Map Interpretation: Weather Maps 198 Microthermal Climate Regions 268
Humid Continental, Hot-Summer Climate 269
8 Global Climates and Humid Continental, Mild-Summer Climate 271
Geography’s Physical Science Perspective: Effective
Climate Change 201 Temperatures 274
Classifying Climates 202 Subarctic Climate 274

The Thornthwaite System 203 Polar Climate Regions 277
The Köppen System 203 Tundra Climate 279
Geography’s Physical Science Perspective: Using Climographs 205 Ice-Sheet Climate 280
Climate Types and Their Distribution 206 Human Activity in Polar Regions 280
Scale and Climate 212 Highland Climate Regions 281
Climate Change 213 Characteristics of Mountain Climates 283
Geography’s Environmental Science Perspective: The Effects
The Last Ice Ages: The Pleistocene 213
of Elevation on the Human Body 284
Methods for Revealing Past Climates 214
Highland Climates and Human Activity 285
Rates of Climate Change 216
Natural Causes of Climate Change 217
Geography’s Spatial Science Perspective: Climate Change 11 Biogeography 289
and Its Impact on Coastlines 220 Ecosystems 290
Recent Climate Change 222 Major Components 290
Anthropogenic Influences on Climate 224 Trophic Structure 291
Recommendations for the Future 226 Energy Flow and Biomass 291
Graph Interpretation: The Köppen Climate Classification System 228 Primary and Secondary Productivity 293
Ecological Niche 294
9 Low-Latitude and Arid Succession and Climax Communities 294
Plant Succession 297
Climate Regions 233 Environmental Controls 298
Humid Tropical Climate Regions 234 Natural Factors 299
Tropical Rainforest Climate 235 Geography’s Spatial Science Perspective: The Theory
Geography’s Spatial Science Perspective: Saharan Dust of Island Biogeography 302
Feeds the Amazon Rainforest 238 Human Impacts on Ecosystems 304
xvi CONTENTS
Geography’s Environmental Science Perspective: Invasive Soil Classification 341
Exotic Species—Burmese Pythons 305
The NRCS Soil Classification System 341
Classification of Terrestrial Ecosystems 306 NRCS Soil Orders 341
Forest Biomes 306 Soil as a Critical Natural Resource 349
Tropical Forests 306
Midlatitude Forests 312
Grassland Biomes 314 13 Earth Materials and
Tropical Savanna Grasslands 314
Midlatitude Grasslands 314
Plate Tectonics 353
Desert Environments 316 Earth’s Planetary Structure 354

Arctic and Alpine Tundra 316 Core 356
Marine Ecosystems 317 Mantle 356
The Resilience of Life Forms 319 Crust 356
Lithosphere and Asthenosphere 357
12 Soils and Soil Earth Materials 358

Minerals versus Rocks 358
Development 323 Igneous Rocks 360
Major Soil Components 324 Sedimentary Rocks 361
Inorganic Materials 325 Metamorphic Rocks 364
Soil Water 325 The Rock Cycle 365
Thinking Geographically 367
Soil Air 327
Organic Matter 327 Plate Tectonics 367
Soil Characteristics 327 The Theory of Continental Drift 367
Color 327 Evidence of Moving Landmasses 368
Texture 328 Geography’s Spatial Science Perspective: Paleomagnetism—Evidence
of Earth’s Ancient Geography 370
Structure 328
Seafloor Spreading and Subduction 371
Acidity and Alkalinity 328
The Theory of Plate Tectonics 371
Geography’s Physical Science Perspective: Basic
Soil Analysis 330 Tectonic Plate Movement 372
Development of Soil Horizons 332 Hot Spots in the Mantle 377
Soil Horizons 332 Growth of Continents 377
Factors Affecting Soil Formation 333 Geography’s Physical Science Perspective: Isostasy—Balancing
Earth’s Lithosphere 379
Parent Material 333
Geologic Time and Paleogeography 380
Organic Activity 334
Climate 335
Relief 337
Time 337
14 Tectonism and Volcanism 385
Soil-Forming Regimes 338 Introduction to Geomorphology 386

Laterization 338 Tectonics Forces, Structures, and Landforms 388
Podzolization 338 Compressional Forces 389
Geography’s Environmental Science Perspective: How Much Tensional Forces 390
Good Soil Is There on Earth? 339 Shearing Forces 393
Calcification 340 Rock Structure and Topography 394
Localized Soil Regimes 340 Thinking Geographically 395
CONTENTS xvii
Earthquakes 395 Springs 451
Measuring Earthquake Size 395 Artesian Springs 452
Geography’s Spatial Science Perspective: Mapping Using Groundwater Resources 453
the Distribution of Earthquake Intensity 396 Wells 453
Earthquake Hazards 399 Depletion of Groundwater Reserves 454
Igneous Processes and Landforms 401 Geography’s Physical Science Perspective:
Plutonism and Intrusions 401 Acid Mine Drainage 455
Volcanic Eruptions 402 Groundwater Quality 456
Volcanic Landforms 403 Geothermal Water 456
Geography’s Physical Science Perspective: Eruption Landform Development by Solution 457
of Mount St. Helens 408 Karst Landforms 458
Distribution of Endogenic Processes 412 Geography’s Environmental Science Perspective:
Map Interpretation: Volcanic Landforms 416 Sudden Sinkhole Formation 460
Limestone Caverns and Cave Features 463
15 Weathering and Thinking Geographically 465

Map Interpretation: Karst Topography 468
Mass Wasting 419
Nature of Exogenic Processes 420
Weathering 422
17 Fluvial Processes
Physical Weathering 422 and Landforms 471
Chemical Weathering 425 Surface Runoff 473

Geography’s Physical Science Perspective: Expanding The Stream System 474
and Contracting Soils 426 Drainage Basins 474
Biological Weathering 427 Geography’s Spatial Science Perspective: Watersheds
Variability in Weathering 428 as Critical Natural Regions 476
Climate Factors 428 Drainage Density 477
Rock Type 429 Drainage Patterns 478
Structural Controls 430 Flow Properties 480
Differential Weathering and Erosion 430 Stream Discharge 480
Mass Wasting 432 Stream Energy 481
Materials and Motion 434 Fluvial Processes 483
Slow Mass Wasting 434 Erosion 483
Fast Mass Wasting 436 Transportation 484
Geography’s Environmental Science Perspective: Deposition 484
The Frank Slide 441 Channel Patterns 486
Thinking Geographically 443 Fluvial Landscapes 486
Weathering, Mass Wasting, and the Landscape 443 Upper Stream Course 487
Middle Stream Course 487
16 Subsurface Water Lower Stream Course 488
Deltas 490
and Karst 447 Thinking Geographically 492
Nature of Underground Water 448 Base-Level Changes and Tectonism 492
Subsurface Water Zones and the Water Table 448 Rivers, Lakes, and People 493
Groundwater Storage and Movement 450 Stream Hazards 493
xviii CONTENTS
Importance of Rivers and Lakes 495 Thinking Geographically 552
Geography’s Environmental Science Perspective: Dams Pleistocene Glaciation 553
and Dam Removal 496 Erosional Landforms of Continental Glaciation 555
Quantitative Fluvial Geomorphology 498 Geography’s Spatial Science Perspective: The Driftless Area—A
Map Interpretation: Fluvial Landforms 502 Natural Region 556
Depositional Landforms of Continental
Glaciation 557
18 Arid Region and Eolian Glacial Lakes 560
Landforms 505 Periglacial Landscapes 562
Map Interpretation: Alpine Glaciation 566
Surface Runoff in the Desert 506
Map Interpretation: Continental Glaciation 568
Water as a Geomorphic Agent in Arid Lands 508
Arid Region Landforms of Fluvial Erosion 509
Arid Region Landforms of Fluvial Deposition 512
Wind as a Geomorphic Agent 516
20 Coastal Processes
Wind Erosion and Transportation 517 and Landforms 571
Wind Deposition 520 The Coastal Zone 572

Sand Dunes 520 Origin and Nature of Waves 572
Types of Sand Dunes 522 Tides 572
Dune Protection 524 Tsunamis 575
Geography’s Environmental Science Perspective: Off-Road Geography’s Physical Science Perspective: Tsunami
Vehicle Impacts on Desert Landscapes 525 Forecasts and Warnings 576
Loess Deposits 526 Wind Waves 576
Thinking Geographically 528 Breaking of Waves 578
Landscape Development in Deserts 528 Coastal Geomorphic Processes 579
Map Interpretation: Desert Basin Landforms 532 Wave Refraction and Littoral Drifting 579
Map Interpretation: Eolian Landforms 534 Coastal Erosion 580
Coastal Deposition 581
Types of Coasts 587
19 Glacial Systems Geography’s Environmental Science Perspective: Beach
and Landforms 537

Protection 588
Islands and Coral Reefs 593
Glacier Formation and the Hydrologic Cycle 538 Change over Time 595
Types of Glaciers 540 Map Interpretation: Active-Margin Coastlines 598
Geography’s Physical Science Perspective: Glacial Ice Is Blue! 541 Map Interpretation: Passive-Margin Coastlines 600
How Do Glaciers Flow? 542
Glaciers as Geomorphic Agents 544 Appendix A International System of Units (SI),
Alpine Glaciers 544 Abbreviations, and Conversions 603
Equilibrium and the Glacial Budget 545 Appendix B Topographic Maps 605
Erosional Landforms of Alpine Glaciation 546 Appendix C Understanding and Recognizing Some
Depositional Landforms of Alpine Glaciation 549 Common Rocks 607
Continental Glaciers 552 Glossary 613
Existing Continental Glaciers 552 Index 633
CONTENTS xix
List of Major Maps
The World
Figure Description Page
2.9 Time zones 33
4.27a Average sea level temperatures, January 105
4.27b Average sea level temperatures, July 105
5.10a Average sea level pressure, January 121
5.10b Average sea level pressure, July 121
5.25 Major ocean currents 134
5.27 El Niño and La Niña conditions 136
6.27 Map of average annual precipitation 164–165
6.29 Precipitation variability 167
7.16 Hurricane strikes in the continental United States 186
8.6 Climates, modified Köppen classification system 208–209
9.1 Humid tropical climates 234
9.13 Arid regions 245
10.1 Humid mesothermal climates 258
10.13 Humid microthermal climates 268
11.7b Global vegetation patterns 295
11.23 World map of natural vegetation 308–309
12.30 Distribution of NRCS soil orders 344–345
13.23 Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis 368
13.28 Major tectonic plates 372
13.40 Last 250 million years of Earth history 382
14.41a Earthquake epicenters 413
14.41b Major volcanic regions 413
18.41 Major loess regions 527
19.30 Extent of Pleistocene glaciations 555
Physical map of the world Front endpapers
Population density Back end papers
xx
The Ocean
11.37 Satellite image, distribution of chlorophyll-producing marine plankton 319
13.25 Oceanic ridges and the age of the sea floor 369
20.5 World tidal patterns 574
The Contiguous United States

1.7 Satellite image, population distribution 9
2.11 Principal meridians and base lines 34
2.26 Magnetic declination 43
6.8 Potential evapotranspiration 150
7.8 Common storm tracks 178
7.24 Average number of tornadoes 190
8.2 Thornthwaite climate regions 204
10.14 Average annual snow cover 270
12.12 Alkaline and acidic soils 331
12.29 Dominant soil orders 343
14.23 Earthquake hazard distribution 400
16.18 Limestone (karst) regions 458
18.14 Pleistocene lakes, Western region 513
19.34 Glacial deposits, Great Lakes region 558
North America
7.1 Air mass source regions 172
7.12 Polar front jet stream 182
8.18 Pleistocene ice sheets 214
13.37 Rock ages 378
LIST OF MAJOR MAPS xxi
Author Biographies
James F. PetersenJames F. Petersen Robert E. Gabler During his nearly five
is Professor of Geography at Texas State decades of professional experience, Profes-
University, in San Marcos, Texas. A broadly sor Gabler has taught geography at Hunter
trained physical geographer with strong in- College, City of New York, Columbia
terests in geomorphology and Earth Science University, and Western Illinois Univer-
education, he enjoys writing about topics sity, in addition to 5 years in public ele-
related to physical geography for the public. mentary and secondary schools. At times
J. Petersen
J. Petersen
Involved in environmental interpretation, in his career at Western Illinois he served
he has written guidebooks and a number of as Chairperson of the Geography and Geology
field and trail guides for parks. Professor Petersen is a past President Department, Chairperson of the Geography Department, and
of the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE), a University Director of International Programs. Professor Gabler
recipient of a national teaching award, and received the NCGE’s received three University Presidential Citations for Teaching
highest honor for distinguished service to geography education. Excellence and University Service, served two terms as Chairper-
He has written or served as a senior consultant for nationally son of the Faculty Senate, edited the Bulletin of the Illinois Geographical
published educational materials at levels from middle school Society, and authored numerous articles in state and national peri-
through university. He has published articles that deal with edu- odicals. He is a past President of the Illinois Geographical Society,
cation in geomorphology, climate history and climate change, the former Director of Coordinators and past President of the National
environmental history of central Texas, the role of field methods Council for Geographic Education (NCGE), and the recipient of
in geography, earthquake hazards, and geographic education in the NCGE George J. Miller Distinguished Service Award.
general. Believing in the value of learning in the field, every year
since Professor Petersen began teaching he has taken students on
extended field excursions to learn about Earth environments,
locations, processes, and features through firsthand experience.
Dorothy Sack Dorothy Sack, Professor

of Geography at Ohio University in A thens,
Ohio, is a physical geographer who special-
izes in geomorphology. Her primary re-
search interests emphasize arid region land-
forms, particularly the geomorphic evidence
of paleolakes, which contributes to our un-
J. Petersen
derstanding of Earth’s paleoclimate. Other

research themes include the impact of
off-road vehicles on the landscape and the history of geomorphology.
Professor Sack has published research in a variety of professional
journals, academic volumes, and Utah Geological Survey publica-
tions. Her work has been funded by the National Geographic Soci-
ety, National Science Foundation, Association of American Geogra-
phers (AAG), American Chemical Society, and other groups. She is
active in professional organizations, having served as chair of both the
Geomorphology and the History of Geography Specialty Groups of
the AAG, and in other offices for the AAG, Geological Society of
America, and History of Earth Sciences Society. She also serves on
the editorial boards of Geomorphology, Physical Geography, and Earth
Sciences History. Professor Sack enjoys teaching as well as research, and
has received the Outstanding Teacher Award from Ohio University’s
College of Arts and Sciences.
xxii
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY:
EARTH ENVIRONMENTS
AND SYSTEMS 1
OBJECTIVES OUTLINE
WHEN YOU COMPLETE THIS CHAPTER YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO: The Study of Geography
■ 1.1 Explain why physical geography examines both the natural world and human
interaction with the natural world. Physical Geography
■ 1.2 Discuss important ways in which geographic information and techniques are useful Geographic Tools and Technology
in different careers.
■ 1.3 Describe the three major perspectives of physical geography: spatial science, Major Perspectives in Physical
physical science, and environmental science. Geography
■ 1.4 Think of Earth as a system of interacting parts that respond to both natural Spatial Science Perspective
processes and human actions. Geography’s Spatial Science
Perspective: Natural Regions
■ 1.5 Illustrate with examples how some interactions between people and their
environment are advantageous, whereas others are detrimental or hazardous. Physical Science Perspective
■ 1.6 Summarize how knowledge of physical geography contributes to a better Environmental Science Perspective
understanding of the environment. Geography’s Environmental Science
Perspective: Human–Environment
■ 1.7 Recognize that every physical environment offers an array of advantages and Interactions
challenges to human life and living conditions.
■ 1.8 Explain how physical geography is relevant to your everyday life. Using Models and Systems
Systems Analysis
Open and Closed Systems
Equilibrium in Earth Systems
Physical Geography and You
PLANET EARTH IS HOME TO a large and complex set of living organisms,

including humans. Earth’s surface is our natural habitat, providing us with air,
water, nutrients, and shelter. Earth also receives enough sunlight to maintain livable
temperatures and to power food production by plants through photosynthesis.
Surrounded by the emptiness of space, life on Earth is dependent on the planet’s
self-contained natural resources that are extensive, but not limitless.
Only recently in the history of human life have we been able to view Earth
in its entirety from space, giving us a fresh perspective on characteristics of the
ocean, atmosphere, land masses, and natural vegetation. In addition to being able
to see the physical Earth as a whole, technological advances in communication,
transportation, and information sciences over the last several decades have led
to an increasingly global social perspective. These developments, combined with
population growth, make the world seem smaller, and have helped heighten
Earth, our home, our natural habitat.
▼
awareness of the finite nature of Earth, its environments, and its resources. NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring
In physical geography we seek to understand as much PHYSICAL SCIENCE
as possible about the natural Earth—its characteristics,
Geology
materials, and processes—so that humans (and Earth’s Bio
gy
rolo log
other organisms) can live on this planet long into the e o y
et Geomorphology
M
future in a healthy and sustainable way and with minimal
risk from its inherent hazards. Physical geography is this Climatology Biogeography
Ped
my
study of the natural aspects of Earth as our habitat and
Geogr
ical
no
ap
o
home. ys h
logy
Astro
Mathematical Soils
Ph
y
Geography Geography
Earth is beautiful and intriguing—a dynamic life-
Environment
giving planetary oasis of great environmental diversity. Geography
People
ence
It is important for people to gain an understanding Social Political
Geography Geography
hy
um p
Soci
l Sci
of the planet that sustains us—to learn about the a n G e o gra
olog
a
components and processes that change and regulate
litic
y
Cultural Economic
Po
Earth’s environmental conditions. In all fields of study, Geography Geography
asking questions is an important step toward acquiring An Historical
th
ro
Geography ics
knowledge, explanations, and understanding. In po o m
log o n
physical geography, many of our questions are directed y Ec
History
toward how Earth’s matter, energy, and processes
SOCIAL SCIENCE or HUMANITIES
interact to create the environmental diversity that
exists on our planet. ● FIGURE 1.1 Geography has many subdivisions that are related to other
disciplines with which they share some of their interests. Geographers,
however, apply their own distinct perspectives and approaches to these
areas of study.
The Study of Geography What advantage might a geographer have when working with other
Physical geography is a major part of the field of geography, physical scientists seeking a solution to a problem?
which is the study of all aspects of Earth in its role as the home
of people. The word geography comes from the Greek language.
Geo refers to Earth, and graphy means picture or writing, thus and human environments. They study processes that influenced
the word itself designates a broad field of study. Geography as a Earth’s physical and cultural landscapes in the past, how processes
whole includes the examination, description, and explanation of affect landscapes today, how a landscape may change in the future,
cultural as well as natural physical variables on Earth. Geography and the significance of process and landscape changes over space
emphasizes how physical and cultural attributes vary from place and time. Geography is distinctive among academic disciplines
to place, how places and features change over time, and the pro- in its definition and central purpose and can involve studying
cesses and interactions responsible for these variations. Geogra- any topic related to the analysis of natural or human p rocesses
phy is commonly considered the spatial discipline (the study on or near Earth’s surface. Because geography embraces the
of locational space) because it includes analyzing and explaining study of virtually any Earth phenomenon, the subject has several
the locations, distributions, patterns, variations, and similarities or subdivisions. Typically, geographers specialize in one or more of
differences among phenomena on Earth’s surface. Geography is these subfields (● Fig. 1.1). Geography also encompasses multiple
approaches; some geographers are natural scientists, some are social
an integrative discipline that brings together the physical and human scientists, and others use a humanities approach.
dimensions of the world in the study of people, places, and environ- The broadest divisions of the field of geography are physical
ments. Its subject matter is the Earth’s surface and the processes that geography, which is the focus of our study, and human geography.
shape it, the relationships between people and environments, and the
Whereas physical geographers use a natural science approach to
connections between people and places.
analyze the nonhuman elements of Earth’s environments, human
—Geography for Life, Geography Education Standards Project
geography concerns the nature, processes, and variations in space
Geographers are concerned with how physical and human pro- and time of human-generated phenomena, including culture;
cesses affect, have affected, or will affect our planet and its natural thus, human geographers use approaches from social science or
4 C H A P T E R 1 • P hysical G eography : E arth E nvironments and S ystems
the humanities. Human geographers are, for example, concerned
with such topics as population distributions, migration patterns, Physical Geography
cultural patterns, the spread of ideas, cities and urbanization, Physical geography focuses on understanding the natural processes
industrial and commercial location, natural resource use, and and features of Earth. Physical geography, however, cannot exclude
transportation networks. the human element because people affect, and are affected by, natu-
Geographers gather, organize, and analyze many kinds ral processes and features. Geographers are excellent observers of the
of data and information in seeking to explain locations, areas, world around them and generally take a holistic approach to problem
patterns, distributions, and relationships over the surface of Earth. solving, meaning that they are open to all factors that might be
Many individual geographers, whether human or physical, solve involved in the solution, including human factors. Being concerned
problems or answer questions at the local or regional scale, rather with nearly all aspects of Earth, physical geographers are trained
than consider the entire planet at once. As a result, geographers to view a natural environment and consider how it functions in
are interested in defining meaningful regions, which are areas its entirety (● Fig. 1.2). Yet, as in other fields of study, most indi-
identified by distinctive characteristics that distinguish them from vidual physical geographers develop focused expertise in one or two
surrounding areas. The distinctive characteristics used to define a subfields. For example, physical geography includes the study of
region can be p hysical, human, or a combination of factors, and weather and climate and some physical geographers are meteorolo-
a given location can belong to various types and sizes of regions gists or climatologists. Meteorologists consider the processes that affect
depending on the criteria used and purposes for identifying the daily weather, and they forecast weather conditions. Climatologists
regions. Regional geography emphasizes the characteristics of a are interested in the averages and extremes of long-term weather
region or of multiple regions. data, regional climates, large-scale atmospheric circulation processes,
Martha Moran, Aspen Ranger District, White River National Forest
● FIGURE 1.2 Physical geographers study all processes, features, and characteristics of the natural environment,
including those related to weather, climate, rock structures, landforms, soils, vegetation, animals, water, and human
impacts, several of which are represented in this view from the White River National Forest in Colorado.
What elements of physical geography can you recognize in this scene?
P hysical G eography 5
climate-related hazards, understanding climate change, and how
climate and climate change impact people and the environment.
Geomorphology, another major subfield of physical geography,
is the study of landforms and how the interactions of Earth’s pro-
cesses and surface materials contribute to landform development
and modification. Geomorphologists work to understand variations
in landforms, the processes that produce them, and the hazards that
they pose for people. Biogeographers study the geographic ranges,
distribution patterns, and assemblages of plant and animal species,
seeking to discover the natural and human-induced environmental
factors that influence them. Biogeography includes analyzing plant
Kraivut Charoensiri
and animal distributions of the present and past and how they may
change in the future. Other physical geographers, known as soil scien-
tists, analyze and map soil types, determine the suitability of different
soils for various uses, and work to conserve soil as a natural resource.
Water plays a critical role in many natural processes on Earth. ● FIGURE 1.3 In addition to using the latest technological innovations
Meteorology, climatology, geomorphology, biogeography, and for locating, observing, measuring, imaging, and mapping Earth and its
soil science each involve water in some way. Physical geographers environments, fieldwork remains an important element of information gathering
participate widely in the study of water, water bodies, and water in much of physical geography.
resources, and physical geographers may also serve as hydrologists,
oceanographers, or glaciologists. Many geographers contribute to the continually being enhanced with greater image resolution, increas-
effective management of water resources to ensure that lakes, ingly sophisticated three-dimensional graphics, and animations that
watersheds, springs, and groundwater sources meet human and are more vivid and striking than ever (● Fig. 1.4).
environmental needs in terms of quality and quantity. Technology greatly aids in the collection, storage, analysis,
and visualization of geographic data, as well as in the effective
Geographic Tools communication of results. But solving geographic problems also

requires knowledgeable people who understand the content,
and Technology scope, and nature of geographic information, methods, and tech-
niques. Many geographers are gainfully employed in positions that
Rapid advances over the last couple of decades in the global position- apply technology to help understand our planet better, and their
ing system (GPS), communication, and information science tech- numbers are certain to increase in the future.
nologies have greatly enhanced our abilities to learn about Earth’s
physical geography. We locate points on Earth’s surface more
quickly, easily, and accurately; measure attributes of those ground
points more precisely; and gather, manipulate, and share larger data
sets than ever before. We obtain much data about Earth’s surface
remotely, such as from sophisticated instruments and sensors car-
ried on board satellites and aircraft. Some problems, however, also
require in-person fieldwork, often employing specialized instru-
ments to aid in data collection, and fieldwork will probably always
Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio/NASA
play an important role in physical geography (● Fig. 1.3).

Maps are essential components of geography. Maps function
as sources of geographic data, tools to aid in the analysis and inter-
pretation of geographic data, and means for displaying results of
geographic studies. Geographers use satellite-based GPS technol-
ogy to determine the precise location of points on Earth’s surface,
and digital technologies for mapmaking (cartography) and for
conducting many aspects of map analysis.
Continuous satellite imaging of Earth has been ongoing for
more than 40 years, which gives us an important perspective on
environmental change. By recording from space various energy
signals from Earth and producing images, we are able to measure,
monitor, and map Earth processes and their effects, many of which
● FIGURE 1.4 This computer-generated three-dimensional model of Antarctica
are invisible to the naked eye. As methods of data processing and was made by combining a 50-year history of temperature records from locations
visual representation techniques improve, the geographer’s abil- on the continent with recent satellite images of the ice surface. The red area
ity to visualize environmental data and their change over time is has undergone the largest temperature increase in response to global warming.
Major Perspectives in Make observation
Physical Geography that requires
explanation
Physical geographers use the scientific method to guide their
learning about the processes and features on Earth. The scientific
method entails developing valid explanations about the issue being
studied by objectively testing hypotheses and analyzing all perti- Propose
nent evidence and facts (● Fig. 1.5). Using the scientific method, hypothesis to
explain the
new ideas or proposed answers to questions are accepted as valid observation
only if they withstand rigorous objective testing.
This textbook highlights three major perspectives, all using
the scientific method, fundamental to physical geography: spa-
tial science, physical science, and environmental science. This chapter Determine a Go to
introduces all three, whereas subsequent chapters vary in which technique and alternate
collect data to
perspective they emphasize. As you progress through the book, test hypothesis
hypothesis
take note of how each perspective relates to the unique nature of
geography as a discipline.
Spatial Science Perspective Use technique to

test hypothesis
Physical geography uses the scientific method to study varia-
tions over space, thus it is a spatial science. Specific interests vary
widely among physical geographers, but they share the common
goals of understanding and explaining spatial variations on Earth’s
surface. The following five spatial topics—location, characteris-
tics of places, spatial distribution and pattern, spatial interaction, Test supports Test rejects
hypothesis hypothesis
and change over space and time—illustrate factors that geogra-
phers typically consider and problems that they address. Because
learning the types of questions that geographers ask is a first step
toward understanding the field of study, example questions are
included for each topic. Accept hypothesis
(explanation for
observation)
Location Geographic studies often begin with locational infor-
mation. Describing a location usually uses one of two methods:
● FIGURE 1.5 The scientific method, widely applicable in physical geography,
absolute location, which is expressed by a coordinate system,
follows these steps. For example:
and relative location, which identifies where a feature lies in
relation to something else, usually a fairly well-known site. For 1. Make an observation that requires an explanation. On a trip to the
mountains, you feel colder at higher elevations than you do at lower
example, Pikes Peak, in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, with elevations. Is that just a result of local conditions and weather changes
an elevation of 4302 meters (14,115 ft), has a location of lation the day you were there, or is it a universal relationship?
tude 388519N (north) and longitude 1058039W (west). This kind
2. State the observation in the form of a testable hypothesis. For
of global address is an absolute location. However, another way example: Within a single mountain range, higher elevations have colder
to report its location would be as 36 kilometers (22 mi) west of temperatures than lower elevations.
Colorado Springs (● Fig. 1.6). This is an example of relative loca- 3. Determine a technique or strategy for testing the hypothesis and for
tion because the position of the peak is given in relation to the city collecting the data needed to conduct the test. You could test the
of Colorado Springs. Typical spatial questions involving location hypothesis by selecting a mountain range to study and collecting
include the following: Where are volcanoes (or other type of Earth temperature data for many days from weather stations at different
feature) found, and where are they not found? Why are volcanoes located elevations. Use temperature measurements made at the same time of day
at all weather stations on any given day because the evidence must be
where they are? What methods can we use to locate volcanoes on Earth? collected under similar circumstances to minimize bias.
How can we describe their location? What is the most likely or least likely
4. Apply the technique or strategy to test the validity of the hypothesis.
location for a volcano? Here you discover if the collected data support the hypothesis. The
technique or strategy will indicate either accepting or rejecting the
hypothesis. If the hypothesis is rejected, you could devise and test a
Characteristics of Places Physical geographers are inter- different hypothesis to explain the initial observation. If the hypothesis is
ested in the environmental features and processes that make a accepted, you have a reasonable explanation for the differences you felt in
place unique, as well as in the shared or similar characteristics temperature.
M ajor P erspectives in P hysical G eography 7
Pikes Peak Colorado Springs
Goddard Space Flight Center/Earth Observatory/NASA
WYOMING NEBRASKA
COLORADO
Colorado
KANSAS
Springs
UTAH
Pikes
Peak
NEW MEXICO
● FIGURE 1.6 A three-dimensional digital model shows the relative location of Pikes Peak to Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Because this is a perspective view, the 36 kilometer (22 mi) distance appears to be shorter than its actual ground
distance. A satellite image was merged with elevation data gathered by radar from the space shuttle to create this scene.
What can you discern about the physical geographic characteristics of this place from the image?
between places. For example, we might determine what physi- are arranged over Earth’s surface: Are they regularly or randomly
cal geographic features give a particular mountain range its dis- spaced, clustered together, or far apart from each other? Population
tinctive appearance or describe how one mountain range differs can be dense or sparse (● Fig. 1.7). The spatial pattern of earth-
from another. Assessing the differences and similarities between quakes may be aligned on a map because earthquake faults display
two examples of the same general type of feature helps us better linear patterns. Some questions relevant to spatial distribution and
understand the processes influencing each. Another approach to spatial pattern are: Where are certain features abundant, and where are
learning about the characteristics of places is through analyz- they rare? How are particular factors or elements of physical geography
ing the environmental advantages and challenges that exist in arranged in space, and what spatial patterns exist, if any? What processes
a locality. Example questions about the characteristics of places are responsible for these distributions or patterns? If a spatial pattern exists,
are: How does an Australian desert compare to the Sonoran Desert of what does it signify?
the southwestern United States? How do the grasslands of the North
American Great Plains compare to the grasslands of Argentina? What
Spatial Interaction Few processes on Earth operate in iso-
environmental conditions make one county more agriculturally productive
lation because areas on our planet are interconnected, that is,
than another? How does the climate of Maine differ from the climate of
they are linked to conditions elsewhere on Earth. A spatial
Alaska, and why? What weather can we expect when traveling to a
interaction exists if a condition, an occurrence, or a process
different country?
in one place has an impact on other places. Excessive rainfall in
Minnesota and Wisconsin, for example, might lead to flooding
Spatial Distribution and Pattern Two fundamental along the Mississippi River in Missouri. Reducing the size of
characteristics describe how features or events are arranged over the tropical rainforest may have a widespread impact on world
space. Spatial distribution refers to the extent of the area or climates. The exact nature of many spatial interactions is often
areas where the feature of interest exists. Tropical rainforests, for difficult to establish with complete confidence. It is much easier
example, cover particular expanses of Earth’s surface, thus they are to determine that a condition at one location is associated with
spatially distributed. Likewise, the parts of the United States where a condition at another without knowing if one event actually
rain fell yesterday, or regions that have high potential for damag- causes the other. For instance, it is well established that atypical
ing earthquakes, have spatial distribution. Spatial pattern refers weather in some parts of the world accompanies the presence of
to how multiple individuals of the same type of feature or event abnormally warm ocean waters off South America’s west coast, a
Image by Craig Matthew (NASA/GSFC) and Robert Simmon (NASA/GSFC)
● FIGURE 1.7 A nighttime satellite image provides good illustrations of distribution and pattern, shown here for part
of North America. Spatial distribution is where features are located (or perhaps, absent). Spatial pattern refers to their
arrangement. Geographers seek to explain observed spatial relationships.
Can you locate two distributions and two patterns in this scene and propose possible explanations
for each?
condition called El Niño. Climatologists, how-

ever, are still working to clarify the nature of
that link, and it is possible that c ircumstances
leading to an El Niño separately induce the
atypical weather conditions. S patial inter-
actions exist at all geographic scales: global,
regional, and local. Physical geographers con-
sider problems such as: What effect will stricter
pollution controls in North America have on the
future size of the ozone hole over Antarctica? How
do two spatially interacting variables affect each
other? What important interconnections link the
ocean to the atmosphere and the atmosphere to the
land surface?
Change over Space and Time Earth’s

features and landscapes are continuously
changing over space and time and at a variety
of spatial and temporal scales. Storm conditions
intensify or weaken over time and travel from
one region to another. Weather varies from
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
day to day, over the seasons, and from year to

year. Landslides, volcanic eruptions, and floods
of different types and sizes modify the land-
scape at different rates. Coastlines are altered
by storm waves, tsunamis, human actions, or
changes in sea level. Desert areas expand and
● FIGURE 1.8 Earth’s features and landscapes change continually, sometimes at spatial and temporal scales
contract over the decades. Vegetation and that make the change difficult for people to notice. Changes to vegetation caused by a regional fire are
wildlife communities return to areas once dev- rapid and catastrophic (top and middle photos), whereas reestablishement of plant and animal communities
astated by wildfires (● Fig. 1.8). (bottom photo) proceed much more slowly.
GEOGRAPHY’S
SPATIAL
SCIENCE Natural Regions
PERSPECTIVE
T
he term region has a precise meaning locality), the Prairies (ecological type), on a climate map, lines separating
and special significance to geogra- the Sonoran Desert (climate type, ecologi- desert from nondesert regions do not
phers. Simply stated, a region is an cal type, and locality), the Pacific North- imply that extremely arid conditions
area that is defined by a certain shared west (general locality), and Tornado Alley instantly appear when the line is
characteristic (or a set of characteristics) (region of high potential for these storms). crossed. When people travel to a
existing within its boundaries. The concept Three important points should be kept desert, the environment is likely to
of a region is a tool for thinking about in mind about natural regions. Each of get progressively more arid as they
and analyzing logical divisions of areas these points has endless applications and approach their destination.
based on their geographic characteristics. adds considerably to the questions that the ■ Regions are spatial models devised
Geographers not only study and explain process of defining regions based on spatial by humans for geographic analysis,
regions, including their locations and char- characteristics seeks to answer. study, and understanding. Natural
acteristics, but they also strive to delimit regions are conceptual models that
■ Natural regions can change in size
them—to outline their boundaries on a help us comprehend and organize
and shape over time in response to
spatial relationships and geographic
map. An unlimited number of regions can environmental changes. An example is
distributions. Learning geography is an
be derived for each of the four major Earth desertification, the expansion of des-
invitation to think spatially, and regions
subsystems. ert regions that has occurred in recent
provide an essential, extremely useful
Regions help us understand the arrange- years. Using images from space, we can
conceptual framework in that process.
ment and nature of areas on our planet. see and monitor changes in the areas
Regions can also be divided into subre- covered by deserts and other natural Understanding regions through an aware-
gions. For example, the region of North regions. ness of how areas can be divided into geo-
America can be subdivided into many sub- ■ Boundaries separating different graphically logical units, and why it is useful
regions based on natural characteristics. natural or environmental regions to do so, is essential in geography. Regions
These include the Atlantic Coastal Plain tend to be indistinct or transitional help us understand, reason about, and make
(similarity of landforms, geology, and rather than sharp. For example, sense of the spatial aspects of our world.
Natural Regions: The Great Basin of the Western United

States, outlined here in white, is a landform region that is
clearly defined based on an important physical geographic
characteristic. No rivers flow to the ocean from this arid
and semiarid region of mountains and topographic basins.
The rivers and streams that exist flow into enclosed basins
where the water evaporates away from temporary lakes,
USDA Forest Service
or they flow into lakes, such as Great Salt Lake, that have
no outlet to the sea. Topographic features called drainage
divides (mountain ridges) form the outer edges of the Great
Basin, defining and enclosing this natural region.
1913 1913 2005 2005
Blase Reardon (USGS), Courtesy of Glacier National Park Archives

W. C. Alden (USGS), Courtesy of Glacier National Park Archives
● FIGURE 1.9 Photographs taken 92 years apart in Montana’s Glacier National Park show that Shepard Glacier, like other
glaciers in the park, has dramatically receded during that time. This retreat is in response to climate warming and droughts.
What other kinds of environmental change might require long-term observations and recording
of evidence?
Global, regional, and local climates have changed naturally geography differs from those other fields because of its emphasis
throughout Earth’s history, with attendant shifts in the distribution on problems of a spatial nature and because geographers tend to
of plant and animal life. Today, most of Earth’s glaciers are shrink- take a holistic approach to their studies.
ing in response to global w arming, and alterations in Earth’s climates Physical geography considers all spatial scales, from local to
and environments are complicated by the impact of human activi- global, and all component parts of the natural environment: the
ties (● Fig. 1.9). Continuous change at different spatial and temporal atmosphere, earth materials, plants and animals, and water. By
scales of multiple variables, many of which are complexly inter- examining the whole set of factors, features, and processes that
related, makes their direction and impact a challenge to determine. work together at Earth’s surface, physical geographers tend to ask
As a result, geographers ask questions such as: How are Earth features different questions than physicists, geologists, chemists, or biolo-
changing in ways that can be documented in a spatial sense? What processes gists and provide different insights into the planet’s dynamic nature.
contribute to those changes? What are the rates of change? Do changes occur Because of its holistic approach to the study of Earth’s surface
in cycles? Can humans witness a particular change as it is taking place, or characteristics and processes, physical geography is especially well
is long-term study required to recognize the change? Do all places on Earth suited to using the scientific notion of systems in studying Earth.
experience the same levels of change or is there spatial variation?
Earth as a System A system is any organized entity that

Physical Science Perspective consists of interrelated and interacting components. Physical sys-
In addition to being a spatial science, physical geographers consider tems have matter and energy as well as an organizational structure
the natural aspects of Earth from a physical science perspective. consisting of pathways and linkages between components. Our
We’ve already seen that, like other scientists, physical geographers planetary environment, the Earth system, includes interactions
use the scientific method in their investigations of the character- among a vast combination of factors. The individual components
istics and processes acting on Earth’s surface. Like other scientists, of a system interact with each other as parts of a functioning unit.
geographers observe phenomena, collect and analyze data, answer System attributes that can change value are called variables. The sta-
questions, and find solutions to problems related to natural pro- tus or magnitude of one variable commonly influences the nature
cesses acting on Earth. Geographers also draw from and contrib- of other variables in the system, and a change in one variable
ute to the larger body of physical science knowledge, and results typically leads to changes in others. For example, in the environ-
of their research are of interest to many other physical scientists. mental system of a mountainous region, the distribution of higher
Physical geographers who specialize in climatology or meteorol- and lower elevations influences temperature and rainfall patterns,
ogy exchange many ideas and much information with atmospheric which in turn affect the density, type, and variety of vegetation. As
physicists. Geomorphologists work at the interface between physi- the moisture, temperature, plants, and also the type of underlying
cal geography and geology, and they communicate readily across rock vary over the region, so too will the nature of the soil that
the disciplinary boundary. Soil geographers apply their knowledge forms. The systems concept provides scientists in any field with
of chemistry to the study of soil properties and soil formation. Bio- a useful framework for analyzing how something works; it pro-
geographers are concerned about geographic aspects of plant and vides physical geographers with an excellent means for studying
animal communities, thus they share fundamental interests with the interacting variables and processes that affect Earth’s surface
many biologists. Despite these areas of shared knowledge, physical characteristics and environments.
Scientists use the notion of a system to focus their attention on hydrosphere, which includes the waters of Earth, such as the
just the variables, processes, and relationships of interest. A system ocean, lakes, rivers, glaciers, and water in the soil, atmosphere, and
can consist of something as large as Earth or the solar system or organisms. These major subsystems and the interactions among
something as small as an organism, cell, or molecule, depending them nurture the conditions necessary for life on Earth, but the
on our purpose. It can also be helpful to consider a system as impact and intensity of those interactions are not equal every-
composed of multiple subsystems, which are functioning units where. This inequality leads to our planet’s environmental diver-
within a system that demonstrate strong internal connections. sity and produces the wide variety of geographic patterns on Earth.
For example, the human body is a system that is composed of Earth’s four major subsystems do not function in isolation
many subsystems, such as the respiratory, circulatory, and diges- of each other. Instead, they interact, overlap, and are complexly
tive systems. Examining the Earth system as consisting of a set of interconnected. Water of the hydrosphere flows through organ-
interdependent subsystems is an important and useful approach to isms, including people, and provides a habitat for aquatic plants
studying physical geography from the physical science perspective. and animals within the biosphere. The hydrosphere interacts with
the lithosphere in many ways, such as streams, waves, and currents
shaping landforms. Water also has important connections with the
Earth’s Four Major Subsystems The Earth system con- atmosphere through evaporation, condensation, and the effects of
sists of four principal subsystems (● Fig. 1.10). The atmosphere ocean temperatures on climate. Many other examples exist of con-
is the gaseous blanket of air that envelops, shields, and insulates nections and interactions among the four major Earth subsystems.
Earth. Variations in atmospheric components and processes create Soil can be examined from the perspective of the lithosphere,
the changing conditions that we know as weather and climate. biosphere, hydrosphere, or atmosphere because soils typically con-
The lithosphere consists of the solid Earth—landforms, miner- tain minerals, organisms, water, and gases. The water in clouds
als, rocks, and soils. Next is the biosphere, which is composed is simultaneously a component of both the hydrosphere and the
of people, animals, plants, and all other living things. Last is the atmosphere, and water stored in plants and animals is part of both
the hydrosphere and the biosphere. The fact
Atmosphere Biosphere that we cannot draw sharp boundaries between
these subsystems underscores the interrelatedness
among various components of the Earth system.
Earth System Dynamics The Earth system

is dynamic, responding to continuous change.
Some of these changes occur frequently or pro-
ceed at an appropriate speed for people to easily
observe them. We can directly observe seasonal
changes, ocean tides, earthquakes, floods, volca-
nic eruptions, and at times even the creation of
new volcanic islands (● Fig. 1.11). We generally
have less information on processes that are rela-
tively rare, occur at rates that vary widely over
time, or that take many years compared to a
human lifetime to accumulate enough modifica-
tion so that people can recognize their effects.
Long-term changes on our planet are often dif-
ficult to understand or forecast with certainty.
All, © Dr. Parvinder S. Sethi, center inset, NASA
The evidence must be studied carefully and

scientifically to determine what is occurring
and what the potential consequences might be.
Changes of this type include shifts in climate,
expansion and contraction of deserts, varying
composition of the oceans or atmosphere, and
changes in global sea level.
Hydrosphere Lithosphere Some changes within the Earth system are
natural, others are human induced, and some
● FIGURE 1.10 Earth’s four major subsystems. Studying Earth as a system is central to understanding result from a combination of these factors.
changes in our planet’s environments and adjusting to or dealing with these changes. Earth consists of Today, much of the concern about environmen-
many interconnected subsystems.
tal change, such as global warming, centers on the
How do these four subsystems overlap? For example, how does the atmosphere overlap increasing impact that human activities are exert-
with the hydrosphere or the biosphere? ing on Earth’s natural systems. To understand
human lives and how our ways of living affect the
environment. Geographic data collection, scien-
tific analyses, and environmental monitoring play
crucial roles in identifying connections between
environmental change and human activities and
in determining what we can do to minimize or
eliminate environmental problems.
Ecosystems Like environmental biologists,

many physical geographers are fascinated by the
living part of the natural Earth system. The study of
relationships between organisms and their environ-
ment is the branch of biology known as ecology.
The word ecosystem (a contraction of ecological
system) refers to a community of organisms and the
relationships of those organisms to one another and
to their environment (● Fig. 1.12).
The ecosystem concept can be applied on
almost any scale from local to regional or global,
NASA
in virtually any geographic location. Your back-

● FIGURE 1.11 This new volcanic island formed in the Red Sea starting on December 23, 2011, yard, a farm pond, a grass-covered field, a marsh,
when volcanic eruptions from the seafloor began to reach the surface. The island at this time was a forest, a lagoon, or a desert sand dune can be
about 500 meters (0.3 mi) long and growing. viewed as an ecosystem. Ecosystems exist wher-
After the volcanic island cools, what other environmental changes could slowly begin ever there is an exchange of materials among living
to take place? organisms and functional relationships between
organisms and their natural surroundings. Certain
Earth and the effects that humans have on it, whether at
the global or local scale, we must continue to expand our
Oxygen (O2)
knowledge about the natural characteristics, components, and Precipitaton
processes of the Earth system. Understanding how our planet
works is critical to the existence of humans and the other Earth
organisms. We will return to the important topic of systems
later in this chapter. Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Environmental Science Perspective

Producer
In the broadest sense, the environment is our surroundings,
consisting of all physical, social, and cultural aspects of the
world that affect our growth, our health, and the way we
live. The physical environment is the primarily natural part Secondary
consumer
of the environment, including weather, climate, landforms,
rocks, soil, water, plants, and animals, as well as their char- Primary
acteristics, processes, and interconnections. Because these are consumer
major topics of study in physical geography, it should come

as no surprise that geography is often described as the original
environmental science. In addition, just as physical geogra-
Producers
phers share common ground with other disciplines through
the physical science perspective, they also share interests,
Water
Decomposers
knowledge, results, and understanding with other disciplines
through the environmental science perspective. Physical
geography’s holistic approach enhances the ability of geogra- Soluble mineral
nutrients
phers to study the environment because important factors and
processes are considered not only individually but also as inte-
● FIGURE 1.12 Ecosystems are an important aspect of natural environments, which are
gral parts of a functioning environmental system. Poised at the
affected by the interaction of many processes and components.
interface between Earth and human existence, geography has
much to offer for understanding how the environment affects How do ecosystems illustrate the interactions in the environment?
Indonesia, and Italy, to name just a few examples. Earthquakes
in Japan in 2011 and Indonesia in 2004 generated devastating
tsunamis (● Fig. 1.14).
The term natural hazard refers to any natural process, typi-
Ocean cally of unusual intensity, that puts environments and human life
Forest or property at risk of damage or destruction. In addition to earth-
Grass/Shrubland quakes, tsunamis, floods, and tornadoes, natural hazards include
Desert events such as volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and other severe
Polar: Ice, Tundra storms, coastal erosion, wildfires, and landslides. Sometimes these
Cultivation events are comparatively minor and cause little damage, but occa-
Wetlands, Lakes, Rivers sionally extremely large and powerful examples strike that, unfor-
Urbanized tunately, are responsible for the loss of human life. In 2015, the
earthquake in Nepal, and avalanches and landslides that it trig-
● FIGURE 1.13 Percentages of the different land and water categories on Earth. gered, killed or injured thousands, destroyed a large number of
Habitable land is a limited resource on our planet. homes and other buildings, and left some rural communities cut off
What options do we have for future settlement of Earth’s lands? from assistance for days due to blocked or damaged roads. In 2012,
winds, waves, and a surge of ocean water from Hurricane Sandy
ecosystems, such as a lake or a desert oasis, may have relatively
clear-cut boundaries, but the limits of many others are not so pre-
cisely defined. Typically, the spatial boundary between adjacent
ecosystems is transitional, being crossed gradually over distance.
Ecosystems are dynamic in that their various parts are always
changing. Plants grow, rain falls, animals eat, and soils develop.
All of these actions and processes affect ecosystems. Because each
component of an ecosystem interacts with other components of
that system, action or change in one element often leads to action
or change in others, which transforms the ecosystem. For example,
a change in the ecosystem’s weather from sunshine to rain can ben-
efit the soil, plants, and animals. Very heavy rains, however, could
carry away soil and plant nutrients, hindering the growth of veg-
U.S. Navy Photo/Alexender Tidd
etation, thereby leaving a reduced food supply for the animals that
depend on that vegetation. The supply of large amounts of mois-
ture to the remaining soil might preferentially benefit a few types
of plants. As those plants grow and thrive, the increased shade that
they create could restrict the growth of other types of plants that
would otherwise be competing for the remaining soil nutrients. (a)
The capability of different environments to adequately sup-
port a human population or absorb human impacts varies widely,
and some land areas on Earth do not provide a suitable ecosystem
for people (● Fig. 1.13). The geographic distribution of human
population densities around the world, varying from uninhabited
to dense settlements, reflects this environmental disparity.
Human–Environment Interactions Physical geography

includes considering environmental relationships that involve
humans and human activities. Human–environment interactions
are two-way relationships; the environment influences human
activities and human activities affect the environment. We will first
FEMA/Patsy Lynch
consider ways in which the environment affects human activities.

In our spatial distribution over Earth, we live and work in
some locations that are subject to potentially hazardous natural
conditions or events. News reports depict disasters as people are (b)
exposed to violent natural processes, such as floods and tornadoes.
● FIGURE 1.14 Environmental hazards: (a) The devastated port town of
It is not uncommon to witness the consequences of a major earth- Wakuya, Japan, after being battered by a powerful tsunami generated by a
quake somewhere in the world. In recent years, major earthquakes massive earthquake in 2011. (b) What was left of a home on the New Jersey
have occurred in Nepal, Japan, China, New Zealand, Chile, Haiti, shore after Hurricane Sandy’s storm surge swept the coast in 2012.
caused widespread destruction to coastal areas in the Caribbean automobile exhaust has been found in the ice of Antarctica, as has
and in the northeastern United States, leaving many communities the insecticide DDT. Pollution is a global problem that does not
without electricity or running water. If an especially powerful stop at political, or even continental, boundaries.
event has not occurred for a long time people might underesti- The ability of humans to alter the landscape has been increasing
mate the potential hazard. It is important to be aware of the types over time. Consider the example of the Everglades in Florida. The
of natural hazard that may affect the area where you live and to interconnected Kissimmee River-Lake Okeechobee-Everglades
know how to avoid or respond to their possible effects. Because ecosystem was one of the most productive wetland regions in
they happen at Earth’s surface and affect people and the environ- the world 125 years ago, but marshlands and slow-moving water
ment, many geographers are interested in the causes, characteris- stood in the way of urban and agricultural development. Intricate
tics, intensity, and distribution in space and time of natural hazards, systems of ditches and canals were built, and eventually half of the
as well as in finding ways for communities to be better prepared original 1.6 million hectares (4 million acres) of the Everglades
for their occurrence. Geographers locate, classify, and map hazard disappeared. The Kissimmee River was channeled into an arrow-
zones and recommend ways to prepare for safeguarding life and straight ditch, and wetlands were drained (● Fig. 1.16). Levees
property during the occurrence of a natural hazard. have prevented water in Lake Okeechobee from flowing to
The environment affects people, but people also impact the the Everglades, and highway construction d isrupted the natural
environment. Human occupation of an environment results in drainage patterns.
consumption of fresh water, food, fuel, and other natural resources,
alteration of plant and animal communities, nutrient depletion and
erosion of soils, and reduction of air and water quality. Through
activities such as urbanization, road construction, and mining,
human occupation even changes the nature and configuration
of the land surface itself. Human activities will always affect the
environment in some way, but if we understand the factors and
processes involved, we can work to minimize detrimental impacts.
Many geographers specialize in identifying and reducing
environmental degradation, which is environmental damage
caused by human activities. Human action, for example, can lead
to pollution, an undesirable or unhealthy contamination in the
environment. Critical resources, such as air, water, and soil, can
be polluted to the point where they become unusable, toxic, or
even lethal to some life forms. Air pollution is a serious problem
for urban areas around the world (● Fig. 1.15). Pollution of water- (a)
ways can kill off important native fish species, allowing less desir-
able species to increase in number. Acid rain, caused by airborne
pollutants from industries and power plants, has damaged forests
and killed fish in freshwater lakes. Leaking pipelines and degrading
toxic waste containers can deliver contaminants to the soil. Many
pollutants are often transported by winds and waterways hundreds
or even thousands of kilometers from their source. Lead from
EPA, South Florida Water Management Division
(b)
● FIGURE 1.16 (a) The Kissimmee River in Florida originally flowed in sweeping
bends on its floodplain for 160 kilometers (100 mi) from Lake Kissimmee to
Lake Okeechobee. (b) In the 1960s and early 1970s, the Kissimmee River was
artificially straightened, disrupting the previously existing ecosystem at the
Feng Li/Getty Images
expense of plants, animals, and water supplies for human as well as the plant
and animal communities. After much work on habitat restoration that continues
today, the Kissimmee is reestablishing its wetland environments and the form of
its natural channel.
● FIGURE 1.15 Air pollution is a major problem in many of the world’s largest What factors should be considered prior to any attempts to return
cities. This episode of dangerous air quality in Beijing, China, occurred in 2013. rivers and wetland habitats to their original condition?
✺ GEOGRAPHY’S
ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCE
PERSPECTIVE
Human–Environment Interactions
E
arth’s environmental characteristics
support all life on our planet. Yet
the effects of natural processes on
humans, as well as human impacts on
the environment, have become topics of
increasing concern. Certain environmental
processes can be hazardous to human
life and property, and certain human
activities threaten to cause major, and
possibly irrevocable, damage to Earth
environments.
Environmental Hazards
The environment becomes a hazard
to humans and other life–forms when,
occasionally and often unpredictably, a
natural process operates in an unusually
intense or violent fashion. Molten rock and
gases move upward toward the surface and
suddenly trigger massive eruptions that
can blow apart volcanic mountains. Rain
showers can become torrential rains that
Jocelyn Augustino, FEMA News Service
occur for days or weeks and cause flooding.

Some tropical storms gain strength and
reach coastlines with great intensity, such
as Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The extremely
powerful earthquake in Nepal in 2015 or
the earthquake and accompanying tsunami
in Japan in 2011 provide other examples
of the potential for occasional occurrences Natural Hazards: Hurricane Ike caused great damage in 2008 and
of natural processes to far exceed our devastated this coastal area near Galveston, Texas. This house is the
expectable norm. only one left standing in a beach community on the Texas coast of the
Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Ike made landfall.
In September 2008, after Hurricane Ike
became a powerful storm in the Atlantic Can you cite some examples of natural processes that can affect
Ocean, it passed over several islands in the area where you live?
the Caribbean Sea, causing great damage,
and continued into the Gulf of Mexico.
Moving northwest, Ike made landfall near brought violent winds, high waves, and a A natural process that operates in an
Galveston, Texas, a coastal city that had massive 4.5- to 6.5-meters (15- to 22-ft) extraordinary fashion is a noteworthy envi-
been rebuilt after being almost completely high surge of seawater that swept low-lying ronmental event, but it is not considered
destroyed by a hurricane in 1900. Ike coastal areas for several kilometers inland. a natural hazard unless people or their
properties are affected. Many natural haz- endangered species, deterioration of the environments are constantly changing,
ards exist because people live where poten- ozone layer, and desertification have and all too often human activities
tially catastrophic environmental events risen to the top of agendas at interna- result in negative environmental
can occur. Nearly every populated area tional conferences and meetings of world consequences. In addition, across the
of the world is associated with a natural leaders, and are common topics of news globe, humans live in constant threat
hazard or perhaps several hazards. Forested and information on multimedia. But as from various environmental hazards,
regions are subject to fire; earthquakes, population pressures mount, human activi- such as earthquakes, fires, floods, and
landslides, and volcanic activities plague ties are exacting an increasing toll on storms—environmental hazards that vary
mountain regions; violent storms threaten the air, water, soils, forests, and wildlife. in their geographic distribution. The
interior plains; and many coastal regions Environmental deterioration is a problem natural processes involved are a part of
experience periodic hurricanes or severe of worldwide concern, and effective the physical environment, but causes and
winter storms. solutions must involve international solutions are imbedded in the human–
cooperation as well as individual efforts. environmental interactions that include
Environmental Degradation Examining environmental issues from the economic, political, and social
Just as the environment can pose a the physical geographic perspective characteristics of the people involved.
danger to humans, human activities requires that characteristics of the Geography’s holistic approach contributes
can constitute a serious threat to the environment and the humans involved to understanding these issues because
environment. Issues such as green- in those issues be given strong it takes both natural and human factors
house gas emissions and global warm- consideration. As will become apparent into consideration in dealing with
ing, acid precipitation, deforestation, in this study of geography, physical environmental concerns.
60° E
RUSSIA
UKRAINE KAZAKHSTAN
Aral Sea 45° N
Black Sea Caspian UZBEKISTAN
© NASA/Corbis
Sea
© NASA/Corbis
TURKEY TURKMENISTAN
Mediterranean IRAN
Sea
IRAQ
Environmental Degradation: The shrinking Aral Sea. Located in the central Asian desert between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea is an
inland lake that does not have an outlet stream. Water that flows in is eventually lost by evaporation to the air. Before the 1960s, rivers flow-
ing into the lake supplied enough water to maintain what was the fourth largest body of inland water in the world. Since that time, agricultural
diversion of river water upstream from the lake has caused the Aral Sea to shrink dramatically. The result has been the disappearance of many
species that relied on the lake for survival, frequent dust storms, and an economic disaster for the local economy. With less area, the lake has a
reduced ability to moderate temperatures in the surrounding landscape; winters have become colder and summers hotter.
As a result of humans altering the Kissimmee River-Lake The substances needed to support life, or that are used by humans
Okeechobee-Everglades ecosystem, fires in the Everglades have to improve our living conditions, are natural resources. Despite
been more frequent and more destructive (● Fig. 1.17), and biotic the wealth of natural resources available on Earth, they can be
communities have been eliminated by lowered water levels. abused, wasted, or exhausted. A serious concern is that humans
When the area receives too much rain, portions of the Everglades are depleting, or have the potential to deplete, nonrenewable
have been deliberately flooded to prevent drainage canals from natural resources, which are those that cannot be replaced, as
overflowing, causing some animals to drown and eliminating sites well as those natural resources that are renewable but regen-
for birds to rest and reproduce. Southern Florida’s wading bird erate far slower than the rate of consumption. Overconsumed
population has decreased by 95% over the past century. W ithout resources include forests, agricultural soils, water resources, and
the natural purifying effects of wetland systems, water quality food sources from the ocean. This problem of using more of a
in southern Florida has deteriorated; with lower water levels, resource in a year than its annual renewal, growth, or replace-
saltwater encroachment is a serious problem in coastal areas. ment is known as environmental overshoot. Throughout most
The extent and severity of the environmental problems in of human history, natural resource depletion has occurred pri-
southern Florida have not gone unnoticed. Substantial efforts marily at the local or regional scale; new supplies of a depleted
on multiple fronts are underway by government agencies and resource could be found in another locality or region. Now,
scientists to restore the ecosystems of the area. The goals are to however, with the human population larger than ever before
allow the Kissimmee River to flow naturally across its former and with unprecedented rates of resource consumption, we must
floodplain, to return agricultural land to wetlands, and to restore realize that Earth is a finite space and its natural resources of finite
water flow through the Everglades. The problems of southern extent.
Florida provide useful lessons. Alleviating environmental problems The capacity of Earth to support the growing numbers of
that result from human actions may be possible, but doing so often humans may have an ultimate limit. The continually increasing
takes considerable time, effort, and financial resources. A wiser world population has passed 7 billion, and the United Nations
approach would be to carefully investigate potential consequences estimates a population of more than 9 billion people by 2050
of proposed human alterations to the natural environment before if current growth rates continue. Earth’s human population is
carrying out the alterations. annually using 50% more natural resources than the Earth sys-
tem is able to renew and resupply, meaning that people are
consuming significant resource reserves that are not being
Environmental Sustainability The most unique attribute replaced. We would need 1.5 Earths to sustain our current lev-
of Earth is its ability to support life. On Earth, natural processes
els of consumption indefinitely. It is obvious that this trend of
produce an adequate supply of oxygen; the sun interacts with the
overshoot, which continues to increase, cannot go on forever.
atmosphere, ocean, and land to maintain tolerable temperatures;
Resource consumption, moreover, is not equally distributed
and photosynthesis and other processes provide food supplies.
among Earth’s human inhabitants. More than half of the world’s
Except for the input of energy from the sun, Earth itself supplies
people already suffer substandard living conditions and insuf-
the necessary materials and conditions that allow life to exist
ficient food supplies.
on our planet. If a critical part of this system changes signifi-
In recent years, there have been increasing efforts to encour-
cantly, organisms may no longer be able to survive on Earth.
age environmental sustainability, or sustainable living, which
means consuming resources at a level that our planet can sustain
indefinitely, while still developing the resources that we need for
adequate living conditions. The United Nations reports that this
will require practicing “development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs.” It will not be possible for humans to
continue to consume, abuse, or destroy natural resources at current
rates, and it is irresponsible to exhaust the natural resources that
will be needed by future generations. We need to understand the
impact of our individual and collective actions on the complex
environmental systems of our planet.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
As the world population grows, productive lands continue to

diminish. Prime agricultural lands are sometimes built on or paved
over for other uses while the crops are relegated to areas more
poorly suited to agriculture. To sustain acceptable living standards
for generations to come, it is essential to realize that environments
do not change their nature to accommodate humans; thus we must
● FIGURE 1.17 An ongoing problem resulting from human action in the
use our lands, and all of our resources, wisely.
Kissimmee River-Lake Okeechobee-Everglades area of southern Florida is the
invasion of weedy plants that causes a serious fire hazard during the dry season.
Geography has much to offer in understanding the factors
Controlled burns by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department are necessary to avoid involved in sustainable living. We have the responsibility of help-
catastrophic fires and to help restore the natural vegetation. ing to maintain our present and future habitat—the Earth system.
Using Models and Systems
We cannot separately study every individual molecule on Earth’s sur-
face, nor should we try to do so. Instead, scientists generalize, look-
ing for commonalities in numerous individuals, to explain whole
categories of phenomena. As physical geographers work to describe
and explain the innumerable and complex features of Earth and
its environments, they support these efforts, as other scientists do,
by developing generalized representations of the real world. These
useful simplifications of complex reality are models. Models permit
prediction, and every model is designed with a specific purpose in
German Remote Sensing Data Center/NASA Visible Earth

mind. A map or a globe, for example, is a model; each is a simpli-
fied representation of part or all of Earth that provide us with useful
information. Another example of a model is a specialized computer
program capable of handling large amounts of data and perform-
ing extensive mathematical calculations to simulate Earth surface
responses to different characteristics, conditions, and processes.
Scientists use many kinds of models (● Fig. 1.18). Pictorial
and graphic models include pictures, maps, graphs, diagrams, and
drawings. A world globe or other three-dimensional replica of part
of Earth, such as the terrain of a mountain range or national park,
is a physical model. Mathematical and statistical models are (a)
used to predict an outcome or the probability of an outcome. These
models might suggest the influence of climate change on a region’s
daily weather or calculate the probability of a flood or earthquake.
Computer-generated models often create visualizations, which
are three-dimensional images or animations showing the nature of a
landscape or how it might respond to changes in processes. Words,
language, and the definitions of terms or ideas can also serve as models.
Also important are conceptual models, the mind imagery
that we use for understanding our surroundings and experiences.
Focus for a moment on the image that the word mountain (or
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
waterfall, cloud, tornado, beach, forest, desert) generates in your

mind. Most likely what you visualize (conceptualize) in your mind
is sketchy rather than detailed, but sufficient to convey a mental
idea of the feature. This image is a conceptual model. A par-
ticularly important conceptual model is the mental map, which
people use to think about places, travel routes, and the distribution (b)
of features over space. The notion of a system, consisting of com-
● FIGURE 1.18 Models help us understand Earth and its subsystems by
ponents, variables, linkages, processes, and boundaries, serves as a focusing our attention on major features or processes. (a) A computer-generated
type of conceptual model to help scientists focus their attention on elevation model of Cotopaxi, a large volcano in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador.
and analyze a selected process or portion of reality. How could we The terrain and the drainage pattern of stream channels are well illustrated in
even begin to understand our world without conceptual models this model. (b) This table-sized physical model of part of the Illinois River uses
a channel and flowing water to study the behavior of the river under various
and, in terms of spatial understanding, without mental maps?
conditions.
Systems Analysis systems. In systems analysis, understanding how something works

is approached using the following strategy:
If you try to think about all aspects of Earth in its entirety, or to
understand everything involved in the functioning of just a part 1. Clearly define the system that you wish to study and delineate
of the Earth system, you will probably conclude that there are the system boundaries.
just too many factors to envision. Our planet is much too com- 2. Identify any matter and energy that enters or leaves the system.
plex for a single model to explain all of its environmental compo- 3. Inventory component parts of the system and processes acting
nents and how they affect one another. To begin to comprehend within the system.
Earth as a whole or to understand its environmental components, 4. Examine how the system components and processes interact
physical geographers have adopted from physics and other sci- with one another.
ences the notion of systems, which was introduced earlier in this 5. Determine how the component interactions affect the operation
chapter, and systems analysis, a powerful method of examining of the system.
U sing M odels and S ystems 19
Inputs Throughputs Outputs focus attention on understanding a particular part
(from environment) (rates of flow) (to environment) of the whole. Examples of subsystems of the atmo-
sphere, lithosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere
Energy Heat examined by physical geographers include climate
Human body systems, storm systems, stream systems, ecosystems,
(inputs may be Ideas
Information stored for different
and the water cycle, and the systematic heating of the
actions
lengths of time) Waste atmosphere and ocean. A great advantage of sys-
Matter and tems analysis in physical geography is that it can be
pollution
applied to environments at virtually any spatial scale
from global to microscopic.
● FIGURE 1.19 The human body is an example of a system, with inputs,
storage, and outputs of energy and matter. Interactions between energy and
matter drive the system.
Open and Closed Systems
Energy and matter move within Earth and its subsystems by means
What characteristics of the human body as a system are similar to
those of Earth as a system? of various processes. As shown in ● Figure 1.20 for the water cycle
subsystem, sunlight (energy) warms (process) a body of water (matter)
and the water evaporates (process) into the atmosphere. Later, the
The human body is an excellent example of a physical system. water condenses (process) back into rain (matter) and the rain falls (pro-
It has boundaries and interacting component parts. Energy and cess) on the land and runs off (process) downslope back to the sea. In
matter enter the system as inputs, are stored in the system, and a systems model, geographers can trace inputs of energy and matter
leave the system as outputs (● Fig. 1.19). Like most systems, the into the system, their storage in the system, their output from the
human body has subsystems, such as the respiratory, circulatory, system, and the interactions between components within the system.
and nervous systems, which can be further divided into their own Open systems allow inputs and outputs across their boundaries,
subsystems—for example, the lungs, heart, and brain, respectively. whereas closed systems do not. Some systems are open to energy
The systems approach is a beneficial strategy for studying but closed to inputs and outputs of matter. Most of Earth’s subsys-
processes and conditions of Earth. The atmosphere, lithosphere, tems are open to both energy and matter, allowing both to enter and
biosphere, and hydrosphere each function as a major subsystem of leave the system (● Fig 1.21a). A stream system like the one shown in
the Earth system, and are further divided into smaller subsystems to Figure 1.20 is an excellent illustration of an open subsystem: Matter
● FIGURE 1.20 The water cycle provides examples of interactions between energy and matter, their storage in the
system, and the processes involved. Being aware of energy and matter and the interactive processes that link them
is important in understanding how environmental systems operate.
Can you think of another environmental system and break it down into its components of energy,
matter, storage in the system, and processes?
Precipitation
(process)
Sunlight Rain
(energy) Condensation (matter)
(process)
falls
Evaporation (process)
(process)
Water (matter)
runs off (process)

is absorbed into
(process)
and warms Water
(process) (matter)
Energy Energy Energy Energy
input output input output
Energy–matter
interactions
Energy–matter
interactions Matter is contained
within the system
boundaries.
Matter Open system Matter Closed system

input output
(a) (b)
● FIGURE 1.21 The two basic types of systems. (a) Most of Earth’s subsystems are open in terms of both energy and
matter. Open systems undergo inputs and outputs across the system boundaries. (b) Earth is an open system for energy
but is virtually closed in terms of matter because so little matter enters and leaves the system. Solar energy (input)
enters the Earth system, and that energy is dissipated (output) to space mainly as heat. Because natural resources do
not enter the Earth system and waste does not naturally leave, humans face limits to available natural resources and
must be mindful of the accumulation of waste and pollutants.
Think of an example of an open system and outline some of the matter and energy inputs
and outputs involved in that system.
in the form of soil particles, rock fragments, precipitation, and water conditions are not static, but instead oscillate somewhat around a
running off the land enter the stream, as does solar energy. The same typical or average state. Over very long periods of time the typical
materials, and some energy, such as heat, leave the stream primarily or average condition may itself be slowly changing. A reservoir
where it empties into the ocean or other body of water. contained by a dam is a good example. In the short term, such
Planet Earth is an open system to energy. Solar energy enters as days, despite inflows and outflows, the water level may not
the Earth system and heat energy leaves the system. Technically, change. During a year’s time, the water will oscillate in a dynamic
Earth is also an open system to matter because meteorites reach equilibrium around an average level as inflows and outflows vary.
Earth’s surface, some atmospheric gas molecules escape to space, Over decades, the average water level may rise as accumulating
and a few moon rocks have been brought back by astronauts. The sediment builds up the bottom of the reservoir (● Fig. 1.22).
amount of matter entering and leaving the Earth system, however, An adjustment in one part of a system in response to a change
is so small that we usually consider it closed to the input or output that occurred in another part is called feedback. Two kinds of
of matter (Fig. 1.21b).
When we describe Earth as a system or as a set of Evaporation loss
interrelated systems, we are using conceptual models to
help organize our thinking about what we are observ-
ing. Throughout this book, we will use the systems
concept, and many other kinds of models, to simplify
and illustrate complex features of Earth’s natural physi- Inflow
cal environment.
Equilibrium in Earth Systems Storage

We often hear about the balance of nature. Balance of Threshold
nature implies that natural systems tend to have built- overflow levee
in mechanisms to counterbalance, or accommodate,
change without dramatically affecting the system. If the
inputs entering the system are balanced by outputs, the
system is said to have reached a state of equilibrium. Outflow
Over a very short time, the balanced state might appear
to be unchanging, or static. Observations over a longer
● FIGURE 1.22 A reservoir provides a useful illustration of equilibrium in systems. The amount
interval will reveal that most systems are continually
of water coming in may increase or decrease over time, but it must be equaled by the water going
adjusting slightly one way then another as they react out, or the level of the lake will rise or fall. If the input–output balance is not maintained, the
to variations in inputs. This change within a range of reservoir will get larger or smaller as the system adjusts to storing more or less water. A state of
tolerance is called dynamic equilibrium—that is, equilibrium (balance) will exist between inputs, outputs, and storage in the system.
U sing M odels and S ystems 21
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out of service, he was selected, probably on account of his familiarity
with colonial affairs, to receive the surrender of New York and its
dependencies, in accordance with the treaty of peace. The territory
thus recovered had been granted by Charles II., at the time of its first
seizure in 1664, to his brother, the Duke of York; and Andros, who
must have been personally known to them both, was now appointed
lieutenant-governor of the palatine province. His commission bears
111
date of July 1, 1674. He was well fitted for the position. His
residence in Holland had made him familiar with the people with
whom he was chiefly to deal, and his acquaintance with American
affairs stood him in good stead in matters of general policy, as his
administration soon disclosed; while his connection with the court
and with the royal family enabled him to act as a confidential agent
of the Duke. He arrived in New York in November accompanied by
his wife, and after some formalities entered upon his government.
His treatment of the conquered Dutch was marked with great tact
and judgment, and rarely has the transfer of a colony of one nation
to the rule of another been effected with so little friction or
112
disturbance.
In regard to the serious problem of the treatment of the Indians
he was far-sighted enough to continue the wise and judicious policy
of his predecessors in regard to the powerful and dangerous
confederation of the Iroquois or Five Nations. The importance of this
can hardly be over-estimated in its bearing upon the subsequent
history of the country. It is true that this policy was not original with
him; he took it as a legacy from the Dutch in 1674, as Nicolls had
done ten years before; but it may be said that the honest and
judicious administration of Indian affairs did much to save the
English colonies from being wiped out of existence by a general
113
Indian war. If the Iroquois had been roused to go on the war-path,
as were the unfortunate Indians of New England, it is hard to see
what could have saved the scattered settlements. And again, if
Andros, by a tortuous and deceitful policy like that of the United
Colonies towards the New England Indians, had thrown the Iroquois
into the arms of the French, who were only too anxious for
reconciliation with them, there is little probability that the valor of
Wolfe would ever have had a chance for success on the Plains of
Abraham.
As a provincial governor Andros made many enemies; but they
were mainly in the colonies lying adjacent to his own. The patent of
New York was very extensive, and covered territory which the
114
neighboring colonies claimed had been already ceded to them.
Connecticut had vague claims all the way to the South Sea, and had
been devoting its energies during the short space of its history to
edging along its frontier further and further to the westward, in spite
of the indignant protests of the Dutch. Settlements had been formed
on Long Island, which was undoubtedly beyond its limits. Now, the
dispute was between rival colonies of the same country; and
considering the uncertainty of the title of Connecticut, Andros must
be allowed to have acted with propriety and moderation. He
succeeded in making good the title of the Duke to Long Island and
Fisher’s Island, where the Connecticut authorities were attempting to
exercise jurisdiction; but the boundary line upon the mainland
remained an unsettled question even down to our own times. At
Saybrook, Andros did his duty in asserting formally his principal’s
claim, but was wise enough not to press a question which would
115
have caused great difficulties between the Colonies.
With the New Jersey settlers he had still more difficulty, as they
had various grants and patents from the Duke himself to plead for
their justification; but he pursued a straightforward course, standing
up, as he was bound to do, for the rights of his principal, unless they
could be legally shown to have been granted away. His passion for
regular and orderly business methods soon manifested itself, and his
letters reveal the indignation of a man of affairs at the utterly
116
unbusiness-like ways of the people with whom he had to do.
Besides his commission as Governor of New York, he had
undoubtedly private instructions as to how he should comport
himself towards his uneasy neighbors, the New England colonies.
He was anxious to keep on good terms with Connecticut, as New
York was largely dependent upon that colony for provisions; and his
letters to the Connecticut authorities are mostly of a friendly
character, though written in a tone of superiority which undoubtedly
gave serious offence. On hearing that the people of Hartford were
harboring one of the regicides, he addressed a very sharp letter to
the colonial authorities, to which they replied in a tone of injured
innocence, which is quite edifying, asking him for the names of those
117
who had so maligned their loyalty.
It was impossible for the Connecticut Republicans to realize the
profound horror which the execution of Charles had caused, and the
depth of the feeling of hatred and repugnance which the perpetrators
of that audacious act had inspired. Even after William and Mary were
on the throne, and James II. was an exile, it was found that a
regicide, of the character and position of Ludlow, dared not show
himself in England; and during the Restoration period the feeling was
intense. The act was regarded by the majority of Englishmen as
sacrilege, as well as murder, for it had destroyed not only what was
called the sacred majesty of the king, but the sacred majesty of the
legal government. To Andros the news that Goffe and Whalley were
escaping justice by the connivance of the authorities was horrible,
and must have suggested doubts, if he had not found them already,
of the policy of allowing men who would have been excluded from all
office in England to rule the king’s colonies in America.
A more serious difficulty arose with Massachusetts, whose
authorities had ventured to send commissioners to the Mohawks to
treat directly with them as an independent nation—an act at utter
variance with the policy of the Dutch and English, who regarded
them as under their authority, and which, therefore, was liable to
118
plunge the colony in war. The ostentatious assumption of
independence by the colony of Massachusetts, its claim to be free
from the laws of England, and the spirit displayed by many of its
leaders, which must have seemed seditious to the legal mind of
Andros, made it necessary for him to watch very carefully any affairs
in which they were concerned. His attitude brought upon him the
hostility of the colony, and its authorities asserted, and constantly
reiterated, the charge that it was at Albany, by his connivance, that
119
Philip’s Indians had procured supplies of arms.
This charge, naturally, was most offensive to the loyal spirit of
Andros, who had fretted a good deal under his forced inactivity in the
war; and he repeatedly denied it, challenging his accusers for proof
of their assertions, proof which they were absolutely unable to
supply. They continued, however, to insinuate this malicious
statement, and it was long believed by the people of Massachusetts,
and led undoubtedly to much of the hostility between them and
120
Andros during his subsequent rule in New England. In spite of
their aspersions, he continued steadily in his prudent policy, keeping
the Mohawks quiet on one side, and, by vigorous measures against
the Indians in Maine, protecting his personal enemies from inroads
121
upon the other. His government of New York was successful; the
country remained in peace; its quiet contrasted strongly with the
troubles in New England, and the revenues of the colony were
honestly collected and wisely administered. To those who hold the
commonly received opinion of Andros, it will seem strange to find
that he urged upon the Duke of York the desirability of allowing the
122
colonists the privileges of a representative assembly. In
November 1677, he returned to England on a leave of absence,
remaining there until May of the following year.
While in England he received the honor of knighthood, a sign
that his labors were appreciated, and gave, in the form of answers to
the inquiries of the Committee for Trade and Plantations, statements
in regard to American affairs which are of great value as exhibiting
the condition of the colonies, and especially of New York, at that
time. His replies about New England are such as we might expect
from a man of his character and position, and disclose no hostility.
He says: “The acts of trade and navigacon are sayed, & is
generally beleeved, not to be observed in ye Collonyes as they
ought”—a statement which is certainly moderate if not grammatical;
and also: “I doe not find but the generality of the Magistrates and
people are well affected to ye king and kingdome, but most, knowing
noe governmt then their owne, think it best, and are wedded and
oppiniate for it. And ye magistrates & others in place, chosen by the
people, think that they are oblidged to assert & maintain sd
Government all they cann, and are Church members, and like so to
be, chosen, and to continue without any considerable alteracon and
change there, and depend upon the people to justifie them in their
actings.” For a description of a puritan republic by a royalist and
123
churchman, this is remarkably fair and correct.
The last two years of his government in New York were vexed
with difficulties with some of the English merchants of the province,
who were probably pinched by Andros’s strict and methodical, and
possibly also narrow and literal, administration of the revenue laws.
He was openly accused by them, and by other discontented parties,
to the Duke of York as dishonest in his management of the revenue,
and was summoned home to answer to the charges. A special
commissioner, who was absurdly incompetent for the position, was
sent to investigate the accounts, and he took the side of the
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merchants in his report. Andros, however, was able to answer
satisfactorily every charge against him, and boldly demanded a
thorough examination of all his acts as governor. He was examined
before Churchill and Jeffreys, neither of whom would have been
likely at that time to have let any one go free who had defrauded the
Duke, and they reported that Andros “had not misbehaved himself,
or broken the trust reposed in him by his royal highness in the
administration of his government, nor doth it appear that he hath
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anyway defrauded or mismanaged his revenue.”
Though completely exonerated, he was not at this time
reinstated in the governorship, and the next five years of his life were
passed in England at court, where he obtained an honorable position
in the household, and in his estates in Guernsey, to which in 1684
the island of Alderney was added by royal grant at a rent of thirteen
126
shillings. In 1685 he received a military command once more, and
served in the campaign in the west of England against Monmouth;
and the silence of the enemies in regard to any acts of cruelty at this
time is a high tribute, for, if they had known of any, they would
127
undoubtedly have held him up for abhorrence as a persecutor.
Later in the year he was made lieutenant-colonel of the Princess
Anne of Denmark’s regiment of horse, under the command of the
Earl of Scarsdale.
The accession of James, under whom he had acted previously,
made it likely that Andros would again receive employment. In spite
of the fact that he was a devoted adherent of the Church of England,
the king, who was attempting to restore the Roman worship, gave
him his full confidence, and entrusted him with the work of carrying
out a project which had been for some time before the minds of the
colonial authorities in England—the consolidation of New England
into a single province. This was no new idea of James II., but had
been discussed for several years; and it was a plan that had much to
recommend it.
As early as 1678, the Lords of Trade and Plantations had been
brought to see the need of a general governor and a fit judicature in
the colonies, for the determining of differences; and in 1681
Culpepper had urged the project. A preliminary measure had been
adopted of appointing a general revenue officer for all the American
128
colonies, with the power of selecting his own subordinates. The
notorious Randolph, a man of strict honesty and probity of life, but
unable to see more than his own side of any question, was
appointed deputy surveyor-general over the New England colonies,
and devoted his energies to obtaining the forfeiture of the patent of
Massachusetts. The astuteness and bribery of the Massachusetts
agents were able to defer the evil day until the autumn of 1684,
129
when the charter was vacated. This left Massachusetts in the
hands of the crown; the next problem was to obtain the vacating of
the more regular charters of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Writs of
quo warranto were issued, and sent to the colonies respectively; and
the submission of Rhode Island, after some decent protests, was
130
obtained.
Andros was chosen by the king for the important post of
governor-general, not, as Palfrey insinuates, because he was
peculiarly disagreeable to Massachusetts, and so likely to carry out
the objects of the king; but because the king knew him personally,
and knew him to be a man of capacity and integrity. It is absurd to
suppose that James, who was an experienced man of business
himself, and more familiar with colonial affairs than any king of
England before or since, would have intentionally selected a man for
the purpose who would endanger the success of the undertaking.
Colonel Kirke, who had been actually designated as governor, had
been withdrawn as disagreeable to New England. It is unnecessary
here to enter into any arguments to show the advantage that would
have accrued to the colonies if this judicious plan had been
successful. New England might have been spared much wasteful
legislation and ruinous financial experiments, and would have been
joined together in one strong province, instead of being composed of
several weak and jealous colonies; the union, the benefits of which it
took the colonists so long to learn, would have been facilitated; and a
strong and united front would have been presented to the French,
who were beginning now to threaten the existence of the English
colonies. The Stuarts, it is true, were pensioners and allies of the
King of France in Europe, but in America they were his natural and
inevitable enemies; and James, who, unlike his brother, felt deeply
the shame of his vassalage to the French, was anxious to prevent
any extension of French power in America.
Andros arrived in Boston in December 1686, and was received
131
in a most loyal and even enthusiastic manner. A large portion of
the Massachusetts people had grown weary of the rule of the
oligarchy, and Andros was welcomed as bringing with him the
protection of English law. His government had been constituted in
detail in his commission, and he at once proceeded to organize it
and to levy the taxes necessary for its support. Deprived of the
representative assembly in which the semblance of free government
had been preserved, one of the towns attempted to resist the tax.
The leaders of the movement were tried fairly and legally, and were
132
fined and imprisoned for their attempt at resistance. After this no
attempts were made to dispute the laws of the new government, until
the revolution which overthrew all legal authority in the colony broke
out in 1689.
It was very important for Andros that the submission of
Connecticut should be obtained without conflict, as Massachusetts,
like New York, was largely dependent upon the neighboring colony
for food. The Connecticut authorities fenced and parried, interposed
delays, and showed themselves, as they always did, clever men of
business, exhibiting qualities that doubtless raised Governor Treat
and Secretary Allyn in Governor Andros’s estimation. Finally,
however, when further resistance was dangerous, a letter was sent
which could be construed either as a surrender or as not a
surrender, so that they might have a safe retreat in any case; and on
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the strength of this letter Andros assumed the government. The
period that follows is sometimes described as the “usurpation,” but
there is nothing in the history of the times to give one the impression
that the government of Andros in Connecticut was not as regular and
legal a government as the colony ever had. If Andros had not been
overthrown in Massachusetts by a carefully-prepared rebellion,
which left the colonies without a governor, it is not likely that either
Connecticut or Rhode Island would have ventured to resume its
charter. Andros came to Connecticut in October 1687, travelling by
way of Providence and New London, and from New London across
country through what are now Salem, Colchester, and Glastonbury,
to the Rocky Hill ferry. He was attended by a “company of gentlemen
and grenadiers to the number of sixty or upwards,” and was met at
the ferry by a troop of horse “which conducted him honorably from
134
the ferry through Waterfield (Wethersfield) up to Hartford.” Of the
transactions at Hartford we have the dramatic story of local tradition,
the only proof of which was the existence of an oak tree said to have
been the receptacle of the charter. For this romantic story there is
absolutely no contemporary authority, and the details are very
improbable. The charter very possibly may have been concealed,
and very possibly in the Charter Oak, but the incidents of the familiar
135
story are, if known, not mentioned by any writers of the time. The
records of the colony contain simply the formal but expressive entry:
“His Excellency, Sr Edmund Andross, Knt., Capt. General & Govr of
his Maties Territorie and Dominion in New England, by order from his
Matie James the second, King of England, Scotland, France &
Ireland, the 31 of October, 1687, took into his hands the government
of this colony of Conecticott, it being by his Matie annexed to
Massachusets & other colonys under his Excelencies Goverment.
136
FINIS.”
Bulkeley, in the “Will and Doom,” relates that Andros was met at
Hartford by the trained bands of divers towns who united to pay him
their respects.
“Being arrived at Hartford,” he continues, “he is greeted and

caressed by the Govr and assistants, and some say, though I will
not confidently assert it, that the Govr and one of his assistants
did declare to him the vote of the Genl Court for their submission
to him. However, after some treaty between his Excellency and
them that evening, he was, the next morning, waited on and
conducted by the Govr, Deputy Govr, Assistants and Deputies,
to the Court Chamber, and by the Govr himself directed to the
Govr’s seat, and being there seated (the late Govr, Assistants
and Deputys being present & the Chamber thronged as full of
people as it was capable of), His Excellency declared that his
Majesty had, according to their desire, given him a commission
to come and take on him the government of Connecticut, and
caused his commission to be publicly read. That being done, his
Excellency showed that it was his Majesty’s pleasure to make
the late Govr and Captain John Allyn members of his council,
and called upon them to take their oaths, which they did
forthwith, and all this in that public and great assembly, nemine
contradicente, and only one man said that they first desired that
they might continue as they were.”
“After this his Excellency proceeded to erect courts of
Judicature, and constituted the said John Allyn, Esq. & Judge of
the inferiour Court of Common Pleas for the county of Hartford,
and all others who before had been assistants, & dwelling in the
same County, he now made Justices of the Peace for the said
County.
“From hence his Excellency passed through all the rest of
the countys of N. Haven, N. London and Fairfield, settling the
Government, was everywhere chearfully and gratefully received,
and erected the King’s Courts as aforesaid, wherein those who
were before in the office of Govr, Deputy Govr and Assistants
were made Judges of the Pleas, or Justices of the Peace, not
one excepted nor (finally) excepting, but accepting the same,
some few others being by his Excellency added to them in the
several Countys, not without, but by & with their own advice and
approbation, and all sworn by the oaths (of allegience and) of
their respective offices, to do equal justice to rich and poor, after
the Laws & Customs of the Realm of England, and of this his
Majesty’s dominion.”
“The Secretary, who was well acquainted with all the
transactions of the General Court, and very well understood their
meaning and intent in all, delivered their common seal to Sir
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E. A.”
Connecticut under Andros passed a period of peace and quiet.

Governor Treat and secretary Allyn were made members of the
council and judges, besides being entrusted with military commands,
and everything went on quietly. There was an evident disposition to
favor Connecticut, and every reason why it should be favored. We
hear of no complaint against the government or the laws. The worst
hardship recorded is the settling of intestate property according to
English law, instead of the customs of the colony. It is true that town
meetings were forbidden except once a year, but there were frequent
sessions of the courts held, so that the citizens were not deprived of
all the common interests of their lives. With Allyn the governor was
on most friendly terms, modifying several regulations at his
suggestions, and entrusting him largely with the management of
138
Connecticut affairs. To make a proper catalogue of miseries, the
Connecticut historian, Trumbull, is obliged to borrow and relate
doleful stories from Massachusetts, not asserting that they happened
139
in Connecticut, but certainly producing that impression.
There were many reasons why Connecticut did not resent the
government of Andros as much as was the case in Massachusetts.
In the first place, Connecticut had had a lawful government and a
law-abiding people; its charter had not been taken away as a
punishment, but as a political necessity; while Massachusetts had
been fighting for a system of more than questionable legality, and in
a spirit which might well seem to the royal officials to be seditious.
Connecticut had enjoyed a form of government in which the people
had really controlled public affairs; in Massachusetts the government
had been in the hands of an oligarchy, who resented most bitterly
their deposition from power as robbing them of their peculiar
privileges. In Connecticut the ecclesiastical system at this time was
judicious and moderate; the radical tendencies of the New Haven
colony had been held in check by the wiser policy of Hartford.
Persecution had never been a feature of Connecticut religion, and its
history is not disgraced with the accounts of frequent religious
quarrels, excommunications, and expulsions which are so familiar to
that of the neighboring colony. In Massachusetts Andros found
himself opposed and thwarted in every way that the angry leaders
could devise; in Connecticut, though men were attached to their self-
government and resented its loss, he was received with respect and
consideration. One is led to suspect that, with all their pride in their
charter and love of their liberties, the leading men of Connecticut
were shrewd enough to see the advantages that they received from
the new arrangement. They saw the arrogance of their old rivals of
the “Bay Colony” humiliated; they had the pleasure of seeing
Hampshire county compelled to come to Hartford to court, and they
felt themselves favored and trusted by the governor. Besides all
these considerations, from the situation of Connecticut, lying as it did
between Massachusetts and New York, it was much to Andros’s
interest that he should keep the colony well disposed, and he took
some trouble to do so.
And, after all, what do the charges of tyranny and
misgovernment amount to, even in Massachusetts? The real
gravamen of all the charges is, that the charter had been taken
away, and the people of Massachusetts did not enjoy those laws of
England which they had always claimed as their birthright. The
personal charges against Andros were so frivolous that the colonial
agents did not dare to put their hands to them when the case was
brought to trial in England, and, by their failure to appear, confessed
that they were false and malicious. It is not likely that Andros was
always conciliatory. That a population of dissenting Whigs should put
difficulties in the way of public service of the Church of England, as
by law established, must have been to Andros unendurable, and it is
absurd to represent his use of a meeting-house in Boston for the
religious services of the national church as an instance of malignant
140
despotism. It is far from improbable that Andros was compelled
against his will to be as civil as he was to the American non-
conformists, because his master was trafficking with them in
England. While Increase Mather was intriguing with the king and
receiving friendly messages from Father Petre, and while men like
Alsop and Rosewell and Penn were basking in the favors of the court
at Whitehall, a governor of New England, even if he had wished,
141
could not venture upon any acts of oppression in America. In fact,
Andros’s actions in insisting on the services of the English Church in
Boston may be considered among the most creditable in his history,
and exhibit the character of the man. He risked offending the king,
and did offend the puritans, in order to show respect to that historic
church of his nation, which king and puritan alike desired to
overthrow.
It is quite probable that Andros was at times rough in his
language. Without justifying him in this, it may be pleaded that it
certainly was not an uncommon fault of military men; and besides,
there were a good many things that must have made the use of
strong language a relief. He did not have a very high appreciation of
Indian deeds; but few honest men to-day, legal or lay, would differ
from him. He reviled the palladium of New England liberties, the
towns; but perhaps in this he was in advance of his age. He
reorganized the court system, established tables of fees, and
changed the method of proving wills; but here the blame is not his;
but if any one’s, it should lie upon the king who established the
province, or the council who passed the laws. The truth seems to be
that Andros was shocked and scandalized at the loose, happy-go-
lucky way of doing business that had, up to this time, served the
colonies; and he labored in New England, as he had in New York,
and as he afterwards did in Virginia, to give his province a good,
efficient, general system of administration. What made it
objectionable to the colonies was not that it was bad, but that it was
different from what they had had. The man who does his arithmetic
upon his fingers would count it a hardship if he were compelled to
use the much more convenient processes known to better educated
men. The case was the same in New England. They did not want to
be improved; they had no desire for any more efficient or regular
administration than they were accustomed to. They preferred
managing their own affairs badly to having them done for them, were
it ever so well. It is not difficult for us to appreciate their discontent.
It is harder for us to put ourselves in Andros’s place, and to feel
with him the disgust of an experienced and orderly administrator at
the loose and slipshod methods that he saw everywhere; the
indignation of the loyal servant of the king at hardly concealed
disloyalty and sedition; the resentment of a devoted member of the
national Church of England at the insults heaped upon it by the men
who had failed in their previous attempt to destroy it.
Andros failed to conciliate Massachusetts. An angel from heaven
bearing King James’s commission would have failed. A rebellion
against his power was carefully prepared, doubtless in concert with
the Whig leaders in England; and when the news of the English
Revolution came, Massachusetts broke out also, arrested the
governor, destroyed the government, and set up an irregular
142
government of its own. The object of this revolution was evidently
to overthrow the Dominion of New England, and to resume separate
colonial independence before the new English authorities had time to
communicate with Andros. There is no reason to think that Andros
would have tried to hold the country for James. Respect for the law
was, with him, the reason for his loyalty to the crown; and though he
was personally attached to the Stuarts and had acted under James
for many years, he was governor of the Dominion, not for James
Stuart, but for the king of England.
The popular leaders were indeed afraid, not that Andros would
oppose the revolution in England, but that he would accept it, and be
confirmed by William and Mary in the same position he had held
under James, and that thus the hated union of the colonies would be
perpetuated. Their revolution was only too successful. They had their
own way, and the events in Salem in 1692 were a commentary on
the benefits of colonial autonomy.
In Rhode Island and Connecticut the old charters were
reassumed. In Connecticut, as there had been little break when
Andros came, so now there was little trouble when he departed.
Secretary Allyn had managed the affairs of the colony before the
“usurpation”; Secretary Allyn had been the chief intermediary
between Andros and the people; Secretary Allyn continued to
manage Connecticut affairs after Andros had gone. The particularists
succeeded in getting possession of the government, in spite of the
opposition of a strong minority, and Connecticut, like Massachusetts,
143
returned to her insignificant but precious independence.
Andros succeeded in escaping once, but was arrested in Rhode
Island, and returned by the magistrates there to the revolutionary
leaders in Boston. By these he was kept in prison for nearly a year,
and then sent to England, where, as has been said, no one
144
appeared against him. Hutchinson complains that the
Massachusetts agents were misled by their counsel, Sir John
Somers. When one considers that Somers was one of the greatest
lawyers the bar of England has ever known, one is inclined to
believe that he knew his clients’ case was too bad to take into
145
court.
The government of William and Mary found nothing to condemn
in Andros’s conduct, and showed their appreciation of his services
by sending him out, in 1692, as governor of Virginia, adjoining to the
146
office at the same time the governorship of Maryland.
He exhibited here the same qualities that had characterized his
government in New York and New England; intelligent aptitude for
business, love of regularity and order, zeal for honest administration,
and consequently some degree of severity upon offenders against
the navigation laws who were often men of good birth and position,
and last, though not least, a great dislike of the interference of
meddling ecclesiastics with matters of state. He reduced the records
of the province to order, finding that they had been seriously
neglected; and when the State House was burned, he provided a
building for them, and had them again carefully sorted and
registered. He encouraged the introduction of manufactures and the
planting of cotton, and established a legal size for the tobacco cask,
an act which protected the merchants from arbitrary plundering by
custom house officials in England, but which was used by his
enemies to form the basis of an accusation of defrauding the
revenue. He was on the best of terms with the prominent men of the
Dominion, and he left behind him a pleasant memory in Virginia
among the laity, and among those of the clergy who were not under
the influence of Commissary Blair. The quarrel with Blair was an
unfortunate one, for, though meddlesome and dogmatic, he was
working for the higher interests of the colony; but the evidence he
himself supplies of the temper of his proceedings explains Sir
Edmund’s antipathy.
He was recalled to England in 1698, and was worsted in his
contest with Blair, having been unfortunate enough to bring upon
himself the resentment of the Bishop of London. The record of the
trial is preserved at Lambeth, and has been printed in this country,
and a perusal of it will convince most readers that Sir Edmund
received very hard usage, and might have complained, in the words
of the lawyer who was defeated in a contest with Laud, that he had
147
been “choked by a pair of lawn-sleeves.”
The rest of his life was passed at home. The government still
showed their confidence in him by appointing him the Governor of
148
Guernsey. He lived quietly, passing a peaceful old age, and died
in February, 1714 at the age of seventy-six. His continued interest in
the welfare of the colonies, in the service of which he had passed so
many years, is evidenced by the fact that his name appears among
the members of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in
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Foreign Parts.
Removed from the prejudices of his own day and generation,
and regarded in the impartial light of history, Sir Edmund Andros
appears not as the cruel persecutor that he seemed to the Mathers
and the Sewalls, nor as the envious Sanballat that Blair’s fervent
Scotch imagination pictured him, but as a single-hearted, loyal
English gentleman, of the best type of those cavaliers, devoted to
church and king, who, in their horror at the results of puritanism and
liberalism in England, were willing to sacrifice if necessary some
150
degree of personal liberty in order to secure the dominion of law.
Judging from what we know of him, we should have looked to
see him, had he been in England instead of in America at the time of
the Revolution, by the side of many fellow Tories maintaining the
liberties and the religion of his country. In America, far from the
scene of conflict, his duty was to support the government of the king;
but the claim of the colonists that, by arresting him, they prevented
him from “making an Ireland of America,” is disproved by his
immediate and loyal acceptance of the results of the Revolution, and
by the confidence the new government immediately reposed in
151
him.
The French authorities in Canada, who were in a position to
judge his character correctly, have left on record their opinion that it
was hopeless to expect assistance from him against his countrymen
in the struggle between the two nations that broke out after the
abdication of James II. The Chevalier de Callières, Governor of
Montreal, wrote to the Marquis de Seignelay as follows:
“Chevalier Andros, now Governor-General of New England

and New York, having already declared in his letter to M. de
Denonville that he took all the Iroquois under his protection as
subjects of the crown of England, and having prevented them
returning to M. de Denonville to make peace with us, there is no
longer reason to hope for its conclusion through the English, nor
for the alienation of the Iroquois from the close union which exist
with those (the English), in consequence of the great advantage
they derive from thence, the like to which we cannot offer for
divers reasons.
“Chevalier Andros is a Protestant as well as the whole
English colony, so that there is no reason to hope that he will
remain faithful to the King of England (James II.), and we must
expect that he will not only urge the Iroquois to continue the war
against us, but that he will also add Englishmen to them to lead
them and seize the posts of Niagara, Michillimackinac and
others proper to render him master of all the Indians, our allies,
according to the project they have long since formed, and which
they were beginning to execute when we declared war against
the Iroquois, and when we captured seventy Englishmen who
were going to take possession of Michillimackinac, one of the
151
most important posts of Canada.”
It is gratifying to notice that at last his character and services are

beginning to be better appreciated in the provinces over which he
ruled; and we may hope that in time the Andros of partisan history
will give place, even in the popular narratives of colonial affairs, to
the Andros that really existed, stern and proud and uncompromising,
it is true, but honest, upright, and just; a loyal servant of the crown,
and a friend to the best interests of the people whom he governed.
NOTES.
102
The principal authority for the facts of Andros’s life before he
became governor of the Duke of York’s province is a
biographical sketch in the History of Guernsey, by Jonathan
Duncan, Esq., London, 1841, written by the late Mr. Thomas
Andros of Guernsey, who died in 1853. This sketch was copied
in N. Y. Colonial Documents, ii. 740, and has been used by
W. H. Whitmore in his memoir of Sir Edmund Andros, in the
first volume of The Andros Tracts. Mr. Whitmore has added to
the sketch some few additional facts collected from a pedigree
at the Heralds’ Office and from private family papers. His
memoir is the most convenient, as it is the fullest and most
accurate, life of Andros that has appeared. The History of
Guernsey, by Ferdinand Brock Tupper, contains a few
additional facts in regard to him, but of trifling importance. Vide
pp. 367, 377, 392. See also Chronicles of Castle Cornet by the
same author.
103
Duncan, History of Guernsey, p. 89.
104
Memoir of the Life of the late Reverend Increase Mather, D. D.,
London, 1725, pp. 10–12.
105
Whitmore, Andros Tracts, I. ix. Duncan, p. 106.
106
Pedigree, in Andros Tracts, I. vi. Duncan, p. 588. From
Calendar of State Papers, Am. and W. Indies, we learn that
Andros saw service in the West Indies, being major in a
regiment of foot, commanded by Sir Tobias Bridge, which left
England in March, 1667, and arrived in Barbadoes in April. He
returned to England in 1668, as bearer of despatches and
letters to the government, and was in England in September of
that year. Whether he returned to Barbadoes is not evident, but
he was in England in Jan., 1671, and throughout the year. The
regiment was disbanded and four companies sent to England,
arriving there Oct. 5, 1671, and were incorporated in the new
dragoon regiment being raised for Prince Rupert, to which
Andros received his commission Sept. 14, 1671. This
chronology is irreconcilable with that given in the pedigree or
by Duncan.
107
For relations of Lord Craven and Elizabeth, see Miss Benger’s
Memoir of the Queen of Bohemia.
108
Duncan, p. 588. Calendar of State Papers, America and the
West Indies (1661–1668), 1427, 1436, 1439, 1476, 1760,
1761, 1762, 1824, 1839, (1669–1674), 394, 545.
109
Duncan, pp. 588–89. America and W. Indies (1669–1674),
554, 559, 625, 639, 791. Mackinnon, Origin and Services of
the Coldstream Guards, i. 185.
110
Tupper, History of Guernsey, 2d Ed., London, 1876. He says
(p. 392): “Edmund Andros had succeeded his father as bailiff
(bailli) in 1674, with power to nominate a lieutenant during his
long non-residence; he was also a colonel of dragoons, and
after his return from his successive North American
governments, he was constituted lieutenant-governor of
Guernsey by Queen Anne, who dispensed with his executing
the office of bailiff and accepted Eleazar Le Marchant as
lieutenant-bailiff.” Apparently he had some trouble at first from
the governor of the island, Christopher, Lord Hatton, for we find
(p. 377) a royal order sustaining Andros, and forbidding Lord
Hatton to disturb him in the office of bailiff.
111
N. Y. Col. Doc., iii. 215. The boundaries stated in this
Commission are as follows: “All that part of ye Maine Land of
New England beginning at a certaine place called or knowne
by ye name of St. Croix next adjoyneing to new Scotland in
America and from thence along ye sea Coast unto a certaine
place called Pemaquin or Pemaquid and soe up the River
thereof to ye furthest head of the same, as it tendeth
northwards and extending from thence to the River Kinebequi
and soe upwards by ye shortest course to ye river Canada
northwards. And also all that Island or Islands comonly called
or knowne by ye several names of Matowacks or Long Island
scituate lying and being towards ye West of Cape Codd and ye
Narrow Higansetts abutting upon ye maine land betweene ye
two rivers there called or knowne by ye severall names of
Conecticut and Hudsons River together also wth ye said river
called Hudsons River and all ye land from ye West side of
Conecticut River to ye East side of Delaware Bay, and also all
those severall Islands called or knowne by ye name of Martine
mynyards and Nantukes otherwise Nantukett, together with all
the lands islands soiles rivers harbours mines mineralls
quarryes woods marshes waters lakes fishings hawking
hunting and fowling and all royaltyes and profitts comôdityes
and hereditaments to the said several islands lands and
premisses, belonging and apperteyning with their and every of
their appurtenancies.”
112
For Andros’s own account of the first three years of his
administration, see N. Y. Col. Doc., iii. 254–257. For the
surrender of New York, Documentary History of New York, iii.
43; Andros’s report on state of the province, i. 60.
113
That this was recognized by men qualified to judge, vide letter
from Lieutenant-Colonel Talcott to Andros, Connecticut
Colonial Records (1678–89), p. 399; vide also Doc. Hist. N. Y.,
i. 99; Conn. Col. Rec. (1665–78), pp. 397, 404, 461, 492. For
Andros’s own official report of the assistance he rendered New
England in Philips’s war, see N. Y. Col. Doc., iii. 264, 265. For
remarks upon the contrasted Indian policies, see Brodhead,
Hist. New York, ii. 281–290.
114
Conn. Col. Rec. (1678–89), p. 283. N. Y. Col. Doc., iii. 236.

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Australia • Brazil • Mexico • Singapore • United Kingdom • United States

Production Service: Rebecca L. Lazure, SPi Global

P hysical geography concerns understanding Earth as an inte-

Engaging Graphics Visual aids greatly enhance the study of

Four Major Objectives

Acknowledgments ­Craig-ZumBrunnen, ­University of Washington, Redmond.

Why Study Geography? Reading Assignments

tions or definitions, put the instructor’s ideas, explanations, and

x FOREWORD TO THE STUDENT

FOREWORD TO THE STUDENT xi

1 Physical Geography: Earth Environments and Systems 3

Geography’s Environmental Science Perspective:

Geography’s Spatial Science Perspective: Using Vertical Radiation 90

Regional and Local Wind Systems 128 Air Masses 172

Warm Fronts 175 Tropical Savanna Climate 242

Hurricanes 182 Steppe Climates 251

Classifying Climates 202 Subarctic Climate 274

Desert Environments 316 Earth’s Planetary Structure 354

12 Soils and Soil Earth Materials 358

Soil-Forming Regimes 338 Introduction to Geomorphology 386

15 Weathering and Thinking Geographically 465

Chemical Weathering 425 Surface Runoff 473

Wind Deposition 520 The Coastal Zone 572

and Landforms 537

2.9 Time zones 33

4.27a Average sea level temperatures, January 105

4.27b Average sea level temperatures, July 105

5.10a Average sea level pressure, January 121

5.10b Average sea level pressure, July 121

5.25 Major ocean currents 134

5.27 El Niño and La Niña conditions 136

6.27 Map of average annual precipitation 164–165

6.29 Precipitation variability 167

7.16 Hurricane strikes in the continental United States 186

8.6 Climates, modified Köppen classification system 208–209

9.1 Humid tropical climates 234

9.13 Arid regions 245

10.1 Humid mesothermal climates 258

10.13 Humid microthermal climates 268

11.7b Global vegetation patterns 295

11.23 World map of natural vegetation 308–309

12.30 Distribution of NRCS soil orders 344–345

13.23 Wegener’s continental drift hypothesis 368

13.28 Major tectonic plates 372

13.40 Last 250 million years of Earth history 382

14.41a Earthquake epicenters 413

14.41b Major volcanic regions 413

18.41 Major loess regions 527

19.30 Extent of Pleistocene glaciations 555

Physical map of the world Front endpapers

Population density Back end papers

11.37 Satellite image, distribution of chlorophyll-producing marine plankton 319

20.5 World tidal patterns 574

The Contiguous United States

1.7 Satellite image, population distribution 9

2.11 Principal meridians and base lines 34

Acknowledgments Craig-ZumBrunnen, University of Washington, Redmond.

occur for days or weeks and cause flooding.