Margin Notes

Earth

GEOGRAPHY is the study of place and space. It combines both physical science and social science. That combination is reflected in geography's two main branches - physical geography & human geography. Human geography studies human activity, the natural environment and the relationship between the two. Physical geography - our focus in GEOG 1301 - studies the location and distribution of features on the Earth’s surface. Our topics this semester are divide into five parts.

Part #1    The Elements of Geography
THE DISCIPLINE OF GEOGRAPHY

    WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?
    THE GEOGRAPHIC CONTINUUM
    WHAT IS PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY?
    FORM VERSUS PROCESS
    LINKS

THE SCIENCE OF GEOGRAPHY

    THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD
    SYSTEMS THEORY
    THE ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
    THE SOLAR SYSTEM
    THE PLANETARY SYSTEM
    EARTH'S SIZE & SHAPE
    SEASONS
    TIME
    LINKS

THE TOOLS OF GEOGRAPHY

    CARTOGRAPHY
    THE GEOGRAPHIC GRID
    SCALE
    MAP PROJECTIONS
    TYPES OF MAPS
    REMOTE SENSING
    GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM
    GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS
    MODELS
    GRAPHS & STATISTICS
    LINKS
Part #2    The Atmosphere
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ATMOSPHERE
            COMPOSITION
            STRUCTURE
            TEMPERATURE
            PRESSURE
            WIND
            the Hydrological Cycle
            The Köppen Climate Classification System
            LINKS

        THE WEATHER

            HEATING & COOLING
            TEMPERATURE PATTERNS
            GLOBAL WARMING & THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT
            LOCALIZED WIND SYSTEMS
            EL Niño
            HUMIDITY
            CLOUDS
            PRECIPITATION
            Air Masses
            Fronts
            Atmospheric Disturbances
            Global Climate Change
            LINKS
Part #3    The Hydrosphere
THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF WATER
The Hydrologic cycle
the oceans
the cryosphere
underground water
surface water
LINKS
Part #4    The Biosphere
Geographic Approach to the Study of Organisms
Biogeochemical Cycles
Food Chains
Natural Distributions
Environmental Relationships
Ecosystems & Biomes
The Major Biomes
LINKS
Part #5    The Lithosphere
Soils & LANDFORMS
    Soil-Forming Factors
    properties
    profiles
    PEDOGENIC REGIMES
    classification
    The Structure of Earth
    Composition of Earth
    LANDFORMS
    LINKS
Internal Processes
    Plate Tectonics
    VOLCANISM
    FOLDING
    FAULTING
    LINKS
WEATHERING & WASTING
    WEATHERING & WASTING
    MASS MOVEMENT
    EROSION
    KARST PROCESSES
    Fluvial Processes
    DESERT PROCESSES
    Glacial PROCESSES
    Coastal Processes
    LINKS

| Return to Top |