Fundamentals of physical geography / Основы физической географии

Our natural, environmental home on planet Earth is a complex system of interacting components that includes climate and the atmosphere, organisms and their communities, water, landforms, and soils. The ways we choose to use and affect the environment today can benefit or endanger our own as well as future generations. More than ever before, people today want and need to know the effects of their actions on the environment at both a local and global scale. Understanding physical geography, that is, what our natural habitat on Earth’s urface is like, how it functions, and how it varies over space and time, is critical for making informed decisions regarding the wise use and preservation of our environment and resources. The more we know about the environment on Earth, the more effective we can be in working toward preservation, stewardship, and sustainability. Fundamentals of Physical Geography was written to provide students from any academic major with a basic working knowledge of Earth’s natural systems and its shared natural habitats, so that they may better understand the consequences of human actions on the environment. This text focuses on presenting the essential content of physical geography to students in a clear, condensed style, which is an excellent format for courses that follow either the semester or quarter system <...>