Physical Geography: our Beautiful World

by Arnaud Temme, Kansas State University

Read here Read at LibreTextsPDF
Subjects
Geosciences
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA, as LibreTexts states it. Non-commercial use only.
Who can read
Teens profiles and older, judged from its title and subjects

Contents

LibreTexts writes equations in TeX, and here they show as TeX; the PDF has them typeset.

  1. Front Matter
  2. TitlePage
  3. InfoPage
  4. Table of Contents
  5. Licensing
  6. 1: Essentials of Geography
  7. 1.1: The Discipline of Geography
  8. 1.1.1: Principles of Geography
  9. 1.1.2: Geography as a Spatial Science
  10. 1.1.3: The Continuum of Geography
  11. 1.1.4: Geography and the Scientific Method
  12. 1.2: Tools of the Geographer
  13. 1.2.1: Maps
  14. 1.2.2: Aerial Photographs and Remote Sensing
  15. 1.2.3: Geographic Information System
  16. 1.2.4: Models in Geography
  17. 1.2.5: The Global Positioning System (GPS)
  18. 1.3: Locational Systems
  19. 1.3.1: Latitude and Longitude
  20. 1.3.2: Geographical Zones
  21. 1.4: Time
  22. 1.5: Future Geographies
  23. 1.6: Review and Additional Resources
  24. 2: Energy and Radiation
  25. 2.1: Energy and Heat
  26. 2.1.1: The Nature of Electromagnetic Radiation
  27. 2.1.2: Selective Absorption by the Atmosphere
  28. 2.2: Insolation
  29. 2.3: Radiation and Energy Balance of the Earth System
  30. 2.3.1: The Radiation Balance
  31. 2.3.2: The Energy Balance
  32. 2.4: Global Patterns of Insolation, Net radiation, and Heat
  33. 2.5: Global Patterns of Sensible and Latent Heat Transfer
  34. 2.6: Future Geographies - Radiative Forcing and the Earth's Heat Balance
  35. 2.7: Review and Additional Online Resources
  36. 3: The Atmosphere
  37. 3.1: Atmospheric Composition
  38. 3.2: Atmospheric Structure
  39. 3.3: Greenhouse Effect
  40. 3.4: Future Geographies - Predicting Atmospheric Composition
  41. 3.5: Review and Additional Resources
  42. 4: Atmospheric and Ocean Circulation
  43. 4.1: Getting Ready for Chapter 4
  44. 4.2: Air Pressure
  45. 4.3: Controls over wind direction and speed
  46. 4.4: Cyclones and Anticyclones
  47. 4.5: Local Scale Wind
  48. 4.6: Regional Scale Winds - The Monsoon
  49. 4.7: Global Scale Circulation
  50. 4.8: Wind and Pressure Aloft
  51. 4.9: Ocean Circulation and Atmospheric Circulation
  52. 4.10: Future Geographies - Atmospheric Pressure and Winds
  53. 4.11: Review and Additional Resources
  54. 5: Atmospheric Moisture
  55. 5.1: Phases of Water
  56. 5.1.1: Evaporation
  57. 5.1.2: Transpiration
  58. 5.1.3: Humidity
  59. 5.1.4: Condensation
  60. 5.2: Adiabatic Temperature Change and Stability
  61. 5.3: Clouds and Precipitation
  62. 5.3.1: Fog
  63. 5.3.2: Clouds
  64. 5.3.3: Precipitation Process
  65. 5.4: Global Patterns of Precipitation
  66. 5.5: Looking Ahead
  67. 5.6: Review and Additional Resources
  68. 6: Weather Systems
  69. 6.1: Getting Ready for Chapter 6
  70. 6.2: Air Masses
  71. 6.3: Fronts
  72. 6.4: Wave Cyclones (Cyclogenesis)
  73. 6.5: Weather and Wave Cyclones
  74. 6.6: Severe Weather
  75. 6.6.1: Thunderstorms
  76. 6.6.2: Lightning
  77. 6.6.3: Tornadoes
  78. 6.6.4: Hurricanes
  79. 6.7: Future Geographies - Severe Weather and Global Warming
  80. 6.8: Review and Additional Resources
  81. 7: Climate Systems
  82. 7.1: Getting Ready for Chapter 7
  83. 7.2: The Elements of Climate
  84. 7.3: Climate Classification
  85. 7.4: Low Latitude Climates
  86. 7.4.1: Tropical Rain Forest
  87. 7.4.2: Tropical Monsoon Climate
  88. 7.4.3: Tropical Wet/Dry (Savanna) Climate
  89. 7.4.4: Tropical Steppe Climate
  90. 7.4.5: Tropical Desert Climate
  91. 7.5: Midlatitude and Subtropical Climates
  92. 7.5.1: Mediterranean or Dry Summer Subtropical Climate
  93. 7.5.2: Midlatitude Desert Climate
  94. 7.5.3: Midlatitude Steppe
  95. 7.5.4: Humid Subtropical Climate
  96. 7.5.5: Humid Continental Climate
  97. 7.5.6: Marine (Humid) West Coast Climate
  98. 7.6: High Latitude Climates
  99. 7.6.1: Subarctic Climate
  100. 7.6.2: Tundra Climate
  101. 7.6.3: Ice Cap Climate
  102. 7.7: Urban Climate
  103. 7.8: Future Geographies - The Evidence for Climate Change
  104. 7.9: Review and Additional Resources
  105. 8: The Hydrosphere
  106. 8.1: The Hydrosphere
  107. 8.2: The Hydrologic Cycle
  108. 8.3: Future Geographies - Water Resources and Climate Change
  109. 8.4: Review and Additional Resources
  110. 9: Earth Materials and Structure
  111. 9.1: The Earth's Interior
  112. 9.2: Forces that Shape the Surface of the Earth
  113. 9.3: Orders of Relief
  114. 9.4: Minerals
  115. 9.5: Rocks
  116. 9.5.1: Rocks and the Rock Cycle
  117. 9.5.2: Igneous Rocks
  118. 9.5.3: Sedimentary Rocks
  119. 9.5.4: Metamorphic Rocks
  120. 9.6: Review and Additional Resources
  121. 10: Tectonics and Landforms
  122. 10.1: Plate Tectonics and Continental Drift
  123. 10.2: Plate Boundaries
  124. 10.3: Crustal Deformation
  125. 10.3.1: Folding and Faulting
  126. 10.3.2: Geographic Patterns of Faults and Earthquakes
  127. 10.3.3: Tsunamis
  128. 10.4: Review and Additional Resources
  129. 11: Volcanic Processes and Landforms
  130. 11.1: Features of Volcanoes
  131. 11.2: Distribution of Volcanoes
  132. 11.3: Types of Volcanoes and Landscapes
  133. 11.4: Volcanic Hazards
  134. 11.5: Review and Additional Resources
  135. 12: Weathering, Erosion, and Mass Movement
  136. 12.1: Weathering
  137. 12.2: Mass Movement
  138. 12.3: Water Erosion
  139. 12.4: Review and Additional Resources
  140. 13: Glaciers and ice caps
  141. 13.1: Glaciation
  142. 13.2: Geologic Work of Glaciers
  143. 13.3: Landforms of Continental Glaciation
  144. 13.4: Landforms of Alpine Glaciation
  145. 13.5: Digging Deeper-The Fate of Permafrost in a Warming World
  146. 13.6: Review and Additional Resources
  147. 14: Fluvial Systems
  148. 14.1: The Stream System
  149. 14.2: Channel Geometry and Flow Characteristics
  150. 14.3: Geologic Work of Streams
  151. 14.4: Stream Gradation
  152. 14.5: Landforms of Alluvial Rivers
  153. 14.6: Fluvial Processes in Dry Regions
  154. 14.7: Review and Additional Resources
  155. 15: Ocean and Coastal Systems
  156. 15.1: Water in Motion
  157. 15.2: Coastal Landforms and Processes
  158. 15.3: Types of Coasts
  159. 15.4: Review and Additional Resources
  160. 16: Soil Systems
  161. 16.1: Soil Development
  162. 16.2: Horizon Development Processes
  163. 16.3: Soil Properties
  164. 16.4: Soil Profiles
  165. 16.5: Factors Affecting Soil Development
  166. 16.6: Soil Forming (Pedogenic) Processes
  167. 16.7: Soil Orders
  168. 16.8: Review and Additional Resources
  169. 17: Ecosystems
  170. 17.1: Ecosystem Types and Dynamics
  171. 17.2: Biogeochemical Cycles
  172. 17.3: Soils
  173. 17.4: Soil Degradation
  174. 17.5: Data Dive- Beaver Impacts on Wetlands
  175. 17.6: Review
  176. 18: Earth Biomes
  177. 18.1: Patterns of the Biosphere
  178. 18.2: The Forest Biome
  179. 18.2.1: Tropical Forests
  180. 18.2.2: Midlatitude Forests
  181. 18.2.3: Northern Forests
  182. 18.3: Savanna Biome
  183. 18.4: Grassland Biome
  184. 18.5: The Desert Biome
  185. 18.6: Tundra Biome
  186. 18.7: Review and Additional Resources
  187. Back Matter
  188. Index
  189. Glossary
  190. Detailed Licensing
  191. Detailed Licensing