Chapter 1 What is Physical Geography?

What is Physical Geography?

• Physical geography is the study of our planet and its systems (ecosystems, climate, atmosphere, hydrology).
• Understanding the climate and how it’s changing (and the potential results of those changes) affect people now and can help plan for the future.
• Because the study of Earth is vast, numerous sub-branches of physical geography specialize in different areas, from the upper limits of the sky to the bottom of the ocean.

Physical geography consists of many diverse elements. These include: the study of the earth’s interaction with the sun, seasons, the composition of the atmosphere, atmospheric pressure and wind, storms and climatic disturbances, climate zones, microclimates, the hydrologic cycle, soils, rivers and streams, flora and fauna, weathering, erosion, natural hazards, deserts, glaciers and ice sheets, coastal terrain, ecosystems, geologic systems, and so much more.

The Four Spheres
It’s a little deceiving (even overly simplistic) to say that physical geography studies the Earth as our home and looks at the four spheres because each possible area of research encompasses so much.

The atmosphere itself has several layers to study, but the atmosphere as a topic under the lens of physical geography also includes research areas such as the ozone layer, the greenhouse effect, wind, jet streams, and weather.

The hydrosphere encompasses everything having to do with water, from the water cycle to acid rain, groundwater, runoff, currents, tides, and oceans.

The biosphere concerns living things on the planet and why they live where they do, with topics from ecosystems and biomes to food webs and the carbon and nitrogen cycles.

The study of the lithosphere includes geological processes, such as the formation of rocks, plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, soil, glaciers, and erosion.