Includes bibliographical references and index.

Pt. 1: The energy-atmosphere system. Solar energy to earth and the seasons -- Earth's modern atmosphere -- Atmosphere and surface energy balances -- Global temperatures -- Atmospheric and oceanic circulations -- pt. 2: The water, weather, and climate systems. Water and atmospheric moisture -- Weather -- Water resources -- Global climate systems -- pt. 3: The earth-atmosphere interface. The dynamic planet -- Tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanism -- Weathering, Karst landscapes, and mass movement -- River systems and landforms -- Eolian processes and arid landscapes -- The oceans, coastal processes and landforms -- Glacial and periglacial processes and landforms -- pt. 4: Soils, ecosystems, and biomes. The geography of soils -- Ecosystem essentials -- Terrestrial biomes -- Earth and the human denominator. This volume is a survey of physical geography textbook. It examines spatial elements of the physical environment -- weather, climate, vegetation, soils and landforms. This volume encourages students to analyze the nature and characteristics of these elements, the processes involved in their development, their distribution over the earth, and their interrelationships. It also examines the interrelationships between these elements and human activities by using maps and other geographical data to locate, analyze, interpret, and solve geographical problems of a physical nature.