Introductory study of the distribution over the face of the earth of selected aspects of climate, plant cover, soils, and landforms and of processes and conditions giving rise to these distributions. The use of maps as communicative devices in comparative analysis and study of distribution and processes.

Consideration of the diversity of patterns of land use, settlement and movement established and evolved by humans as a result of the interaction of cultural and physical factors; emphasis on student use of maps and other tools of geographic presentation for analyzing the nature, variation and distribution of cultural features of the earth's surface.

Makes the ideas and relationships of introductory physical geography more clear by observation and experiment. Use is made of maps, globes, models, meteorological instruments and records, satellite photos and observations of the local scene. Laboratory, three hours.

Prerequisite: GEOG 1; may be taken concurrently.

Introduction to GIS, including history and overview of current applications; the nature of spatial data; geographic data structures, acquisition, analysis, and display of geographic data. Lab exercises use various computers and include both raster- and vector-based GIS systems. Lecture two hours; laboratory three hours.

Using current geospatial technologies, such as remote sensing and GIS, the course provides an introduction to the distributions of climate, plant cover, soils, and landforms over the face of the earth. While examining processes and conditions that cause these distributions, students will also explore the methods and techniques that let us visualize these distributions, and use maps as communicative devices in our explorations of these topics.