Discovering Earth's Natural Features

Physical geography explores the natural features of our planet, including mountains, rivers, deserts, oceans, and weather systems. It helps us understand how these features were formed, how they change over time, and how they affect the living things around them.

Key Areas

• Landforms: Hills, valleys, plateaus, and plains are all landforms shaped by forces like wind, water, and tectonic movement.
• Climate and Weather: Physical geography studies how the sun, atmosphere, and oceans interact to create different climates and weather patterns.
• Ecosystems: It also looks at the connections between living things and their physical environment.

Why It Matters

By studying physical geography, we learn why rainforests grow near the Equator, why deserts form, and how rivers carve canyons over thousands of years. This knowledge helps us predict natural disasters and understand how people can live safely and sustainably on Earth.