The Teacher's Guide to Accompany the Text-Book of Elementary Physical Geography; By William Morris Davis (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1903. Excerpt: ... THE TEACHER'S GUIDE THE NATURE OF GEOGRAPHY Geography deals with the relations between the earth and its inhabitants, and especially between the earth and man. It is a broad subject, involving an understanding of the various physical features of the earth, on the one hand, and an acquaintance with the many conditions of organic life, especially of human life, on the other. Geography therefore consists of two parts: one deals with the physical environment of living forms; the other with the response made, by living forms to their environment. It is the first of these two parts, known as Physical Geography or Physiography, that we have here to consider; but it is important that, in this study of the physical or inorganic features of the earth, it should be remembered that they are of interest to the geographer largely because they constitute the environment in which the living objects of his study spend their lives. Geography as taught in the schools deals broadly with the simpler, leading facts and principles of earth science, selected from the vast body of information that makes up our knowledge of the subject as a whole. Elementary Physical Geography, as a part of Geography, includes a comprehensive view of the simpler features of the earth viewed as the home of man. Yet even when thus limited, Physical Geography must include a consideration of many 1 diverse problems, because the physical environment of life includes so many unlike factors, ranging from the earth as a globe, through the atmosphere and the oceans to the lands. The necessary diversity of the different parts of the subject is at once an advantage and an embarrassment; an advantage because in so broad a range of study the great variety of interesting phenomena encountered is attractive to t...