Format:
1 online resource (334 pages)
Edition:
1st ed.
ISBN:
9780520950719
Content:
This lively book sweeps across dramatic and varied terrains--volcanoes and glaciers, billabongs and canyons, prairies and rain forests--to explore how humans have made sense of our planet's marvelous landscapes. In a rich weave of scientific, cultural, and personal stories, The Face of the Earth examines mirages and satellite images, swamp-dwelling heroes and Tibetan nomads, cave paintings and popular movies, investigating how we live with the great shaping forces of nature--from fire to changing climates and the intricacies of adaptation. The book illuminates subjects as diverse as the literary life of hollow Earth theories, the links between the Little Ice Age and Frankenstein's monster, and the spiritual allure of deserts and their scarce waters. Including vivid, on-the-spot accounts by scientists and writers in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Alaska, England, the Rocky Mountains, Antarctica, and elsewhere, The Face of the Earth charts the depth and complexity of our interdependence with the natural world.
Content:
COVER -- CONTENTS -- INTRODUCTION -- 1: LANDSCAPES OF INTERNAL FIRE -- ON THE SPOT: OVER A RIVER OF LAVA -- PROLOGUE -- IMAGINING THE INTERIOR -- ON THE SPOT: AT THE EDGE OF AN OVERTHRUST BELT -- MUNDUS SUBTERRANEUS -- ON THE SPOT: AMONG THE AEOLIAN ISLANDS -- THE GLOBE, TECTONIC PLATES, AND MOUNTAIN BUILDING -- ON THE SPOT: ALONG THE DISTURBANCE GRADIENT -- VOLCANOES AND THEIR ERUPTIONS -- ON THE SPOT: APPROACHING CHAITÉN VOLCANO -- HOT SPRINGS AND GEYSERS -- 2: CLIMATE AND ICE -- PROLOGUE -- ON THE SPOT: UP AND DOWN THE HIMALAYA -- HOW THE CLIMATE WORKS -- THE GHOSTS OF CLIMATES PAST -- ON THE SPOT: ON THE BURREN -- OUR ICE AGE -- LANDSCAPES SHAPED BY ICE -- ON THE SPOT: IN THE CHANNELED SCABLANDS -- ICE-AGE HUMANS -- ON THE SPOT: ON THE ARCTIC TUNDRA -- THE LITTLE ICE AGE, GLACIOLOGY, AND THE SUBLIME -- ON THE SPOT: TOWARD A GLACIER'S EDGE -- THE STORY NOW -- 3: WET AND FLUID -- PROLOGUE -- ON THE SPOT: IN THE ROCKY INTERTIDAL ZONE -- THE WATER CYCLE -- ON THE SPOT: ALONG A RAIN FOREST STREAM -- THE MOVING WATERS OF RIVERS -- THE DREAM OF WATER IN DESERTS -- THE SLOW WATER OF WETLANDS -- ON THE SPOT: AT THE BOG ON CÉIDE FIELDS -- PEAT, MIRES, BOGS, FENS -- ON THE SPOT: AT WICKEN FEN -- MARSHES AND SWAMPS -- WET/DRY -- ON THE SPOT: AT THE BILLABONG -- 4: DESERT PLACES, DESERT LIVES -- PROLOGUE -- ON THE SPOT: DOWN A DESERT RIVER CANYON -- DRY, HOT, WINDY, AND DUSTY -- ON THE SPOT: IN JABAL AJA -- WHAT WE SEE -- ON THE SPOT: IN THE CHIHUAHUAN DESERT -- CLEVER PLANTS -- ON THE SPOT: IN THE RED CENTER -- CLEVER CREATURES -- ON THE SPOT: IN THE NEGEV DESERT -- THE HUMAN DESERT -- 5: THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE REAL -- PROLOGUE -- UNDERFOOT -- ON THE SPOT: IN ANTARCTICA'S DRY VALLEYS -- OCEANS OF GRASS -- THE SHAPES OF COMPLEXITY -- ON THE SPOT: ON THE CHALK DOWNS -- EVOLVING TOGETHER … -- ON THE SPOT: IN THE TALLGRASS PRAIRIE -- …AND MOVING APART.
Note:
Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources
Additional Edition:
ISBN 9780520269262
Additional Edition:
Print version The Face of the Earth : Natural Landscapes, Science, and Culture
Additional Edition:
Erscheint auch als Druck-Ausgabe The face of the Earth Berkeley, Calif. [u.a.] : Univ. of California Press, 2011 ISBN 9780520269262
Additional Edition:
ISBN 0520269268
Additional Edition:
ISBN 9780520269279
Additional Edition:
ISBN 0520269276
Language:
English
Subjects:
Geography
Keywords:
Naturlandschaft
URL:
Volltext
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URL:
Volltext
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