PhysicalGeography.net is an educational web portal that focuses on a specific area knowledge known as Physical Geography. Physical Geography is a sub-discipline of two much larger fields of study - Geography and Earth Sciences.
This is a Physical Geography course (GEOG 2050) that was transformed to utilize OER. The package provided here contains all of the quizzes and exams that the course uses in the corresponding OER online textbooks. Direct links to each chapter can be found in the course syllabus. Quizzes and syllabus licensed CC BY 4.0 by Rusti Liner, adapting content from "Introduction to Physical Geography" by R. Adam Dastrup is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Physical geography lab exercises tend to be crafted for internal institutional use only. In light of the need to have online laboratory material for remote instruction, a group of geography instructors from across British Columbia (BC), Canada came together for this collaborative project with the goal of producing a cross-institutional open education resource (OER) laboratory manual for first-year post-secondary physical geography courses. The lab manual consists of 22 labs that cover an introduction to physical geography, weather and climate, biogeography, map and geospatial skills, hydrology, geomorphology, and landform identification. The majority of the labs have a BC focus; however, they are useable across Canada and further abroad. The majority of the labs have been developed so that they can be done in any order to increase instructor flexibility and promote adaptability to differing course structures and durations. Many of the labs have students using live data, or built-in flexibility with datasets for instructors in order to prevent the lab exercises becoming static over time. The lab manual is licenced under creative commons (refer to licensing information) so that the lab modules can be modified as needed by instructors to meet the learning outcomes of their students.
Lab Exercises
Tutorial: Using Spreadsheets in Geography
Lab 01: Earth Systems and Earth's Four Spheres
Lab 02: Earth-Sun Relationships and Earth's Energy Budget
Lab 03: Atmospheric Structure and Pressure Systems
Lab 04: Weather Forecasting
Lab 05: Local Climate Data Analysis
Lab 06: Climate Analysis with Virtual Globes
Lab 07: Atmospheric Moisture and Stability
Lab 08: Surface Water Balance
Lab 09: BC Soils and Relationships to Vegetation and Climate
Lab 10: Environmental Controls on Biogeography
Lab 11: Coastal Forest Virtual Field Trip
Lab 12A: Map Skills I
Lab 12B: Map Skills I
Lab 13A: Map Skills II
Lab 13B: Map Skills II
Lab 14: GPS Orienting
Lab 15: BC's Geology and Geologic Structures
Lab 16: Earthquakes and Volcanoes
Lab 17: Measuring and Analyzing Slope
Lab 18: Water Cycle and Water Resources
Lab 19: Fluvial Geomorphology and Landforms
Lab 20: Alpine Glacial Processes
Lab 21: Coastal Geomorphology
Lab 22: Geomorphology Virtual Field Trip
Instructor Notes
I. Introduction to Geographic Science
II. Universe and Solar System
III. Planet Earth
IV. Tectonic Forces
V. Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition
VI. Fluvial Processes and Systems
VII. Oceans and Coastal Environments
VIII. Atmospheric Structure
IX. Weather Processes and Systems
X. Global Climates and Change
XI. Biomes and Ecosystems
XII. Environmental Disasters
XIII. Wildfires
This textbook was designed especially for College of the Canyons students, as a resource to instill the knowledge and adventure that the discipline of geography holds for so many of us. The following units will cover a wide array of topics such as: Earth’s grid system, rivers, oceans, deserts, basic geology, and cartography.
Table of Contents
Unit 1: Introduction to Geography as a Discipline
Unit 2: Earth’s Place within the Cosmos
Unit 3: Introduction to Geology & Geologic Time
Unit 4: Mapping Earth’s Surface
Unit 5: Earth-Sun Relationships: Reasons for the Seasons
Unit 6: Earth’s Atmosphere
Unit 7: Elements of Weather & Climate
Unit 8: Basic Mineral Development
Unit 9: Igneous Rocks
Unit 10: Sedimentary Rocks
Unit 11: Metamorphism & Metamorphic Rocks
Unit 12: Weathering & Soils
Unit 13: Earths Dynamic Surface: Plate Tectonics
Unit 14: Earths Dynamic Surface: Tectonics Force
Unit 15: Earths Dynamic Surface: Volcanoes
Unit 16: Shaped by Coastal Processes
Unit 17: Shaped by Rivers & Running Water
Unit 18: Shaped by Wind as a Geomorphic Agent
Unit 19: Shaped by Glaciers
I. Chapter 1: Digital Geography
1.1 What is a Toponymy?
1.2 Distance and Scale
1.3 Topography and Our National Parks
1.4: References
II. Chapter 2: Universe and Solar System
III. Chapter 3: Earth's Landforms
3.1 The Rock Cycle
3.2 Mining the World's Minerals
3.3 North American Landforms
3.4 References
IV. Chapter 4: Plate Tectonics
4.1 Cracked Tectonic Plates
4.2 Constructive Forces for Mountain Building
4.3 References
V. Chapter 5: Tectonic Forces
5.1 The Earth Moves
5.2 Tectonic Plate Types Effects on Volcanoes
5.3 References
VI. Chapter 6: Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition
6.1 Using Remote Sensing to Avoid a Disaster
6.2 References
VII. Chapter 7: Fluvial Processes and Systems
7.1 A River Runs Through It
7.2: Down to the Last Drop
7.3 References
VIII. Chapter 8: Oceans and Coastal Environments
8.1 Ocean Features and Landforms
8.2 Marine Debris
IX. Chapter 9: Atmospheric Processes and Systems
9.1 Fluid Earth: Winds and Ocean Currents
X. Chapter 10: Weather Processes and Systems
10.1 How's the Weather?
10.2 Tropical Storms
Welcome to Physical Geography at College of the Canyons.
This textbook was designed especially for College of the Canyons students, as a resource to instill the knowledge and adventure that the discipline of geography holds for so many of us. The following units will cover a wide array of topics such as: Earth’s grid system, rivers, oceans, deserts, basic geology, and cartography.