George Perkins Marsh had many careers during his long life, including sheep farmer, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. Without a doubt, he is best remembered today for his groundbreaking work, "Man and Nature," which was one of the first pieces of scholarship to describe in detail the significance of human action in transforming the natural world. Since its publication in 1864, the book has been...

This introductory chapter on the earth's biosphere was authored by Dr. Michael Pidwirny of Okanagan University College. This chapter is one of 10 composing an online educational text titled the Fundamentals of Physical Geography (reported on in the February 20, 2004, NSDL Report for the Physical Sciences). The biosphere sub-chapters include: Biological Classification of Organisms; Concept of...

Michael Pidwirny, an associate professor at Okanagan University College, produced this website to educate users about "the spatial characteristics of the various natural phenomenon that exist in Earth's hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere." This online textbook includes ten chapters filled with illustrations, images, and animations. The website provides links to the glossary for...

An educator, David Robinson, created this website to supply high quality materials dealing with various aspects of physical geography to educators and students. The website provides extensive information for five main categories: earthquakes, plate tectonics and continental drift, volcanoes and volcanics, glaciers and glaciation, and a physical geography glossary. Examples of the topics covered...