Table Of ContentPHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Physical Geography: The Key Concepts is a thought-provoking and
up-to-date introduction to the central ideas and debates within the
field. It provides extended definitions of terms that are fundamental to
physical geography and its many branches, covering topics such as:
• biogeography
• ecology
• climatology
• meteorology
• geomorphology
• hydrology
• pedology.
Complete with informative tables, diagrams, and suggestions for
further reading, this is a highly accessible guide for those studying
physical geography and related courses.
Richard Huggett is a Reader in Physical Geography at the Univ ersity
of Manchester. His publications include Fundamentals of Biogeography,
Fundamentals of Geomorphology and The Natural History of the Earth, all
published by Rou tledge.
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PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
The Key Concepts
Richard Huggett
First published 2010
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2009.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
© 2010 Richard Huggett
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Huggett, Richard J.
Physical geography : the key concepts / Richard Huggett.
p. cm.—(Routledge key guides)
I ncludes bibliographical references and index.
1. Physical geography. I. Title.
GB54.5.H84 2009
910(cid:1).02–dc22 2008054417
ISBN 0-203-87567-2 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0–415–45207–4 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–415–45208–2 (pbk)
ISBN10: 0–203–87567–2 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–45207–6 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–45208–3 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–203–87567–4 (ebk)
For my family
CONTENTS
Preface ix
Acknowledgements xi
List of Key Concepts xii
KEY CONCEPTS 1
Bibliography 180
Index 206
vii
PREFACE
Physical geography is a diverse discipline. I doubt that few of its
practitioners today would care to describe themselves as physical
geographers except when wishing to distinguish themselves from
human geographers. Most specialize in a branch of physical geography
– biogeography, climatology and meteorology, ecology, geomor-
phology, hydrology, or pedology. The chief aim of this book is to
provide extended definitions of concepts and terms that are central to
discourse within physical geography and its many branches, and that
are helpful for undergraduate students and lay readers. All entries will
include a clear and full definition of the concept. Some of the entries
for more controversial topics, such as ‘uniformitarianism’, will also
include a short critical appraisal of the concept itself.
In selecting terms, I have used three criteria: first, they are germane
to physical geography as a whole (e.g. ‘energy’, ‘equilibrium’, ‘feed-
back’); second, they are central to a branch of physical geography
(e.g. ‘dispersal’, ‘etchplanation’, ‘natural selection’); third, they are
important concepts from other disciplines that play a starring role in
some aspect of physical geography (e.g. ‘plate tectonics’). It proved
exceedingly difficult to select a hundred or so concepts that I felt were
‘key’ to the discipline, and I am acutely aware of concepts that, for
want of wordage, are excluded. Indeed, I suspect that my physical
geographical peers will not think all my chosen concepts are key, and
that they can offer other concepts that they would regard as key.
Perhaps that says something about the rich diversity of physical
geography and its practitioners. Nonetheless, I trust that all readers will
find something of interest in the discussions on offer, and will have as
much pleasure in reading the material as I had in researching and
writing it.
I should like to thank those people who have made the completion
of this book possible: Nick Scarle for drawing the diagrams; Ian
Douglas for kindly commenting on my original list of key concepts;
Andrea Harthill, formerly of Routledge, for asking me to write the
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