Geography: A Visual Encyclopedia

306 Pages·2013·82.475 MB·English

by  DK

Geography
a visual encyclopedia

s m i t h s o n i a n
Geography
a visual encyclopedia
Contents
LONDON, NEW YORK, MUNICH,
MELBOURNE, DELHI
PLANET EARTH 8
Written by John Woodward
Consultant Dr. Kim Bryan
The Solar System 10
Senior Editor Jenny Sich
The planets 12
Senior Designer Stefan Podhorodecki
Managing Editor Linda Esposito How Earth formed 14
Managing Art Editor Diane Peyton Jones The Moon 16
Cartographer Simon Mumford
Scarred surface 18
US Editor John Searcy
Jacket Design Development Manager Sophia M.T.T. Inside our planet 20
Jacket Editor Manisha Majithia Magnetic Earth 22
Jacket Designer Natalie Godwin
Northern Lights 24
Producer, Pre-production Nikoleta Parasaki
Senior Producer Gemma Sharpe Earth’s crust 26
Publisher Andrew Macintyre Impact craters 28
Art Director Philip Ormerod
Moving plates 30
Associate Publisher Liz Wheeler
Publishing Director Jonathan Metcalf Plate boundaries 32
Earthquakes 34
Tall Tree Ltd.
Ground shift 36
Editors Joe Fullman, Camilla Hallinan,
David John, Catherine Saunders Tsunamis 38
Designers Ben Ruocco, Malcolm Parchment, Making mountains 40
Marisa Renzullo, Ed Simkins
Volcanoes 42
Eruption 44
Cataclysm 46
Hot springs and geysers 48
ROCKS AND MINERALS 50
This trademark is owned by the Smithsonian Institution and is
registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Elements and minerals 52
Smithsonian Consultants Bruce Smith, Dr. Jeffrey E. Post, Crystals 54
Dr. M.G. (Jerry) Harasewych, Dr. Don E. Wilson, Andrew K.
Crystal types 56
Johnston, Julie A. Herrick, Jennifer Zoon, Peter Liebhold,
Melinda Zeder, Jim Harle, Thomas F. Jorstad, J. Daniel Rogers The crystal cave 58
Igneous rocks 60
First American Edition, 2013 Igneous intrusions 62
Published in the United States by
DK Publishing Weathering 64
375 Hudson Street
New York, New York 10014 The dynamic landscape 66
Coyote Buttes 68
13 14 15 16 17 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
001–184806–July/2013 Sedimentary rocks 70
Copyright © 2013 Dorling Kindersley Limited Fossils 72
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval Ancient life 74
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright owners. Rock strata 76
Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited.
The Grand Canyon 78
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
Metamorphic rocks 80
ISBN 978-1-4654-1218-8
The rock cycle 82
DK books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk for sales promotions,
Soil 84
premiums, fund-raising, or educational use. For details, contact: DK Publishing Special
Markets, 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014 or [email protected].
Printed and bound by Hung Hing, Hong Kong WATER 86
Discover more at
The water cycle 88
www.dk.com
Rivers and valleys 90
Glaciers and ice sheets 92 Icy oceans 186
Iceberg 94 Winter chill 188
Rivers of ice 96 Life beneath the waves 190
Ice ages 98 Deep ocean 192
Underground water 100 Coral reef 194
Caves 102 Vital light 196
Sculpted in stone 104 On the shore 198
Lakes 106
Lakes of the world 108 THE HUMAN WORLD 200
Oceans and seas 110
World oceans 112 Population 202
Waves and currents 114 Farming 204
Making waves 116 Transformed landscape 206
Tides 118 Mining 208
Coasts 120 Industry 210
Transportation 212
Cities 214
CLIMATE AND WEATHER 122
Modern cities 216
The atmosphere 124 City lights 218
Air currents 126 Pollution 220
Climate zones 128 Climate change 222
The seasons 130 Conservation 224
Oceans and continents 132
Cold desert 134 MAPPING THE WORLD 226
Climate types 136
Weather systems 138 The physical world 228
Cloud and fog 140 The political world 230
Cloud types 142 Population density 232
Rain and snow 144 North America 234
Storms and hail 146 South America 236
Tornado 148 Europe 238
Hurricanes 150 Africa 240
Asia 242
Oceania 244
LIFE ON EARTH 152
Antarctica 246
A living planet 154
Kingdoms of life 156 COUNTRY FACTFILE 248
Ecosystems 158
Freshwater life 160 North America 250
Tropical forest 162 South America 256
Temperate forest 164 Europe 260
Autumn color 166 Africa 272
Northern forest 168 Asia 284
Moorland and heath 170 Oceania 292
Temperate grassland 172
Tropical grassland 174
Desert 176 GLOSSARY 296
Living deserts 178
Desert in bloom 180 INDEX 299
Life in the mountains 182
Arctic tundra 184 Acknowledgments 303
6
Introduction
E
arth is an astonishing place. Somehow, a
mass of gas and shattered rock swirling
around a hot star evolved into a living
planet, unique in the Solar System.

By sheer luck, Earth formed at exactly the
right distance from the Sun for water to lie
on its surface without freezing or boiling
away into space, forming broad oceans that
cover more than two-thirds of the globe.
Water seeping down into the searingly hot
rocks below makes them melt and erupt
from volcanoes—a process that, over billions
of years, has created immense continents.

Circulating air currents in the atmosphere
carry moisture over the land. There, it soaks
into the ground and fuels the growth of
plants—just one aspect of the incredible
web of life that makes Earth so special. As
part of that life, we in turn have changed
the face of our planet in countless ways.

Using a rich combination of vivid images
and clear text, this book is the perfect guide
to how planet Earth works, and what
humanity has made of it. It covers every
aspect of its geography, from its formation
and structure to its turbulent weather,
restless geology, living landscapes, and the
countries and peoples of the world. This is
our planet, in all its glorious complexity.
7
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