1. World Regional Geography Chapter 2: Physical Processes That Shape World Regions

5. Tectonic Plates & Their Movement Earthquakes, volcanoes, and other geologic events are concentrated where plates separate, collide, or slide past one another. Where they separate, rifting produces very low land elevations or the emergence of new crust on the ocean floor.

6. Concentric Layers of the Earth

10. World Precipitation Map Some geographers argue that this is perhaps the most important of all maps in understanding life on earth.

11. Supercell Thunderstorm Complex

12. Types of Precipitation

13. Cyclone in the Northern Hemisphere

14. Hurricane Fran September 1996

16. Wind and Pressure Systems (shading indicates wetter areas)

18. Earth vs. Sun at the Solstices Summer Solstice Northern Hemisphere Winter Solstice Southern Hemisphere Winter Solstice Northern Hemisphere Summer Solstice Southern Hemisphere

20. World Climate Types

21. World Biomes

22. Ice Cap Biome British Columbia, Canada The ice cap biome is devoid of vegetation, except in very few spots where enough ice or snow melts in the summer to allow tundra vegetation to grow.

23. Tundra Northern Norway Tundra vegetation is composed of mosses, lichens, shrubs, dwarfed trees, and some grasses.

24. Coniferous Forest British Columbia, Canada Needleleaf evergreen coniferous trees can stand long periods when the ground is frozen, depriving them of moisture. Coniferous forests occupy large areas of subarctic climate.

25. Desert Shrub Sinai Peninsula, Egypt Desert shrub vegetation is often found only in dry riverbeds in arid climates.

26. Steppe Eastern Turkey The steppe biome is composed mainly of short grasses and is also referred to as temperate grassland.

27. Tropical Rain Forest Dominica, West Indies The tropical rain forest climate is rainy and occurs at low latitudes. Heat and moisture are almost always present in the biome.

28. Tropical Deciduous Forest Western India The tropical deciduous forest is found in tropical areas with a dry season that still has enough moisture for tree growth. Note the Asiatic lions in the photo.

29. Scrub and Thorn Forest Northern Zimbabwe The tropical deciduous forest thins out to low, sparse scrub and thorn forest in drier areas.

30. Savanna Southern Kenya Savanna vegetation, which has taller grasses than the steppe, occurs in areas of greater overall rainfall and more pronounced wet and dry seasons.

31. Mediterranean Scrub Forest Southern California, USA The Mediterranean climate is characterized by rainless summers contrasted with cyclonic or orographic precipitation in the winter.

32. Temperate Mixed Forest Southern Missouri, USA The mixed forest is a transitional area where both needleleaf and broadleaf trees are present and compete with each other.

33. Undifferentiated Highland Vegetation San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA Undifferentiated highland climates have a range of conditions based on elevation and exposure to wind and sun. The numerous biomes are impossible to map on a small scale.

35. World Biodiversity Hot Spots 34 Priority Regions Identified by Conservation International

38. Tsukuji Fish Market Tokyo, Japan

39. Percentage of Ocean Fish Species “Collapsed”

42. Carbon Dioxide vs. Mean Global Temperature

44. The Greenhouse Effect

46. Ice-Free North Pole