Principles of Physical Geography Homepage

 
Sugar Loaf Mountain, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil..  Granitic gneiss of Sugar Loaf Mountain rising to meet urban sprawl and air pollution (ozone -the brownish band in the atmosphere above the mountains).  I took the photo while standing on Corcavado next to Christ the Redeemer (the really big Jesus with outstretched hands looking over the Bay).  Despite environmental and developmental concerns, Rio is an amazing place.  There is grandeur and grace in the physical geography that is reflected in the eyes and hopes of its people.


The Yenisei River at Kurtak in Siberia (left thumbnail).  College Students From the Krasnoyarsk Pedagogical University Taking  Break From Geomorphology Fieldwork on Mighty Yenisei River (right thumbnail).

 The vast Yenisei River is the largest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean, and at 3,445 miles is the fifth longest river in the world.  The middle section, where I was working in a field camp, is largely controlled by some of the largest hydroelectric dams in the world.  The dams attracted industry and the need for a workforce in isolated Siberia.  A steady stream of migration from the populated west following the trans-Siberian railroad and, in-part, gulag labor filled this need during Soviet times.  Industrial contamination remains a serious problem on the Yenisei in an area that is hard to monitor due to its remoteness.   While walking along the banks of the river, studying massive bank failures due to damming, I found many human artifacts such as stone tools, illustrating the long standing important role that the Yenisei played to ancient nomadic people.  If you are wondering, the water was not that cold!

 


Physical Geography Course Materials, Assignments, and Readings
 


Course Materials
 
Course Assignments Course Readings
Course Syllabus Exam Reviews
Allen, Tracy 2001 Physiographic and Human Responses to Flooding in the Lower Meghna River of Bangladesh 
  Short Paper Writing Guidelines  

PowerPoint slides of cloud type/identification and atmospheric lift in mechanisms (be able to draw and label  the lifting mechanism on an exam)

 

Most of the reading for this course come from your textbook:  Physical Geography of the Global Environment
Physical Geography Dendrochronology Lab Pictures

Lab: Classifying and Interpreting World Climate - Dichotomous Key to the Koeppen Climatic Classification System

Lab: How to use the Dichotomous Key: Example - Oneonta New York

Allen, Tracy.  2008. Land Between Waters:  Landscape Changes of the Eastern Shore

Assessing Password Protected Files

To access password protected files on this site follow these directions:

Username:            oneonta\your user name
Password:             your password

Help:  The username and password are the same username and password that you use to logon to your SUNY Oneonta email account.

 

Directions on How to Create a Climograph

 


Click this link for Milne Library Electronic Reserves

Some of the readings for this class will be posted to Milne Library Electronic Reserve.  The articles are very easy to access and download. You will need a password to access the site.  The password was supplied to you in class.  By clicking the link below, you will be taken directly to the Electronic Reserves Homepage.  Click Electronic Reserves, then click Electronic Reserves and Reserves Pages, then click Course Reserves Pages by Instructor, then select Instructor Allen out of the dropdown list, then click on your course name. Type the password and you will see the list of readings.  Select the appropriate reading as you where instructed on the syllabus and by your professor.

  Alpine Glacial Erosional Processes and Landscape Features