Charles A. Heatwole 
Geography For Dummies 

Geography is more than just trivia, it can help you understand why
we import or export certain products, predict climate change, and
even show you where to place fire and police stations when planning
a city.

If you’re curious about the world and want to know more
about this fascinating place, Geography For Dummies is a
great place to start. Whether you’re sixteen or sixty, this
fun and easy guide will help you make more sense of the world you
live in.

Geography For Dummies gives you the tools to interpret
the Earth’s grid, read and interpret maps, and to appreciate
the importance and implications of geographical features such as
volcanoes and fault lines. Plus, you’ll see how erosion and
weathering have and will change the earth’s surface and how
it impacts people. You’ll get a firm hold of everything from
the physical features of the world to political divisions,
population, culture, and economics. You’ll also discover:

* How you can have a rainforest on one side of a mountain range
and a desert on the other

* How ocean currents help to determine the geography of
climates

* How to choose a good location for a shopping mall

* How you can properly put the plant to good use in everything
you do

* How climate affects humans and how humans have affected the
climate

* How human population has spread and the impact it has had on
our world

If you’re mixed up by map symbols or mystified by Mercator
projections Geography For Dummies can help you find your
bearings. Filled with key insights, easy-to-read maps, and cool
facts, this book will expand your understanding of geography and
today’s world.

Table of Content

Introduction.

Part I: Getting Grounded: The Geographic Basics.

Chapter 1: Geography: Understanding a World of Difference.

Chapter 2: Thinking Like a Geographer.

Chapter 3: Grid and Bear It.

Chapter 4: Maps That Lie Flat Lie!

Chapter 5: Getting the Message of Maps.

Part II: Getting Physical: Land, Water, and Air.

Chapter 6: Taking Shape: The Land We Live On.

Chapter 7: Giving Earth a Facelift.

Chapter 8: Water, Water Everywhere.

Chapter 9: Warming Up and Chilling Out: Why Climates Happen.Chapter 10: From Rainforests to Ice Caps: The Geography of Climates.

Part III: Peopling the Planet.

Chapter 11: Nobody Here but Us Six Billion.

Chapter 12: Shift Happens: Migration.

Chapter 13: Culture: The Spice of Life and Place.

Chapter 14: Where Do You Draw the Line?

Part IV: Putting the Planet to Use.

Chapter 15: Getting Down to Business.

Chapter 16: An Appetite for Resources.

Chapter 17: CBD to Suburbia: Urban Geography.

Chapter 18: Impacts on the Environment.

Part V: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 19: Ten Organizations for Geographic Information.

Chapter 20: Ten Interesting Geographical Occupations.

Chapter 21: Ten Things You Can Forget.

Chapter 22: Ten Great Geographical Web Sites.

Index.

Book Registration Information.

About the author

Charles A. Heatwole, Ph D, is Chairperson of the Department of Geography at Hunter College of CUNY and has taught Geography for 25 years.