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Landscape

geography Maturity 11-13 Next article →

A landscape is everything you can see when you look at an area of land. It is made of many different parts working together. Some parts are landforms like mountains, hills, or cliffs. You might also see water bodies like rivers, lakes, or the sea.

Adams The Tetons and the Snake River
Adams The Tetons and the Snake River

Other parts include living things like plants and trees. Even the weather and the light can change a landscape. These things combine to create a view that looks unique.

Lisse, Netherlands - panoramio (44)
Lisse, Netherlands - panoramio (44)

Many forces work to shape how the Earth looks. Surface processes like wind, water, and ice can carve the land. Even living things and chemical reactions in the soil play a part.

El Turbó (Baixa Ribagorça)
El Turbó (Baixa Ribagorça)

There are also geologic processes happening deep down. These can push up mountain ranges or grow new volcanoes. Gravity also helps move material across the surface. These forces together create the different shapes we see every day.

People also change the land in many ways. When people modify the land to make it look better, it is called landscaping. This can include making gardens or parks.

Stourhead garden
Stourhead garden

People also build things like roads, buildings, and farms. These human elements blend with nature to create a special sense of place. This mix of people and nature can help define a group's identity. It makes one region feel different from another region.

History tells us where the word landscape comes from. The word arrived in England after the fifth century. It came from the words landscipe or landscaef used by the Anglo-Saxons. These words described spaces made by humans.

Medieval Ridge and Furrow above Wood Stanway - geograph.org.uk - 640050
Medieval Ridge and Furrow above Wood Stanway - geograph.org.uk - 640050

Later, around the sixteenth century, the word changed. Dutch painters used the term landschap for their paintings. They focused on showing natural scenery or rural views. The first recorded use of the modern word was in 1598.

There are many different types of landscapes across the globe. You might find icy landscapes in polar regions. There are also vast, dry deserts and green tropical rainforests.

Inside the Batad rice terraces
Inside the Batad rice terraces

Some areas are filled with mountains, while others are coastal. You can even find urban landscapes in big cities. These are called cityscapes. They show the physical parts of a city. Even the sea has its own type of view called a seascape.

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🖼️ Images & Media (14)
File:Stanisław Masłowski (1853-1926), Autumn landscape in Rybiniszki, 1902.jpeg
Stanisław Masłowski (1853-1926), Autumn...
File:Lisse, Netherlands - panoramio (44).jpg
Lisse, Netherlands - panoramio (44).jpg
File:El Turbó (Baixa Ribagorça).jpg
El Turbó (Baixa Ribagorça).jpg
File:Medieval Ridge and Furrow above Wood Stanway - geograph.org.uk - 640050.jpg
Medieval Ridge and Furrow above Wood...
File:Inside the Batad rice terraces.jpg
Inside the Batad rice terraces.jpg
File:Stourhead garden.jpg
Stourhead garden.jpg
File:Jichang Yuan.jpg
Jichang Yuan.jpg
File:Central park manhattan 2 New York photo D Ramey Logan.jpg
Central park manhattan 2 New York photo D...
File:Damarri001.jpg
Damarri001.jpg
File:Hambledon Hill towards Stourton Tower 20070730.jpg
Hambledon Hill towards Stourton Tower 20070730.jpg
File:Adams The Tetons and the Snake River.jpg
Adams The Tetons and the Snake River.jpg
File:Salomon van Ruisdael Deventer.jpg
Salomon van Ruisdael Deventer.jpg

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