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Books > Earth & environment > Geography > Physical geography > Topography
More than just a travel guide, The Call of the Mountains is a
lyrical testament to the power of the Scottish mountains to offer
anyone of reasonable fitness either simple enjoyment or a deeper
journey of transformation. From the pinnacles of Skye to the
rolling plateau of the Cairngorms; from the flanks of Ben Lomond to
the Pass of Glencoe; from the summit of Ben Nevis to far away Ben
Hope - these lands can be your gymnasiums, your art galleries and
your sacred spaces all in one. Based on 1,000 miles of trekking
across these mountains, this book shows you: * Where to find the
best views * How geology, history, culture, flora and fauna have
shaped these mountainscapes * How engagement with these lands can
nurture your spirit, as well as your body and mind
This book chronicles and explains the role of suburbs in North
American cities since the mid-twentieth century. Examining fifteen
case studies from New York to Vancouver, Atlanta to Chicago,
Montreal to Phoenix, The Life of North American Suburbs traces the
insightful connection between the evolution of suburbs and the
cultural dynamics of modern society. Suburbs are uniquely
significant spaces: their creation and evolution reflect the
shifting demographics, race relations, modes of production,
cultural fabric, and class structures of society at large. The case
studies investigate the place of suburbs within their wider
metropolitan constellations: the crucial role they play in the
cultural, economic, political, and spatial organization of the
city. Together, the chapters paint a compelling portrait of North
American cities and their dynamic suburban landscapes.
Family Hiking in the Smokies is specifically geared toward taking
children on excursions into the Great Smoky Mountains National
Park-the most visited national park in the United States. The park
offers much to its nearly ten million annual visitors. For families
who seek fun along with educational recreation, the park boasts
splendid views and enormous biological diversity. While the
guidebook concentrates on shorter day hikes, the book also presents
longer trails for overnight or weekend camping. Organized by
regions of the park, the forty-two concise trail descriptions
include many of the most popular destinations, such as Ramsey
Cascades, Grotto Falls, and Clingmans Dome Tower, as well as
overlooked gems such as Midnight Hole, Lynn Camp Prong, and Juney
Whank Falls. This fifth edition includes new trails not found in
the book's previous editions, and all are presented in a
user-friendly format. This delightful volume also includes specific
advice regarding safety, trail difficulty, and keeping children's
attention. In addition, Family Hiking in the Smokies provides
interesting educational sidebars about fauna, folklore, and
material culture along the way. This book, based on the experiences
of three expert hikers who have walked with their own children and
grandchildren in the park, will provide parents and grandparents
with a perfect guide for establishing an adult/child bond with the
natural world. HAL HUBBS, CHARLES MAYNARD, AND DAVID MORRIS are
longtime East Tennessee residents who have hiked together and with
their families for many years. The three friends formed Panther
Press, which originally published Waterfalls and Cascades of the
Great Smoky Mountains, along with many other titles on natural
history, particularly in the Smokies. Hal, Charles, and David have
worked as volunteers in the Smokies and have hiked in many national
parks throughout the country.
Snowdon - Yr Wyddfa - is the highest, most impressive and most
popular peak in Wales. This book is intended as a guide to
everything connected with the Snowdon massif, from its creation
millions of years ago to the best routes to the summit. The
author's passion for Snowdon encompasses its geology, flora and
fauna, industry, place names, famous climbs, poetry and myths -
everything which makes up its grand atmosphere. The book is also a
guide to what might happen in the future if we do not look after
this unique habitat. The mountain draws some 500,000 visitors to
its summit each year. Some arrive there the easy way - by train -
and Jones gives a fascinating picture of the trials and
tribulations of those who brought the Snowdon railway into being.
Walkers will use one or other of the stunning, occasionally scary,
walking tracks, which are all described in great detail. Modern
visitors cannot find Snowdon as it was, with its industries, its
old forests and its eagles, but this book provides a flavour of
what they might have experienced, even just a hundred years ago, as
well as an indepth commentary on the mountain's present day
attractions.
This book compiles available knowledge of the response of mountain
ecosystems to recent climate and land use change and intends to
bridge the gap between science, policy and the community concerned.
The chapters present key concepts, major drivers and key processes
of mountain response, providing transdisciplinary orientation to
mountain studies incorporating experiences of academics, community
leaders and policy-makers from developed and less developed
countries. The book chapters are arranged in two sections. The
first section concerns the response processes of mountain
environments to climate change. This section addresses climate
change itself (past, current and future changes of temperature and
precipitation) and its impacts on the cryosphere, hydrosphere,
biosphere, and human-environment systems. The second section
focuses on the response processes of mountain environments to land
use/land cover change. The case studies address effects of changing
agriculture and pastoralism, forest/water resources management and
urbanization processes, landscape management, and biodiversity
conservation. The book is designed as an interdisciplinary
publication which critically evaluates developments in mountains of
the world with contributions from both social and natural sciences.
The Patagonian Sublime provides a vivid, accessible, and
cutting-edge investigation of the green economy and New Left
politics in Argentina. Based on extensive field research in
Glaciers National Park and the mountain village of El Chalten,
Marcos Mendoza deftly examines the diverse social worlds of alpine
mountaineers, adventure trekkers, tourism entrepreneurs, seasonal
laborers, park rangers, land managers, scientists, and others
involved in the green economy. Mendoza explores the fraught
intersection of the green economy with the New Left politics of the
Nestor Kirchner and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner governments.
Mendoza documents the strategies of capitalist development,
national representation, and political rule embedded in the "green
productivist" agenda pursued by Kirchner and Fernandez. Mendoza
shows how Andean Patagonian communities have responded to the
challenges of community-based conservation, the fashioning of
wilderness zones, and the drive to create place-based monopolies
that allow ecotourism destinations to compete in the global
consumer economy.
This fully illustrated book is an introduction to the basic principles and concepts of mountain meteorology, and their application in natural resources management.
A cultural and literary history of mountains in classical antiquity
The mountainous character of the Mediterranean was a crucial factor
in the history of the ancient Greek and Roman world. The Folds of
Olympus is a cultural and literary history that explores the
important role mountains played in Greek and Roman religious,
military, and economic life, as well as in the identity of
communities over a millennium-from Homer to the early Christian
saints. Aimed at readers of ancient history and literature as well
as those interested in mountains and the environment, the book
offers a powerful account of the landscape at the heart of much
Greek and Roman culture. Jason Koenig charts the importance of
mountains in religion and pilgrimage, the aesthetic vision of
mountains in art and literature, the place of mountains in conquest
and warfare, and representations of mountain life. He shows how
mountains were central to the way in which the inhabitants of the
ancient Mediterranean understood the boundaries between the divine
and the human, and the limits of human knowledge and control. He
also argues that there is more continuity than normally assumed
between ancient descriptions of mountains and modern accounts of
the picturesque and the sublime. Offering a unique perspective on
the history of classical culture, The Folds of Olympus is also a
resoundingly original contribution to the literature on mountains.
In this compelling book, award-winning adventure writer and former
Lower Adirondack Search and Rescue team member Peter Bronski
chronicles true stories of survival and tragedy, from famous
historical cases during the early 20th century, to modern tales of
harrowing struggle in the mountains and wilderness. Extensively
researched, these gripping tales pull together historical accounts,
first-hand interviews, previously untold stories and expert
analysis to retrace each misadventure
One of Great Britain's finest climbers and adventurers, Leo
Houlding started out climbing at ten years of age in the Lake
District literally learning the ropes tackling the many historic
peaks and crags in the area. Honing his skills as he grew, at
eighteen Leo became one of the very first to free climb the mighty
El Capitan in the Yosemite Valley, California widely regarded as
the most impressive rock face on the planet cementing his
reputation as a world class climber. He has since gone on to not
only summit the world's tallest walls and toughest peaks, but has
become a twenty-first Century explorer, crossing continents to take
extreme sports to the most remote corners of Earth - from the
frozen mountains of Antarctica to the sweltering jungles of South
America How did a working class lad from the north of England scale
such heights and avoid the pitfalls and fatal accidents that have
struck down so many of his colleagues and friends? Honest, raw and
exhilarating, Closer to the Edge is Leo's 'warts-and-all' insight
into the extreme life of one of Britain's best climbers who is
active today and still planning epic adventures. In a page-turning
narrative, Leo describes his childhood inspirations to climb, his
mentors who guided him, and the exhilaration of those teenage years
when he broke into the public consciousness - such as his infamous
race against Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear. He will reveal to the
reader what drives him, how he assesses risk and judges how close
to the edge he can go and return safely, and how he balances this
with teaching his own children the lessons he has learnt in some of
the world's most dangerous and extreme places. Closer to the Edge
is the story of a remarkable climber and free spirit who has been
at the top of his game for over thirty years, with still more
mountains to explore.
Not Good Enough for Canada investigates the development of Canadian
immigration policy with respect to persons with a disease or
disability throughout the twentieth century. With an emphasis on
social history, this book examines the way the state operates
through legislation to achieve its goals of self-preservation even
when such legislation contradicts state commitments to equality
rights. Looking at the ways federal politicians, mainstream media,
and the judicial system have perceived persons with disabilities,
specifically immigrant applicants with disabilities, this book
reveals how Canadian immigration policy has systematically omitted
any reference to this group, rendering them socially invisible.
Longlisted for the 2020 William Hill Sports Book of the Year 'A
gripping history' THE ECONOMIST 'The World Beneath Their Feet
contains plenty of rollicking stories' THE TIMES 'Gripping' THE
SUNDAY TIMES 'So far as adventure stories go, this book is tops.'
Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump '[Ellsworth] recasts the era
as a great Himalayan race...[and] it works brilliantly...his
account of the 1953 ascent of Everest...feels unusually fresh' THE
SUNDAY TIMES 'Like if Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air met Lauren
Hillenbrand's Unbroken ... an inviting and engrossing read' SPORTS
ILLUSTRATED One of the most compelling international dramas of the
20th century and an unforgettable saga of survival, technological
innovation, and breathtaking human physical achievement-all set
against the backdrop of a world headed toward war. While tension
steadily rose between European powers in the 1930s, a different
kind of battle was raging across the Himalayas. Contingents from
Great Britain, Nazi Germany, and the United States had set up rival
camps at the base of the mountains, all hoping to become recognized
as the fastest, strongest, and bravest climbers in the world.
Carried on across nearly the entire sweep of the Himalayas, this
contest involved not only the greatest mountain climbers of the
era, but statesmen and millionaires, world-class athletes and bona
fide eccentrics, scientists and generals, obscure villagers and
national heroes. Centered in the 1930s, with one brief, shining
postwar coda, the contest was a struggle between hidebound
traditionalists and unknown innovators, one that featured new
techniques and equipment, unbelievable courage and physical
achievement, and unparalleled valor. And death. One Himalayan peak
alone, Nanga Parbat in Kashmir, claimed twenty-five lives in less
than three years. Climbing the Himalayas was the Greatest
Generation's moonshot--one shrouded in the onset of war,
interrupted by it, and then fully accomplished. A gritty,
fascinating history that promises to enrapture fans of Hampton
Side, Jon Krakauer, and Laura Hillenbrand, The World Beneath Their
Feet brings this forgotten story back to life.
Facing droughts, floods, and water security challenges, society is
increasingly forced to develop new policies and practices to cope
with the impacts of climate change. From taken-for-granted values
and perceptions to embodied, existential modes of engaging our
world, human perspectives impact decision-making and behaviour. The
Wonder of Water explores how human experience - including our
cultural paradigms, value systems, and personal biases - impacts
decisions around water. In many ways, the volume expands on the
growing field of water ethics to include questions around
environmental aesthetics, psychology, and ontology. And yet this
book is not simply for philosophers. On the contrary, a specific
aim is to explore how more informed philosophical dialogue will
lead to more insightful public policies and practices. Case studies
describe specific architectural and planning decisions, fisheries
policies, urban ecological restorations, and more. The overarching
phenomenological perspective, however, means that these discussions
emerge within a sensibility that recognizes the foundational
significance of human embodiment, culture, language, worldviews,
and, ultimately, moral attunement to place.
Many historians and political scientists argue that ties between
Canada and Latin America have been weak and intermittent because of
lack of mutual interest and common objectives. Has this record of
diverging paths changed as Canada has attempted to expand its
economic and diplomatic ties with the region? Has Canada become an
imperialist power? Canada's Past and Future in Latin America
investigates the historical origins of and more recent developments
in Canadian foreign policy in the region. It offers a detailed
evaluation of the Harper and Trudeau governments' approaches to
Latin America, touching on political diplomacy, bilateral
development cooperation, and civil society initiatives. Leading
scholars of Canada-Latin America relations offer insights from
unique perspectives on a range of issues, such as the impact of
Canadian mining investment, security relations, democracy
promotion, and the changing nature of Latin American migration to
Canada. Drawing on archival research, field interviews, and primary
sources, Canada's Past and Future in Latin America advances our
understanding of Canadian engagement with the region and evaluates
options for building stronger ties in the future.
Getting acquainted with local flora and fauna is the perfect way to
begin to understand the wonder of nature. The natural environment
of Southern Appalachia, with habitats that span the Blue Ridge to
the Cumberland Plateau, is one of the most biodiverse on earth. A
Literary Field Guide to Southern Appalachia-a hybrid literary and
natural history anthology-showcases sixty of the many species
indigenous to the region. Ecologically, culturally, and
artistically, Southern Appalachia is rich in paradox and
stereotype-defying complexity. Its species range from the iconic
and inveterate-such as the speckled trout, pileated woodpecker,
copperhead, and black bear-to the elusive and endangered-such as
the American chestnut, Carolina gorge moss, chucky madtom, and
lampshade spider. The anthology brings together art and science to
help the reader experience this immense ecological wealth. Stunning
images by seven Southern Appalachian artists and conversationally
written natural history information complement contemporary poems
from writers such as Ellen Bryant Voigt, Wendell Berry, Janisse
Ray, Sean Hill, Rebecca Gayle Howell, Deborah A. Miranda, Ron Rash,
and Mary Oliver. Their insights illuminate the wonders of the
mountain South, fostering intimate connections. The guide is an
invitation to get to know Appalachia in the broadest, most poetic
sense.
Kim Stanley Robinson first ventured into the Sierra Nevada
mountains during the summer of 1973. He returned from that
encounter a changed man, awed by a landscape that made him feel as
if he were simultaneously strolling through an art museum and
scrambling on a jungle gym like an energized child. He has returned
to the mountains throughout his life-more than a hundred trips-and
has gathered a vast store of knowledge about them. The High Sierra
is his lavish celebration of this exceptional place and an
exploration of what makes this span of mountains one of the most
compelling places on Earth. Over the course of a vivid and dramatic
narrative, Robinson describes the geological forces that shaped the
Sierras and the history of its exploration, going back to the
indigenous peoples who made it home and whose traces can still be
found today. He celebrates the people whose ideas and actions
protected the High Sierra for future generations. He describes
uniquely beautiful hikes and the trails to be avoided. Robinson's
own life-altering events, defining relationships, and unforgettable
adventures form the narrative's spine. And he illuminates the human
communion with the wild and with the sublime, including the
personal growth that only seems to come from time spent outdoors.
The High Sierra is a gorgeous, absorbing immersion in a place, born
out of a desire to understand and share one of the greatest
rapture-inducing experiences our planet offers. Packed with maps,
gear advice, more than 100 breathtaking photos, and much more, it
will inspire veteran hikers, casual walkers, and travel readers to
prepare for a magnificent adventure.
Mountains have long held an appeal for people around the world.
This book focusses on the diversity of perspectives, interaction
and role of tourism within these areas. Providing a vital update to
the current literature, it considers the interdisciplinary context
of communities, the creation of mountain tourism experiences and
the impacts tourism has on these environments. Including authors
from Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America, the development,
planning and governance issues are also covered.
In August 1979 twenty-seven-year-old Mike Trueman set sail from the
south-west coast of Wales, en route to Cornwall. The young army
helicopter pilot was helping to move his friend's yacht from
Northern Ireland to the south coast of England. But as they sailed
out into the Irish Sea, the sky turned progressively darker and the
winds gathered pace. Over the next twenty-four hours the two young
sailors battled to survive force-10 gales in what became known as
the Fastnet disaster and which claimed the lives of fifteen sailors
off the coast of Ireland.Almost seventeen years later, Trueman was
at Camp 2 at 6,400 metres on Mount Everest as the May 1996 tragedy
unfolded high above him. As stricken guides, clients and Sherpas
tried to survive the fierce storms which engulfed the upper
mountain, Trueman was able to descend and - using his twenty-four
years of experience as an officer in the British Army - coordinate
the rescue effort from Base Camp. The Storms is the remarkable
memoir of a British Army Gurkha officer. Trueman, a veteran of
twenty expeditions to the Himalaya, gives a candid account of life
inside expeditions to the highest mountain in the world. He gives a
unique personal perspective on the 1996 Everest storm, as well as
on the fateful day in May 1999 when Briton Mike Matthews
disappeared high on the mountain after he and Trueman had summited.
Most of us can watch an old episode of the holiday programme Wish
You Were Here without it having the life-changing effect that it
had on postman Edward Buckingham. For Ed, a young man from humble
origins in Cornwall, the draw of Kilimanjaro and the high mountains
of the world would change his life forever. It would also very
nearly end his life during a fall from high on Cho Oyu, the sixth
highest mountain in the world. Drawn to high places, Ed embarked on
a journey that would take him to the summit of the highest mountain
on every continent. His seven summits actually involved ten summits
- he climbed the highest summit in Western Europe, Mont Blanc, and
the highest in Continental Europe, Mount Elbrus, as well as
summiting Australia s Mount Kosciusko and the far more remote Papua
New Guinea summit of Carstenz Pyramid, the highest point in
Australasia. And, of course, Cho Oyu. In 7 Summits, Ed tells of
hardship and near-death experiences on Cho Oyu, the sheer scale and
suffering in being the first Cornishman to ascend Everest, as well
as his final summit, Mount Vinson in Antarctica. Ed develops as a
man throughout his quest. Always humble, working hard for the Royal
Mail delivering post to fund his trips, on his early trip to
Aconcagua and on his first attempt on Mont Blanc he is very much a
novice mountaineer, but his passion for the outdoors and
willingness to help his fellow climbers is always there. During his
fifteen-year quest Ed's experience grows, particularly in the
sub-Arctic of Alaska, where his ascent of Denali tested his stamina
and equipment to the limit. At the culmination of his quest, he
emerges as a capable climber, fit and strong and by sheer
determination has become a world-class athlete, running full and
ultra marathons, climbing mountains and delivering post.
Mountains cover a quarter of the Earth's land surface and a quarter
of the global population lives in or adjacent to these areas. The
global importance of mountains is recognized particularly because
they provide critical resources, such as water, food and wood;
contain high levels of biological and cultural diversity; and are
often places for tourism and recreation and/or of sacred
significance. This major revision of Larry Price's book Mountains
and Man (1981) is both timely and highly appropriate. The past
three decades have been a period of remarkable progress in our
understanding of mountains from an academic point of view. Of even
greater importance is that society at large now realizes that
mountains and the people who reside in them are not isolated from
the mainstream of world affairs, but are vital if we are to achieve
an environmentally sustainable future. Mountain Geography is a
comprehensive resource that gives readers an in-depth understanding
of the geographical processes occurring in the world's mountains
and the overall impact of these regions on culture and society as a
whole. The volume begins with an introduction to how mountains are
defined, followed by a comprehensive treatment of their physical
geography: origins, climatology, snow and ice, landforms and
geomorphic processes, soils, vegetation, and wildlife. The
concluding chapters provide an introduction to the human geography
of mountains: attitudes toward mountains, people living in mountain
regions and their livelihoods and interactions within dynamic
environments, the diverse types of mountain agriculture, and the
challenges of sustainable mountain development.
Truly high altitude aquatic ecosystems are found primarily at lower
latitudes: vast regions in the tropical part of the Andes, the
Himalayas and Tibet, considerable areas in East Africa, and minor
zones of Oceania. However, despite their abundance in these
regions, their biology and ecology has never been summarized in
detail. A current synthesis of the topic is therefore timely. High
altitude waters are ideal systems with which to address a broad
range of key and topical themes in ecology, both at the regional
and global scales. From specific functional adaptations of aquatic
species to harsh environmental conditions through to global
diversity patterns along altitudinal gradients and extinction risks
of mountain populations due to vanishing glaciers, ecological
patterns and processes found in high altitude waters are both
diverse and singular. Although poorly considered in classical
textbooks of ecology and limnology, high altitude waters have much
to offer existing (aquatic) ecological theories and applications.
These often threatened and exploited habitats are also ideal for
studying the intimate interactions between social and ecological
systems that characterize the majority of ecosystems in the
Anthropocene.
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