The course focuses primarily on aspects of physical geography, concerned with the principles and concepts in which the family of natural sciences is nestled among larger sciences. The natural environment is the starting point for geographical studies and it is essential to understand the elements which make up this environment. The core areas of this course comprise the characteristics of the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere and as a student you are expected to have a broad working knowledge of the main features of each of these areas. Emphasis will be placed on the driving forces and processes in these spheres. The interaction of Earth physical systems and the spatial variation of the aspects will be considered based on the consequences of physical processes across the Earth surface. An appreciation of the aspects of physical geography remains critical for an understanding of the discipline of geography and development studies.