LANDSCAPES 1 THE CONCEPT OF LANDSCAPE Answer these questions. a. What does the word landscape make you think of? b. Which do you find more attractive: an urban or a natural landscape? c. When do you think it is necessary to change a landscape? to affect: influenzare cactus-dotted: punteggiato di cactus cattle: bestiame dam: diga deciduous: caducifoglio ditch: fossato hilly: collinoso neighbourhood: circondario sandy: sabbioso A man-made landscape: Burj Khalifa tower, Dubai A landscape is part of the Earth surface that can be seen at one time from one place. It consists of the geographic features that are characteristic of a particular area. The term comes from the Dutch word landschap, the name given to paintings of the countryside in the 16th century. Geographers have borrowed the word from artists. Landscapes can be natural or man-made. A natural landscape is made up of different landforms, such as mountains, hills, plains and highlands, lakes, streams, soils and natural vegetation. A desert landscape, for instance, usually indicates sandy soil and few deciduous trees. Even desert landscapes can vary: the hilly sand dunes of the Sahara Desert landscape are very different from the cactus-dotted landscape of the Mojave Desert of the American Southwest, for instance. A landscape that people have modified is called a cultural landscape. People and the plants they grow, the animals they care for, and the structures they build make up cultural landscapes. Such landscapes can vary greatly. They can be as different as a vast cattle ranch in Argentina or the urban landscape of Tokyo, Japan. UNESCO protects cultural landscapes from damage and identifies them as tourist destinations. The growth of technology has increased our ability to change a natural landscape. An example of human impact on landscape can be seen along the coastline of the Netherlands. Water from the North Sea was pumped out of certain areas, revealing the fertile soil below. Ditches and dams were built to keep water from these areas, now used for farming and other purposes. By studying natural and cultural landscapes, geographers learn how people s activities affect the land. Their studies may suggest ways that will help us protect the delicate balance of the Earth s ecosystems.