F.Y.B.Sc. | Sem I | GG-101-102
GEOGRAPHY
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY I – II
GG 101 : INTRODUCTION TO LITHOSPHERE
GG 102 : MORPHOLOGY OF LANDSCAPE

Geography is amongst the oldest earth science and much of the geographical work is actually the contribution made by different Greek scholars. The word geography was coined by Eratosthenes, a famous Greek scholar in third century B.C. Geography is actually a combination of two words ‘Geo’ means earth and ‘Graphy’ means to describe, hence if we look at the literal meaning of term geography then it stands for description of the earth surface.
Lithosphere is solid rocky crust that covers the entire surface of the earth including thebottom of the oceans. Beneath the surface of the Earth there are distinct layers, somewhat comparable to that of an onion. These layers are divided based on various characteristics including density, mineralogy and geochemistry. The outermost layer is known as the ‘lithosphere’ coming from the Ancient Greek ‘lithos’, meaning ‘rocky’. This layer is defined by its mechanical properties; being rigid and non-viscous, it is separated from the underlying layer by a specific rheological boundary
The earth crust is a habitat to a variety of living organisms in the biosphere ecosystem. Different reliefs like mountains, hills plains etc are created on the earth surface by endogenetic forces which introduce diversity in the habitats. The exogenetic forces originates from the atmosphere in form of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen etc giving rise to different kind of climate’s on earth surface. These forces also help in circulation and exchange of heat between the atmosphere and earth surface and on formation of different landforms by various denudational works on one hand and diversity in the habitats formed by endogenetic forces on the other.
A landscape is part of the Earth’s surface that can be viewed at one time from one place. It consists of the geographic features that mark, or are characteristic of, a particular area. Landscaping is a complicated endeavor that requires one to be knowledgeable and skilled in various disciplines. The land surrounding a home is the canvas, and it is the landscaper’s job to turn that into something spectacular. A natural landscape is made up of a collection of landforms, such as mountains, hills, plans, and plateaus, Lakes, streams, soils (such as sand or clay), and natural vegetation are other features of natural landscapes. Surface processes comprise the action of water, wind, ice, fire, and living things on the surface of the Earth, along with chemical reactions that form soils and alter material properties, the stability and rate of change of topography under the force of gravity, and other factors, such as (in the very recent past) human alteration of the landscape.
It is our pleasure to present this book Introduction to Lithosphere to the student of the F.Y.B.Sc. and teachers from different universities especially for KBC, North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon. The teachers will find lot of deficiencies in this book which are made according to new syllabus.