Introduction Geography, Law, and Landscape: Reflections from 30,000 Feet

Abstract

To geographers and their fellow travelers, there are few greater treats than to fly a considerable distance over land on a clear day with a view unobstructed by the airplane wing. Let us imagine an idealized flight from San Francisco to Boston. Between the sourdough vendors and live lobster purveyors of those two airports stretch about 2,700 miles of air distance. Along the way, the route traverses a succession of geographic regions marked by vivid contrasts in terrain, vegetation, land use, and extent of urban development. Even the casual observer can scarcely fail to notice and perhaps wonder about the diversity of geographic landscapes, both physical features such as deserts, mountain ranges, and plains as well as human patterns of rural and urban land use. The window-gazer may attempt to annotate the passing scene with speculation about what accounts for the extreme variation in what is seen or imagined in the landscapes below. Such speculation is thinking geographically.