Faculty Program Environment - Economics and the Earth's Environment (B.A.) (54 credits)
Offered by: Bieler School of Environment (Faculty of Science)
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Program credit weight: 54
Program Description
Understanding Earth's geologic processes provides us with the knowledge to mitigate many of our society's environmental impacts due to resource extraction and waste disposal. This knowledge is not always enough, as economics often plays a controlling role in how we use and abuse our environment.
This domain educates students in the fundamentals of economics and Earth sciences. The fundamentals of economics are provided, as is their application to the effects of economic choices on Earth's environment. Examples of these applications include the economic effects of public policy toward resource industries and methods of waste disposal, and the potential effects of global warming on the global economy. Students also learn of minerals, rocks, soils, and waters that define much of Earth's environment and how these materials interact with each other and with the atmosphere. Courses in specific subdisciplines of Earth sciences combined with courses presenting a global vision of how the Earth and its environment operate provide the student with the necessary knowledge of geologic processes. Examples of this knowledge include the effects of mineral and energy extraction on the environment and how industrial waste interacts with solids and liquids in the environment. The Earth science and economics studies merge in the final year when the students apply what they have learned in the domain to current environmental issues.
Degree Requirements — B.A. students
To be eligible for a B.A. degree, a student must fulfil all Faculty and program requirements as indicated in Degree Requirements for the Faculty of Arts.
We recommend that students consult an Arts OASIS advisor for degree planning.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Program Prerequisites or Corequisites
To graduate from the Faculty Program in Environment, students are required to complete these courses by the end of their U1 year. These courses can be taken using the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option. See: http://www.mcgill.ca/study/university_regulations_and_resources/undergra... for details.
Numeracy
3 credits of the following, or equivalent (e.g., CEGEP objective OOUN):
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MATH 139 | Calculus 1 with Precalculus. | 4 |
Calculus 1 with Precalculus. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Review of trigonometry and other Precalculus topics. Limits, continuity, derivative. Differentiation of elementary functions. Antidifferentiation. Applications. | ||
| MATH 140 | Calculus 1. | 3 |
Calculus 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Review of functions and graphs. Limits, continuity, derivative. Differentiation of elementary functions. Antidifferentiation. Applications. | ||
Basic Science
3 credits of the following, or equivalent (e.g., CEGEP objectives Chemistry OOUL):
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AECH 110 | General Chemistry 1. | 4 |
General Chemistry 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The course will be a study of the fundamental principles of atomic structure, valence theory and the periodic table. | ||
| CHEM 110 | General Chemistry 1. | 4 |
General Chemistry 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of the fundamental principles of atomic structure, radiation and nuclear chemistry, valence theory, coordination chemistry, and the periodic table. | ||
Other Suggested First Year (U1) Courses
For suggestions on courses to take in your first year (U1), you can consult the "Bieler School of Environment Student Handbook" available on the website (http://www.mcgill.ca/environment), or contact Ms. Kathy Roulet, the Program Adviser (kathy.roulet@mcgill.ca).
Program Requirements
Note: Students are required to take a maximum of 34 credits at the 200 level and a minimum of 12 credits at the 400 level or higher in this program. This includes core and required courses, but does not include the program pre-requisites or co-requisites listed above.
Location Note: When planning your schedule and registering for courses, you should verify where each course is offered because courses for this program are taught at both McGill's Downtown campus and at the Macdonald campus in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.
Core: Required Courses (18 credits)
Location Note: Core required courses for this program are taught at both McGill's Downtown campus and at the Macdonald campus in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. You should register in Section 001 of an ENVR course that you plan to take on the Downtown campus, and in Section 051 of an ENVR course that you plan to take on the Macdonald campus.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENVR 200 | The Global Environment. | 3 |
The Global Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change. | ||
| ENVR 201 | Society, Environment and Sustainability. | 3 |
Society, Environment and Sustainability. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course deals with how scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional and behavioural factors mediate society-environment interactions. Issues discussed include population and resources; consumption, impacts and institutions; integrating environmental values in societal decision-making; and the challenges associated with, and strategies for, promoting sustainability. Case studies in various sectors and contexts are used. | ||
| ENVR 202 | The Evolving Earth. | 3 |
The Evolving Earth. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems. | ||
| ENVR 203 | Knowledge, Ethics and Environment. | 3 |
Knowledge, Ethics and Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies. | ||
| ENVR 301 | Environmental Research Design. | 3 |
Environmental Research Design. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Techniques used in design and completion of environmental research projects. Problem definition, data sources and use of appropriate strategies and methodologies. Principles underlying research design are emphasized, including critical thinking, recognizing causal relationships, ideologies and bias in research, and when and where to seek expertise. | ||
| ENVR 400 | Environmental Thought. | 3 |
Environmental Thought. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars. | ||
Core: Complementary Course – Senior Research Project (3 credits)
Only 3 credits will be applied to the program: extra credits will count as electives.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AEBI 427 | Barbados Interdisciplinary Project. | 6 |
Barbados Interdisciplinary Project. Terms offered: Summer 2025 The planning of projects and research activities related to tropical food, nutrition, or energy at the local, regional, or national scale in Barbados. Projects and activities designed in consultation with university instructors, government, NGO, or private partners, and prepared by teams of 2-3 students working cooperatively with these mentors. | ||
| ENVR 401 | Environmental Research. | 3 |
Environmental Research. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Students work in an interdisciplinary team on a real-world research project involving problem definition, methodology development, social, ethical and environmental impact assessment, execution of the study, and dissemination of results to the research community and to the people affected. Teams begin defining their projects during the preceding summer. | ||
| ENVR 451 | Research in Panama. | 6 |
Research in Panama. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Research projects will be developed by instructors in consultation with Panamanian universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Project groups will consist of four to six students working with a Panamanian institution. Topics will be relevant to Panama: e.g., protection of the Canal watershed, economical alternatives to deforestation, etc. | ||
| FSCI 444 | Barbados Research Project. | 6 |
Barbados Research Project. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A research project that is supervised by McGill academic staff and is conducted in collaboration with local partners. The project topic must relate to the field of sustainability relating to the Caribbean or Barbados specifically. | ||
Domain: Required Courses (15 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 230D1 | Microeconomic Theory. | 3 |
Microeconomic Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The introductory course for Economics Major students in microeconomic theory. In depth and critical presentation of the theory of consumer behaviour, theory of production and cost curves, theory of the firm, theory of distribution, welfare economics and the theory of general equilibrium. | ||
| ECON 230D2 | Microeconomic Theory. | 3 |
Microeconomic Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See ECON 230D1 for course description. | ||
| ECON 405 | Natural Resource Economics. | 3 |
Natural Resource Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Topics include: Malthusian and Ricardian Scarcity; optimal depletion of renewable and non-renewable resources; exploration, risk and industry structure, and current resources, rent and taxation. Current public policies applied to the resource industries, particularly those of a regulatory nature. | ||
| EPSC 210 | Introductory Mineralogy. | 3 |
Introductory Mineralogy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Elementary crystallography, chemistry and identification of the principal rock-forming and ore minerals, in hand specimens and using optical microscopy. Demonstrations of other techniques applied to the identification of minerals and to the analysis of their composition and structure. Optional 2-day field trip. | ||
| EPSC 240 | Geology in the Field. | 3 |
Geology in the Field. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Lectures and field-based exercises, held locally on campus and in the Montreal area, introduce students to the reading and interpretation of a topographic map, the basic description of a stratigraphic section and the inference of its depositional environment, the nature of intrusive contacts, and the field measurement of some structural features and geophysical properties. Students plot geological information on a map, identify landforms in aerial views and learn the tectonic features diagnostic of plate margins. By the end of the course, the students relate a geological map to the geological history of Quebec. | ||
Domain: Complementary Courses (18 credits)
18 credits are selected from various categories as follows:
Statistics (3 credits)
One of the following Statistics courses or equivalent:
Note: Credit given for Statistics courses is subject to certain restrictions. Students should consult the "Course Overlap" information in the "Course Requirements" section for the Faculty of Arts.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AEMA 310 | Statistical Methods 1. | 3 |
Statistical Methods 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs. | ||
| GEOG 202 | Statistics and Spatial Analysis. | 3 |
Statistics and Spatial Analysis. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Exploratory data analysis, univariate descriptive and inferential statistics, non-parametric statistics, correlation and simple regression. Problems associated with analysing spatial data such as the 'modifiable areal unit problem' and spatial autocorrelation. Statistics measuring spatial pattern in point, line and polygon data. | ||
| MATH 203 | Principles of Statistics 1. | 3 |
Principles of Statistics 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Examples of statistical data and the use of graphical means to summarize the data. Basic distributions arising in the natural and behavioural sciences. The logical meaning of a test of significance and a confidence interval. Tests of significance and confidence intervals in the one and two sample setting (means, variances and proportions). | ||
Economics
6 credits from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AGEC 333 | Resource Economics. | 3 |
Resource Economics. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The role of resources in the environment, use of resources, and management of economic resources within the firm or organization. Problem-solving, case studies involving private and public decision-making in organizations are utilized. | ||
| ECON 209 | Macroeconomic Analysis and Applications. | 3 |
Macroeconomic Analysis and Applications. Terms offered: Summer 2025 A university-level introduction to national income determination, money and banking, inflation, unemployment and economic policy. | ||
| ECON 326 | Ecological Economics. | 3 |
Ecological Economics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Macroeconomic and structural aspects of the ecological crisis. A course in which subjects discussed include the conflict between economic growth and the laws of thermodynamics; the search for alternative economic indicators; the fossil fuels crisis; and "green'' fiscal policy. | ||
| ECON 347 | Economics of Climate Change. | 3 |
Economics of Climate Change. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course focuses on the economic implications of, and problems posed by, predictions of global warming due to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. Attention is given to economic policies such as carbon taxes and tradeable emission permits and to the problems of displacing fossil fuels with new energy technologies. | ||
| ECON 416 | Topics in Economic Development 2. | 3 |
Topics in Economic Development 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course gives students a broad overview of the economics of developing countries. The course covers micro and macro topics, with particular emphasis on the economic analysis at the micro level. | ||
| ECON 511 | Energy, Economy and Environment. | 3 |
Energy, Economy and Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Interdisciplinary study of the short-term and long-term interactions between economic activity, energy usage and the environment. Implications of rising fossil fuels usage for environmental damage and its consequences for the future. The political economy of energy in national politics and international relations; the interface of energy and financial flows; the challenge of globally managing toxic residues. | ||
Advanced Courses (9 credits)
9 credits chosen from two areas:
Area 1: Development/Environmental Management
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AEBI 423 | Sustainable Land Use. | 3 |
Sustainable Land Use. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Management, preservation, and utilization of forage crops in sustainable tropical environments; examination of their value as livestock feed in terms of nutritional composition and impact on animal performance; land use issues as it pertains to forage and animal production in insular environments. | ||
| AGRI 550 | Sustained Tropical Agriculture. | 3 |
Sustained Tropical Agriculture. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Contrast theory and practice in defining agricultural environmental "challenges" in the Neotropics. Indigenous and appropriate technological means of mitigation. Soil management and erosion, water scarcity, water over-abundance, and water quality. Explore agro-ecosystem protection via field trips and project designs. Institutional context of conservation strategies, NGO links, and public participation. | ||
| ANTH 451 | Research in Society and Development in Africa. 1 | 3 |
Research in Society and Development in Africa. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Instruction focuses on three goals: 1) existing research in selected core thematic areas, 2) participating in interdisciplinary team research, 3) developing powers of observation and independent inquiry. Students will be expected to develop research activities and interdisciplinary perspectives, and to become conversant with advances in local research in their field. | ||
| BIOL 451 | Research in Ecology and Development in Africa. 1 | 3 |
Research in Ecology and Development in Africa. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Development of observation and independent inquiry skills through: 1) participation in short-term project modules in collaboration with existing researchers; 2) participation in interdisciplinary team research on topics selected to allow comparative analysis of field sites; 3) active and systematic observation, documentation, and integration of field experience in ecology and development issues. | ||
| ECON 305 | Industrial Organization. | 3 |
Industrial Organization. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course analyzes the structure, conduct, and performance of industries, particularly but not exclusively in Canada. Topics include effects of mergers, barriers to entry, product line and promotion policies, vertical integration, and R D policies of firms. | ||
| ECON 313 | Economic Development 1. | 3 |
Economic Development 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Microeconomic theories of economic development and empirical evidence on population, labour, firms, poverty. Inequality and environment. | ||
| ECON 314 | Economic Development 2. | 3 |
Economic Development 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Macroeconomic development issues, including theories of growth, public finance, debt, currency crises, corruption, structural adjustment, democracy and global economic organization. | ||
| ECON 408 | Public Sector Economics 1. | 3 |
Public Sector Economics 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Theoretical and empirical economic analysis of the public sector with an emphasis on public goods and government spending. Study of Canadian institutions in international perspective. | ||
| ECON 409 | Public Sector Economics 2. | 3 |
Public Sector Economics 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Theoretical and empirical economic analysis of the public sector with an emphasis on taxation. Study of Canadian institutions in international perspective. | ||
| ENVB 437 | Assessing Environmental Impact. | 3 |
Assessing Environmental Impact. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Principles and practice of Environmental Assessment (EA) in Canada and internationally. Exploration of issues surrounding impact assessment for sustainable development in different sectors, including their limitations. | ||
| ENVB 529 | GIS for Natural Resource Management. 1 | 3 |
GIS for Natural Resource Management. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques to the presentation and analysis of ecological information, including sources and capture of spatial data; characterizing, transforming, displaying spatial data; and spatial analysis to solve resource management problems. | ||
| ENVR 421 | Montreal: Environmental History and Sustainability. | 3 |
Montreal: Environmental History and Sustainability. Terms offered: Summer 2025 This course will focus on the role of place and history in the cities in which we live and in our understanding of sustainability. Each year, students will work to develop a historical reconstruction of the natural environment of Montreal and of its links to the cultural landscape, building on the work of previous cohorts of students. | ||
| ENVR 422 | Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis. | 3 |
Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Applied and experience-based learning opportunities are employed to critically assess Montreal as a sustainable city through research, discussion, and field trips. The urban environment is considered through various specific dimensions, ranging from: waste, energy, urban agriculture, green spaces and design, or transportation. | ||
| GEOG 201 | Introductory Geo-Information Science. 1 | 3 |
Introductory Geo-Information Science. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An introduction to Geographic Information Systems. The systematic management of spatial data. The use and construction of maps. The use of microcomputers and software for mapping and statistical work. Air photo and topographic map analyses. | ||
| GEOG 302 | Environmental Management 1. | 3 |
Environmental Management 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes. | ||
| GEOG 340 | Sustainability in the Caribbean. | 3 |
Sustainability in the Caribbean. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The local environmental, social, historical, political and economic context of Barbados and the Caribbean. The small island developing States (SIDS), and why those nations are more vulnerable to global environmental challenges. The 17 Sustainability Development Goals of the United Nations, with a focus on the leadership role played by Barbados for the entire Caribbean region. | ||
| GEOG 404 | Environmental Management 2. | 3 |
Environmental Management 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Practical application of environmental planning, analysis and management techniques with reference to the needs and problems of developing areas. Special challenges posed by cultural differences and traditional resource systems are discussed. This course involves practical field work in a developing area (Kenya or Panama). | ||
| GEOG 451 | Research in Society and Development in Africa. 1 | 3 |
Research in Society and Development in Africa. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Three intersecting components: 1) core development themes including culture change, environmental conservation, water, health, development (urban and rural), governance and conflict resolution, 2) research techniques for topics related to core themes, including ethics, risk, field methods and data analysis, 3) field documentation, scientific recording and communication. | ||
| GEOG 498 | Humans in Tropical Environments. | 3 |
Humans in Tropical Environments. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Focus on understanding of inter-relations between humans and neotropical environments represented in Panama. Study of contemporary rural landscapes, their origins, development and change. Impacts of economic growth and inequality, social organization, and politics on natural resource use and environmental degradation. Site visits and field exercises in peasant/colonist, Amerindian, and plantation communities. | ||
| HIST 510 | Environmental History of Latin America (Field). | 3 |
Environmental History of Latin America (Field). Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Human-nature interactions over different scales of time in Latin America (with an emphasis on neo-tropical environments) and the application of the historical perspective to contemporary environmental issues, including historiography and methodology; cultures of environmental knowledge. | ||
| MIME 320 | Extraction of Energy Resources. | 3 |
Extraction of Energy Resources. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The extraction of energy resources, i.e. coal, gas, oil and tar sands. After a brief geological review, different extraction techniques for these substances will be discussed. Emphasis on problems such as northern mining and offshore oil extraction with reference to Canadian operations. Transportation and marketing. | ||
| NRSC 451 | Research in Ecology and Development in Africa. 1 | 3 |
Research in Ecology and Development in Africa. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Development of observation and independent inquiry skills through: 1) participation in short-term project modules in collaboration with existing researchers; 2) participation in interdisciplinary team research on topics selected to allow comparative analysis of field sites; 3) active and systematic observation, documentation, and integration of field experience in ecology and development issues. | ||
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Note: You can take ENVB 529 GIS for Natural Resource Management. or GEOG 201 Introductory Geo-Information Science. but not both; you can take BIOL 451 Research in Ecology and Development in Africa. or NRSC 451 Research in Ecology and Development in Africa. but not both; you can take ANTH 451 Research in Society and Development in Africa. or GEOG 451 Research in Society and Development in Africa. but not both.
Area 2: Environmental Resources
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ATOC 341 | Caribbean Climate and Weather. | 3 |
Caribbean Climate and Weather. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The climate system and ongoing global change, ocean and atmosphere circulation and future trends in the tropics; local climate variability and dynamics, extreme weather events in the Caribbean | ||
| BIOL 308 | Ecological Dynamics. 1 | 3 |
Ecological Dynamics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Principles of population, community, and ecosystem dynamics: population growth and regulation, species interactions, dynamics of competitive interactions and of predator/prey systems; evolutionary dynamics. | ||
| BIOL 343 | Biodiversity in the Caribean. | 3 |
Biodiversity in the Caribean. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Biodiversity loss and the measure of ecological integrity of ecosystems, patterns of diversification and evolution of terrestrial and oceanic biotas in the Caribbean. | ||
| BREE 217 | Hydrology and Water Resources. 1 | 3 |
Hydrology and Water Resources. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Introduction to water resources and hydrologic cycle. Precipitation and hydrologic frequency analysis. Soil water processes, infiltration theory and modeling. Evapotranspiration estimation methods and crop water requirements. Surface runoff estimation as a function of land use modifications. Estimation of peak runoff rates. Unit hydrograph. Design of open channels and vegetated waterways. | ||
| ENVB 305 | Population and Community Ecology. 1 | 3 |
Population and Community Ecology. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Interactions between organisms and their environment; historical and current perspectives in applied and theoretical population and community ecology. Principles of population dynamics, feedback loops, and population regulation. Development and structure of communities; competition, predation and food web dynamics. Biodiversity science in theory and practice. | ||
| ESPC 325 | ||
Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. | ||
| EPSC 355 | Sedimentary Geology. | 3 |
Sedimentary Geology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The origin, classification, diagenesis and economic importance of sedimentary rocks. The physical properties of sedimentary rocks, the processes by which sediments are transported and deposited, and the environments in which they accumulate. Introduction to techniques for describing and analyzing sedimentary rocks in thin section, hand specimen, and on the outcrop. | ||
| EPSC 549 | Hydrogeology. | 3 |
Hydrogeology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to groundwater flow through porous media. Notions of fluid potential and hydraulic head. Darcy flux and Darcy's Law. Physical properties of porous media and their measurement. Equation of groundwater flow. Flow systems. Hydraulics of pumping and recharging wells. Notions of hydrology. Groundwater quality and contamination. Physical processes of contaminant transport. | ||
| GEOG 305 | Soils and Environment. | 3 |
Soils and Environment. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Discussion of the major properties of soils; soil formation, classification and mapping; land capability assessment; the role and response of soils in natural and disturbed environments (e.g. global change, ecosystem disturbance). | ||
| GEOG 322 | Environmental Hydrology. 1 | 3 |
Environmental Hydrology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Quantitative, experimental study of the principles governing the movement of water at or near the Earth's surface and how the research relates to the chemistry and biology of ecosystems. | ||
| SOIL 300 | Geosystems. | 3 |
Geosystems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Interactions between Earth's various geologic systems and how these interactions lead to mineral and rock formation. Geomorphic processes and how various landforms are created by the interactions at the Earth's surface between the various geologic systems. | ||