Interdependence. Physical geography is the study of the earth's surface and natural features. Geographers consider climate, but they focus primarily on topography, which consists of the physical characteristics, land formations, and bodies of water in a given region. The earth's topography rarely changes, but any change can have severe repercussions for humans. Natural disasters, such as tidal waves or volcanoes, and major alterations in weather patterns, such as the end of the Ice Age, are the main causes of changes in topography. Climate and topography provide a static and inescapable setting to history. The interdependence of people and the physical earth means that physical geography influences human life, but it need not be seen in a purely deterministic sense because ingenuity and innovation allow humans to overcome geographical factors. For instance, the Netherlands rose to international prominence in the period 1350-1600 after the combination of wind-driven water pumps...