Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge the many geographers whose insights and suggestions have informed this book.

World Regional Geography, Sixth Edition

Victoria Alapo

Metropolitan Community College

Jeff Arnold

Southwestern Illinois College

Shaunna Barnhart

Pennsylvania State University

Dean Butzow

Lincoln Land Community College

Philip Chaney

Auburn University

Christine Hansell

Skyline College

Heidi LaMoreaux

Santa Rosa Junior College

Kent Mathewson

Louisiana State University

Julie Mura

Florida State University

Michael Noll

Valdosta State University

Tim Oakes

University of Colorado, Boulder

Kefa M. Otiso

Bowling Green State University

Sam Sweitz

Michigan Technological University

Jeff Ueland

Bemidji State University

Ben Wolfe

Metropolitan Community College, Blue River

World Regional Geography Concepts, First Edition

Gillian Acheson

Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville

Tanya Allison

Montgomery College

Keshav Bhattarai

Indiana University, Bloomington

Leonhard Blesius

San Francisco State University

Jeffrey Brauer

Keystone College

Donald Buckwalter

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Craig Campbell

Youngstown State University

John Comer

Oklahoma State University

Kevin Curtin

George Mason University

Ron Davidson

California State University, Northridge

Tina Delahunty

Texas Tech University

Dean Fairbanks

California State University, Chico

Allison Feeney

Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania

Eric Fournier

Samford University

Qian Guo

San Francisco State University

Carole Huber

University of Colorado, Colorado Springs

Paul Hudak

University of North Texas

Christine Jocoy

California State University, Long Beach

Ron Kalafsky

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

David Keefe

University of the Pacific

Mary Klein

Saddleback College

Max Lu

Kansas State University

Donald Lyons

University of North Texas

Barbara McDade

University of Florida

Victor Mote

University of Houston

Darrell Norris

State University of New York, Geneseo

Gabriel Popescu

Indiana University, South Bend

Claudia Radel

Utah State University

Donald Rallis

University of Mary Washington

Pamela Riddick

University of Memphis

Jennifer Rogalsky

State University of New York, Geneseo

Tobie Saad

University of Toledo

Charles Schmitz

Towson University

Sindi Sheers

George Mason University

Ira Sheskin

University of Miami

Dmitri Siderov

California State University, Long Beach

Steven Silvern

Salem State College

Ray Sumner

Long Beach City College

Stan Toops

Miami University

Karen Trifonoff

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

Jim Tyner

Kent State University

Michael Walegur

University of Delaware

Scott Walker

Northwest Vista College

Mark Welford

Georgia Southern University

World Regional Geography, Fifth Edition

Gillian Acheson

Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville

Greg Atkinson

Tarleton State University

Robert Begg

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Richard Benfield

Central Connecticut State University

Fred Brumbaugh

University of Houston, Downtown

Deborah Corcoran

Missouri State University

Kevin Curtin

George Mason University

Lincoln DeBunce

Blue Mountain Community College

Scott Dobler

Western Kentucky University

Catherine Doenges

University of Connecticut, Stamford

Jean Eichhorst

University of Nebraska, Kearney

Brian Farmer

Amarillo College

Eveily Freeman

Ohio State University

Hari Garbharran

Middle Tennessee State University

xxii

Abe Goldman

University of Florida

Angela Gray

University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh

Ellen Hansen

Emporia State University

Nick Hill

Greenville Technical College

Johanna Hume

Alvin Community College

Edward Jackiewicz

California State University, Northridge

Rebecca Johns

University of South Florida, St. Petersburg

Suzanna Klaf

Ohio State University

Jeannine Koshear

Fresno City College

Brennan Kraxberger

Christopher Newport University

Heidi Lannon

Santa Fe College

Angelia Mance

Florida Community College, Jacksonville

Meredith Marsh

Lindenwood University

Linda Murphy

Blinn Community College

Monica Nyamwange

William Paterson University

Adam Pine

University of Minnesota, Duluth

Amanda Rees

Columbus State University

Benjamin Richason

St. Cloud State University

Amy Rock

Kent State University

Betty Shimshak

Towson University

Michael Siola

Chicago State University

Steve Smith

Missouri Southern State University

Jennifer Speights-Binet

Samford University

Emily Sturgess Cleek

Drury University

Gregory Taff

University of Memphis

Catherine Veninga

College of Charleston

Mark Welford

Georgia Southern University

Donald Williams

Western New England College

Peggy Robinson Wright

Arkansas State University, Jonesboro

World Regional Geography, Fourth Edition

Robert Acker

University of California, Berkeley

Joy Adams

Humboldt State University

John All

Western Kentucky University

Jeff Allender

University of Central Arkansas

David L. Anderson

Louisiana State University, Shreveport

Donna Arkowski

Pikes Peak Community College

Jeff Arnold

Southwestern Illinois College

Richard W. Benfield

Central Connecticut University

Sarah A. Blue

Northern Illinois University

Patricia Boudinot

George Mason University

Michael R. Busby

Murray State College

Norman Carter

California State University, Long Beach

Gabe Cherem

Eastern Michigan University

Brian L. Crawford

West Liberty State College

Phil Crossley

Western State College of Colorado

Gary Cummisk

Dickinson State University

Kevin M. Curtin

University of Texas, Dallas

Kenneth Dagel

Missouri Western State University

Jason Dittmer

University College London

Rupert Dobbin

University of West Georgia

James Doerner

University of Northern Colorado

Ralph Feese

Elmhurst College

Richard Grant

University of Miami

Ellen R. Hansen

Emporia State University

Holly Hapke

Eastern Carolina University

Mark L. Healy

Harper College

David Harms Holt

Miami University

Douglas A. Hurt

University of Central Oklahoma

Edward L. Jackiewicz

California State University, Northridge

Marti L. Klein

Saddleback College

Debra D. Kreitzer

Western Kentucky University

Jeff Lash

University of Houston, Clear Lake

Unna Lassiter

California State University, Long Beach

Max Lu

Kansas State University

Donald Lyons

University of North Texas

Shari L. MacLachlan

Palm Beach Community College

Chris Mayda

Eastern Michigan University

Armando V. Mendoza

Cypress College

Katherine Nashleanas

University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Joseph A. Naumann

University of Missouri, St. Louis

Jerry Nelson

Casper College

Michael G. Noll

Valdosta State University

Virginia Ochoa-Winemiller

Auburn University

Karl Offen

University of Oklahoma

Eileen O’Halloran

Foothill College

Ken Orvis

University of Tennessee

Manju Parikh

College of Saint Benedict and St. John’s University

Mark W. Patterson

Kennesaw State University

Paul E. Phillips

Fort Hays State University

Rosann T. Poltrone

Arapahoe Community College, Littleton, Colorado

Waverly Ray

MiraCosta College

Jennifer Rogalsky

State University of New York, Geneseo

Gil Schmidt

University of Northern Colorado

Yda Schreuder

University of Delaware

Tim Schultz

Green River Community College, Auburn, Washington

Sinclair A. Sheers

George Mason University

D. James Siebert

North Harris Montgomery Community College, Kingwood

Dean Sinclair

Northwestern State University

Bonnie R. Sines

University of Northern Iowa

Vanessa Slinger-Friedman

Kennesaw State University

Andrew Sluyter

Louisiana State University

Kris Runberg Smith

Lindenwood University

Herschel Stern

MiraCosta College

William R. Strong

University of North Alabama

xxiii

Ray Sumner

Long Beach City College

Rozemarijn Tarhule-Lips

University of Oklahoma

Alice L. Tym

University of Tennessee, Chattanooga

James A. Tyner

Kent State University

Robert Ulack

University of Kentucky

Jialing Wang

Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania

Linda Q. Wang

University of South Carolina, Aiken

Keith Yearman

College of DuPage

Laura A. Zeeman

Red Rocks Community College

World Regional Geography, Third Edition

Kathryn Alftine

California State University, Monterey Bay

Donna Arkowski

Pikes Peak Community College

Tim Bailey

Pittsburg State University

Brad Baltensperger

Michigan Technological University

Michele Barnaby

Pittsburg State University

Daniel Bedford

Weber State University

Richard Benfield

Central Connecticut State University

Sarah Brooks

University of Illinois, Chicago

Jeffrey Bury

University of Colorado, Boulder

Michael Busby

Murray State University

Norman Carter

California State University, Long Beach

Gary Cummisk

Dickinson State University

Cyrus Dawsey

Auburn University

Elizabeth Dunn

University of Colorado, Boulder

Margaret Foraker

Salisbury University

Robert Goodrich

University of Idaho

Steve Graves

California State University, Northridge

Ellen Hansen

Emporia State University

Sophia Harmes

Towson University

Mary Hayden

Pikes Peak Community College

R. D. K. Herman

Towson University

Samantha Kadar

California State University, Northridge

James Keese

California Polytechnic State University

Phil Klein

University of Northern Colorado

Debra D. Kreitzer

Western Kentucky University

Soren Larsen

Georgia Southern University

Unna Lassiter

California State University, Long Beach

David Lee

Florida Atlantic University

Anthony Paul Mannion

Kansas State University

Leah Manos

Northwest Missouri State University

Susan Martin

Michigan Technological University

Luke Marzen

Auburn University

Chris Mayda

Eastern Michigan University

Michael Modica

San Jacinto College

Heather Nicol

State University of West Georgia

Ken Orvis

University of Tennessee

Thomas Paradis

Northern Arizona University

Amanda Rees

University of Wyoming

Arlene Rengert

West Chester University of Pennsylvania

B. F. Richason

St. Cloud State University

Deborah Salazar

Texas Tech University

Steven Schnell

Kutztown University

Kathleen Schroeder

Appalachian State University

Roger Selya

University of Cincinnati

Dean Sinclair

Northwestern State University

Garrett Smith

Kennesaw State University

Jeffrey Smith

Kansas State University

Dean Stone

Scott Community College

Selima Sultana

Auburn University

Ray Sumner

Long Beach City College

Christopher Sutton

Western Illinois University

Harry Trendell

Kennesaw State University

Karen Trifonoff

Bloomsburg University

David Truly

Central Connecticut State University

Kelly Victor

Eastern Michigan University

Mark Welford

Georgia Southern University

Wendy Wolford

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Laura A. Zeeman

Red Rocks Community College

World Regional Geography, Second Edition

Helen Ruth Aspaas

Virginia Commonwealth University

Cynthia F. Atkins

Hopkinsville Community College

Timothy Bailey

Pittsburg State University

Robert Maxwell Beavers

University of Northern Colorado

James E. Bell

University of Colorado, Boulder

Richard W. Benfield

Central Connecticut State University

John T. Bowen Jr.

University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh

Stanley Brunn

University of Kentucky

Donald W. Buckwalter

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Gary Cummisk

Dickinson State University

Roman Cybriwsky

Temple University

Cary W. de Wit

University of Alaska, Fairbanks

Ramesh Dhussa

Drake University

David M. Diggs

University of Northern Colorado

Jane H. Ehemann

Shippensburg University

Kim Elmore

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Thomas Fogarty

University of Northern Iowa

James F. Fryman

University of Northern Iowa

xxiv

Heidi Glaesel

Elon College

Ellen R. Hansen

Emporia State University

John E. Harmon

Central Connecticut State University

Michael Harrison

University of Southern Mississippi

Douglas Heffington

Middle Tennessee State University

Robert Hoffpauir

California State University, Northridge

Catherine Hooey

Pittsburg State University

Doc Horsley

Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

David J. Keeling

Western Kentucky University

James Keese

California Polytechnic State University

Debra D. Kreitzer

Western Kentucky University

Jim LeBeau

Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

Howell C. Lloyd

Miami University of Ohio

Judith L. Meyer

Southwest Missouri State University

Judith C. Mimbs

University of Tennessee, Chattanooga

Monica Nyamwange

William Paterson University

Thomas Paradis

Northern Arizona University

Firooza Pavri

Emporia State University

Timothy C. Pitts

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

William Preston

California Polytechnic State University

Gordon M. Riedesel

Syracuse University

Joella Robinson

Houston Community College

Steven M. Schnell

Northwest Missouri State University

Kathleen Schroeder

Appalachian State University

Dean Sinclair

Northwestern State University

Robert A. Sirk

Austin Peay State University

William D. Solecki

Montclair State University

Wei Song

University of Wisconsin, Parkside

William Reese Strong

University of North Alabama

Selima Sultana

Auburn University

Suzanne Traub-Metlay

Front Range Community College

David J. Truly

Central Connecticut State University

Alice L. Tym

University of Tennessee, Chattanooga

World Regional Geography, First Edition

Helen Ruth Aspaas

Virginia Commonwealth University

Brad Bays

Oklahoma State University

Stanley Brunn

University of Kentucky

Altha Cravey

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

David Daniels

Central Missouri State University

Dydia DeLyser

Louisiana State University

James Doerner

University of Northern Colorado

Bryan Dorsey

Weber State University

Lorraine Dowler

Pennsylvania State University

Hari Garbharran

Middle Tennessee State University

Baher Ghosheh

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania

Janet Halpin

Chicago State University

Peter Halvorson

University of Connecticut

Michael Handley

Emporia State University

Robert Hoffpauir

California State University, Northridge

Glenn G. Hyman

International Center for Tropical Agriculture

David Keeling

Western Kentucky University

Thomas Klak

Miami University of Ohio

Darrell Kruger

Northeast Louisiana University

David Lanegran

Macalester College

David Lee

Florida Atlantic University

Calvin Masilela

West Virginia University

Janice Monk

University of Arizona

Heidi Nast

DePaul University

Katherine Nashleanas

University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Tim Oakes

University of Colorado, Boulder

Darren Purcell

Florida State University

Susan Roberts

University of Kentucky

Dennis Satterlee

Northeast Louisiana University

Kathleen Schroeder

Appalachian State University

Dona Stewart

Georgia State University

Ingolf Vogeler

University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

Susan Walcott

Georgia State University

These world regional geography textbooks have been a family project many years in the making. Lydia Pulsipher came to the discipline of geography at the age of 5, when her immigrant father, Joe Mihelič, hung a world map over the breakfast table in their home in Coal City, Illinois, where he was pastor of the New Hope Presbyterian Church, and quizzed her on the location of such places as Istanbul. They soon moved to the Mississippi Valley of eastern Iowa, where Lydia’s father, then a professor at the Presbyterian theological seminary in Dubuque, continued his geography lessons on the passing landscapes whenever Lydia accompanied him on Sunday trips to small country churches. Lydia’s sons, Anthony and Alex, got their first doses of geography in the bedtime stories she told them. For plots and settings, she drew on Caribbean colonial documents she was then reading for her dissertation. They first traveled abroad and learned about the hard labor of field geography when, at age 12 and 8, respectively, they were expected to help with the archaeological and ethnographic research conducted by Lydia and her colleagues on the eastern Caribbean island of Montserrat. It was Lydia’s brother John Mihelič who first suggested that Lydia, Alex, and Mac write a book like this one, after he too came to appreciate geography. He has been a loyal cheerleader during the process, as have family and friends in Knoxville, Montserrat, California, Slovenia, and beyond.

xxv

The author team was aided by Ola Johansson (University of Pittsburgh at Johntown), who revised Chapter 5 (Russia and the Post-Soviet States) and Chapter 9 (East Asia) for this new edition and improved the final work in innumerable ways. Graduate students and faculty colleagues in the geography department at the University of Tennessee have been generous in their support, serving as helpful impromptu sounding boards for ideas. Ken Orvis, especially, has advised us on the physical geography sections of all editions. Yingkui (Philippe) Li provided information on glaciers and climate change; Russell Kirby wrote one of the vignettes based on his research in Vietnam; Toby Applegate, Alex Pulsipher (in his capacity as an instructor), Michelle Brym, and Sara Beth Keough helped the authors understand how to better assist instructors; and Ron Kalafsky, Tom Bell, Margaret Gripshover, and Micheline Van Riemsdijk chatted with the authors many times on specific and broad issues related to this textbook.

Maps for this edition were conceived by Mac Goodwin and Alex Pulsipher and produced by Will Fontanez and the University of Tennessee cartography shop staff and by Maps.com under the direction of Mike Powers. Alex Pulsipher created and produced the photo essays and chose all the photos used in the book.

Liz Widdicombe and Sara Tenney at W. H. Freeman were the first to facilitate the idea that together we could develop a new direction for World Regional Geography, one that included the latest thinking in geography written in an accessible style and well illustrated with attractive, relevant maps and photos. In accomplishing this goal, we are especially indebted to our first developmental editor, Susan Moran, and to the W. H. Freeman staff for all they have done in the first years and since to ensure that this book is well written, beautifully designed, and well presented to the public.

We would also like to gratefully acknowledge the efforts of the following people at W. H. Freeman: Steven Rigolosi, publisher for this sixth edition, who has been extraordinarily supportive and resourceful; Elaine Epstein, developmental editor, who has remained calm and congenial under great pressure; Vivien Weiss, senior project editor; Tom Digiano, marketing manager; Anna Paganelli, copyeditor; Blake Logan, design manager; Matt McAdams, art manager; Susan Wein, production manager; and Stephanie Ellis, assistant editor.

Given our ambitious new photo program, we are especially grateful for Blake Logan’s brilliant work and responsiveness as designer for the sixth edition, as well as for Hilary Newman and Jennifer MacMillan’s guidance and direction as our photo editors for the sixth edition. We are also grateful to the supplements authors, who have created what we think are unusually useful, up-to-date, and labor-saving materials for instructors who use our book.