physiography

noun

Etymology: From physio- + -graphy.

1. The subfield of geography that studies physical patterns and processes of the Earth. It aims to understand the forces that produce and change rocks, oceans, weather, and global flora and fauna patterns.

   “Questions that bewilder the globe student of seasons are easily answered by pupils who have been taught seasons by the globeless method, as the writer knows from experience with three classes, two in astronomy and one in physiography.”

2. The descriptive part of a natural science as distinguished from the explanatory or theoretical part.

   “mineral physiography”