Two bodies in one soul.
ecological history and historical geography
The soul of the a place is its "genii loci," or "oikios topos."
Ecological history and historical geography as critical bodies of knowledge to understand our identities.
The Salton Sea was created by accident in the summer of 1905 when an irrigation canal from the Colorado River had silted up the main stream and the river flooded. As the Colorado flood worsened, its flow diverted into the canal for weeks filling in a basin that was below sea level in the Imperial Valley. Once the largest freshwater body in California, today it is (naturally as this is a desert) saltier than the Pacific Ocean.
| Bodies of knowledge |
ecological history |
historical geography |
| 1. authorities | Alfred Crosby | John B. Jackson |
| 2. focus | functions & disease over time | definitive features in space |
| 3. water | source of life, biogeography | effects on settlements, laws |
| 4. energy | renewable and one-time sources | fuels for subsistence and food |
| 5. air | atmosphere and climate change | climate, growing seasons, rainfall |
| 6. land | biocoenose, community |
History, geography and ecology combine in an evolutionary way to create a sense of distinct places.
Understanding ecological history and historical geography are basic bodies of knowledge for us to comprehend a place:
Places are real areas, or actual terrains created by living creatures and nonliving factors.
Caribbean Region, The West Indies, the Antilles.
Why this is not ecology, or is it?
