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Physical and Environmental Geography Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Physical and Environmental Geography

Beyul Khumbu: Sherpa Constructions Of A Sacred Landscape, Lindsay Ann Skog Jun 2010

Beyul Khumbu: Sherpa Constructions Of A Sacred Landscape, Lindsay Ann Skog

Dissertations and Theses

Khumbu, part of Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park in eastern Nepal and an UNESCO World Heritage site, is home to the Sherpa people, ethnic Tibetan Buddhists who migrated to the region more than 500 years ago. Sherpas animate the landscape with localized water, tree, rock, and land spirits, identify sacred mountains, mainly associated with the Bönpo and Tibetan yullha traditions, and some view the landscape as a beyul, a sacred place and hidden valley protecting Buddhist people and beliefs in times of turmoil and need. These beliefs protect the natural environment through religious practices and taboos against environmentally harmful …


The Transnational Networks Of Cultural Commodities: Peruvian Food In San Francisco, Kelsey Ann Brain Jan 2010

The Transnational Networks Of Cultural Commodities: Peruvian Food In San Francisco, Kelsey Ann Brain

Dissertations and Theses

In a setting of increased movement, communication, and flows across space, commodity chain networks bring valued cultural commodities to transnational communities. This research examines the networks bringing foreign cuisine ingredients to Peruvian transnational communities in San Francisco, California. It seeks to answer three inter-related questions: 1) What are the origins and transportation networks bringing Peruvian food items to San Francisco; 2) Who controls and benefits from the movement of this food and resulting capital; and 3) How do networks vary for different classes of end consumers?

Chefs of ten Peruvian restaurants and ten Peruvian migrants in the San Francisco area …


Lives, Livelihoods, And Landscapes: A Study Of Land Use And Social Change In Northeastern Nepal, Jennifer Leigh Anderson Jan 2006

Lives, Livelihoods, And Landscapes: A Study Of Land Use And Social Change In Northeastern Nepal, Jennifer Leigh Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the forces of change in lives and landscapes that have altered the Lamosangu-to-Everest route in northeastern Nepal and shows how a transect in photographs and conversations across the east-central Himalaya allows us insight and a greater understanding into the processes and consequences of this change.

Three forces of change over the last twenty-five years dominated discussions with local informants: the rise of the "People's War"-Nepal's Maoist Insurgency beginning in 1996; the Democratic Revolution of 1990; and dependence on tourism for livelihood after the establishment of Sagarmatha National Park in 1976. Understanding the cultural-historical context for these forces …


Ambivalent Landscapes: An Historical Geography Of Recreation And Tourism On Mount Hood, Oregon, Ryan Franklin Mitchell Jun 2005

Ambivalent Landscapes: An Historical Geography Of Recreation And Tourism On Mount Hood, Oregon, Ryan Franklin Mitchell

Dissertations and Theses

Mount Hood is an Oregon icon. The mountain has as long and rich a history of recreation and tourism as almost any other place in the American West. But contemporary landscapes on Mount Hood reveal a recreation and tourism industry that has struggled to assert itself, and a distinct geographic divide is evident in the manner in which tourism has been developed. Why? In this study I chronicle the historical geography of recreation and tourism on Mount Hood. I examine the evolution of its character and pattern, and the ways in which various communities have used it to invest meaning …


Forest Resource Use, Land-Use, And Ecotourism In The RíO PláTano Biosphere Reserve, Honduras, Christina Marie Friedle May 2005

Forest Resource Use, Land-Use, And Ecotourism In The RíO PláTano Biosphere Reserve, Honduras, Christina Marie Friedle

Dissertations and Theses

The Río Pláttano Biosphere Reserve, a tropical rainforest reserve in the northeastern corner of Honduras, is home to several subsistence-based indigenous groups, including the Miskito, Pech and Garifuna, as well as the non-indigenous Ladinos. Communities within the reserve depend on forest resources, swidden agriculture, marine resources and/or small-scale ranching as the foundations for local economies. Regulations placed on these subsistence practices, after establishment of the biosphere reserve in 1980, have created unique and new pressures and resulted in a blend of traditional and innovative resource use. A notable result is the promotion of ecotourism as a solution for meeting the …


Transportation And Land Use Patterns: Monitoring Urban Change Using Aerial Photography, Portland, Oregon 1925-1945, Paul Hagen Fyfield Jan 2003

Transportation And Land Use Patterns: Monitoring Urban Change Using Aerial Photography, Portland, Oregon 1925-1945, Paul Hagen Fyfield

Dissertations and Theses

American urban neighborhoods are a patchwork; the spatial arrangement of types is a reflection of the dominant transportation technology at the time of their development. The earliest suburban areas were made accessible by fixed route systems such as the electric streetcar, followed by the widespread adoption of the automobile; each transportation epoch resulted in characteristic patterns of land use. This study uses aerial photographic coverage of Portland, Oregon from the years 1925, 1936, and 1945, a time of decline for the once popular trolley lines and dramatic increase in automobile usage, to monitor change within the residential areas of Portland's …


Signs Of Popular Ecology In The Ecotourism Landscape Near Tikal National Park, Guatemala, Michael Mooradian Lupro May 2000

Signs Of Popular Ecology In The Ecotourism Landscape Near Tikal National Park, Guatemala, Michael Mooradian Lupro

Dissertations and Theses

Ecotourism is a common conservation and development strategy in the Maya, Forest region. New sites of ecotourism consumption, such as El Rematé near Tikal National Park in Guatemala, are developing in response to consumer demand for budget accommodations in this attractive cultural and natural setting. This study analyzes new ecotourism infrastructure developments in El Rematé for signs that this tourism draws on ecological imagery as expressed in popular media - or popular ecology - not on the natural and cultural ecology of the region that is the target of international conservation efforts. Analysis suggests that ecotourism entrepreneurs who effectively associate …


Netarts Bay, Oregon: An Assessment Of Human Impact On An Estuarine System, Larry D. Mccallum Jan 1977

Netarts Bay, Oregon: An Assessment Of Human Impact On An Estuarine System, Larry D. Mccallum

Dissertations and Theses

Problems associated with planning the future use of estuarine areas stem from:

  1. A lack of knowledge on the critical aspects of the system.
  2. Inability to predict the future changes which will occur within the system in order to effectively manage the resource base.

These difficulties lie in the fact that changes within the system occur because of both "natural" and "cultural" conditions. The thesis hypothesis and subsequent research is to describe the physical changes that have occurred within the Netarts system, primarily due to man's impact.

Types of data gathered for the analysis includes that on historical and current land …


A Methodology For Determining Mass Movement Susceptibility For Land-Use Planning, Vern Walter Cimmery Jan 1976

A Methodology For Determining Mass Movement Susceptibility For Land-Use Planning, Vern Walter Cimmery

Dissertations and Theses

Land-use planning takes into consideration geologic hazards in order to protect both life and property. One type of geologic hazard is mass movement. Mass movement is a collective term for the downslope movement of mass units of debris e.g., bedrock, soil, and subsurface material, resulting from the influence of gravity and involving transporting media such as ice, snow, water, and air. As population increases, further pressures are placed on existing land use. Many areas once considered unsuitable for development due to steep slope or other physical characteristics are now experiencing problems. These areas, due to their physical characteristics, can be …


Analysis Of The Port Of Portland Facility Hinterlands, Timothy D. Wilson Feb 1975

Analysis Of The Port Of Portland Facility Hinterlands, Timothy D. Wilson

Dissertations and Theses

Most of the United States port authorities delineate their hinterland by the use of freight rate schedules used by inland carriers. The hinterland is defined as that region having favorable rates to and from a port. The use of freight rate schedules can be applied to a) individual commodities or to b) all the commodities moving through a port. The freight rate method is built on the "rational man" concept. That is, a situation is assumed where there is "perfect knowledge" and a desire to minimize transportation costs. This assumption does not always coincide with reality.

This paper classifies commodities …