Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of
land, including the physical elements of
landforms such as (ice-capped) mountains, hills, water bodies such as
rivers,
lakes, ponds and the
sea, living elements of
land cover including indigenous
vegetation, human elements including different forms of
land use, buildings and structures, and transitory elements such as
lighting and
weather conditions.
Combining both their physical origins and the cultural overlay of human presence, often created over millennia, landscapes reflect the living synthesis of people and place vital to local and
national identity. Landscapes, their character and quality, help define the self-image of a region, its sense of place that differentiates it from other regions. It is the dynamic backdrop to people’s lives.
The
Earth has a vast range of landscapes including the icy landscapes of
polar regions,
mountainous landscapes, vast arid
desert landscapes,
islands and
coastal landscapes, densely
forested or
wooded landscapes including past
boreal forests and
tropical rainforests, and
agricultural landscapes of
temperate and
tropical regions.
Landscape may be further reviewed under the following specific categories:
landscape art,
cultural landscape,
landscape ecology,
landscape planning,
landscape assessment and
landscape design. The activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land is named
Landscaping.