The aim of the historical geographer is to reconstruct and interpret past landscapes (i.e. the physical and cultural aspects of the surface of the earth) at significant cross-sections in the historical development of a region. The landscape at any point of time is the result of the historical processes gone before, and will itself change, with time, into a new landscape with different physical and cultural characteristics. The historical geographer thus hopes to explain the development of each landscape, including that of the present, and its transformation into the next. By means of maps and diagrams, comparisons can be made of the spatial distributions of various units at different periods. The historical geographer also hopes to show to what extent the past and present landscapes are the result of the geographic characteristics of the region. The location, climate, surface configuration, soils, and natural resources of a region determine in a large measure the type of economy which may develop. However, human factors may direct the pattern of development in many ways within the physical limits, the natural resources of a region will be of different values at various stages in the technology and organization of a people, and the physical characteristics will themselves be affected during the historical process.[...]

Kimble, G. (Supervisor)