Introduction to Human Geography:
A Disciplinary Approach
4th Edition - Coming in 2026-2027
Hosted by ESRI Story Maps
Embedded Files
Introduction to Human Geography:
Welcome! Bienvenidos! Bienvenue! 환영합니다 Բարի գալուստ! 歡迎光臨
Introduction to Human Geography: A Disciplinary Approach is a free eText designed for students enrolled in survey courses in Human/Cultural Geography or US Geography.
In 2026, this textbook will undergo a significant restructuring. The primary delivery platform will be a series of ESRI Story Maps, a medium perhaps best suited for students learning about geography and how to do geography. Story maps offer greatly enhanced interactivity, especially for maps, graphics, and audio.
An alternate landing page is under construction
Older editions of the textbook will remain available, as the new edition comes online and undergoes beta testing at CSUN. Instructors are welcome to join the class of guinea pigs in Fall Semester 2026.
The entire textbook (.pdf) is available for download via Dropbox or Google Drive. The full version - Edition 3.11 (Summer 2020) is large, so I recommend you view/download chapters individually. Chapters linked in the Table of Contents may be newer as upgrades and edits are completed.
On the left navigation bar or the navigation icon in the upper left corner of your screen, you'll find links to individual chapters in the Table of Contents that you may read online or download as Adobe portable document files (.pdf).
Consider a donation.
Consider a donation.
This textbook is used by students at California State University, Northridge, and by students at several dozen other colleges and universities. Some high schools are using it for AP Human Geography.
Students enrolled in sections using this text scored better on a variety of standardized assessment measures than those enrolled in sections using another, very popular, text in 2014.
Instructors and students are welcome to use the text free of charge. All are also welcome to make a donation to help keep the resource free of charge. You can donate via paypal or if you use Venmo, just scan the code at right (@gravesgeography)
Keep in mind that the author has no editorial staff of any sort, so typos and broken links are more common than I'd like. Corrections are made as often as possible, often at the end of each semester. Please note upload dates for each chapter, so that you may be certain you have the latest update.
Between 2014-2023 students at Cal State Northridge have saved over one-half million dollars vs. buying new textbooks!
Enjoy! Learn!
Donate via Venmo
For instructors
For instructors
Instructors considering adopting this text can obtain ancillary materials by contacting:
Steven M. Graves, Department of Geography - California State University, Northridge
*Note that the test and quiz banks I make available have been reproduced and now appear on 'cheat' sites like quizlet and cram.com - despite the obvious copyright infringements. I am working to get those removed.
Anyone may use portions of the text for their own purposes. The master file Microsoft Word (.docx) is available below. The file is large and suffers from the peculiarities and glitches associated with using Word to craft such a massive document. Use it at your own peril.
Microsoft Word - Master File - Dropbox
Microsoft Word - Master File - Google Drive
Course materials also available via Canvas (learning management system). Use search terms "Graves" and "Geography"
ISBN: 9781387806027
Google Link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ErBCDo4iOZ6PKeDWgvoYY4vt2EKvU5xk
last update: April 20, 2020
Americans With Disabilities Act: Information
Americans With Disabilities Act: Information
I (Dr. Graves) have worked very hard to make this textbook accessible to all students.
For version 3.11 alt-text was added to every image and figure in the text and I hope that my descriptions are useful. I do admit an inability to adequately describe many of the maps, especially those with especially complex data patterns, or dynamic interactivity.
I am very open to suggestions. Please contact me (steve.graves@csun.edu) if you can help me improve the accessibility of the text.
Reading order errors remain flagged, but when I use a screen reader to listen to the chapters (Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat), the software seems to read the text, alt-text, and captions in the order I would read them.
Tables are also flagged as a problem, but the screen readers seem to do an excellent job. All tables are used simply for decorative organization of links or images.
No data tables are included in this text.
I have made an effort to only link to YouTube videos with Closed Captions, though it is hard to know if the captions are adequate in every video.
If you have suggestions or concerns, please contact me. Thanks.
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