Natural Resources and Environment

GEOG 3404: Mountain geography

Note this guide is to be used as a starting point to find materials for your topic, and should not be mistaken as an all inclusive list of resources.

If you are off campus, make sure to sign in above before using links to the databases and journals on this page.

Basic guides and tools before getting started

• General search tips for literature reviews
• Understanding "Boolean"
• Concept table
• Using Addison

Finding books and materials in Addison

Keywords: broad/general terms found anywhere in the record; use as starting point to find information, then move to subject searches based on items returned of interest in your search.

Some keywords to try:

• mountain formation
• mountain geology
• Appalachian culture

Subject headings (specific classifications given to materials about their subject area): these are also called "controlled vocabulary" or "index terms" as these are assigned to materials that meet criteria for a specific subject area.

Some broad subject headings:

• Mountains
• Mountain ecology
• Mountain life

Some specific subject headings:

• Mountains -- North America -- Aerial views
• Mountain ecology -- Colorado Plateau -- Guidebooks
• Mountain life -- Appalachian region, Southern

A sampling of some books on mountains in the library

• The mountain encyclopedia : an A-Z compendium of more than 2,300 terms, concepts, ideas, and people ~ available for checkout in the library
• Climate related landscapes in world mountains: criteria and map ~ available for checkout in the library
• Key issues for mountain areas ~ available for checkout in the library
• Human impact on mountains ~ available for checkout in the library
• Mountain environments and communities ~ available for checkout in the library
•  Land use change and mountain biodiversity ~ available for checkout in the library

Using databases to find articles

Primary databases to use

• GeoRef: The GeoRef database contains over 2.7 million references to the geological literature of North America from 1693 to the present and the geology of the rest of the world from 1933 to the present.
• CABDirect: Over 7.9 million records in the life sciences, covering an international scope.

Other databases

• CSA Natural Sciences: searches across multiple indexes in the science discipline at one time
• CSA Social Sciences: searches across multiple indexes in the social and cultural disciplines at one time
• Still can't find it? Try the subject guides

A few key journals

Journals focusing on mountain areas

General geographical journals

Broad subject areas in science

Government resources

• Geodata.gov: Portal for one-stop access to maps, data, and other geospatial services
• USGS (United States Geological Survey) collects, monitors, analyzes, and provides scientific understanding about natural resource conditions, issues, and problems.
• Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center: Mountain Ecosystems Research links to collaborative research initiatives and centers for western mountains of the United States