ABSTRACT
The physical factors will be considered under three main headings; climate, soil and relief. Climate is the principal aspect of the physical environment affecting agriculture. In countries where rainfall is seasonal, as in tropical monsoon and Mediterranean types of climate, late arrival of the rains may have serious consequences for food supplies. Least troubled by frost are locations close to the sea, which benefit from the amelioration of the climate by the proximity of sheets of water, and by the movement of air on the coast. Since the soil is the essential material on which agriculture is based, any comprehensive survey of the geography of agriculture should include a fairly thorough treatment of soils. The soil is formed from the rock on which it develops, together with other materials which are deposited on the site in the course of its formation. The relief of a land surface affects agricultural utilisation through altitude, and slope.
