Earth 4 covers the major climatic and life zones (biomes) of Earth, and examines different ways that they affect where people live and their lifestyles.There are three pages of biomes maps and each biome is illustrated in color. Major physical features of the continents (mountains, rivers, plains and deserts) are covered in much more detail than in Earth 3, and major features of human geography of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres and Pacific Rim are introduced. During the course the student uses a large beach ball globe to label the geographic feataures he is studying. (It has been found that students learn more by using large globes and have fun doing so.) The course also gives the student the opportunity to build up several mountain ranges on the globe in three dimensons.As part of the final activities of the course, the student chooses a country and learns about its physical and cultural geography.