Have you ever looked at the world around you? Not at just the buildings or the roads or the people, but the land? The rivers and lakes? The mountains and valleys? These are the physical features of New Hampshire. Now think about all the things people have built, like bridges that stretch across rivers or roads that wind through valleys and up mountains.

Think about the houses, neighborhoods, and busy town centers people have built. These are the human features of New Hampshire.

The study of physical features and human features is called geography. Geographers also study how the physical features and the human features affect each other. Why did people build their town centers where they did? Did it have something to do with being close to natural resources, like water or trees or good farming land? How do climate and weather affect the way people in New Hampshire live? How have people changed New Hampshire’s physical features? And how have New Hampshire’s physical features changed the people who live here?