Golden Gate

"A snapshot is a permanent record of a time and place. A geographical snapshot captures some essence of that record through the eyes and scholarly analysis of a geographer. In its elemental form, the geography of a region is an amalgam of points and lines that define its landscape features. Some points and lines are visible and easily spotted from the window of an aircraft or from an earth-bound vehicle. Some are but fleeting events that leave no permanent mark; while others, although abstract, underlie our geography. Geographers interpret these landscapes from a variety of theoretical and applied viewpoints and with a varied set of remarkable tools. They include maps, remotely sensed images, photographs, sketches, graphical analysis, mathematics, and literary skill." Donald G. Janelle, ed (1992). Geographical Snapshots of North America. New York: Guiford Press, quote from Introduction, p. 1.