Skip to Main Content

GEO 7 - Landforms and Landscapes: Why do people value landscapes

Board of Studies

Cultural value is linked to the importance of landforms and landscapes as expressed by people through creative means such as poetry, literature art and films. Australia's landscapes and landforms have shaped Australian culture and identity.

Aboriginal Australians express the importance of the land to them through Dreaming stories, song, dance and their art. Nearly all Aboriginal art relates to the landscape and maps the landscape and the landforms of importance to the Aboriginal community.

Economic value is a measurement of how financially important landscapes and landforms are.

  • Economic value is relevant to the tourism and mining industries in Australia.
  • The mining industry attaches an economic value to landscapes that contain sought-after metals and minerals like coal and gold.
  • Tourism Victoria, for example, wants regular visitors to its state because people spend money on accommodation, transport, food, ..
  • The Great Ocean Road is a landscape in Victoria with a high economic value due to its popularity with tourists.

The aesthetic value   of a landscape is closely linked to its beauty and uniqueness. An individual might be drawn to a particular landform because of its overwhelming majesty, creating a personal connection to the place.

The aesthetic value of the landscape to the community has been recognised through the creation of national parks. The first national park in Australia, The Royal National Park south of Sydney, was established in 1879.

Australian Government Environment

Spiritual value of the land

For Indigenous Australians, the spiritual value of the land is expressed through the concept of 'Country". Stories of Dreamtime bind them to their land.

Indigenous Australian - "the land owns us"

Indigenous Lands

Indigenous people have a culture that relates to the land and sea in a holistic way that also includes connections to powerful and significant places. However, the emphasis that is now put on management of discrete sites can overlook and diminish Indigenous connections to the environment as a whole. Indigenous Working Group Workshop, Melbourne, Thursday 8 November

Geography masterclass