I'm reading "House of Rain" by Craig Childs, about the Anasazi culture that disappeared from the Southwest around 1100 AD, and there's a quote from an archeologist named Tom Windes that struck a tone with me. 

I've lived a lot of places and I can attest to the feel of different cultures, but it never really dawned on me that the landscape itself could shape or mold that culture.  I had a pretty good idea that weather could make a difference (one of the reasons that I live in California), but it never really dawned on me that the lay of the land might also affect culture.  But, it seems to make sense.

A few years ago, I was on a work related trip and found myself standing in a playa (dry lake bed) just off the I-15 on the California side of the border with Nevada.  As we looked across the playa and several miles further, we could see a freight train gliding on invisible tracks across the base of one of the numerous mountains in the area.  One of the men I was with (a government worker from back east) scratched his head and said, "You know, I don't think I've ever seen an entire train before." 

So, what does that do to a persons perspective in life?  If it's easier to take in the whole of the world, does that help you become a "big picture" kind of person?  Does it feed your humility when it's easy to see how small you are in the world?  I'll have to think about this a little more in my writing and consider how the setting itself informs the culture as well as the individual.