With groups, it is needed to understand their cultural history. New Mexico was remarked by Spanish explorers and pioneers as having abundant pasture, immense plains and delightful valleys full of streams all of which could be quite cold. Anglo explorers and surveyors a century later would describe the same land as hot, barren and uninteresting in the extreme. This is the cultural difference of people coming from the wet and lush east coast compared to those coming from Spain or Mexico. This is just another shift in man's interpretation of his environment.
People attach feelings to the places where they live and visit.
Environment is an emotionally charged symbol. Familiarity breeds affection when it does not bread contempt. The familiarity as well as awareness of the past are elements in love of place. Urbanization has developed a appreciation of countryside. The environment can directly mold the ways we perceive the world around us.