Reading the Landscape

I am looking for a new specificity as I work these days. No longer thinking about accurately rendering a particular place and its individual markers but instead wondering what story does the land tell? Often the story centers around what people have put on the land, how they have used it. But this is only one part of the story. What does the landscape tell us about itself – how is it structured and why? What forces shaped it?  How does water flow? Why do the trees grow in one area but not in another?  What evidence is there of wind and weather? What are the universal qualities of landscape which can engage viewers in a painting regardless of whether they recognize a street or landmark.