What factors lead to a civilization's growth, and how might environmental determinism influence these factors?

Environmental determinism is the belief that the environment (most notably its physical factors such as landforms and/or climate) determines the patterns of human culture and societal development

Environmental determinists believe that it is these environmental, climatic, and geographical factors alone that are responsible for human cultures and individual decisions and/or social conditions have virtually no impact on cultural development.

The main argument of environmental determinism states that an area's physical characteristics like climate have a strong impact on the psychological outlook of its inhabitants.