  High resolution rest frame UV quasar absorption spectra covering low and high
ionization species, as well as the Lyman series lines, provide remarkably
detailed information about the gaseous phases of galaxies and their
environments. For redshifts less than 1.5, many important chemical transitions
remain in the observed ultraviolet wavelength range. I present examples of
absorption that arises from lines of sight through a variety of structures,
drawn from UV spectra recently obtained with STIS/HST. Even with the greater
sensitivity of COS/HST there will be a limit to how many systems can be studied
in detail. However, there is a great variety in the morphology of the phases of
gas that we observe, even passing through different regions of the same galaxy.
In order to compile a fair sample of the gaseous structures present during
every epoch of cosmic history, hundreds of systems must be sampled. Multiple
lines of sight through the same structures are needed, as well as some probing
nearby structures whose luminous hosts have been studied with more standard
techniques. Combined with high resolution optical and near--IR ground--based
spectra, it will be possible to uniformly study the gaseous morphologies of
galaxies of all types through their entire evolutionary histories.
