diff --git a/docs/settings.txt b/docs/settings.txt
index 5b75e29172..e72cc9fdd0 100644
--- a/docs/settings.txt
+++ b/docs/settings.txt
@@ -760,6 +760,13 @@ Note that this is the time zone to which Django will convert all dates/times --
 not necessarily the timezone of the server. For example, one server may serve
 multiple Django-powered sites, each with a separate time-zone setting.
 
+Normally, Django will set the ``os.environ['TZ']`` variable to the timezone
+you specify in this variable. All your views and models will therefore
+automatically operate in the correct timezone. However, if you are using the
+manual configuration option (see below), the environment variable will not be
+touched and it is up to you to ensure your processes are running in the
+correct environment.
+
 USE_ETAGS
 ---------
 
@@ -837,6 +844,15 @@ uppercase, with the same name as the settings described above. If a particular
 setting is not passed to ``configure()`` and is needed at some later point,
 Django will use the default setting value.
 
+Configuring Django in this fashion is mostly necessary -- and, indeed,
+recommended -- when you are using a piece of the Django framework inside a
+larger application. Consequently, when configured via
+``settings.configure()``, Django will not make any modifications to the
+process environment (see the explanation of ``TIME_ZONE``, above, for why this
+would normally occur). It is assumed that you are already in full control of
+your environment in these cases and have configured your environment as
+required in some other fashion.
+
 Custom default settings
 -----------------------