Publisher's Synopsis
Definition of Geography
The word 'geography' originates from two Greek words. The first is 'geo', which means 'the earth' and the second Greek word is "graph", which means 'to write').
Therefore, Geography is the science that describes the Earth's surface. This multi-disciplinary field studies spatial patterns and phenomena and investigates what is where on Earth and why it's there and not elsewhere.
Geography can be broadly categorised into three main focus areas:
Physical geography - the study of the natural environment.
Human geography - the study of human populations
Environmental geography - the study of how people are affected by and change the natural environment. Branches of Geography
Geography is divided into two main branches: human geography and physical geography.
There are additional branches of geography, such as regional geography, cartography, and integrated geography (also known as environmental geography).
Some examples of disciplines in human geography: Cultural, economic, health, historical and political geography
Physical geography allows us to chart landmasses and what lies beneath the Earth's ice caps and oceans. Some examples of physical geography include geomorphology, climatology, hydrology, and biogeography. Integrated Geography
Integrated geography is also known as human-environment geography. This is because it takes human and physical geographic issues and moulds them together. Geography Methods
Geography involves using maps as a vital tool. It uses four related approaches:
Systematic - Groups geographical knowledge into categories that can be explored globally
Regional - Examines systematic relationships between classes for a specific region or location on the planet.
Descriptive - Specifies the areas of features and populations.
Categorised: Geography can be broadly categorised into three main focus areas: Physical and
Human geography
Integrated geography is also known as human-environment geography. This is because it takes human and physical geographic issues and mould them together.
The five themes of geography:
There are five themes in geography, namely; Location:
Place, Human/Environment Interaction, Migration and Movement, Regions
Quotes; Some notable quotes to support the definition of the study of geography.
"The geographer is the person who attempts to describe parts of the earth". (Geography, AD 18 - 24).
"The ultimate purpose of geography, the study of areal differentiation of the world, is most clearly expressed in regional geography; only by constantly maintaining its relation to regional geography can systematic geography hold to the purpose of geography and not disappear into other sciences. On the other hand, regional geography is sterile; without the continuous fertilisation of generic concepts and principles from systematic geography, it could not advance to higher degrees of accuracy and certainty in the interpretation or its findings." (Hartshorne 1939; 468)
The Greeks are the first actively explore geography as a science and philosophy, with major contributors including Thales of Miletus, etc
During the Middle Ages, Arabs such as Idrisi, Ibn Battuta, and Ibn Khaldun built on and maintained the Greek and Roman learnings. Following the journeys of Marco Polo, interest in geography spread throughout Europe. During the Renaissance and into the 16th and 17th centuries, the great voyages of exploration revived a desire for solid theoretical foundations and accurate detail.
By the 18th century, geography had become recognised as a discrete discipline and became part of a typical university curriculum. Over the past two centuries, the quantity of knowledge and tools has exploded.
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