Geography is the study of the Earth and its features, people, and phenomena. The field of geography offers a unique perspective on how our world is interconnected, from physical landscapes to human cultures and environmental systems.
What is the Definition of the Word 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’).
Origins of the Word Geography
The first recorded use of the word geography was by Eratosthenes, a Greek scholar who lived from 276–194 BC who is credited with creating the discipline of geography (Eratosthenes’ Geography. Princeton University Press. 2010).
What is Studied in Geography?
Therefore, Geography is the science that deals with the description of the Earth’s surface. Geography is a multi disciplinary fields that studies spatial patterns and phenomenon.
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Geography is much more than cartography, the study of maps or simply knowing the capitals of every country. The field of geography not only investigates what is where on the Earth, but also why it’s there and not somewhere else, sometimes referred to as “location in space”.
Geography studies this whether the cause is natural or human. It also studies the consequences of those differences.
How is the Field of Geography Organized?
Over the years, the field of geography has been organized in several different ways.
Three Types of Geography
Geography can be broadly categorized as three main focus areas:
1. Physical geography – the study of the natural environment.
2. Human geography – the study of human populations
3. Environmental geography – the study of how people are affected by and change the natural environment.
Major Branches of Geography
Geographers can also organized the study of geography as branches and sub-branches of geography. (More: What are the Branches of Geography?)
Those that study geography are divided into two main branches: physical geography and human geography.
Physical geography
This branch focuses on Geography as an Earth science, making use of biology to understand global flora and fauna patterns, and mathematics and physics to understand the motion of the Earth and relationship with other bodies in the solar system. It also includes environmental geography.
Learn more: Sub-branches of Physical Geography
atmosphere — archipelago — cape — city — continent — desert — gulf — island — lake — lagoon — atoll — mountain range — ocean — peninsula — plain — river — sea — valley — ecology — climate — soil — geomorphology — biogeography – Timeline of geography, meteorology, paleontology
Human geography
The human, or political/cultural, branch of geography – also called anthropogeography focuses on the social science, non-physical aspects of the way the world is arranged.
It examines how humans adapt themselves to the land and to other people, and in macroscopic transformations they enact on the world.
Learn more: Sub-branches of Human Geography
It can be divided into the following broad categories: economic geography, political geography (including geopolitics), social geography (including urban geography), environmentalism, cartography, and military geography.
Countries of the world — country — nation — state — union — province — county — city — municipality
Historical geography
This branch seeks to determine how physical and cultural features of the planet evolved and came into being and have evolved over time.
Urban and Regional Planning
Urban planning and regional planning use the science of geography to assist in determining how to develop (or not develop) the land to meet particular criteria, such as safety, beauty, economic opportunities, the preservation of the built or natural heritage, etcetera.
The planning of towns, cities and rural areas may be seen as applied geography although it also draws heavily upon the arts, the sciences and lessons of history. Some of the issues facing planning are considered briefly under the headings of rural exodus, urban exodus and Smart Growth.
Geography Methods
Spatial interrelationships are key to this synoptic science, and it uses maps as a key tool.
Geographers use four interrelated approaches:
- Systematic – Groups geographical knowledge into categories that can be explored globally
- Regional – Examines systematic relationships between categories for a specific region or location on the planet.
- Descriptive – Simply specifies the locations of features and populations.
- Analytical – Asks why we find features and populations in a specific geographic area.
Geographic Techniques
Many technologies and techniques have evolved to help geographers in their study of the Earth. Geographic information systems and remote sensing are two main areas of geographic study that focus on using geospatial technologies to map out and analyze the world. GPS, LiDAR and satellite data are the main technologies being used to collect data about the Earth.
Five Themes of Geography
The Five Geography Themes began as a framework for making geography accessible to children from kindergarten to high school. They describe a simple, effective method for parents and educators to teach children about geography and how it relates to nature, civilization, and other topics. More: Five Themes of Geography Explained
Though the National Geographical Standards replaced these themes in 1994, they remain a simple and effective way to teach children about geography.
A Brief History of Geography as a Field of Study
The Greeks are the first known culture to actively explore geography as a science and philosophy, with major contributors including Thales of Miletus, Herodotus, Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, Aristotle, Dicaearchus of Messana, Strabo, and Ptolemy. Mapping by the Romans as they explored new lands added new techniques.
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. Geographia Generalis by Bernhardus Varenius and Gerardus Mercator’s world map are prime examples.
By the 18th century, geography had become recognized as a discrete discipline and became part of a typical university curriculum. Over the past two centuries the quantity of knowledge and the number of tools has exploded. There are strong links between geography and the sciences of geology and botany.
A Move Toward Regional Science
In the 1950s the regional science movement arose, led by Walter Isard to provide a more quantitative and analytical base to geographical questions, in contrast to the more qualitative tendencies of traditional geography programs.
Regional Science is the body of knowledge in which the spatial dimension plays a fundamental role, such as regional economics, resource management, location theory, urban and regional planning, transportation and communication, human geography, population distribution and environmental quality.
Quotes About the Definition of Geography
The purpose of the discipline of geography has been interpreted and reinterpreted over the years. Below are some notable quotes defining the study of geography.
Strabo
The geographer is the person who attempts to describe parts of the earth. (Geography, AD 18 – 24).
Richard Hartshorne (December 12, 1899 – November 5, 1992), a prominent American geographer, and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His areas of specialization were economic and political geography and the philosophy of geography and he was a proponent of geography as a chorological science.
From The Nature of Geography:
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 in itself is sterile; without the continuous fertilization of generic concepts and principles from systematic geography, it could not advance to higher degrees of accuracy and certainty in interpretation or its findings. (Hartshorne 1939; 468)
