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1 What Is Geography

The document provides an introduction to geography, defining it as the description of the Earth's surface and its phenomena. It outlines the contributions of key figures like Eratosthenes and Alexander von Humboldt, and categorizes geography into three main branches: Physical Geography, Human Geography, and Interface Geography. Additionally, it discusses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing as important tools in the field.

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32 views15 pages

1 What Is Geography

The document provides an introduction to geography, defining it as the description of the Earth's surface and its phenomena. It outlines the contributions of key figures like Eratosthenes and Alexander von Humboldt, and categorizes geography into three main branches: Physical Geography, Human Geography, and Interface Geography. Additionally, it discusses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing as important tools in the field.

Uploaded by

Luqman
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Fundamentals of Geography

OR
Introduction to Geography

Instructor: Niamatullah (Visiting)


M.Phil. (Geospatial Sciences)
Dept. Geography and Regional Planning
University of Balochistan, Quetta.
What is Geography
 A Greek scholar Eratosthenes was the first to coin the term
Geography.
 The word Geography is derived from the two Greek words
i.e. ‘Geo’ means ‘Earth’ and ‘graphien’ means description.
Geography is thus a description of earth’s surface and the
entire phenomenon appearing on it.
 However different scholars have defined geography as per their
view point. Some of these are as follows:
 Vidal de la Blache defines Geography as the science of places.
 “Study of special variation is called geography”.
 “It is the study of Earth's landscapes, peoples, places and
environments”.
 “It is branch of science which deals with the study of
interaction between man and his environment is known as
geography”.
Pounders of Geography

Eratosthenes
(276 -194 BC)
 The ancient Greek scholar Eratosthenes is commonly called the "father
of geography".
Alexander von Humboldt
(1769 -1859)
 Alexander von Humboldt is widely respected as one of the founders of modern
geography.
Branches of Geography
 Geography is basically divided into three branches, which are as following;
A. Physical Geography
The branch of geography dealing with natural features.
 Astronomical Geography: It is the part of mathematical
geography that treats the earth in its relation to the other
celestial bodies in the solar system.
 Geomorphology means, “the study/ or knowledge of Earth
forms, i.e. landforms.”
 Climatology: Study of climate.
 Meteorology: Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific
study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes etc.
 Oceanography: It is related to the study of oceans i.e.
temperature, salinity of the ocean water, relief of the ocean
floor, movements of the ocean water, tides, ocean currents etc.
 Hydrology: It is a study of earth’s surface water bodies found in
the form of oceans, rivers, glaciers, lakes and seas, underground
water, water vapour in the atmosphere.
 Biogeography: It is a study of factors responsible for evolution
and spatial uneven distribution of various species (plants and
animals) found on the Earth.
 Soil Geography: It helps to understand the formation of soil,
its nature (structure and texture), types and distribution on the
earth.
 Coastal Geography: Coastal geography is the study of the
interface between the ocean and the land.
B. Human Geography
 Human geography studies the patterns of human activities in an
environment. It includes human, political, cultural, economic aspects
of social sciences.
 Population Geography: Is a branch of geography that studies
factors responsible for various patterns of spatial distribution and
location of population on the earth’s surface.
 Settlement Geography: Settlement geography explains the
evolution and growth of rural and urban settlements.
 Economic Geography: It seeks to describe and explain the absolute
and relative location of economic activities,
 Cultural Geography: Studies various traditional customs
and cultures etc of a community.
 Historical Geography: Is a branch of geography that
takes into account the geographical and human factors and
processes responsible for the happening of different
historical acts and events in the space over a period of time.
 Political Geography: Political geography deals with study
of the organization of political system in a country.
C. Interface Geography: Following are the branches of
Interface Geography:
 Thematic Cartography: Is a science of preparing maps
and diagrams involving field survey.
 Computer Cartography: Thematic maps and graphs
prepared by using specialized software’s in a computer are
called as computer cartography.
 Quantitative Geography: The application of
mathematical and statistical concepts and methods to the
study of geography.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
 (GIS) store, analyze, and visualize
data for geographic positions on
Earth’s surface.
 An essential feature of G.I.S. is the
use of computer hardware and
software to collect, store, operate
and process the geographic data.
Remote Sensing: Remote sensing may be defined a
collection of data about an object from a distance.
Thank You

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