Geography (from
Greek γεωγραφία -
geographia, lit. "earth describe-write") is the study of
the
Earth and its lands, features,
inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to
describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the
word "geography" was
Eratosthenes
(276-194 B.C.). Four historical traditions in geographical research
are the
spatial analysis of natural
and human phenomena (geography as a study of distribution),
area studies (places and regions),
study of man-land relationship, and research in
earth sciences. Nonetheless, modern geography
is an all-encompassing discipline that foremost seeks to understand
the Earth and all of its human and natural complexities—not merely
where objects are, but how they have changed and come to be. As
"the bridge between the human and
physical sciences," geography is divided
into two main branches—
human
geography and
physical
geography.
Introduction
Traditionally,
geographers have been
viewed the same way as
cartographers and people who study
place names and numbers. Although many geographers are trained in
toponymy and cartology, this is not their
main preoccupation. Geographers study the
spatial and
temporal
distribution of phenomena, processes and features as well as the
interaction of humans and their
environment. As space and place affect a
variety of topics such as economics, health, climate, plants and
animals, geography is highly interdisciplinary.
Geography as a discipline can be split broadly into two main
subsidiary fields:
human geography
and
physical geography. The
former focuses largely on the
built
environment and how space is created, viewed and managed by
humans as well as the influence humans have on the space they
occupy. The latter examines the natural environment and how the
climate,
vegetation & life,
soil,
water, and
landforms
are produced and interact. As a result of the two subfields using
different approaches a third field has emerged, which is
environmental geography.
Environmental geography combines physical and human geography and
looks at the interactions between the environment and humans.
Branches of geography
Physical geography
Physical geography (or physiogeography) focuses on geography as an
Earth science. It aims to understand
the physical
lithosphere,
hydrosphere,
atmosphere,
pedosphere, and global
flora
and
fauna patterns (
biosphere). Physical geography can be divided into
the following broad categories:
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Human geography
Human geographyis a branch of
geography that focuses on the study of patterns and processes that
shape human interaction with various environments. It encompasses
human,
political,
cultural,
social, and
economicaspects. While the major focus of
human geography is not the physical landscape of the Earth (see
physical geography), it is hardly
possible to discuss human geography without referring to the
physical landscape on which human activities are being played out,
and
environmental
geographyis emerging as a link between the two. Human geography
can be divided into many broad categories, such as:
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auto;" cellspacing="15"
Various approaches to the study of human geography have also arisen
through time and include:
Environmental geography
Environmental geographyis
the branch of geography that describes the spatial aspects of
interactions between humans and the natural world. It requires an
understanding of the traditional aspects of physical and human
geography, as well as the ways in which human societies
conceptualize the environment.
Environmental geography has emerged as a bridge between human and
physical geography as a result of the increasing specialisation of
the two sub-fields. Furthermore, as human relationship with the
environment has changed as a result of
globalizationand
technological changea new approach was
needed to understand the changing and dynamic relationship.
Examples of areas of research in environmental geography include
emergency management,
environmental management,
sustainability, and
political ecology.
Geomatics
Digital Elevation Model (DEM)
is a branch of geography that has
emerged since the quantitative revolution in geography in the mid
1950s. Geomatics involves the use of traditional spatial techniques
used in cartography and topography and their application to
computers. Geomatics has become a widespread field with many other
disciplines using techniques such as GIS and remote sensing.
Geomatics has also led to a revitalization of some geography
departments especially in Northern America where the subject had a
declining status during the 1950s.
Geomatics encompasses a large area of fields involved with
spatial analysis, such as
Cartography,
Geographic information systems
,
Remote sensing, and
Global positioning systems .
Regional geography
Regional geographyis a branch of
geography that studies the regions of all sizes across the
Earth. It has a prevailing descriptive character. The
main aim is to understand or define the uniqueness or character of
a particular region which consists of natural as well as human
elements. Attention is paid also to
regionalizationwhich covers the proper
techniques of space
delimitationinto
regions.
Regional geography is also considered as a certain approach to
study in geographical sciences (similar to
quantitativeor
critical geographies, for more
information see
History of
geography).
Related fields
- Urban planning, regional planning and spatial 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, and so on. The planning of towns, cities, and rural areas
may be seen as applied geography.
- Regional science: In the 1950s
the regional science movement led by Walter Isard arose, to provide
a more quantitative and analytical base to geographical questions,
in contrast to the descriptive tendencies of traditional geography
programs. Regional science comprises 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, transport and communication, human geography, population distribution,
landscape ecology, and
environmental quality.
- Interplanetary Sciences: While
the discipline of geography is normally concerned with the Earth, the term can also be informally used to
describe the study of other worlds, such as the planets of the Solar
System and even beyond. The study of systems larger than the
earth itself usually forms part of Astronomy or Cosmology.
The study of other planets is usually called planetary science. Alternative terms such
as Areology (the study of Mars) have
been proposed, but are not widely used.
Geographical techniques
As spatial interrelationships are key to this synoptic science,
mapsare a key tool. Classical
cartographyhas been joined by a more modern
approach to geographical analysis, computer-based
geographic information
systems(GIS).
In their study, 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.
Cartography
Cartography studies the representation of the Earth's surface with
abstract symbols (map making). Although other subdisciplines of
geography rely on maps for presenting their analyses, the actual
making of maps is abstract enough to be regarded separately.
Cartography has grown from a collection of drafting techniques into
an actual science.
Cartographers must learn
cognitive
psychologyand ergonomics to understand which symbols convey
information about the Earth most effectively, and
behavioral psychologyto induce the readers of
their maps to act on the information. They must learn
geodesyand fairly advanced
mathematicsto understand how the
shape of the Earthaffects the distortion
of map symbols projected onto a flat surface for viewing. It can be
said, without much controversy, that cartography is the seed from
which the larger field of geography grew. Most geographers will
cite a childhood fascination with maps as an early sign they would
end up in the field.
Geographic information systems
Geographic information systems (GIS) deal with the storage of
information about the Earth for automatic retrieval by a computer,
in an accurate manner appropriate to the information's purpose. In
addition to all of the other subdisciplines of geography, GIS
specialists must understand
computer
scienceand
databasesystems. GIS has
revolutionized the field of cartography; nearly all mapmaking is
now done with the assistance of some form of
GIS software. GIS also refers to the
science of using GIS software and GIS techniques to represent,
analyze and predict spatial relationships. In this context, GIS
stands for Geographic Information Science.
Remote sensing
Remote sensing is the science of obtaining information about Earth
features from measurements made at a distance. Remotely sensed data
comes in many forms such as
satellite
imagery,
aerial
photographyand data obtained from hand-held sensors.
Geographers increasingly use remotely sensed data to obtain
information about the Earth's
land
surface, ocean and atmosphere because it: a) supplies objective
information at a variety of spatial scales (local to global), b)
provides a synoptic view of the area of interest, c) allows access
to distant and/or inaccessible sites, d) provides spectral
information outside the visible portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum, and e)
facilitates studies of how features/areas change over time.
Remotely sensed data may be analyzed either independently of, or in
conjunction with, other digital data layers (e.g., in a Geographic
Information System).
Geographic quantitative methods
Geostatisticsdeal with
quantitative dataanalysis, specifically the
application of statistical methodology to the exploration of
geographic phenomena. Geostatistics is used extensively in a
variety of fields including:
hydrology,
geology,
petroleumexploration, weather analysis,
urban planning,
logistics, and
epidemiology. The mathematical basis for
geostatistics derives from
cluster
analysis,
linear
discriminant analysisand
non-parametric statistical tests,
and a variety of other subjects. Applications of geostatistics rely
heavily on
geographic
information systems, particularly for the
interpolation(estimate) of unmeasured points.
Geographers are making notable contributions to the method of
quantitative techniques.
Geographic qualitative methods
Geographic qualitative methods, or ethnographical; research
techniques, are used by human geographers. In
cultural geographythere is a tradition of
employing
qualitative
researchtechniques also used in
anthropologyand
sociology.
Participant observationand in-depth
interviews provide human geographers with qualitative data.
History of geography
The ideas of
Anaximander(c. 610 B.C.-c.
545 B.C.), considered by later Greek writers to be the true founder
of geography, come to us through fragments quoted by his
successors. Anaximander is credited with the invention of the
gnomon,the simple yet efficient Greek instrument that allowed the
early measurement of latitude. Thales, Anaximander is also credited
with the prediction of eclipses. The foundations of geography can
be traced to the ancient cultures, such as the ancient, medieval,
and early modern
Chinese. The
Greeks, who were the first to explore
geography as both
artand
science, achieved this through
Cartography,
Philosophy, and
Literature, or through
Mathematics. There is some debate
about who was the first person to assert that the Earth is
spherical in shape, with the credit going either to
Parmenidesor
Pythagoras.
Anaxagoraswas able to demonstrate that the
profile of the Earth was circular by explaining
eclipses. However, he still believed that the Earth
was a flat disk, as did many of his contemporaries. One of the
first estimates of the radius of the Earth was made by
Eratosthenes.
The first rigorous system of
latitude and longitudelines is
credited to
Hipparchus. He employed a
sexagesimalsystem that was derived from
Babylonian mathematics. The
parallels and meridians were sub-divided into 360°, with each
degree further subdivided 60′ (
minutes). To
measure the longitude at different location on Earth, he suggested
using eclipses to determine the relative difference in time. The
extensive mapping by the
Romansas they
explored new lands would later provide a high level of information
for
Ptolemyto construct detailed
atlases. He extended the work of
Hipparchus, using a grid system on his maps and
adopting a length of 56.5
milesfor a
degree.
From the 3rd century onwards,
Chinesemethods of geographical study and
writing of geographical literature became much more complex than
what was found in Europe at the time (until the 13th century).
Chinese geographers such as
Liu An,
Pei Xiu,
Jia Dan,
Shen Kuo,
Fan Chengda,
Zhou Daguan, and
Xu
Xiakewrote important treatises, yet by the 17th century,
advanced ideas and methods of Western-style geography were adopted
in China.
During the
Middle Ages, the
fall of the Roman empireled to a
shift in the evolution of geography from
Europeto the
Islamic
world.
Muslim
geographerssuch as
Muhammad
al-Idrisiproduced detailed world maps (such as
Tabula Rogeriana), while other geographers
such as
Yaqut al-Hamawi,
Abu Rayhan Biruni,
Ibn Battutaand
Ibn
Khaldunprovided detailed accounts of their journeys and the
geography of the regions they visited. Turkish geographer,
Mahmud al-Kashgaridrew a world map on a
linguistic basis, and later so did
Piri
Reis(
Piri Reis map).
Further, Islamic
scholars translated and interpreted the
earlier works of the Romans and
Greeks and established the House of Wisdom in Baghdad
for this
purpose.Abū Zayd
al-Balkhī, originally from Balkh
, founded the
"Balkhī school" of terrestrial mapping in Baghdad.E. Edson and
Emilie Savage-Smith, Medieval Views of the Cosmos, pp.
61-3, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
Suhrāb, a late tenth century Muslim
geographer, accompanied a book of geographical coordinates with
instructions for making a rectangular world map, with
equirectangular projectionor
cylindrical equidistant projection.In the early 11th century,
Avicennahypothesized on the
geologicalcauses of
mountainsin
The
Book of Healing(1027).
Abu Rayhan Biruni(976-1048) first
described a polar equi-
azimuthal equidistant
projectionof the
celestial
sphere. He was regarded as the most skilled when it came to
mapping cities and measuring the distances between them, which he
did for many cities in the
Middle
Eastand
Indian subcontinent.
He often combined astronomical readings and mathematical equations,
in order to develop methods of pin-pointing locations by recording
degrees of
latitudeand
longitude. He also developed similar techniques
when it came to measuring the heights of
mountains, depths of
valleys,
and expanse of the
horizon. He also
discussed
human geographyand the
planetary habitabilityof the
Earth. He hypothesized that roughly a quarter
of the Earth's surface is habitable by
humans.
He also calculated the
latitudeof Kath,
Khwarezm, using the maximum altitude of the
Sun, and solved a complex
geodesicequation
in order to accurately compute the
Earth's
circumference, which were close to
modern values of the Earth's circumference. His estimate of
6,339.9 km for the
Earth radiuswas
only 16.8 km less than the modern value of 6,356.7 km. In
contrast to his predecessors who measured the Earth's circumference
by sighting the Sun simultaneously from two different locations,
al-Birunideveloped a new method of using
trigonometriccalculations based on the
angle between a
plainand
mountaintop which yielded more accurate
measurements of the Earth's circumference and made it possible for
it to be measured by a single person from a single location. He
also published a study of
map
projections,
Cartography,
which included a method for projecting a
hemisphereon a
plane.
The European
Age of Discoveryduring
the 16th and 17th centuries, where many new lands were discovered
and accounts by European explorers such as
Christopher Columbus,
Marco Poloand
James
Cook, revived a desire for both accurate geographic detail, and
more solid theoretical foundations in Europe.
The 18th
and 19th centuries were the times when geography became recognized
as a discrete academic
discipline and became part of a typical university curriculum in Europe (especially Paris
and Berlin
).The development of many geographic societies
also occurred during the 19th century with the foundations of the
Société de
Géographie in 1821, the Royal Geographical Society
in 1830, Russian Geographical Society in
1845, American
Geographical Society in 1851, and the National
Geographic Society
in 1888.The influence of
Immanuel Kant,
Alexander von Humboldt,
Carl Ritterand
Paul Vidal de la Blachecan be seen
as a major turning point in geography from a philosophy to an
academic subject.
Over the past two centuries the advancements in technology such as
computers, have led to the development of
geomaticsand new practices such as participant
observation and geostatistics being incorporated into geography's
portfolio of tools. In the West during the 20th century, the
discipline of geography went through four major phases:
environmental determinism,
regional geography, the
quantitative revolution, and
critical geography. The strong
interdisciplinary links between geography and the sciences of
geologyand
botany, as
well as
economics,
sociologyand
demographicshave also grown greatly especially
as a result of Earth System Science that seeks to understand the
world in a holistic view.
Notable geographers
Geographical institutions and societies
Publications
See also
Notes and references
- Reprint of a 1964 article.
- http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/morgans/lecture_2.prn.pdf
- Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China:
Volume 3. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd. Page 512.
- David A. King (1996), "Astronomy and Islamic society: Qibla,
gnomics and timekeeping", in Roshdi Rashed, ed., Encyclopedia of
the History of Arabic Science, Vol. 1, p. 128-184 [153].
Routledge, London
and New York.
- James S. Aber (2003). Alberuni calculated the Earth's
circumference at a small town of Pind Dadan Khan, District Jhelum,
Punjab, Pakistan. Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, Emporia
State University.
- Lenn Evan Goodman (1992), Avicenna, p. 31,
Routledge, ISBN
041501929X.
External links
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