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Geography

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: General Geography

   Geography (from the Greek words Ge (γη) or Gaea (γαια), both meaning
   "Earth", and graphein (γραφειν) meaning "to describe" or "to write"or
   "to map") is the study of the Earth's features and of the distribution
   of life on the earth, including human life and the effects of human
   activity. So, literally, the translation would be "To describe
   Earth".There are at least four traditional views on geography among
   geographers where emphasis is on the spatial analysis of natural and
   human phenomena (geography as a study of distribution), on area studies
   (places and regions), on man-land relationships, and earth science
   (study of the earth, its waters, and the atmosphere.)

Introduction

   Map of the Earth
   Enlarge
   Map of the Earth

   Traditionally, geography as well as geographers has been viewed as the
   same as cartography and people who study place names. Although many
   geographers are trained in toponymy and cartography, this is not their
   main preoccupation. Geographers study the spatial and temporal
   distribution of phenomena, processes and feature 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

     mere names of places...are not geography...To know by heart a whole
       gazeteer full of them would not, in itself, constitute anyone a
    geographer. Geography has higher aims than this: it seeks to classify
    phenomena (alike of the natural and of the political world, in so far
   as it treats of the latter), to compare, to generalise, to ascend from
     effects to causes, and, in doing so, to trace out the great laws of
   nature and to mark their influences upon man. This is 'a description of
  the world'—that is Geography. In a word Geography is a Science—a thing
     not of mere names but of argument and reason, of cause and effect.


   Geography


   — William Hughes 1863

   Geography as a discipline can be split broadly into two main sub
   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 and 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.

History of geography

   Ptolemy's 150 CE World Map (redrawn in the 15th century)
   Enlarge
   Ptolemy's 150 CE World Map (redrawn in the 15th century)

   The foundations of geography can be traced to the ancient cultures,
   such as the Greeks, who were the first to explore geography as both art
   and science, whether 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 Parmenides or Pythagoras. Anaxagoras was 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 longitude lines is credited
   to Hipparchus. He employed a sexagesimal system 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 Romans as they explored new lands would later
   provide a high level of information for Ptolemy to construct detailed
   atlases. He extended the work of Hipparchus, using a grid system on his
   maps and adopting a length of 56.5 miles for a degree.

   During the Middle Ages, the fall of the Roman empire led to a shift in
   the evolution of geography from Europe to the Islamic world. Scholars
   such as Idrisi (produced detailed maps), Ibn Batutta, and Ibn Khaldun
   provided detailed accounts of their Hajj. Further, Islamic scholars
   translated and inteperated the earlier works of the Romans and Greeks
   and established the House of Wisdom in Baghdad for this purpose.

   The Age of discovery during the 16th and 17th centuries where many new
   lands were discovered and accounts by explorers such as Christopher
   Columbus, Marco Polo and James Cook , revived a desire for both
   accurate geographic detail, and more solid theoretical foundations.

   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 and the National Geographic Society in 1888. The influence of
   Immanuel Kant, Alexander von Humbolt, Carl Ritter and Paul Vidal de la
   Blache can 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, has led to the development of geomatics and new practices
   such as participant observation and geostatistics being incorporated
   into geography's portofilio 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 geology and botany, as well as
   economics, sociology and demographics have also grown greatly
   especially as a result of Earth System Science that seeks to understand
   the world in a Holistic view.

Branches of geography

Physical geography

   Physical Map of the World
   Enlarge
   Physical Map of the World

   Physical geography (or physiogeography) focuses on geography as an
   Earth science. It aims to understand the physical features of the
   Earth, its lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, pedosphere and global
   flora and fauna patterns (biosphere). Physical Geography can be divided
   into the following broad categories:
     * Geomorphology
     * Coastal/Marine studies
     * Hydrology/ Hydrography
          + Glaciology
          + Limnology
          + Oceanography/ Oceanology
     * Climatology
     * Pedology
     * Biogeography
     * Geodesy
     * Palaeogeography and paleoclimatology
     * Environmental Geography and management
     * Landscape ecology

Human geography

   Human geography is 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
   economic aspects. 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 geography is emerging as a link between the two.
   Population density by country, 2006
   Enlarge
   Population density by country, 2006

   Human geography can be divided into many broad categories, such as:
     * Economic geography
     * Transportation geography
     * Development geography
     * Population geography or Demography*
     * Urban geography
     * Social geography
     * Behavioural geography
     * Geosophy
     * Cultural geography
     * Political geography, including Geopolitics*
     * Historical geography
     * Time geography
     * Regional geography
     * Tourism geography
     * Strategic geography
     * Military geography
     * Feminist geography
     * Children's geographies

   * Distinction between these fields of study have become increasingly
   blurred over time and the above list should not be considered
   definitive.

Socio-environmental geography

   During the time of environmental determinism, geography was defined not
   as the study of spatial relationships, but as the study of how humans
   and the natural environment interact. Though environmental determinism
   has lost support, there remains a strong tradition of geographers
   addressing the relationships between people and nature. There are two
   main subfields of socio-environmental geography:
     * Cultural and Political ecology (CAPE): Cultural ecology grew out of
       the work of Carl Sauer in geography and a similar school of thought
       in anthropology. It examined how human societies adapt themselves
       to the natural environment. Sustainability science has been one
       important outgrowth of this tradition. Political ecology arose when
       some geographers used aspects of critical geography to look at
       relations of power and how they affect people's use of the
       environment. For example, an influential study by Michael Watts
       argued that famines in the Sahel are caused by the changes in the
       region's political and economic system as a result of colonialism
       and the spread of capitalism.

     * Risk-hazards research: Research on hazards began with the work of
       geographer Gilbert F. White, who sought to understand why people
       live in disaster-prone floodplains. Since then, the hazards field
       has expanded to become a multidisciplinary field examining both
       natural hazards (such as earthquakes) as well as technological
       hazards (such as nuclear reactor meltdowns). Geographers studying
       hazards are interested in both the dynamics of the hazard event and
       how people and societies deal with it. (See main article: Disaster
       management)

Related fields

Urban, regional and spatial planning

   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
   planetology. 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, maps
   are a key tool. Classical cartography has 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 psychology and ergonomics to
   understand which symbols convey information about the Earth most
   effectively, and behavioural psychology to induce the readers of their
   maps to act on the information. They must learn geodesy and fairly
   advanced mathematics to understand how the shape of the Earth affects
   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 science and database systems. GIS
   has revolutionized the field of cartography; nearly all mapmaking is
   now done with the assistance of some form of GIS software.

Remote Sensing

   Remote sensing can be defined as the art and 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 photography and 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).

Geostatistics

   Geostatistics deal with quantitative data analysis, specifically the
   application of statistical methodology to the exploration of geographic
   phenomena. Geostatistics is used extensively in a variety of fields
   including: hydrology, geology, petroleum exploration, weather analysis,
   urban planning, logistics, and epidemiology. The mathematical basis for
   geostatistics derives from cluster analysis, discriminant analysis, and
   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.

Geographic qualitative methods

   Geographic qualitative methods, or ethnographical; research techniques,
   are used by human geographers. In cultural geography there is a
   tradition of employing qualitative research techniques also used in
   anthropology and sociology. Participant observation and in-depth
   interviews provide human geographers with qualitative data.

Selective list of notable geographers

   The Geographer by Johannes Vermeer
   Enlarge
   The Geographer by Johannes Vermeer
     * Eratosthenes (276BC - 194BC) - calculated the size of the Earth
     * Ptolemy (c.90–c.168) - compiled Greek and Roman knowledge into the
       book Geographia
     * Alexander Von Humboldt (1769–1859) - published the Kosmos and
       founder of the sub-field biogeography. Founder of modern geography
     * Carl Ritter (1779-1859) - Occupied the first chair of geography at
       Berlin University, founder of modern geography
     * William Morris Davis (1850-1934) - father of American geography and
       developer of the cycle of erosion
     * Paul Vidal de la Blache (1845-1918) - founder of the French school
       of geopolitics and wrote the principles of human geography
     * Walter Christaller (1893-1969) - human geographer and inventor of
       Central Place Theory
     * David Harvey (1935-) - Marxist geographer and author on theories on
       space and urban geography.
     * Arnold Henry Guyot (1807-1884) - noted the structure of glaciers
       and advanced understaning in glacier motion especially fast ice
       flow
     * Nigel Thrift (1949-) - originator of non-representational theory
     * Michael Frank Goodchild (1944-) - prominent GIS scholar and winner
       of the RGS founder's medal in 2003

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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