Physical geography

Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of
geography.[1][2][3][4][5] Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the
processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere,
and geosphere. This focus is in contrast with the branch of human geography, which focuses on the
built environment, and technical geography, which focuses on using, studying, and creating tools to
obtain, analyze, interpret, and understand spatial information.[4][5][6] The three branches have
significant overlap, however.

NASA true-color image of the Earth's surface and

atmosphere.

Sub-branches

A natural arch.

Physical geography can be divided into several branches or related fields, as follows:

Geomorphology[7][8] is concerned with understanding the surface of the Earth and the processes
by which it is shaped, both at the present as well as in the past. Geomorphology as a field has
several sub-fields that deal with the specific landforms of various environments, e.g. desert
geomorphology and fluvial geomorphology; however, these sub-fields are united by the core
processes which cause them, mainly tectonic or climatic processes. Geomorphology seeks to
understand landform history and dynamics, and predict future changes through a combination of
field observation, physical experiment, and numerical modeling (Geomorphometry). Early studies
in geomorphology are the foundation for pedology, one of two main branches of soil science.
 Meander
formation.

Hydrology[7][8] is predominantly concerned with the amounts and quality of water moving and
accumulating on the land surface and in the soils and rocks near the surface and is typified by the
hydrological cycle. Thus the field encompasses water in rivers, lakes, aquifers and to an extent
glaciers, in which the field examines the process and dynamics involved in these bodies of water.
Hydrology has historically had an important connection with engineering and has thus developed
a largely quantitative method in its research; however, it does have an earth science side that
embraces the systems approach. Similar to most fields of physical geography it has sub-fields
that examine the specific bodies of water or their interaction with other spheres e.g. limnology
and ecohydrology.

Glaciology is the study of glaciers and ice sheets, or more commonly the cryosphere or ice and
phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology groups the latter (ice sheets) as continental glaciers and
the former (glaciers) as alpine glaciers. Although research in the areas is similar to research
undertaken into both the dynamics of ice sheets and glaciers, the former tends to be concerned
with the interaction of ice sheets with the present climate and the latter with the impact of
glaciers on the landscape. Glaciology also has a vast array of sub-fields examining the factors
and processes involved in ice sheets and glaciers e.g. snow hydrology and glacial geology.

Biogeography[7][8] is the science which deals with geographic patterns of species distribution and
the processes that result in these patterns. Biogeography emerged as a field of study as a result
of the work of Alfred Russel Wallace, although the field prior to the late twentieth century had
largely been viewed as historic in its outlook and descriptive in its approach. The main stimulus
for the field since its founding has been that of evolution, plate tectonics and the theory of island
biogeography. The field can largely be divided into five sub-fields: island biogeography,
paleobiogeography, phylogeography, zoogeography and phytogeography.

Climatology[7][8] is the study of the climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged
over a long period of time. Climatology examines both the nature of micro (local) and macro
(global) climates and the natural and anthropogenic influences on them. The field is also sub-
divided largely into the climates of various regions and the study of specific phenomena or time
periods e.g. tropical cyclone rainfall climatology and paleoclimatology.

Soil geography deals with the distribution of soils across the terrain. This discipline, between
geography and soil science, is fundamental to both physical geography and pedology.[9][10][11]
Pedology is the study of soils in their natural environment. It deals with pedogenesis, soil
morphology, soil classification. Soil geography studies the spatial distribution of soils as it relates
to topography, climate (water, air, temperature), soil life (micro-organisms, plants, animals) and
mineral materials within soils (biogeochemical cycles).

Palaeogeography[7] is a cross-disciplinary study that examines the preserved material in the

stratigraphic record to determine the distribution of the continents through geologic time. Almost
all the evidence for the positions of the continents comes from geology in the form of fossils or
paleomagnetism. The use of these data has resulted in evidence for continental drift, plate
tectonics, and supercontinents. This, in turn, has supported palaeogeographic theories such as
the Wilson cycle.

Coastal geography is the study of the dynamic interface between the ocean and the land,
incorporating both the physical geography (i.e. coastal geomorphology, geology, and
oceanography) and the human geography of the coast. It involves an understanding of coastal
weathering processes, particularly wave action, sediment movement and weathering, and also the
ways in which humans interact with the coast. Coastal geography, although predominantly
geomorphological in its research, is not just concerned with coastal landforms, but also the
causes and influences of sea level change.

Oceanography[7] is the branch of physical geography that studies the Earth's oceans and seas. It
covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics (biological
oceanography); ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics (physical oceanography);
plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor (geological oceanography); and fluxes of various
chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries
(chemical oceanography). These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers
blend to further knowledge of the world ocean and understanding of processes within it.

Quaternary science[8] is an interdisciplinary field of study focusing on the Quaternary period,

which encompasses the last 2.6 million years. The field studies the last ice age and the recent
interstadial the Holocene and uses proxy evidence to reconstruct the past environments during
this period to infer the climatic and environmental changes that have occurred.

Landscape ecology is a sub-discipline of ecology and geography that address how spatial
variation in the landscape affects ecological processes such as the distribution and flow of
energy, materials, and individuals in the environment (which, in turn, may influence the distribution
of landscape "elements" themselves such as hedgerows). The field was largely funded by the
German geographer Carl Troll. Landscape ecology typically deals with problems in an applied and
holistic context. The main difference between biogeography and landscape ecology is that the
latter is concerned with how flows or energy and material are changed and their impacts on the
 landscape whereas the former is concerned with the spatial patterns of species and chemical
cycles.

Geomatics is the field of gathering, storing, processing, and delivering geographic information, or
spatially referenced information. Geomatics includes geodesy (scientific discipline that deals with
the measurement and representation of the earth, its gravitational field, and other geodynamic
phenomena, such as crustal motion, oceanic tides, and polar motion), cartography, geographical
information science (GIS) and remote sensing (the short or large-scale acquisition of information
of an object or phenomenon, by the use of either recording or real-time sensing devices that are
not in physical or intimate contact with the object).

Environmental geography is a branch of geography that analyzes the spatial aspects of

interactions between humans and the natural world. The branch bridges the divide between
human and physical geography and thus requires an understanding of the dynamics of geology,
meteorology, hydrology, biogeography, and geomorphology, as well as the ways in which human
societies conceptualize the environment. Although the branch was previously more visible in
research than at present with theories such as environmental determinism linking society with the
environment. It has largely become the domain of the study of environmental management or
anthropogenic influences.

Journals and literature

Main category: Geography Journals

Mental geography and earth science journals communicate and document the results of research
carried out in universities and various other research institutions. Most journals cover a specific
publish the research within that field, however unlike human geographers, physical geographers
tend to publish in inter-disciplinary journals rather than predominantly geography journal; the
research is normally expressed in the form of a scientific paper. Additionally, textbooks, books, and
communicate research to laypeople, although these tend to focus on environmental issues or
cultural dilemmas. Examples of journals that publish articles from physical geographers are:

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

Climatic Change

Earth Interactions

Earth Surface Processes and Landforms

Geographia Technica
Geographical Bulletin

Geomorphology

Geophysical Research Letters

Journal of Climate

Journal of Coastal Research

Journal of Biogeography

Journal of Geography and Geology

Journal of Geocryology

Journal of Glaciology

Journal of Hydrology

Journal of Hydrometeorology

Journal of Maps

Journal of Quaternary Science

Landscape Ecology

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences

Nature

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

Polar Research

Progress in Physical Geography

Remote Sensing of Environment

Sedimentology

Soil Science

The Professional Geographer

Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers

Historical evolution of the discipline

From the birth of geography as a science during the Greek classical period and until the late
nineteenth century with the birth of anthropogeography (human geography), geography was almost
exclusively a natural science: the study of location and descriptive gazetteer of all places of the
known world. Several works among the best known during this long period could be cited as an
example, from Strabo (Geography), Eratosthenes (Geographika) or Dionysius Periegetes (Periegesis
Oiceumene) in the Ancient Age. In more modern times, these works include the Alexander von
Humboldt (Kosmos) in the nineteenth century, in which geography is regarded as a physical and
natural science through the work Summa de Geografía of Martín Fernández de Enciso from the early
sixteenth century, which indicated for the first time the New World.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, a controversy exported from geology, between
supporters of James Hutton (uniformitarianism thesis) and Georges Cuvier (catastrophism)
strongly influenced the field of geography, because geography at this time was a natural science.

Two historical events during the nineteenth century had a great effect on the further development of
physical geography. The first was the European colonial expansion in Asia, Africa, Australia and
even America in search of raw materials required by industries during the Industrial Revolution. This
fostered the creation of geography departments in the universities of the colonial powers and the
birth and development of national geographical societies, thus giving rise to the process identified
by Horacio Capel as the institutionalization of geography.

The exploration of Siberia is an example. In the mid-eighteenth century, many geographers were
sent to perform geographical surveys in the area of Arctic Siberia. Among these is who is
considered the patriarch of Russian geography, Mikhail Lomonosov. In the mid-1750s Lomonosov
began working in the Department of Geography, Academy of Sciences to conduct research in
Siberia. They showed the organic origin of soil and developed a comprehensive law on the
movement of the ice, thereby founding a new branch of geography: glaciology. In 1755 on his
initiative was founded Moscow University where he promoted the study of geography and the
training of geographers. In 1758 he was appointed director of the Department of Geography,
Academy of Sciences, a post from which would develop a working methodology for geographical
survey guided by the most important long expeditions and geographical studies in Russia.

The contributions of the Russian school became more frequent through his disciples, and in the
nineteenth century we have great geographers such as Vasily Dokuchaev who performed works of
great importance as a "principle of comprehensive analysis of the territory" and "Russian
Chernozem". In the latter, he introduced the geographical concept of soil, as distinct from a simple
geological stratum, and thus found a new geographic area of study: pedology. Climatology also
received a strong boost from the Russian school by Wladimir Köppen whose main contribution,
climate classification, is still valid today. However, this great geographer also contributed to the
paleogeography through his work "The climates of the geological past" which is considered the
father of paleoclimatology. Russian geographers who made great contributions to the discipline in
this period were: NM Sibirtsev, Pyotr Semyonov, K.D. Glinka, Neustrayev, among others.

The second important process is the theory of evolution by Darwin in mid-century (which decisively
influenced the work of Friedrich Ratzel, who had academic training as a zoologist and was a
follower of Darwin's ideas) which meant an important impetus in the development of Biogeography.

Another major event in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries took place in the United
States. William Morris Davis not only made important contributions to the establishment of
discipline in his country but revolutionized the field to develop cycle of erosion theory which he
proposed as a paradigm for geography in general, although in actually served as a paradigm for
physical geography. His theory explained that mountains and other landforms are shaped by factors
that are manifested cyclically. He explained that the cycle begins with the lifting of the relief by
geological processes (faults, volcanism, tectonic upheaval, etc.). Factors such as rivers and runoff
begin to create V-shaped valleys between the mountains (the stage called "youth"). During this first
stage, the terrain is steeper and more irregular. Over time, the currents can carve wider valleys
("maturity") and then start to wind, towering hills only ("senescence"). Finally, everything comes to
what is a plain flat plain at the lowest elevation possible (called "baseline") This plain was called by
Davis' "peneplain" meaning "almost plain" Then river rejuvenation occurs and there is another
mountain lift and the cycle continues.

Although Davis's theory is not entirely accurate, it was absolutely revolutionary and unique in its
time and helped to modernize and create a geography subfield of geomorphology. Its implications
prompted a myriad of research in various branches of physical geography. In the case of the
Paleogeography, this theory provided a model for understanding the evolution of the landscape. For
hydrology, glaciology, and climatology as a boost investigated as studying geographic factors shape
the landscape and affect the cycle. The bulk of the work of William Morris Davis led to the
development of a new branch of physical geography: Geomorphology whose contents until then did
not differ from the rest of geography. Shortly after this branch would present a major development.
Some of his disciples made significant contributions to various branches of physical geography
such as Curtis Marbut and his invaluable legacy for Pedology, Mark Jefferson, Isaiah Bowman,
among others.
Notable physical geographers

Alexander von Humboldt,

considered to be the
founding father of physical
geography.

Eratosthenes (276 – 194 BC) who invented the discipline of geography.[12] He made the first
known reliable estimation of the Earth's size.[13] He is considered the father of mathematical
geography and geodesy.[13][14]

Ptolemy (c. 90 – c. 168), who compiled Greek and Roman knowledge to produce the book
Geographia.

Abū Rayhān Bīrūnī (973 – 1048 AD), considered the father of geodesy.[15][16]

Ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980–1037), who formulated the law of superposition and concept of
uniformitarianism in Kitāb al-Šifāʾ (also called The Book of Healing).

Muhammad al-Idrisi (Dreses, 1100 – c. 1165), who drew the Tabula Rogeriana, the most accurate
world map in pre-modern times.[17]

Piri Reis (1465 – c. 1554), whose Piri Reis map is the oldest surviving world map to include the
Americas and possibly Antarctica

Gerardus Mercator (1512–1594), an innovative cartographer and originator of the Mercator

projection.

Bernhardus Varenius (1622–1650), Wrote his important work "General Geography" (1650), first
overview of the geography, the foundation of modern geography.

Mikhail Lomonosov (1711–1765), father of Russian geography and founded the study of
glaciology.
Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859), considered the father of modern geography. Published
Cosmos and founded the study of biogeography.

Arnold Henry Guyot (1807–1884), who noted the structure of glaciers and advanced the
understanding of glacial motion, especially in fast ice flow.

Louis Agassiz (1807–1873), the author of a glacial theory which disputed the notion of a steady-
cooling Earth.

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913), founder of modern biogeography and the Wallace line.

Vasily Dokuchaev (1840–1903), patriarch of Russian geography and founder of pedology.

Wladimir Peter Köppen (1846–1940), developer of most important climate classification and
founder of Paleoclimatology.

William Morris Davis (1850–1934), father of American geography, founder of Geomorphology and
developer of the geographical cycle theory.

John Francon Williams FRGS (1854-1911), wrote his seminal work Geography of the Oceans
published in 1881.

Walther Penck (1888–1923), proponent of the cycle of erosion and the simultaneous occurrence
of uplift and denudation.

Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874–1922), Antarctic explorer during the Heroic Age of Antarctic
Exploration.

Robert E. Horton (1875–1945), founder of modern hydrology and concepts such as infiltration
capacity and overland flow.

J Harlen Bretz (1882–1981), pioneer of research into the shaping of landscapes by catastrophic
floods, most notably the Bretz (Missoula) floods.

Luis García Sáinz (1894–1965), pioneer of physical geography in Spain.

Willi Dansgaard (1922–2011), palaeoclimatologist and quaternary scientist, instrumental in the

use of oxygen-isotope dating and co-identifier of Dansgaard-Oeschger events.

Hans Oeschger (1927–1998), palaeoclimatologist and pioneer in ice core research, co-identifier
of Dansgaard-Orschger events.

Richard Chorley (1927–2002), a key contributor to the quantitative revolution and the use of
systems theory in geography.

Sir Nicholas Shackleton (1937–2006), who demonstrated that oscillations in climate over the past
few million years could be correlated with variations in the orbital and positional relationship
 between the Earth and the Sun.

See also

Areography

Atmosphere of Earth

Concepts and Techniques in Modern Geography

Earth system science

Environmental science

Environmental studies

Geographic information science

Geographic information system

Geophysics

Geostatistics

Global Positioning System

Planetary science

Physiographic regions of the world

Selenography

Technical geography

References

1. "1(b). Elements of Geography" (http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/1b.html) .

www.physicalgeography.net.

2. Pidwirny, Michael; Jones, Scott (1999–2015). "Physical Geography" (http://www.physicalgeogr

aphy.net) .

3. Marsh, William M.; Kaufman, Martin M. (2013). Physical Geography: Great Systems and Global
Environments (https://books.google.com/books?id=uF3aJSC20yMC&q=physical+geography+s
ystem) . Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521764285.
 4. Dahlman, Carl; Renwick, William (2014). Introduction to Geography: People, Places &
Environment (https://www.pearson.com/store/en-us/pearsonplus/p/9780137504510.html?cre
ative=545445680380&keyword=&matchtype=&network=g&device=c&gclid=CjwKCAjwpKyYBhB
7EiwAU2Hn2QPXxmu7Nqnx04A__xcaDqM3GuPh2cbR2wI7G7ihOs2cQpV7CUFAxxoCzLEQAvD
_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) (6 ed.). Pearson. ISBN 9780137504510. Retrieved 28 August 2022.

5. Haidu, Ionel (2016). "What is Technical Geography" (https://technicalgeography.org/pdf/1_201

6/01_haidu.pdf) (PDF). Geographia Technica. 11 (1): 1–5. doi:10.21163/GT_2016.111.01 (htt
ps://doi.org/10.21163%2FGT_2016.111.01) . Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/2022011
9112718/http://www.technicalgeography.org/pdf/1_2016/01_haidu.pdf) (PDF) from the
original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.

6. Dada, Anup (December 2022). "The Process of Geomorphology Related to Sub Branches of
Physical Geography". Black Sea Journal of Scientific Research. 59 (3): 1–2.
doi:10.36962/GBSSJAR/59.3.004 (https://doi.org/10.36962%2FGBSSJAR%2F59.3.004)
(inactive 1 November 2024).

7. "Physical Geography: Defining Physical Geography" (https://researchguides.dartmouth.edu/phy

sical_geography) . Dartmouth College Library. Retrieved 2019-11-18.

8. "Physical Geography" (https://www.unr.edu/geography/department-specialties/physical-geogr

aphy) . University of Nevada, Reno.

9. "Subdisciplines of Geography" (https://www.civilserviceindia.com/subject/General-Studies/not

es/images/social-science.png) . Civil Service India (PNG). "Soils Geography lies between
Physical Geography and Pedology"

10. Bridges, E. M. (1981). "Soil geography: a subject transformed". Progress in Physical Geography:
Earth and Environment. 5 (3): 398–407. Bibcode:1981PrPG....5..398B (https://ui.adsabs.harvar
d.edu/abs/1981PrPG....5..398B) . doi:10.1177/030913338100500303 (https://doi.org/10.117
7%2F030913338100500303) . S2CID 131268490 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:
131268490) . "(Soil geography) is a branch of study which lies between geography and soil
science and is to be found as a fundamental part of both subjects (Bridges and Davidson,
1981)"
11. Degórski, Marek (2004). "Geografia gleb jako dyscyplina flzycznogeograficzna" (http://rcin.org.
pl/igipz/Content/71/z3_2004.pdf) [Soil geography as a physical geography discipline] (PDF).
Przeglad Geograficzny (in Polish). 76. Warsaw: Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization
PAS: 271–288. ISSN 0033-2143 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0033-2143) – via RCIN.
"soil geography may be defined as a scientific discipline - within both geography and soil
science - that deals with the distribution of soils across the Earth's surface"
M. Degórski (January 2004). "Soil geography as a physical geography discipline" (https://w
ww.researchgate.net/publication/285924145) . ResearchGate.

12. Eratosthenes (2010). Eratosthenes' "Geography". Fragments collected and translated, with
commentary and additional material by Duane W. Roller. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-
0-691-14267-8.

13. Avraham Ariel, Nora Ariel Berger (2006)."Plotting the globe: stories of meridians, parallels, and
the international (https://books.google.com/books?id=2xTJt3b3SHUC&pg=PA12) ". Greenwood
Publishing Group. p.12. ISBN 0-275-98895-3

14. Jennifer Fandel (2006)."The Metric System (https://books.google.com/books?id=kRp7R_WnAiEC

&pg=PA4) ". The Creative Company. p. 4. ISBN 1-58341-430-4

15. Akbar S. Ahmed (1984). "Al-Beruni: The First Anthropologist", RAIN 60, pp. 9–10.

16. H. Mowlana (2001). "Information in the Arab World", Cooperation South Journal 1.

17. S. P. Scott (1904), History of the Moorish Empire, pp. 461–2:

The compilation of Edrisi marks an era in the history of science. Not only is its
historical information most interesting and valuable, but its descriptions of
many parts of the earth are still authoritative. For three centuries geographers
copied his maps without alteration. The relative position of the lakes which
form the Nile, as delineated in his work, does not differ greatly from that
established by Baker and Stanley more than seven hundred years afterward,
and their number is the same.

Further reading

Holden, Joseph. (2004). Introduction to Physical Geography and the Environment. Prentice-Hall,
London.

Inkpen, Robert. (2004). Science, Philosophy and Physical Geography. Routledge, London.
 Pidwirny, Michael. (2014). Glossary of Terms for Physical Geography. Planet Earth Publishing,
Kelowna, Canada. ISBN 9780987702906. Available on Google Play (https://play.google.com/stor
e/books/details/Michael_Pidwirny_Glossary_of_Terms_for_Physical_Ge?id=jQoIBAAAQBAJ) .

Pidwirny, Michael. (2014). Understanding Physical Geography. Planet Earth Publishing, Kelowna,
Canada. ISBN 9780987702944. Available on Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/search?
q=Pidwirny) .

Reynolds, Stephen J. et al. (2015). Exploring Physical Geography. [A Visual Textbook, Featuring
more than 2500 Photographies & Illustrations]. McGraw-Hill Education, New York. ISBN 978-0-07-
809516-0

Smithson, Peter; et al. (2002). Fundamentals of the Physical Environment. Routledge, London.

Strahler, Alan; Strahler Arthur. (2006). Introducing Physical Geography. Wiley, New York.

Summerfield, M. (1991). Global Geomorphology. Longman, London.

Wainwright, John; Mulligan, M. (2003). Environmental Modelling: Finding Simplicity in Complexity.

John Wiley and Sons Ltd, London.

External links

Physiography by T.X. Huxley, 1878 (http://www.antiquebooks.net/readpage.html#physiography) ,

full text, physical geography of the Thames River Basin

Fundamentals of Physical Geography, 2nd Edition, by M. Pidwirny, 2006 (http://www.physicalgeog

raphy.net/fundamentals/contents.html) , full text

Physical Geography for Students and Teachers (http://www.geography-site.co.uk/pages/physical.

html) , UK National Grid For Learning