GEOGRAPHY

History and Basic Concepts

What is Geography?
Geography is the science that studies the
distribution of and relationships between
features found on the earths surface
places where we live or travel".

The central issue in Geography evolves
around the character of places, their
similarities, and differences

Erastothenes, an Ancient Greek Scholar first
coined the term "Geography
Why is Geography unique among
the subjects we study in college?..1
It is primarily concerned with how things are
distributed over the earths surface.
It uses graphics (maps, pictures, photography
& graphs) and taxonomy (classification of
things) approach in its studies.
It plays a part in understanding the
contemporary world unlike that of any other
field of study.
Why is Geography unique among
the subjects we study in college?..2
Geography is not defined by its subject
matter (the things it studies) but rather the
method it adopts to study those materials.

Geographers adopt an interdisciplinary
(holistic) approach to study things &
processes on the earth

Geographic Study focuses on the inter-
relationships between various phenomena
found on the earths surface
Human habitat & Geographic
studies
The human habitat is made up of:
A natural environment: comprising natural
features e.g. trees, rivers, weather, etc.

A cultural environment: consisting of
products of human civilization e.g. schools,
cities, cars, computers and buildings.
Major sub-disciplines in Physical &
Human Geography
Geography integrates
a wide variety of
subject matter.
Almost any area of
human knowledge
can be examined
from a spatial
perspective
The main divisions
are Physical and
Human Geography
PHYSICAL
HUMAN
Physical Geography Human Geography
Rocks and Minerals Population
Landforms Settlements
Soils Economic Activities
Animals Transportation
Plants Recreational Activities
Water Religion
Atmosphere Political Systems
Rivers & other water bodies Social Traditions
Environment Human Migration
Climate and Weather Agricultural Systems
Oceans Urban Systems
Holistic Synthesis
Geographic studies
involves a holistic
synthesis.

Holistic synthesis
connects knowledge
from a variety of
academic fields in
both Human and
Physical Geography.
The Holistic Approach strengths and
weaknesses
The holistic nature of Geography is both a
strength and a weakness.

Geography's strength comes from its ability
to connect functional interrelationships that are
not normally noticed in narrowly defined fields
of knowledge.

The holistic approach is weak because
holistic understanding is often too simple and
misses important details.
Historical development of
Geography
The first truly geographical studies occurred more than
4,000 years ago when explorers began traveling to
new lands.

The Chinese, Egyptian, and Phoenician civilizations
were beginning to explore the places and spaces
within and outside their homelands.

The earliest evidence of geographic explorations
comes from the archaeological discovery of a
Babylonian clay tablet map that dates back to 2300
BC.
Early Greek Geographers1
The Greeks were the first civilization to practice
a form of Geography that was more than mere
map making

Greek philosophers and scientists were
interested in learning about spatial nature of
human and physical features found on the
Earth.
Early Greek Geographers2
Ancient Greek scholar Eratosthenes first
coined the word "Geography".

The term Geography is composed of two
Greek words
Geo = Earth and
Graphien = to write.

The Greeks defined Geography as Description
of the Earth
Early Greek Geographers3
Eratosthenes (circa 276 - 194 BC) calculated the
equatorial circumference of the earth to be
40,233 kilometers using simple geometric
relationships.
This primitive calculation was unusually
accurate. Measurements of the Earth using
modern satellite technology have computed the
circumference to be 40,072 kilometers.
Eratosthenes coined the term Geography
Early Greek Geographers - 4
Aristotle (circa 384 - 322 BC) hypothesized
and scientifically demonstrated that the Earth
had a spherical shape using evidence from
observations of lunar eclipses.

Herodotus (circa 484 - 425 BC) wrote a
number of volumes that described the Human
and Physical Geography of the various regions
of the Persian Empire.
Early Roman Geographers
Greek accomplishments in Geography were
passed on to the Romans.
Strabo (circa 64 BC - 20 AD) wrote a 17
volume series called "Geographia in which he
described the Cultural Geographies of various
societies found from Britain to as far east as
India, and south to Ethiopia and as far north as
Iceland





Early Roman Geographers
Ptolemy (circa 100 - 178 AD) published
Geographike hyphegesis or "Guide to
Geography" that summarized much of the
Greek and Roman geographic knowledge

Ptolemy also made 3 important contributions to
modern Geography:
created three different methods for projecting the
Earth's surface on a map,
calculated coordinate locations for some 8,000
places on the Earth, and ...
developed the concepts of geographical latitude
and longitude
Early World map based on Ptolemys
techniques
This early world map was constructed using techniques
developed by Ptolemy. The map is organized with crisscrossing
lines of latitude and longitude.
Renaissance: German Geographers
Benhardus Varenius (1622-1650) published an
important geographic reference titled Geographia
generalis (General Geography: 1650). He used
direct observations and primary measurements to
present new ideas about geographic knowledge.

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) also divided
Geography into a number of sub-disciplines. He
recognized the following six branches: Physical,
Mathematical, Moral, Political, Commercial, and
Theological Geography.
Renaissance: German Geographers
Alexander von Humboldt published Kosmos
(1844) which examines the Geology and
Physical Geography of the Earth.
Fredrich Ratzel theorized that the distribution
and culture of the Earth's various human
populations was strongly influenced by the
natural environment.

Carl Ritter (1780-1859) developed the
concept of Regional Geography
Basic Concepts: Environmental
determinism
Environmental Determinism explains that human
beings are the products of the environment where they
live. The environment determines the future of people.
E.g. coastal people become fishermen, those who live
in forested areas become loggers & farmers etc.

Geographers who supported the Environmental
determinism concept included:
German scholars - Carl Ritter & Friedrich Ratzel
American scholar - Ms. Ellen Churchill Semple.
Basic concepts - Possibilism
Possibilism explains that the environment does not
dictate what people would become. Rather, the
environment offers opportunities for people to become
what they choose to be.
The French Geographer: Paul Vidal de la Blanche
and others opposed the determinism idea. Instead,
they suggested that human beings were a dominant
force shaping the environment.
The idea that humans were modifying the physical
environment was championed in the United States by
George Perkins Marsh who wrote - Man and Nature
or The Earth as Modified by Human Action, first
published in 1864.
Four Traditions of Geography
In 1964, William Pattison suggested that modern
Geography was composed of four academic traditions:
Earth Science Tradition: the study of natural
phenomena from a spatial perspective. This tradition
is best described as Physical Geography
Culture-Environment Tradition: the geographical
study of human interactions with the environment.
The Location Tradition: Geography study of the
spatial distribution of natural and cultural features on
the earths surface
Area Studies (analyses) Tradition: the geographical
study of an area on the Earth at either the local,
regional, or global scale.
Jobs for Geographers
Teaching Geography or Social Studies
Working as a Surveyor,
Employed in the Foreign Service.
Environmental Scientist at DEP
Town, City, Urban and/or Regional Planner.
Marketing researcher
Travel Agents or Tour Guides.
Cartographer,(USGS) or Defense Mapping Agency,
Enumeration Officer.
Officer in the Navy, Army of Air force
Resource Managers
GIS Specialists
Professor in a University
Consultant (on environmental, landscape issues)