Can you look at the world map and tell different countries sharing a border with your own country?
Have you ever dreamed about a distant place and wondered how living there would be different from living in your country?
How do we learn about the different places, continents, countries, ocean, rivers, mountains, deserts, and other such elements present on the surface of our planet? All this and much more is covered by 'geography'.
In this lesson, we will understand
Geography is the science of the Earth's surface, its atmosphere and its features, its inhabitants, and its phenomena. Earth's features include things like continents, seas, rivers, and mountains. Earth's inhabitants include all the people and animals that live on it. Earth's phenomena are the things that take place like winds, tides, and earthquakes.
The word geography comes from the Greek words 'ge' meaning Earth and 'graphein' meaning to write or draw. It means "to write and draw about the Earth". A scientist called Eratosthenes (276 - 194 BC) was the first one to use the word 'geography'.
People who study geography are called geographers. They are interested in Earth's physical features, such as mountains, deserts, rivers, and oceans. They are also interested in the ways that people affect and are affected by the natural world. They try to understand the world and the things that are in it, how they started, and how they have changed.
Geographers need to know a lot about maps because maps are very important for understanding geography. Geographers use maps a lot and often make them. Making maps is called cartography, and similarly, people who make maps are cartographers.
Eratosthenes - Father of Geography
The Greek scientist Eratosthenes (276-194BC) was the first person who used the term geography. Eratosthenes is considered to be the 'Father of Geography'. He was the first to draw a world map, he was a mathematician, astronomer, and poet. He calculated the circumference of the world although people did not travel that far at that time. He even calculated the tilt of the Earth's axis quite accurately.
Geographers use a number of methods and tools in their work. The simplest method is going out to a place to observe and gather information. This is called fieldwork. Geographers use photographs taken from the air to see things that they cannot see from the ground. They also depend on spacecraft called satellites to take photographs and collect information from far above Earth. Geographers use computers to help them make sense of the information they receive.
The main tool used by geographers is the map. People who make maps are called cartographers. Geographers use maps to display the information they have gathered. Topographic maps show natural land formations, such as the huge landmasses called continents. Geographers also use maps to show how people have divided the land. Political maps show the boundaries of countries and other divisions.
Geography can be divided into two main branches: physical geography and human geography.
Physical geography studies the natural environment. Physical geographers observe, measure, and describe the Earth's surface. They study how landforms develop and how they change. They look at how different landforms affect climate. They also study how people change the land through such activities as building cities, digging mines, and clearing forests.
Human geography studies the human environment. Human environmental studies would things such as the population in a country, how a country's economy is doing, and more. Human geography focuses on where people live, what they do, and how they use the land. Human geographers might study why cities and towns develop in certain places. Others study the cultures of different people, including their customs, languages, and religions.
There is also another branch of geography, called environmental geography. Environmental geography is the branch of geography that describes the spatial aspects of interactions between humans and the natural world.
Geographers use seven concepts to help investigate and understand the world. Each of these seven concepts is interconnected and work together to help us think about our world.
The seven key concepts in geography are:
Places are parts of the Earth's surface that are identified and given meaning by people. Places are often described by people's mental images and perceptions. They range in size from a part of a room or garden to a major world region. They can be described by their location, shape, boundaries, features, and human characteristics. A place can be described by its absolute location and relative location.
Absolute location describes the position of a place in a way that never changes, no matter your location. The location is identified by specific coordinates. The most common coordinate system is longitude and latitude, which describes a specific place on the Earth's surface. It doesn't matter whether you are currently in New York City or Timbuktu, the longitude and latitude of London will always be the same.
Relative location is the position of a place as compared to another landmark. For example, you may look at the position of one city relative to another.
Geographers investigate the way that things are arranged on the Earth's surface. They look for patterns and try to explain them. The concept of space helps them to do this. It has three elements:
The world in which we live is made up of many different environments. Some environments are natural (or physical) such as deserts, grasslands, mountains, coral reefs, forests, oceans, and ice caps. In order for an environment to be considered natural, its soils, rocks, climate, plants, and animals must remain untouched by humans. Most environments are altered by humans that only a few natural features remain. These are called built or human environments and include large cities, towns, suburbs, and vast areas of farmland. Most environments on Earth are now a combination of natural and human features.
The study of different environments helps geographers to better understand and appreciate natural processes, such as how weather works, how mountains are formed, and how rainforests and coral reefs grow. The concept helps geographers to analyze the changes humans make to natural environments and better appreciate their impact so that they can be managed more wisely.
No place or thing on Earth exists in isolation. All environments on Earth and every living and non-living thing found within them are connected. These connections can be on a local level or global level. Geographers use the concept of interconnection to better understand the complex links between natural and human processes that shape our Earth. Places and people can be linked in many different ways that can be categorized as
The concept of sustainability relates to the ongoing capacity of Earth to maintain all life. This means developing ways to ensure that all resources on Earth are used and managed responsibly so they can be maintained for future generations. Sustainable patterns of living meet the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The concept of sustainability encourages geographers to think more closely about the renewable and non-renewable resources - the ways in which they are formed and the speed at which they are being used. Geographers investigate how natural and human systems work, and understand how resources can be managed in such a way that they will be sustained into the future.
The concept of scale is used to guide geographical inquiries. Geographers study things that take place on many different spatial levels - meaning from small areas to large areas. They use the concept of scale to look for explanations and outcomes at these different levels - local, national, and global. For example, a geographical inquiry of the ways in which people use parks may be conducted at a range of scales from smallest to largest.
The Earth is constantly changing. Some changes occur rapidly and are easy to see, while others take place very slowly and are almost invisible to us. The concept of change is important in geography because it helps us to understand what is happening around us and see the world as a dynamic place. Observing and understanding changes that are natural and/or made by humans and have occurred over time is an important part of any geographical inquiry. Geographers need to look at different types of changes, why they have occurred, over what time period they have occurred, and what further changes may take place as a result. Some changes are positive e.g. conservation of plants and animals in national parks, while other changes have negative consequences e.g. deforestation of native rainforests in Indonesia. Geographers play an important role in ensuring that change is managed in a sustainable way.
