What is Geography: Definition and 17 Discussions

Geography (from Greek: γεωγραφία, geographia, literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of the Earth and planets. The first person to use the word γεωγραφία was Eratosthenes (276–194 BC). Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding of Earth and its human and natural complexities—not merely where objects are, but also how they have changed and come to be.
Geography is often defined in terms of two branches: human geography and physical geography. Human geography is concerned with the study of people and their communities, cultures, economies, and interactions with the environment by studying their relations with and across space and place. Physical geography is concerned with the study of processes and patterns in the natural environment like the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere.
The four historical traditions in geographical research are spatial analyses of natural and the human phenomena, area studies of places and regions, studies of human-land relationships, and the Earth sciences. Geography has been called "the world discipline" and "the bridge between the human and the physical sciences".

View More On Wikipedia.org
Recent contents Top users
  1. graphking

    Admissions Can I change my major from "physical geography" to "math"?

    Hello guys on PF, thanks for your attention. I am an undergraduated student from "Peking University", which is a top 2 university in China (There are two best university in China, the other one is Tsinghua University), that is a good university. But my major is not a popular major, which is...
  2. O

    What is the geographical significance of the Jihun River in the Shahnameh?

    I'm reading a translation of the shahnameh, which says that Afrasiab was a Turanian leader, who upon failed invasions of Iran, retreats beyond the Jihun river. But wikipedia says https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceyhan_River The Jihun river is a river in turkey. But Turan...
  3. L

    Help Drawing a Quaternary Deposits' Profile in Uppland, Sweden

    <mentor: moved to homework forums - no template okay in this case> Please I need help with this one! Drawing a Quaternary deposits’ profile The purpose with this practical is to understand how a map showing Quaternary accumulations is built up and how it may be interpreted. The information is...
  4. J

    Writing: Input Wanted What Makes Great Lakes Earth So Geographically Unique?

    https://orig00.deviantart.net/1603/f/2018/163/d/8/great_lakes_earth_map_by_jdailey1991-dce7cbj.jpg Dark brown=mountains. Light brown=uplifts. Black=Igneous provinces still visible today at their original extent with no consideration of erosion. Let us say that, in the future, some scientists...
  5. Cheesycheese213

    Ideal replacement fertility level?

    Is the replacement level of a country always 2.1 or can it change based on things like child mortality? Thanks! I'm not quite sure where to put this, so I'm really sorry if it's in the wrong spot!
  6. J

    Writing: Input Wanted An Alternate to the Siberian Traps

    Back home, the catalyst for the worst biotic catastrophe in the world, the Siberian Traps, don't have much left. 252 million years of erosion have reduced the igneous province to a pale shadow of its former self. From 60 to 43 million years ago (not 252), a series of flood basalt eruptions...
  7. J

    How Does Great Lakes Earth's Geography Differ from Our Own?

    The geography of Great Lakes Earth, and the questions that come with it. Pangaea From 250 to 200 million years ago, all the continents had joined together to form a singular landmass called Pangaea. The brown lines presented in the map are mountain ranges varying in height above sea level...
  8. N

    How to draw longitudinal lines on a circle as Earth?

    I have a circle, representing Earth with equator drawn on it. I need to draw longitudinal lines on 15 degree, 30 degree, and 60 degrees distance? I am not sure how and from where to measure these angular distances. Thanks.
  9. lisab

    Test Your Geography Knowledge: Play "GeoGuessr"

    To all PFers who have played "Where's That Landmark?" over the years: it's all just an elaborate exercise to prepare for this game: http://geoguessr.com/ Lots of fun :biggrin:. I think I got to 12,000 once, I'm *certain* folks here can beat that.
  10. G

    Geology vs Geography: Job Market & Pay Comparison

    Hello earthlings... I'm undecided about what to major in. But I do know that its got to be in a Earth science. At present I'm taking geology..in the summer I'll be taking geography. Then in the fall I'll be taking oceanography. My question is which one pays more and is more stable in the job market?
  11. T

    What Determines Weather Patterns on Earth?

    I apologize if this is a stupid question, but I just needed to make sure about something. Besides latitude and the tilt of the the Earth's axis, the other main determiner of weather would have been land formation, correct? Just to get it out there, the reason why I believe that land formation...
  12. T

    Physical Geography vs Geology class

    I want to take either a geology or physical geography class; I don't know which one I would enjoy more. If I take geology, it fulfills a prerequisite for another class I would like to take, Speleology; but the likelihood of me taking this class is unlikely. I have a general idea of the...
  13. rhody

    Geography of a recession: Animation, sobering

    Source: "[URL of labor statistics for periods: 01/01/2007 - 05/31/2010 [/URL] Somebody spent a lot of time breaking this down by every county in the country. Review this Unemployment map of the United States. This is hard to wrap your head around. I had to review this map a couple of...
  14. Y

    Metapopulations and Island Geography theory

    How can the theory of metapopulations be related to Island Biogeography theory? Can we treat each population in a metapopulation as an island? Further, what is the significance of metapopulations anyway? Is it that they are more stable than individual populations themselves, since...
  15. L

    Is Geography a science? It is comprised of theories, Laws and rules

    Is Geography a science? It is comprised of theories, Laws (well Rules realy), hypothesis, some Math equations, aspects of Physics Chemistry and Biology. Also there is still much to be learned from it.
  16. Evo

    Geography IQ Test: Test Your Knowledge of the World

    So close yet so far... At least my flags are almost on top of the correct ones, well except for one that I hit the wrong state. It asked me if I knew this was on earth. :redface: http://www.travelpod.com/traveler-iq/usa There are tests for all over the world.
  17. J

    Geography Challenge (or: how Janitor spent his summer vacation)

    I took a trip in August. I am curious to see if anyone can figure out the places where I took these digital pictures. Now if you figure Janitor as an international playboy jetsetter, these pictures could have been taken anywhere in the world. Otherwise, you can safely assume they were accessible...
Back
Top