1st year

•Geography: Concept and subject matter

ge·og·ra·phy

The word derives from the Greek words gê ("the Earth") and graphein ("to write", as in "to describe").

The science dealing with the areal differentiation of the earth's surface, as shown in the character, arrangement, and interrelations over the world of such elements as climate, elevation, soil, vegetation, population, land use, industries, or states, and of the unit areas formed by the complex of these individual elements.Geography consists of at least two different sub-fields of knowledge with similar methodology: Physical geography and human geography.

 Knowing what kinds of things are studied by geographers provides us with a better understanding of the differences between physical and human geography.
physical geography studies the spatial patterns of weather and climate, soils, vegetation, animals, water in all its forms, and landforms.

Physical Geography  deals with

Rocks and Minerals,  Soils, Landforms, Animals, Plants, Atmosphere, Water, Rivers and Other Water Bodies, Environment, Climate and Weather,  Oceans

Human Geography deals with

Population,   Settlements,  Economic Activities,  Transportation,  Recreational Activities,  Religion,  Political Systems,  Social Traditions,  Human Migration, Agricultural Systems,  Urban Systems
Subject matter

•Physical geography's primary subdisplines are the study of the Earth's atmosphere (meteorology and climatology), animal and plant life (biogeography), physical landscape (geomorphology), soils (pedology), and waters (hydrology).

•Some of the dominant areas of study in human geography include: human society and culture (social and cultural geography), behavior (behavioral geography), economics (economic geography), politics (political geography), and urban systems (urban geography).

•The graphic model in Figure 1 indicates that the study of geography can also involve a holistic synthesis. Holistic synthesis connects knowledge from a variety of academic fields in both human and physical geography.

•For example, the study of the enhancement of the Earth's greenhouse effect and the resulting global warming requires a multidisciplinary approach for complete understanding.

•The fields of climatology and meteorology are required to understand the physical effects of adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere's radiation balance. The field of economic geography provides information on how various forms of human economic activity contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases through fossil fuel burning and land-use change.

•Combining the knowledge of both of these academic areas gives us a more comprehensive understanding of why this serious environmental problem occurs.

•The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature that the Earth experiences because certain gases in the atmosphere (water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, for example) trap energy from the sun. Without these gases, heat would escape back into space and Earth’s average temperature would be about 60ºF colder. Because of how they warm our world, these gases are referred to as greenhouse gases.

•The greenhouse effect is important. Without the greenhouse effect, the Earth would not be warm enough for humans to live. But if the greenhouse effect becomes stronger, it could make the Earth warmer than usual. Even a little extra warming may cause problems for humans, plants, and animals.

Subject matters:
•Geomorphology - studies the various landforms on the Earth's surface.

•Pedology - is concerned with the study of soils.

•Biogeography - is the science that investigates the spatial relationships of plants and animals.

•Hydrology - is interested in the study of water in all its forms.

•Meteorology - studies the circulation of the atmosphere over short time spans.

•Climatology - studies the effects of weather on life and examines the circulation of the atmosphere over longer time spans.

•The above fields of knowledge generally have a primary role in introductory textbooks dealing with physical geography. Introductory physical geography textbooks can also contain information from other related disciplines including:

•Geology - studies the form of the Earth's surface and subsurface, and the processes that create and modify it.

•Ecology - the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and their environment.

•Oceanography - the science that examines the biology, chemistry, physics, and geology of oceans.

•Cartography - the technique of making maps.

•Astronomy - the science that examines celestial bodies and the cosmos.
In the earth sciences and geology sub-fields, a landform or physical feature comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography.

•Physical geography also examines the interrelationships of natural phenomena to human activities. This sub-field of geography is academically known as the Human-Land relationship. The influence of human activity on the environment was becoming very apparent after 1950. This area of geography has seen very keen interest and growth in the last few decades because of the acceleration of human induced environmental degradation. Thus, physical geography's scope is much broader than the simple spatial study of nature. It also involves the investigation of how humans are influencing nature.

•

•As a result, many researchers in physical geography began studying the influence of humans on the environment. Some of the dominant themes in these studies included: environmental degradation and resource use; natural hazards and impact assessment; and the effect of urbanization and land-use change on natural environments.

•Natural Hazards

–(1) Natural phenomena that produce negative effects on life.

–(2) The study of the hazards of natural phenomena.

•History of Physical Geography

•The nature of understanding in physical geography has changed over time. When investigating this change it becomes apparent that certain universal ideas or forces had very important ramifications to the academic study of physical geography. During the period from 1850 to 1950, there seems to be four main ideas that had a strong influence on the discipline:

•(1). Uniformitarianism - this theory rejected the idea that catastrophic forces were responsible for the current conditions on the Earth. It suggested instead that continuing uniformity of existing processes were responsible for the present and past conditions of this planet.

•(2). Evolution - Charles Darwin's Origin of Species (1859) suggested that natural selection determined which individuals would pass on their genetic traits to future generations. As a result of this theory, evolutionary explanations for a variety of natural phenomena were postulated by scientists. The theories of uniformitarianism and evolution arose from a fundamental change in the way humans explained the universe and nature. During the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries scholars began refuting belief or myth based explanations of the cosmos, and instead used science to help explain the mysteries of nature. Belief based explanations of the cosmos are made consistent with a larger framework of knowledge that focuses on some myth. However, theories based on science questioned the accuracy of these beliefs.

•(3). Exploration and Survey - much of the world had not been explored before 1900. Thus, during this period all of the fields of physical geography were actively involved with basic data collection. This data collection included activities like determining the elevation of land surfaces, classification and description of landforms, the measurement of the volume of flow of rivers, measurement of various phenomena associated to weather and climate, and the classification of soils, organisms, biological communities and ecosystems.

•(4). Conservation - beginning in the 1850s a concern for the environment began to develop as a result of the human development of once natural areas in the United States and Europe. One of the earliest statements of these ideas came from George Perkins Marsh (1864) in his book "Man in Nature" or "Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action". This book is often cited by scholars as the first significant academic contribution to conservation and environmentalism.

•After 1950, the following two forces largely determined the nature of physical geography:

•(1). The Quantitative Revolution - measurement became the central focus of research in Physical Geography. It was used primarily for hypothesis testing. With measurement came mapping, models, statistics, mathematics, and hypothesis testing. The quantitative revolution was also associated with a change in the way in which physical geographers studied the Earth and its phenomena. Researchers now began investigating process rather than mere description of the environment.

•(2). The study of Human/Land Relationships - the influence of human activity on the environment was becoming very apparent after 1950. As a result, many researchers in physical geography began studying the influence of humans on the environment. Some of the dominant themes in these studies included: environmental degradation and resource use; natural hazards and impact assessment; and the effect of urbanization and land-use change on natural environments.
Natural Hazards(1) Natural phenomena that produce negative effects on life.
(2) The study of the hazards of natural phenomena.