Chapter 1.docx

Chapter 1: The Field of Geography Since Geography is the science of place and space, geographers study locations and spaces to learn more about the world. They study the surface of the Earth, its landscapes, and its features. Geographers ask where things are located on the surface of the Earth, why...

Chapter 1: The Field of Geography Since Geography is the science of place and space, geographers study locations and spaces to learn more about the world. They study the surface of the Earth, its landscapes, and its features. Geographers ask where things are located on the surface of the Earth, why they are located where they are, and how places differ from one another. Geographers also study the relationships between human activity and natural systems. Geographers work in many different areas, such as environmental management, education, disaster response, city and county planning, and community development.Geographers use many tools and techniques in their work These tools include Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Remote Sensing, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), online mapping such as Google Earth, and others.. Lesson 2: The Contribution of the Muslim Scholars to the Field of Geography While Europe was in the midst of darkness, it was the Muslims who picked up the torch of scholarship and science. They collected critically analyzed, corrected and supplemented the Greek and Roman sciences and philosophies. Muslim’s Geography in the Middle Ages was primarily a continuation of the Greek and Roman scholars which had been lost in Europe. Various Muslim scholars and geographers contributed to the development of geography and Earth sciences A large number of books on geography were translated and produced by Muslim geographers and travelers, which were widely studied. These books were translated into many European languages, which provided Europeans with knowledge of the world for centuries. A. Muslims Great Concern for Geography Muslim scholars paid great attention to geography. Below are some reasons for the Muslims’ great concern for geography. 1. The Noble Quran invites and encourages people to ponder and to travel throughout the Earth to see the signs of Allah. According to Muslims, traveling and discovering new landscapes are ways to appreciate Allah’s Wisdom and Power 2.To determine the Qiblah (the position of the Ka’bah in Makkah) direction for Salah is very important for each Muslim. To fulfill this religious duty, each Muslim should have enough knowledge of geography to know the direction of the Qiblah in order to pray five times a day. 3. Many Muslims used to travel to far off lands in order to seek scholars and books for acquiring knowledge. The travel required knowledge of geography and astronomy to learn about places During his travels, Ibn Battuta became a master of astronomy and was an active stargazer as noted in his 1,000 page travel journal, the Rihla B. Baghdad Contribution to Geography Geography was patronized by the Abbasid Caliphate. Around 762 C.E. Baghdad became the intellectual capital of the Islamic nation, attracting scholars of all sorts. The city became the center study and translation of scientific writings. It also became the centre of a movement which aimed at translating Greek scientific material into Arabic. Over time, Baghdad accumulated a wealth of knowledge and many key geographical works from the Greeks and Romans Islamic scholars translated and interpreted the earlier works of the Greeks and Romans and established the House of Wisdom ((Bait al-Hikma) in Baghdad for this purpose By translating important Greek and Roman texts and by contributing to the study of geography, Muslim scholars helped provide the information which allowed the discovery and exploration of the New World in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Muslims went on to be some of the greatest astronomers of their time. The Abbasid Caliph Al- Mamun greatly supported Astronomical research. Baghdad, as a result, became the center of such activity. Muslim scientists designed and constructed large observational instruments. Islamic astronomers developed the 3D armillary spheres to position accurately the sun, stars and moon in relation to the Earth and other planets. The first observatories opened around 850 C.E. in Baghdad and Damascus. C. The Muslim Travelers and Traders Within one hundred years after the advent of Islam, the Islamic state expanded to many countries. The Muslims had to travel to distant lands in connection with trade, spreading Islam and the administration of their vast territories and other purposes. Muslim explorers, sailors, scholars, traders, and travelers played a significant role in promoting geographical study. For example, by the eleventh century, Muslim traders had explored the eastern coast of Africa to 20 degrees south of the Equator near contemporary Mozambique In Asia when the Silk Road was at its peak, Muslims journeyed over that road and penetrated as far as China and India. Ancient cities like Merv, Bukhara and Samarqand were then the cradle of all Islamic teaching, law and culture, and grew prosperous at the crossroads for merchants traveling back and forth between the civilizations of East and West. D. The Invention of the Astrolabe In the ninth century, Muslims invented and developed an extraordinarily accurate device called the Astrolabe to help them locate and predict the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars. The astrolabe was developed during the time of the Abbasid Caliphate. It was very important for Muslims because of its ability to determine the time of day for Salah (prayer) times and the direction of the Qiblah. Astrolabes were the cutting edge of technology, developed and used prolifically by Muslim astronomers before making their way into Europe where modern astronomy was born. Dr. Harold Williams, an American Astrophysicist, said, “The Astrolabe is the most important astronomical calculating device before the invention of digital computers, and the most important astronomical observational device before the invention of the telescope.” Notable and Famous Geographers A. Eratosthenes The ancient Greek scholar Eratosthenes is commonly called the “father of geography” for he was the first to use the word geography. Eratosthenes was born around 276 B.C in a Greek colony in Cyrene Libya Eratosthenes is famous for making the first good measurement of the size of the Earth. He spent most of his life in the city of Alexandria in Egypt B. Strabo Strabo was a Greek geographer and historian who claimed to have traveled widely and recorded what he had seen and experienced from a geographical perspective. His work is the only extant work covering the whole range of people and countries known to both Greeks and Romans during the reign of Augustus. Strabo wrote a 17 volume series called “Geographia”. In this series of books, Strabo provided a remarkable account of the state of Greek geographical science, as well as of the history of the countries he surveyed. Strabo described the cultural geographies of the various societies of people found from Britain to as far east as India, and south to Ethiopia and as far north as Iceland C. Al-Idrisi Abu Abd Allah Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Al-idrisi was an Arab Muslim geographer. He is known as the father of cartography. He spent much of his early life traveling in North Africa and Spain and acquired detailed and accurate information on both regions. Al-Idrisi wrote one of the greatest works of medieval geography with the title Kitab Nuzhat Al-Mushtaq Figure 1.5: Al-idrisi Map Fi’khtiraq Al-’Afaq. The title has been translated as (The Book of Pleasant Journeys into Faraway Lands). This work was considered by many geographers as one of early great works of descriptive geography. Al-Idrisi was a proponent of a spherical earth and his works inspired Christopher Columbus and Vasco de Gama. D. Alexander Von Humboldt Alexander Humboldt was a German geographer. Along with Carl Ritter, he is considered one of the founders of modern geography. Between 1799 and 1804, Humboldt traveled extensively in Latin America, exploring and describing it for the first time in a manner generally considered to be a modern scientific point of view. This memorable expedition of Latin America may be regarded as having laid the foundation of the sciences of physical geography. Lesson 4 Physical and Cultural Features You have learned that geography is the field that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geographers identify, analyze, and interpret the features on the Earth’s surface. These features include both physical and cultural features. In geography, a physical feature is something which has been made by nature which Almighty Allah created. It is not created by humans. Physical features are commonly divided according to which of the four Earth’s spheres they are found in as follows: -The Atmosphere (air surrounding the Earth) includes features such as air pressure (weight of the air) and temperature -The Hydrosphere (all water in and around the Earth) includes features such as Oceans and rivers -The Lithosphere (solid levels of the Earth’s outer layers) includes features such as mountains and valleys -The Biosphere (living organisms and their environment) includes features such as wild vegetation and wild animals Cultural features are those which have been made by humans using resources from the physical environment. The Cultural features include the following: -Settlements such as towns and cities -Transportation systems such as roads, rail, sea and air -Industry such as mining and agriculture Lesson 4 The Five Themes of Geography Geographic education is sometimes divided into five interdependent areas. These are: 1-Location is a description of a place where a person or thing is at. “Where are we?” is the question that the theme Location answers. Locations are absolute or relative. These locations, whether relative or absolute, may be of people or places. A. Relative locations are described by global location such as latitude and longitude or by local location such as a street address. For example: Paris, France is 48o51’ north latitude and 2.20’ east longitude. B. Absolute locations are described by landmarks, time, direction or distance from one place to another and may associate a particular place with another. 2-Place is a description of human and physical characteristics of a location that make it unique. “What are the human and physical characteristics of your hometown?” and “How is your hometown connected to other places?” are the questions that the theme Place answers. There are two types of places: A. Physical places such as mountains, rivers, beaches, and animal and plant life of a place. B. Human - designed and cultural features of a place such as buildings, transportation, and communication networks. Human-Environment Interaction is a description of how humans adapt to and modify the environment. “How do humans and the environment affect each other?” is the question that this theme answers. There are three key concepts to human-environmental interaction -Humans adapt to the environment. For example, people wear clothing that is suitable for summer and winter. In Sudan how people and animals have adapted to the hot and dry climate is another example-Humans modify the environment. For example, people invent different methods of heating and cooling for comfort-Humans depend on the environment. For example, the Egyptians depend on the Nile River for their water and transportation. Movement is a description of the movement of people (transportation) and ideas (communication). People interact with each other through travel, trade, information flows (E-Mail and political events. 5-Region is a description of the division of the world’s manageable units in terms of the government, language, or possibly the landform or situation. A region is the basic unit of study in geography. Regions are human constructs that can be mapped and analyzed. There are three basic types of regions-Formal regions are those defined by governmental or administrative boundaries such as cities, states, counties, and countries. -Functional regions are those defined by a function such as airlines service area or a newspaper service area. -Vernacular regions are those defined by people’s perception such as “The South”, “The Midwest” or the “Middle East”. They have no formal boundaries but are understood in our mental maps of the world. Lesson 5 :Physical and Human Geography There are two main fields of geography which are physical and human. These sub-fields of knowledge follow a similar methodology. Physical geography is one of the two major subfields of geography. It deals with the natural features of the Earth, the home that ‬created for humans. Physical geography is the field of knowledge that studies features and phenomena on the Earth from a spatial perspective and physical systems of the environment. Physical geographers study the surface of the Earth and natural phenomena. They look at topics like climate, landforms, soil, vegetation, and animal life. They are interested in the answers of the questions above. They are interested in issues like the role of seasonal weather patterns on the natural environment, how animals have adapted to live in a particular region, distribution of water, climate patterns, ecosystems, and the relationships between living organisms. Physical geography’s primary sub-disciplines are as follows: Meteorology: The scientific study of the atmosphere and its associated phenomena. Climatology: The scientific study of the Earth’s climate over long time spans (greater than several days). Biogeography: The scientific study of the spatial pattern of living organisms. Geomorphology: The field of knowledge that investigates the origin of landforms on the Earth and other planets Pedology: The scientific study of soil Hydrology: Field of physical geography that studies the hydrosphere Human Geography Human Geography is related to humans and their activities on this Earth. It is the field of knowledge that studies human-made features and phenomena on the Earth from a spatial perspective. Human geographers study the social and cultural aspects of the (man-made) environment on and near the surface of the Earth. They are interested in the answers of the questions above. They are interested in cultural characteristics include population, languages, religious distribution, political systems, economic systems, settlement patterns, transportation networks, and other manifestations of human activity. Lesson 6 Geography and Technology As with any field or area of study, Geography has expanded with the application of technology. All areas of Geography benefit from computer technology. In addition to maps and other tools, geographers use the subfields of Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing and Global Positioning System as primary areas where computer technology is utilized. A. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and display geographic data. It is the newest development on the geographical frontier. It has revolutionized map making and spatial analysis. Maps have been around for hundreds of years. Databases are also not new. What is new is the uniting of the two through the power of the computer. A GIS combines the power of database management systems with the graphics of CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) to allow the user to perform “what if” scenarios and create models. GIS allows geographers and analyst to visualize data in several different ways in order to see patterns and relationships in a given area or subject. Read the examples below: 1- Information Systems (GIS) in the industry have become a necessity. For example, combined with geological tools, GIS can be used to aid in the location of oil well sites. GIS can be utilized for many engineering disciplines and is extremely effective for: -Roadway Design -Roadway Construction -Pavement Repairs. Remote Sensing Remote sensing can be defined as the collection of data about an object from a distance. It involves the use of aerial photographs, satellite images, radar, and microwave to obtain information about the Earth and other planets. Types of Remote Sensing Data Sources: The types of remote sensing data vary but each plays a significant role in the ability to analyze an area from some distance away. Below are two types of remote sensing data sources. -The first way to gather remote sensing data is through radar. Its most important uses are for air traffic control and the detection of storms or other potential disasters. -Another type of remote sensing data comes from lasers. These are often used in conjunction with radar altimeters on satellites to measure things like wind speeds and their direction and the direction of ocean currents. Remote Sensing Applications Remote sensing imagery has many applications in soil mapping, and archaeological investigations. The weather maps that are used daily for the local weather are one of the most obvious uses of remote sensing. Those studying urban and other land can use remote sensing because it allows them to easily pick out which land uses are present in an area. This can then be used as data in city planning applications. Remote sensing makes it possible to collect data on dangerous or inaccessible areas. It allows experts to follow-up and monitor risk areas in the long term, to determine desertification factors and to define relevant measures of environmental management It is helpful in studying vegetation types. Interpretation of remote sensing images allows physical and bio geographers, ecologists, and foresters to easily detect what vegetation is present in certain areas.