Topic 1_Nature of Geography.pdf

TOPIC 1: NATURE OF GEOAPHY NGEC 11 (HUM-102) WORLD CULTURE AND GEOGRAPHY  MEANING OF GEOGRAPHY The word geography is of Greek origin. It has been derived from two Greek words “geo” and “graphy”. ‘Geo’ means ‘earth’ and ‘graphy’ means description’. Thus in the simplest form geogra...

TOPIC 1: NATURE OF GEOAPHY NGEC 11 (HUM-102) WORLD CULTURE AND GEOGRAPHY  MEANING OF GEOGRAPHY The word geography is of Greek origin. It has been derived from two Greek words “geo” and “graphy”. ‘Geo’ means ‘earth’ and ‘graphy’ means description’. Thus in the simplest form geography means the description of the earth. Subject matter to: man and his environment ‘lands and people Topic 1: NGEC 11 (HUM-102) World Culture and Geography The first person who started the fashion of describing the lands and people was a Greek scholar - Hecatus. He travelled the known world, which was confined to the area around the Mediterranean Sea. He described the lands and people of the areas travelled in his book “lies, periods” which stand for lands and people. Thus Hecatus is known as the father of geography. The credit of coining the word “geography” goes to Eratosthenes, who was a Greek scholar and lived in 200B.C.he also described the lands and people under the title geography goes to Eratosthenes. Geography is the study or science of places (Vidal-de- la-Blache). Geography is human ecology (Bowman). Geography is the science of distribution (Marthe). Geography is the study of areal differentiation of the earth's surface (Alfred Hettner). Geography is the studies of interaction between man his environment (Halford Mackinder). Geography tells us what is where, why and what is it made of (Bowman). Geography is the study of landscape of relationship between man the natural environment (Ratzel). Geography is the study of spatial variations of phenomena on the Surface of the earth in relation to man (Geographical congress 1908).  STRUCTURE OF GEOGRAPHY The subject matter of Geography is man and his natural environment. On the basis of subject matter, Geography has two main branches: 1. Physical Geography. 2. Human Geography. Physical Geography: Physical Geography is that branch of geography which deals with the study of natural environment. Natural environment consists of five elements land, water, air, plants and animals. The sub fields of physical geography are: a. Geomorphology: Geomorphology is the study of land-forms and drainage. b. Climatology: Climatology is the branch of physical geography which deals with the study of weather and climate. c. Biogeography: Biogeography is a branch of physical geography which deals with the study of distribution of animals and plants on the surface of the earth. d. Soil Geography (Pedatology): it deals with study of development, characteristics and distribution of soils. e. Hydrology: it is the branch of physical geography which deals with the study of occurrence ,properties and distribution of surface and ground water. Human Geography: Human geography is a branch of geography which deals with the study of man and his activities on the surface of the earth in relation to environment. Man does three types of activities on the surface of the earth. Firstly, man lives on the surface of the earth, Secondly, man makes a living and thirdly, man makes design for living. On the basis of the subject matter human geography is divisible into three branches: a. Social geography. b. Economic geography. c. Cultural geography. a. Social Geography: - It is a branch of human geography. It deals with the study arrangement of social phenomena in relation to total environment. The sub-fields of social geography are: i. Settlement geography (rural and urban). ii. Population geography. iii. Political geography. iv. Medical geography. b. Economic geography: It is a branch of human geography which deals with the study of special variation of economic activities on the surface of the earth. It also studies the variation between economic activities of the people and the relation between them and the natural environment. The sub-branches of economic geography are as under: i. Geography of resources. ii. Agricultural geography. iii. Transport geography. iv. Industrial geography, etc. c. Cultural geography: It deals with the study of distribution of cultural groups and the interaction between them and their environment. The sub-fields of cultural geography Include i. Languages ii. Religion iii. Tools and skills and iv. Social organizations. Based on the methods i.e. how geography is studied this subject can be divided into two branches: 1. Systematic geography. 2. Regional geography. Systematic geography: When we study a specific geography factor throughout a large area a throughout the globe, our approach or method is systematic i.e. rainfall, its types and distribution or soils. Regional geography: It is the branch of geography which deals with the study of a character of areas, which is the result of integration of all phenomena present in that area.  TECHNIQUES IN GEOGRAPHY There are two main techniques of study the geography of an area: 1. Cartography: It is the science of drawing maps and chans. 2. Remote sensing: It is the use of air crafts or satellites to gather the data about the surface of the earth.  IMPORTANCE OF GEOGRAPHY Geography is the study of man and his environment. It tries to understand action of man and his environment. Its utility and usefulness is being realized in every walk of life. Geography establishes a link between natural sciences and social sciences. Both scientists and humanists seek to include something of geography within their respective studies. Geography is science and an art. It tries to train and develop good citizens.