Definition, scope & purpose of Geography

Definition and branches of Geography

1. FUNDAMENTALS OF
GEOGRAPHY
GEO-103
Lesson -1
By: Ayesha Khan
Dept. of Geography.

2. DEFINITION OF GEOGRAPHY
ItsderivedfromtwoGreekwords“geo”meansEarth
and“graphy”todescribeorstudy
ThusGeographyliterallymeans“earthdescription”
Thefirstpersontousetheword“geography”was
Eratosthenes(276–194BC).
Itisascienceofspatialvariationofculturaland
physicalphenomenaovertheglobe.

3. DEFINITION OF GEOGRAPHY
AccordingtoBowman,“Geographytellswhatiswhere,
whyandwhatitismadeof”
AccordingtoRichardHartschorne“Geographyisa
disciplinethatseekstodescribeandinterpretthe
variablecharacterfromplacetoplaceofearthasthe
worldofman”
VidaldelablachedefinesGeographyasthescienceof
places.
AsperGriffithTayloropinion“Geographyisthe
correlativescience”
AccordingtoDavidHarvey“Geographyisconcerned
withthedescriptionandexplanationoftheareal
differentiationofearthssurface”
3

4. MAJOR-BRANCHES:
PhysicalGeography
Studyofearthsphysicalfeaturesandchangesonthe
earth'ssurface
HumanGeography
HumanGeographyconcentratesonthepatternsof
humansettlements,humanactivitiesandtheirrelations
withtheenvironment.

6. AstronomicalGeography
Itsisthepartofmathematicalgeographythattreatsthe
earthinitsrelationtotheothercelestialbodiesinthe
solarsystem.Astronomicalgeographythusstudiesthe
earthasaplanetwithitsshape,size,imaginarylinesof
latitudeandlongitude,timezones,andtheearth'sdiurnal
andannualmotions(yearlycalendarandseasons).
Geomorphology
Geomorphologyisbasicallythescientificstudyofphysical
featuresoflandforms.
Climatology
Climatologyisthusasciencewhichdealswiththe
atmospherevariouschangesthattakeplaceinthe
atmosphere duetotemperature,humidityand
atmosphericpressureandsotheformationofvarious
climaticzonesontheearthandtheirinfluenceonthe
PHYSICAL
GEOGRAPHY

7. Oceanography
Itisrelatedtothestudyofoceansi.e.temperature,
salinityoftheoceanwater,reliefoftheoceanfloor,
movementsoftheoceanwater,tides,oceancurrentsetc.
Hydrology
Itisastudyofearth’ssurfaceandsubsurfacewaterbodies
foundintheformofoceans,rivers,glaciers,lakes,seas,
undergroundwaterandwatervapourintheatmosphere.
Biogeography
Itisastudyoffactorsresponsibleforevolutionandspatial
unevendistributionofvariousspecies(plantsandanimals
/floraandfauna)foundontheearth.
SoilGeography
Ithelpstounderstandthesoilformation,itsnature(
structureandtexture),typesanddistributionontheearth.

8. 1. Population Geography
PopulationGeographyisthestudyofthepopulationina
particularterrain.Thestudyfocusesonthegrowthofthe
populationandhowitisdistributedandcomposed.This
branchalsostudiesfactorsresponsibleforvarious
patternsofspatialdistributionandlocationofpopulation
ontheearth’ssurface.
2.SettlementGeography
Settlementgeographyexplainstheevolutionandgrowth
ofruralandurbansettlementsinrelationtotheirsiteand
situation;theirstructureandpattern,natureoffunctions.
3.EconomicGeography
Thisbranchexplainsusaboutspatialdistributionand
concentrationofdifferenttypesofeconomicactivities
influencedbyphysicalfactorsandpracticedbymanbased
ontheirlocationalattributes.
HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

9. 4.RegionalGeography
Itsabranchofgeographythattakesintoaccountthe
homogeneous physicalcharacteristicsofanareato
designateitasaregion.Thusvariousregionsareformed
bytakingintoconsiderationitsclimate,relief,drainage,
naturalvegetationandpopulationthatdetermines
uniquecharacteristicsforformingaparticularregion.
5.CulturalGeography
Thisbranchstudiesvarioustraditionalcustomsand
traitsofacommunitywhichisreflectedintheirlife-
style,dressingpattern,food-habits,religiousrituals
andceremonies,fairsandfestivals,artsand
architecture,language,andthetypeofoccupation
practicedbythemandthenatureofgovernanceoverthe
space.
Thisspatialdistributionandvariationofdifferent
culturesarestudiedasculturalregionsinthisbranchof
geographywhichhaveevolvedoveraperiodoftimedue
todifferentexperiences,needandinteractions.

10. 6.HistoricalGeography
Itsabranchofgeographythattakesinto
accountthegeographicalandhuman
factorsandprocessesresponsiblefor
thehappeningofdifferenthistoricalacts
andeventsinthespaceoveraperiodof
time.
7.PoliticalGeography
Politicalgeographyisabranchof
HumanGeographywhichdealswith
humangovernmentsanddividesthe
landbetweendifferentpoliticalunits.

11. INTERFACE GEOGRAPHY
AGeographicalUserInterface(GUI)isatypeofuser
interfacethatusesgeographicdatatoprovideavisual
representationofdataandenableuserstointeractwithit.
ThematicCartography
isascienceofpreparingmapsanddiagramsinvolvingfield
surveywithspecificthemesrepresentingthespatial
distributionofthephenomenonunderstudy;forexample
spatialdistributionofpopulationdensityintheworld,
distributionofrainfalletc.
ComputerCartography
Thematicmapsandgraphspreparedbyadopting
quantitativeandqualitativedataanalysisusingspecialized
software’sinacomputerarecalledascomputer
cartography.

12. Dot Density
Map
Isopleth Maps

13. Remote Sensing
Remotesensingmaybedefinedacollectionofdata
aboutanobjectfromadistance.Forexampleaircraft
provideswithaerialphotographs,spacesatellites
providewithsatelliteimagery.Thesehavespecific
usessuchasinformationaboutweatherphenomenon,
securitypurpose,identifiedtheareasaffectedwith
flood/drought/earthquake,landslide,landuse,study
ofnaturalresourceetc.
QuantitativeGeography
Theapplicationofmathematicalandstatistical
conceptsandmethodstothestudyofgeography.
QuantitativeGeographyisthusanempiricalstudyof
spatialphenomenonfoundontheearthsurfacethat
helpsindeterminingcertainscientificprinciplesand
laws.

14. GeographyofHealth
Healthgeographyistheapplicationofgeographical
informationwithspatialperspectivesandmethodstothe
studyofhealth,disease,andhealthcareofanyarea.
EnvironmentalGeography
Isabranchofgeographythatstudieshowphysicaland
humanenvironmentareinteractingwitheachotherto
producedifferentlanduseanditseffectonthenature
environmentandonlivingspecies.
GeographicalInformationSystem(G.I.S.)
G.I.S.istheuseofsophisticatedcomputerhardwareand
softwaretocollect,store,operateandprocessthe
geographicdata.G.I.S.technologytodayishighly
utilizedinthefieldofintegrateddevelopmentplanning
suchas,waterresourcemanagement, water-shed
management, environmental monitoring and
assessment,landscapeconservation,telecommunication
andnetworkanalysis,defenceandmilitaryplanning
operations.

15. PURPOSE OF GEOGRAPHY

16. PURPOSE OF GEOGRAPHY
The main purpose of geography and
geographers is to see and understand
patterns in our world.
To determine patterns geographers
work in environmental managements,
education, disaster response, city and
county planning and much more.
The Geo-Techniques give us
powerful tools to help solve the
world’s problems.

18. PURPOSE OF GEOGRAPHY
Geography studies
interaction between
man and his
environment,
Some questions that
geographers answer
where things are on
the Earth, why, how
places are different
from one another and
how do humans affect
the environment.
As a synthesizing
discipline it gives us
the flexibility to study
any interesting
subject through the
lens of the spatial
perspective.
Geology
Economics
GEOGRAPHY
Economic
Geography

19. SCOPE OF GEOGRAPHY
Every subject in the world having 2 types of
scope
Material Scope:
The subjects in a course of study or teaching
Field Scope:
Geography careers offers opportunities to
develop solutions to some of the most pressing
issues for modern society including climate
change, natural disasters, overpopulation, urban
expansion and multicultural integration.

20. MATERIAL SCOPE

21. FIELD SCOPE
Thecareerpathyouchoosemaydependon
whetheryouhavestudiedphysicalgeographyor
humangeography.
Theformerisanaturalscience,focusingonthe
Earth'sphysicalmaterialsandprocesses.while
thelatterisasocialscience.focusingonissues
relatingtohumancommunitiesandcultures
Whatevercareerpathyoupursue,it'sadvisable
totryandgetworkexperienceinyourchosen
field,togainanawarenessoftherolesavailable
andtoformcontacts.
Fieldworkisausefulwayofdevelopingyour
practicalskillsand gaininghands-one
experience.Youruniversitymayalsoprovideyou
withopportunitiestocompletework.

22. CARTOGRAPHER
Careersincartographyinvolvedevelopingand
producingdifferenttypesofmaps.aswellas
producing related diagrams. Charts,
spreadsheetsandtravelguides.
Yourroleasacartographermayalsoinclude
therestorationofoldmapsandhistorical
documents.
Cartographersworkwithinavarietyofareas.
includingpublishing.government,surveying
andconservation.
Todaythefieldcommonlyalsodrawsonan
arrayofadvancedtechnologies,suchas
geographicalinformationsystems(GIS)and

23. ENVIRONMENTAL
CONSULTANTS
Environmentalconsultantsgiveadviceon
environmentalmatters.Theyworkonareas
suchastheeffectsofnewdevelopmentsonthe
environment,thecontrolofpollutionandnoise,
theeffectsofagricultureorrecreationonplants
andwildlife,theeffectofclimatechangeand
wastemanagementandrecycling.
Thisisavariedrole,typicallyfocusingon
identifyingwhetheranareaofland,airorwater
ispolluted,andwhattheimpactwouldbe,by
meansofdesk-basedresearchandfieldwork.

24. TOWN PLANNER
Asatownplanner,youmaydealwiththemanagement
anddevelopmentnotonlyoftowns,butalsocities,
villagesandruralareas.
Youwillputyouranalyticalskillsandknowledgeofthe
environmentintousetoimproveexistinginfrastructure
andfindsolutionstoenvironmentalissuesaswellas
ensuringnewdevelopmentsareinlinewithvarious
policiesandregulations.
Apartofyourjobwillhetosatisfytheneedsof
businessesandlocalcommunitieswhileensuringthat
developmentissustainableandnaturalenvironmentsare
maximallypreserved.

25. GEOGRAPHICAL
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
OFFICER
Geographic information systems (GIS) are
computerized systems used for the collection,
storage, analysis, management and
presentation of complicated geographical data.
Geographical information systems officers
carry out the gathering and examination of
geographical data.
The data can be applied in a variety of areas,
such as defense meteorology, oil, gas,
telecommunications and transportation, to
make decisions which benefit the environment.

26. CONSERVATION OFFICER
If you are passionate about the environment and want to
encourage others to appreciate and safeguard the
natural world. you might like to become a conservation
officer
In this career you will work to protect a natural
environment and raise awareness of the ways in which
the local community can enjoy its settings without having
a negative impact.
Similarly, a sustainable development officer would
promote their particular employer's sustainability
practices in the local area.
To increase your chances of pursuing this career it is
essential to gain some relevant work experience, through
paid or voluntary work, and a master's degree is
sustainable developmentmaybeused.