"Geography is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth."
The study of the physical features of an area, including its landforms, bodies of water, climate, and natural resources. Understanding a state's geography is important to understanding its history because it can shed light on how people lived and interacted with their environment over time.
Physical geography: The study of the natural features of the earth's surface, such as landforms, climate, water bodies, and natural resources.
Human geography: The study of people and their relationship with the environment, including population growth, migration, cultural diversity, and economic development.
Political geography: The study of political boundaries, institutions, and processes that shape the political landscape and influence the distribution of power.
Cultural geography: The study of cultural landscapes, including language, religion, art, and architecture.
Historical geography: The study of the geography of past events and how they have shaped cultural, economic, and political landscapes.
Urban geography: The study of cities and their characteristics, including patterns of land use, transportation, and spatial organization.
Rural geography: The study of rural and agricultural landscapes, including the impact of agriculture on the environment and patterns of rural settlement.
Geographical information systems (GIS): The use of computer technology to map and analyze geographic data.
Environmental geography: The study of the interaction between humans and the natural environment, including the impact of human activity on the environment.
Economic geography: The study of economic activities and their spatial relationships, including international trade, regional development, and globalization.
Physical geography: The study of the physical properties of the Earth's surface, including its landforms, water bodies, climate patterns, and ecosystems.
Human geography: The study of the interactions between human societies and the natural environment, including topics such as population growth, migration, urbanization, and resource management.
Political geography: The study of the distribution and organization of political systems, borders, and territorial boundaries, including topics such as geopolitics, international relations, and regional integration.
Economic geography: The study of the spatial distribution and organization of economic activities, including topics such as trade, transport, manufacturing, and finance.
Cultural geography: The study of the relationship between cultural practices and the physical and social environment, including topics such as language, religion, ethnicity, and identity.
Historical geography: The study of how the physical and cultural landscapes of the Earth have changed over time, including topics such as colonialism, imperialism, and urbanization.
Geopolitics: The study of the relationship between political power and geographic space, including topics such as territorial claims, military strategy, and regional alliances.
Environmental geography: The study of the impact of human activities on the natural environment, including topics such as climate change, pollution, deforestation, and resource depletion.
"The first recorded use of the word γεωγραφία was as a title of a book by Greek scholar Eratosthenes (276–194 BC)."
"Geography has been called 'a bridge between natural science and social science disciplines.'"
"The concepts of geography (such as cartography) date back to the earliest attempts to understand the world spatially, with the earliest example of an attempted world map dating to the 9th century BCE in ancient Babylon."
"The core concepts of geography consistent between all approaches are a focus on space, place, time, and scale."
"Objects are not merely where they are, but also how they have changed and come to be."
"While geography is specific to Earth, many concepts can be applied more broadly to other celestial bodies in the field of planetary science."
"The history of geography as a discipline spans cultures and millennia, being independently developed by multiple groups."
"Geography has been cross-pollinated by trade between these groups."
"Geography is an extremely broad discipline with multiple approaches and modalities."
"There have been multiple attempts to organize the discipline, including the four traditions of geography, and into branches."
"Techniques employed can generally be broken down into quantitative and qualitative approaches, with many studies taking mixed-methods approaches."
"Common techniques include cartography, remote sensing, interviews, and surveys."
"Geography seeks an understanding of Earth and its human and natural complexities."
"Geography is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth."
"Many concepts [in geography] can be applied more broadly to other celestial bodies in the field of planetary science."
"The history of geography as a discipline spans cultures and millennia."
"Geography seeks an understanding of Earth and its human and natural complexities."
"The core concepts of geography consistent between all approaches are a focus on space, place, time, and scale."
"Geography has been called 'a bridge between natural science and social science disciplines.'"