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The Discipline
of Geography
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geography

 Comes from the Greek words geo

( earth, land or ground) and graphia )to
write, an art, or a study).
 The study of the earth.

 This study also accounts for the people

living on it and their interactions with
environment.
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geography

 It is an interdisciplinary study that

explores the relations between Earth, its
human inhabitants, and the changes
and interplay that occurred over time.
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The Development of Geography
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Cartography

 Is the study of drawing maps, has been

around in one or another in many
societies.
 Map making was practiced even before
writing.
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Al- Khawarizmi (850 CE) and Abu Ali-
Marakishy (1262 CE)

 Developed a system of map making that

is still being used today– that is making
maps rectangular in shape and using
grids to divide areas in manageable
sizes.
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Chinese

 They were the first to utilize the

compass in navigating and charting the
seas – a technology that allowed them
to cross vast distances safely and
accurately.
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Marco Polo

 An Italian merchant, reinvigorated the

westerners’ desire to explore the world
when he traveled form Europe to China
through the Silk Road.
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Age of Exploration

 The period between 15th to 17th centuries that

became the pinnacle of the curiosity to explore
the world.
 In this period, the study of geography
advanced and was further developed by the
production of more detailed maps and sea
charts and their invention of the printing press.
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EMERGENCE OF MODERN
GEOGRAPGHY
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IMPORTANT PERSONALITIES IN
GEOGRAPHY
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Anaximander (610- 546 BCE)

 Was a pre- Socratic Greek philosopher, biologist,

and astronomer. He is considered as one of the
first, if not the first, geographer.
 He provided a round map divided into three
continents surrounded by an ocean.
 the three continents were Europe, Asia and
Libya and they were surrounded by
Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, and Nile River.
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Strabo (64- 20 BCE)

 A Greek geographer, coined the term

Geographia, which was also the title of
his 17- volume series on geographical
studies.
 Eratosthenes ( 276- 194 BCE)
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 He became the first to have calculated

accurately the circumference of Earth
as being 40 233 kilometers.
 Ptolemy ( 100- 178 BCE)
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 He compiled and summarized in

Geographike Hyphegesis ( Guide to
Geography) all known information of
geography of his time.
 One of his most important contributions
to geography was the formulation of map
coordinates by utilizing and developing
the concepts of latitude and longitude.
 Edrisi
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 He was an Arab geographer and

descendant of Prophet Mohammed, who
was one of the famous Islamic
geographers who collected all known
geographical information of his time.
 Ibn Battuta (1304- 1368)
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 He was a Moroccan explorer who

published his 30- year journey in his
book Rihla (Journey).
 He traveled farther and loner than Marco
Polo by visiting all the places in the
known Muslim world, as well as non-
Muslim lands.
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CLASSICAL WORKS IN GEOGRAPHY
 Carl Ritter (1779- 1859)
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 He was a German geographer, is

considered to be one of the founders of
modern geography.
 His contribution to the study of
geography was his use of the
comparative method in understanding
and classifying the different formations
occurring over the surface of Earth.
 Alexander von Humboldt
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 He was a Prussian geographer and explorer, is

considered to have laid he foundations of
biogeography.

 He is also regarded as one of the founders of

modern geography.

 He is considered to be one of the last great

scientific generalists who correlated the
environment and society.

 Charles Darwin called him the “greatest scientific

traveler who ever lived”.
 William Morris Davis (1850- 1934)
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 He was an American geographer,

geologist, and meteorologist, is hailed as
the father of American Geography.
 He helped establish geography as a
separate and distinct academic discipline
in American universities.
 William Morris Davis (1850- 1934)
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 He categorized landscapes by their

structure (materials and rocks that
consist the landscapes), process
(erosion or weathering that occurs), and
stage (amount of time that the process
has taken place).
 Paul Vidal de la Blache (1845- 1918)
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 He was a French geographer, and is

considered to be the founder of modern
French geography and of the French
School of geopolitics.
 He introduced the concept of possibilism.
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THE FIELDS OF GEOGRAPHY
 Physical Geography
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 It is a discipline which studies the

changes in the natural patterns and
processes of Earth’s surface over time.
 It likewise takes into account the
interaction and relationship of living
things inhabiting a specific environment.
 Human Geography
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 It is a discipline which studies the

relationship of people, communities, and
cultures across space and place.
 It subdiscipline include animal
geography, cultural geography,
development geography, population
geography, and settlement geography.
 Integrated Geography
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 It is a discipline which studies how

human activities impact the environment
through the analysis of the shifts in
landforms and cycles of the natural
resources.
 Geomatics
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 It is a discipline which focuses on the

scientific management of geographic
data.
 It involves the methodology by which
data are gathered, processed, stored,
and delivered to users using the aid of
the latest computer software and
hardware.
 Regional Geography
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 It is a discipline which focuses on a

particular region on the surface of the
earth.
 The area or scope of the study utilizes all
other subdisciplines of geography but is
confines to a particular location.
 geopolitics
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 Used to understand how international

relations, trade, and economics are
affected by political actors’ location,
topography of trade routes, and natural
resources of the country.
 biogeography
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 Used to study why and how certain

organisms thrive in particular locations or
why similar environments produce
similar organisms.
 Cultural anthropology
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 Answers the questions how a society’s

culture changed over time in relation to
the alteration of their environment.
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Key Concepts in Geography
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Spatial pattern

 It refers to the arrangement or

placement of objects on Earth’s
surface
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Spatial interaction

 It is the processes involved in

understanding the relationship
between the movements of things
from one location to another.
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Geographic process

 It is the series of interrelated events

that affect places, societies, culture,
and environment.
 Among this geographic processes are
globalization, erosion and
deforestation.
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Research Methods in Geography
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cartography

 It is the study of representing’s

Earth surface using abstract
symbols or through the creation of
maps.
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Geographic Information Systems

 It is the discipline which deals with

the proper storage and data
retrieval of geographic information
using a computer.
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Remote Sensing

 It utilizes various instruments to obtain

geographic data about the earth’s
surface.
 Remotely sensed data are satellite
images, aerial photography, and data
from handheld sensing devices
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Geographic Quantitative Methods or
Geostatistics
 It is the application of statistical
methodologies to analyze geographic
information.
 It is used in weather prediction and analysis,
geology, urban planning, and other fields
requiring data analysis of the surface of the
earth.
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Geographic Qualitative Methods or
Ethnography

 Ethnography is used in human

geography, anthropology, and
sociology when undertaking
participant observations on the field
and in conducting interviews.
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Current Applications of Geography
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Urban Planning, Regional Planning,
and Spatial Planning
 Geography is utilized by urban, regional, and
spatial planners by analyzing the particular
characteristics of the land or space upon
which development will be done.
 This analysis includes the identification of the
most efficient usage of space, which could
affect the quality of life of its inhabitants.
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Regional Science

 It explores the spatial dimensions of

varying areas, whether urban or rural.
 This field may include studies on land
use and management, land
development, environmental analysis,
and migration pattern analysis.
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Planetary Science

 It is classically defined as “the study of

planets, moons, and planetary systems.”
 Geography is used in analyzing the
surfaces of planets and their different
spheres as enumerated in physical
geography.