·
Physical Geography studies
·
Origin & nature of continents &
landforms
·
Origin & nature of oceans
·
Climates (past & present)
·
Rivers
·
Glaciers
·
Others
·
Soils
·
Animals
·
Plants
The discipline of geography
has a history that stretches over many centuries. Over this
time period, the study of geography has evolved and developed
into an important form of human scholarship. Examining the
historical evolution of geography as a discipline provides
some important insights concerning its character and methodology.
These insights are also helpful in gaining a better understanding
of the nature of physical geography.
Geographic
knowledge saw strong growth in Europe and
the United States in the 1800s. This period
also saw the emergence of a number of societies
interested in geographic issues. In Germany, Alexander
von Humboldt, Carl
Ritter, and Fredrich
Ratzel made substantial contributions
to human and physical geography. Humboldt's
publication Kosmos (1844)
examines the geology and physical geography
of the Earth. This work is considered by
many academics to be a milestone contribution
to geographic scholarship. Late in the 19th
Century, Ratzel theorized that the distribution
and culture of the Earth's various human
populations was strongly influenced by the
natural environment. The French geographer Paul
Vidal de la Blanche opposed this
revolutionary idea. Instead, he suggested
that human beings were a dominant force shaping
the form of the environment. The idea that
humans were modifying the physical environment
was also prevalent in the United States.
In 1847, George
Perkins Marsh gave an address to
the Agricultural Society of Rutland County,
Vermont. The subject of this speech
was that human activity was having a destructive
impact on land, especially through deforestation
and land conversion. This speech also became
the foundation for his book Man
and Nature or The Earth
as Modified by Human Action, first published in
1864. In this publication, Marsh warned of the ecological
consequences of the continued development of the American
frontier.
During
the first 50 years of the 1900s, many academics
in the field of geography extended the various
ideas presented in the previous century to
studies of small regions all over the world.
Most of these studies used descriptive field
methods to test research questions. Starting
in about 1950, geographic research experienced
a shift in methodology. Geographers began
adopting a more scientific approach that
relied on quantitative techniques. The quantitative
revolution was also associated with
a change in the way in which geographers studied the Earth
and its phenomena. Researchers now began investigating process
rather than mere description of the event of interest. Today,
the quantitative approach is becoming even more prevalent
due to advances in computer and software technologies.
In 1964, William Pattison published
an article in the Journal of Geography (1964,
63: 211-216) that suggested that modern Geography was now
composed of the following four academic traditions:
Spatial Tradition - the investigation of the phenomena of geography from a strictly spatial perspective.Area Studies Tradition - the geographical study of an area on the Earth at either the local, regional, or global scale.Human-Land Tradition - the geographical study of human interactions with the environment.Earth Science Tradition - the study of natural phenomena from a spatial perspective. This tradition is best described as theoretical physical geography.
Today, the academic
traditions described by Pattison are still dominant fields
of geographical investigation. However, the frequency
and magnitude of human mediated environmental problems
has been on a steady increase since the publication of
this notion. These increases are the result of a growing
human population and the consequent increase in the consumption
of natural resources. As a result, an increasing number
of researchers in geography are studying how humans modify
the environment. A significant number of these projects
also develop strategies to reduce the negative impact
of human activities on nature. Some of the dominant themes
in these studies include: environmental degradation of
the hydrosphere, atmosphere, lithosphere,
and biosphere;
resource use issues; natural hazards; environmental impact
assessment; and the effect of urbanization and land-use change
on natural environments.
Considering
all of the statements presented concerning the history
and development of geography,
we are now ready to formulate a somewhat coherent definition.
This definition suggests that geography, in its simplest
form, is the field of knowledge that is concerned with
how phenomena are spatially organized. Physical geography
attempts
to determine why natural phenomena have particular
spatial patterns and orientation. This online textbook
will focus primarily on the Earth
Science Tradition.
Some of the information that is covered in this textbook
also deals with the alterations of the environment
because of
human interaction. These pieces of information belong
in the Human-Land
Tradition of
geography.
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