The Discipline of
Geography
Module IV
The Development of
Geography
The study of describing the Earth, including the
people and environment.
An interdisciplinary study that explores the
relation between Earth, its human inhabitants,
and the changes and interplay that occurred over
time.
Comes from a Greek word
• geo – earth, land, or ground
• Graphia – to write, an art, or a study
The Development of
Geography
Cueva de El Castillo (12 000 BP) in Spain
Lascaux Cave in France (16 500 BP) in France
Ancient Greek geographers
Islamic scholars
Al-Khwarizmi (850 CE) and Abu Ali Al-Marakishy
(1262 CE)
Zheng He (1371 – 1433) – compass
15th and 17th century
Marco Polo (1254 – 1324) – traveled from Europe
to China using the silk road
Emergence of Modern
Geography
Satellite
Railroads
Health Science
• Dr. John Snow (1854) – Cholera map
Global warming
Important
Personalities in
Geography
Anaximander (610-546 BCE)
Pre-Socratic
Greek
philosopher, biologist,
and astronomer
Round map divided in
three continents
• Europe, Asia, and
Libya
• Mediterranean Sea,
Black Sea, and Nile
River
Strabo (64 – 20 BCE)
• Coined the
Geographia
term
Eratosthenes (276 – 194 BCE)
First to accurately
calcuted
the
circumference of Earth
as 40 233 kilometers.
Ptolemy (100 – 178 BCE)
Formulation of map
coordinates by utilizing
and developing the
concepts of latitude
and longitude
Edrisi
Arab geographer and
descendant of Prophet
Mohammed
Collected all known
geographical
information of his time
Ibn Battuta (1304-1368 CE)
• Morrocan explorer
• Rihla (Journey)
Carl Ritter (1779-1859)
German geographer
Use
comprative
method
in
understanding
and
classifying
different
formations
occuring
over the surface of
Earth
Geographic
Determinism
Alexander von Humboldt
(1769-1859)
• Prussian geographer
and explorer
• Great scientific
generalists
William Morris Davis
(1850-1934)
American geographer,
geologist,
and
meteorologist
Father of American
Geography
Categorized
landscapes
• Structure
• Process
• Stage
Paul Vidal de la Blache
(1845-1918)
French geographer and
founder of modern
French geography
Possibilism
Social structures and
systems are formed in
direct relation to how
society cultivates the
environment.
The Fields of Geography
Physical geography
• Studies change in natural patterns and processes
of Earth’s surface over time.
Human geography
• Studies the relationship of people, communities,
and culture across space and place.
Integrated geography
• How human activities impact the environment
through analysis of the shifts in landforms and
cycles of natural resources
The Field of Geography
Geomatics
• Focuses on the scientific
management of
geographic data.
Regional geography
• Focus on a particular region on the surface of
earth.
Geopolitics
• To understand how international relations trade
and economics are affected by political actor’s
location, topography of trade routes and natural
resources of the country.
The Field of Geography
Biogeography
• Why and how certain organisms thrive in
particular locations or why similar environments
produce similar organisms.
Cultural anthropology
• How society’s culture changed over time in
relation to the alteration of their environment.
Key Concepts in Geography
Spatial pattern
• Arrangement or placement of objects on Earth’s
surface.
Spatial interaction
• Processes involved in understanding the
relationship between the movements of things
from one location to another.
Geographic process
• Series of interrelated events that affect places,
societies, culture and environment.
Research Method in Geography
Cartography
• Study of representing Earth’s surface using
abstract symbols or through the creation of
maps.
Geographic Information System
• The discipline which deals with the proper
storage and data retrieval of geographic
information using a computer.
Research Method in Geography
Remote Sensing
• Various instruments to obtain geographic data
about Earth’s surface.
Geographic Quantitative Methods or Geostatics
• Application of statistical methodologies to
analyze geographic information.
Geographic Qualitative Methods or Ethnography
• Used in human geography, anthropology, and
sociology
Current Applications of
Geograpy
Urban Planning, Regional Planning and Spatial
Planning
• Analyzing the particular characteristics of the
land or space upon which development will be
done.
Regional Science
• Studies on land use and management, land
development, environmental analysis, and
migration pattern analysis.
Current Application of
Geography
Planetary Science
• Study of planets, moons, and planetary system