Geography as a Discipline Notes in English Class 11 Geography Chapter-1 Book-Fundamental of Physical Geography

 Chapter - 1  

Geography as a subject

 

why geography is important 

• Our life is affected by our surroundings in many ways. 

• We depend on the resources around us to sustain our lives. 

• Primitive society depended on natural subsistence resources such as animals and edible plants for its sustenance.  With the passage of time we developed technologies 

• Humans began producing their own food using natural resources – land, soil, water. 

• We adjusted our food habits and clothing according to the seasonal conditions. 

• As a student of geography you should be curious to know about all the variations on the surface of the earth.

• Geography gives us the answers to all these questions 

Why should we study geography?

• To understand the things around you

• To understand the resources around you

• To understand the climate 

• To understand the diversity found in human societies 

• to understand the diversity of the Earth's surface 

• To understand the diversity of natural resources 

• To understand the proper use of resources 

Development of geography 

• The word geography was first used by  Eratosthenes, he was a Greek scholar. 

• The word is derived from two Greek roots  'Geo' (earth) and 'graphos' (description). 

• Putting both of them together makes sense,  a description of the earth. 

• The earth is seen as a habitat for humans 

• Scholars define geography as   'the description of the Earth as the habitat of human beings'.

Earth 

• Earth is our home. It is also the home of other small and big creatures living on Earth. The surface of the Earth is not uniform. There is variation in its physical features. 

• Here we find mountains, hills, valleys, plains, plateaus, seas, lakes, deserts, forests and desolate areas. 

• Here differences are also found in social and cultural elements .

What is geography?

1. Geography is the description of the earth.  Earth is the home of humans. Humans interact with nature. Geography is considered to be the study of regional variations. 

Geography is divided into two parts .  

1. Physical Geography 

• In physical geography, subjects related to the earth are studied, which mainly include topography/land,  environment,  ocean,  mountain  , river,  forest  , desert etc.  

2. Human geography 

• In human geography, subjects related to the earth are studied, which mainly  include agriculture, settlements, roads, mining, settlements, population, cities  etc.  

2. Geographers not only study the variations in facts on the surface  but also the factors  that cause these variations. 

• Example - The crop pattern varies from one region to another,  but this variation is factually related to the variation in soil, climate, market demand, spending capacity of farmers, availability of technical investment etc. 

Appreciating the interrelationship between man and nature 

• Man has compromised with nature through adaptation or modification. 

• Man has brought about changes in the environment by making proper use of high technology and natural resources 

• With continued evolution, man has been able to loosen the bonds imposed on him by the physical environment  

• Man has reduced the hardships of labour through technological advancement 

What? 

Where?

Why? 

Describe the categories of questions that geography answers?

Geography is a scientific subject and as a scientific subject Geography deals with three classes of questions –

1.What? 

• Some of the questions are related to the identification of patterns of natural and cultural features found on the earth's surface and   answer the "what" question.

2. Where  ?

• There are some questions which are related to the distribution of physical and cultural elements on the earth. These are related to the "where" question.

 3. Why?

• The third category of questions is related to explanation or cause-effect relationship between elements. Which answers why. This is the third category of questions in geography. It gives it a scientific form.

Two main approaches to geography 

1. Systematic Geography 

• The systematic geography approach was introduced by  German geographer Alexander von Humboldt .

• In systematic geography  a phenomenon is studied on a global level.  Then classified types of regional nature are identified. 

• Example - If one is interested in the study of natural vegetation, one  would first study it at the global level,  then identify, describe and demarcate  the functional classifications such as equatorial evergreen forests,  softwood coniferous forests, monsoon forests  , etc.

2. Regional geography

• The regional geography approach was introduced by  German geographer Carl Ritter .

• In this the world is divided into regions of different hierarchical levels and then all the geographical facts in a particular region are studied. 

• In regional geography, a region is studied as a regional unit. 

Major branches of physical geography 

1. Geomorphology

• It includes various types of landforms found on the Earth's surface, 

• Such as  the study of continents, mountains, plateaus, plains, river valleys etc.

 2.  Climatology

• In this, climate and its constituent elements are studied systematically. 

• Rainfall, temperature, air pressure, wind  etc. are the main components of climate.

3. Hydrology

• In this, the role of water in nature and human life through oceans, rivers, lakes, glaciers and water vapor is studied.

4. Soil geography

• In this, the process of soil formation,  types of soil,  productivity level of soil and  their distribution are studied. 

human Geography 

Human geography studies human or cultural elements on the earth's surface.  Under this, houses, villages, towns, cities, roads, bridges etc. which are made by humans are all called human elements,  they are studied  .

Branches of human geography 

1. Cultural geography and  social geography involve  the study of cultural elements contributed by the society.

2. In industrial geography, different  industrial activities and their favourable conditions are understood 

3. In political geography , boundaries, territorial relations between adjacent neighbouring units, delimitation of constituencies and election scenarios are studied . 

4. In population geography , population growth, its distribution, density, sex ratio, migration and occupational structure are studied .

5. Types of agriculture and useful conditions are described in   agricultural geography

6. Rural geography studies rural structure and their business activities  

7. Urban geography  studies   urban structure and occupational structure 

8. In economic geography , human economic activities such as agriculture, industry, tourism, trade and transportation, settlements are studied. 

9. Historical Geography  is the explanation of geographical elements and contemporary changes before each region reached its present state. 

Relation of geography with other subjects 

1. Human geography, a major branch of geography,  has a close relationship with other social science subjects such as history, economics, political science, sociology, philosophy, demography,  etc.

2. History and geography are deeply related to each other because both these subjects are related to the study of time and place respectively. 

3. Political science includes the analysis of state territory, population, sovereignty etc. while political geography studies the political behaviour of the state and its population as a regional unit.

4. History and geography are deeply related to each other because both these subjects are related to the study of time and place respectively. 

5. Political science includes the analysis of state territory, population, sovereignty etc. while political geography studies the political behaviour of the state and its population as a regional unit.

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