How Geographers Explore the World What is Geography?

Welcome to Geography!

You are about to embark on an adventure of discovery… About the planet you live on… About the earth’s physical features… About the living things that inhabit the planet.. About where all these elements are located and how they interact

So what is Geography anyway??? Good question….. It has changed over the years… There is no single snappy answer. A couple of millennia ago it was about discovery: Was the Earth round or flat? Several centuries later geography was propelled by exploration and mapmaking

Today Geography is in the space age… Satellites transmit information to computers whose maps are used for analysis and decision making Despite these new developments, geography does have some traditions…

Geography deals with the natural as well as the human world

It is not just a “social” science Geographers do research on.. A hurricane…. Glaciations Coastlines Desert dunes Limestone caves Weather Climate Even on plants and animals

Geographers also study human activity… Such as… And human interaction with the environment Religion Language Population And provide information that helps with… City planning Boundary making

They ask questions like… Why do people persist in living on the slopes of active volcanoes and in the floodplains of flood-prone rivers? Where are diseases found? How do they spread? How does the location of a health-care facility affect the opportunity to obtain care? How many schools should we build to serve the city of Louisville?

So geographers… Make huge contributions to make the world a better place for people… And to make people aware of how to use the resources of the world wisely…

A third geographic tradition… Is simply this… We like to know and understand different cultures and distant regions In the past it was rare to find a geographer who did not have expertise about a foreign area…or speak a foreign language…

Finally, the “location” tradition Which asks questions like… And makes products like…. Why are things located on the Earth’s surface where they are? What does location mean to the success or failure of an area? Where should a new shopping center be built?

So, we don’t have a short-answer definition to geography… The book says: Geographers are specialists who describe the earth’s physical and human features and the interactions of people, places, and environments Geographers search for patterns in these features and interactions…. Geographers try to explain why they exist or occur.. They use this information in all sorts of ways……

Geographers…. ….may study volcanoes and why they erupt….

Or they may…. Analyze a city’s location in relation to climate, transportation, or population to help a city make decisions about planning

There is almost nothing… In this wide, wonderful world of ours that can’t be studied geographically… So hang on to your hat, you’re in for a ride!