Geography- DefinitionDefinition * Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments. Geographers explore both the physical properties of Earth’s surface and the human societies spread across it. They also examine how human culture interacts with the natural environment and the way that locations and places can have an impact on people. Geography seeks to understand where things are found, why they are there, and how they develop and change over time. (Source: National Geography, 2020, www.nationalgeography. education)Scholarly definition * Geography is concerned to provide accurate, orderly, and rational description and interpretation of the variable character of the earth surface (Hartshorne 1969). * Geography has to be conceived as the science concerned with the formulation of the laws governing the spatial distribution of certain features on the surface of the earth (Schaefer 1953). + Itis the study of spatial distributions and space relations on the earth’s surface. (Ackerman et al. 1965).It seeks to understand the Earth as the world of man, with particular reference to the differentiation and integration of place (Brock, 1965). Geography 'can be regarded as a science, concerned with the rational development, and testing of theories that explain and predict the spatial distribution and location of various characteristics on the surface of the Earth (Yeates,1968). Geography is the study of spatial organization expressed as patterns and processes (Taaffe, 1970). Geography offers a broad synoptic view of spatial relationships in human affairs (Smith, 1977).* Marxist Geography is that part of a whole science which deals with the interrelationship between social processes on the one hand and spatial processes on the other hand (Feet, 1977). * The focus of all geographical enquiry is place. This implies location on the earth’s surface. The relationship between it and ‘other locations, and the processes affecting changes in those relationships (Jana, 1984).° Geography as a discipline: Geography as a science, Geography as a social science ° Physical Geography ¢ Human Geography* Physical Geography focuses on documenting and analyzing the patterns, processes and relationships of Earth’s physical systems and the impacts of human activities upon them. * Human geography focuses on the social. cultural, economic, and political processes that influence and shape various spaces. (Hardwick 2017)ie Climatology Hydrology Geomorpholog Bio-geography soil geography oceanography Glaciology Coastal Environment Paleogéography Astronomical geography Urban geography Economic geograph: ‘Political geography -» Cultural geography. opulation: qecoraehe dical geograp: » lndustrial geography Agricultural or iand use Regional development and_planning Behavioral geographyReferences Adhikari, Sudeepta (1999) Fundamentals of Geographical Thought. Allahabad: C B house. Dikshit,RD (2001) Geographical Thought. New Delhi: Prentice Ha Singh, Savindra ( 2001) Environmental Geography. India Marsh, W M and Gross J. (1996) Environmental Geography. New York: Wiley & sons Park,C. 2001. The Environment . USAEarth’s processes The most gradual processes include Erosion Deposition formation of mountains and ocean bases. The fastest processes include earthquakes, eruptions, asteroid impacts, the motion of currents, the water cycle, and weather processes.Earth’s spheres Lithosphere — solid earth Atmosphere — gases (the air) 1. Atmosphere 2. Lithosphere 3. Hydrosphere 4. Biosphere Hydrosphere — all water Biosphere — all life° A geographic coordinate system is a system that uses a three-dimensional spherical surface to determine locations on the Earth. Any location on Earth can be referenced by a point with longitude and latitude coordinates. The geographic coordinate system is appropriate for global data sets and applications, such as_ satellite imagery repositories.Geographical coordinates(latitude, longitude) Latitude Longitude (North/South) (West/East) 90°N 90°S Latitude varies from 0° Longi i at the equator to 90° if eet | North and South at the Greenwich to 180° | poles "East and West