What are three examples of physical geography?
What are the components of physical geography?
- The four components of Earth’s physical systems (the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere) are interdependent.
- Earth-Sun relationships drives physical processes that follow an annual cycle and create patterns on Earth.
- Physical processes generate patterns of features across Earth’s surface.
What are the physical characteristics of geography?
- Location. Location is defined as a particular place or position.
- Place. Place refers to the physical and human aspects of a location.
- Human-Environment Interaction.
- Movement.
- Region.
- Notes.
What does a physical geographer do?
What Does Physical Geography Study
- What Is Physical Geography? ...
- Physical geography is the study of all natural forms and processes in an environment. ...
- A geographer is someone who studies the earth and its land, features, and inhabitants. ...
How does physical geography relate to human geography?
There are two major branches of geography, physical and human. Physical geography studies the physical elements of the world, such as soil, plate tectonics, climate, etc. However, human geography studies what humans have done with the world, such as population, urbanization, culture, etc.
What are examples of physical geography?
Example 1: The North Sea—Map: Major Bodies of Water in Europe. Example 2: Scandinavia—Map: Physical Map of Scandinavia. Example 3: Strait of Gibraltar—Map: Major Bodies of Water in Europe.
What is covered in physical geography?
Physical geography is the spatial study of natural phenomena that make up the environment, such as rivers, mountains, landforms, weather, climate, soils, plants, and any other physical aspects of the earth's surface.
What are the 5 physical geography?
The field can largely be divided into five sub-fields: island biogeography, paleobiogeography, phylogeography, zoogeography and phytogeography. Climatology is the study of the climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a long period of time.
What are 3 physical geography features?
Their physical characteristics include landforms, climate, soils, and hydrology.
What are the four main components of physical geography?
There are four physical systems: the atmosphere, the biosphere, the hydrosphere, and the lithosphere. These constitute the essential units of the planet's physical systems.
What are the 3 types geography?
There are three main strands of geography:Physical geography: nature and the effects it has on people and/or the environment.Human geography: concerned with people.Environmental geography: how people can harm or protect the environment.
What are the 4 types of geography?
Different Types of GeographyHuman Geography.Physical Geography.Environmental Geography.Cartography.
What are the 3 branches of geography?
Historical geography studies how humans have changed a place or region over time. Political geography focuses on how spatial factors impact political processes. Population geography deals with location-related variations in population makeup, size, growth, migration, and distribution.
How many types of physical geography are there?
Physical geography was conventionally subdivided into geomorphology, climatology, hydrology, and biogeography, but is now more holistic in systems analysis of recent environmental and Quaternary change.
What is the importance of physical geography 5 points?
The study of physical Geography is essential for the sufficient allocation of the natural resources on the earth. It is essential for enabling human resolution as per the adjacent conditions and to be improved informed in order to protect our planet earth.
What is the physical geography of Australia?
Australia's landscape is dominated by the Outback, a region of deserts and semi-arid land. The Outback is a result of the continent's large inland plains, its location along the dry Tropic of Capricorn, and its proximity to cool, dry, southerly winds.
What is physical geography AP human geography?
Physical Geography is one of the two major branches of geography. It studies the natural features of earth, as well as earth's natural processes. Physical Geography includes the study of mountains, geology, weather and climate, and much more.
What is the area of physical geography that focuses on the landforms of the Earth and the physical processes involved in?
Geomorphology is the area of physical geography that focuses on the landforms of the Earth and the physical processes involved in creating and changing these landforms. This is not to say that geomorphology is identical to geology. Instead, it looks at boundaries between tectonic plates and their movement, areas of rock deposits, and the way geological forces create and change specific landforms.
What is the physical geography of water?
Hydrology is the physical geography specialization that focuses on water, including the location, movement, and composition of bodies of water around the world (i.e. rivers, lakes, oceans etc.). It may also study the effects of water on the geologic features of a given area.
What is the study of soil?
Geomorphology studies the natural landforms of Earth, including areas where geological conditions or processes shape and transform the landforms. Pedology specializes in the study of soil, including differences in regional soils, phenomena responsible for these differences, and changes to the soil such as erosion.
What is the physical geography specialization that studies soil?
Pedology. Pedology is the physical geography specialization that studies soil. Topics of interest within pedology include the composition of soil in different regions, what geographic and geological forces in an area create these soils, and issues of soil conservation and soil erosion.
What are the six specializations in physical geography?
The six most common specializations are geomorphology, pedology, biogeography, hydrology, meteorology, and climatology .
What is the field of geography that focuses on the geographic distribution of plants and animals around the world?
Biogeography. Biogeography focuses on the geographic distribution of plants and animals around the world. As a specialized field of physical geography, biogeographers work closely with biologists and ecologists to understand the spatial importance in ecosystems.
What is the field of geography?
Geography is a field of study concerned with space and spatial relations. Usually, the focus of geography concerns places, landmarks, physical landforms, climate, humans, and ecological distributions and locations on Earth. However, a small field of geography is concerned with mapping the physical geography of other bodies in our solar system.
What is the name of the field of geography?
NASA true-color image of the Earth's surface and atmosphere. Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the two fields of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere, ...
What is soil geography?
Soil geography deals with the distribution of soils across the terrain. This discipline is fundamental to both physical geography and pedology. Pedology is the study of soils in their natural environment. It deals with pedogenesis, soil morphology, soil classification.
What is the study of glaciers and ice sheets?
limnology and ecohydrology. Glaciology is the study of glaciers and ice sheets, or more commonly the cryosphere or ice and phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology groups the latter (ice sheets) ...
What is landscape ecology?
Landscape ecology is a sub-discipline of ecology and geography that address how spatial variation in the landscape affects ecological processes such as the distribution and flow of energy, materials, and individuals in the environment (which , in turn, may influence the distribution of landscape "elements" themselves such as hedgerows). The field was largely funded by the German geographer Carl Troll. Landscape ecology typically deals with problems in an applied and holistic context. The main difference between biogeography and landscape ecology is that the latter is concerned with how flows or energy and material are changed and their impacts on the landscape whereas the former is concerned with the spatial patterns of species and chemical cycles.
What is the branch of physical geography that studies the Earth's oceans and seas?
Oceanography is the branch of physical geography that studies the Earth's oceans and seas. It covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics ( biological oceanography ); ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics ( physical oceanography ); plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor ( geological oceanography ); and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries ( chemical oceanography ). These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers blend to further knowledge of the world ocean and understanding of processes within it.
What is the field of hydrology?
Hydrology is predominantly concerned with the amounts and quality of water moving and accumulating on the land surface and in the soils and rocks near the surface and is typified by the hydrological cycle. Thus the field encompasses water in rivers, lakes, aquifers and to an extent glaciers, in which the field examines the process and dynamics involved in these bodies of water. Hydrology has historically had an important connection with engineering and has thus developed a largely quantitative method in its research; however, it does have an earth science side that embraces the systems approach. Similar to most fields of physical geography it has sub-fields that examine the specific bodies of water or their interaction with other spheres e.g. limnology and ecohydrology.
What is the purpose of geomorphology?
Geomorphology seeks to understand landform history and dynamics, and predict future changes through a combination of field observation, physical experiment, and numerical modeling ( Geomorphometry ). Early studies in geomorphology are the foundation for pedology, one of two main branches of soil science.
What is physical geography?
Physical geography was conventionally subdivided into geomorphology, climatology, hydrology, and biogeography , but is now more holistic in systems analysis of recent environmental and Quaternary change. It uses expertise in mathematical and statistical modelling and in remote sensing, develops research to inform environmental management and environmental design, and benefits from collaborative links with many other disciplines such as biology (especially ecology), geology and engineering’ (K. Gregory 2002). However, R. Inkpen (2005) makes the soundly based claim that there is not a single history of physical geography.
What is physical environment?
The Physical Environment is one of the first, totally online physical geography learning environments. The Physical Environment combines text, images, audio and video programs to deliver the subject matter content. [Web site]
What is Geografiska Annaler?
Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography publishes original research in the field of Physical Geography with special emphasis on cold regions/high latitude, high altitude processes, landforms and environmental change, past, present and future.
What is the 4th edition of Physical Geography?
This fully-revised comprehensive fourth edition covers the whole field of physical geography including climate and atmosphere, geomorphology, biogeography, hydrology, oceans, Quaternary, environmental change, soils, remote sensing and GIS. The new edition reflects developments in the discipline during the last decade, with the expert advisory group providing an international perspective on the discipline of physical geography. ...
What was the new type of physical geography in the 1960s?
In the 1960s, ‘a new type of physical geography began to emerge that accentuated a concern with dynamic processes of earth systems. This new approach, which has evolved to the present, is founded on basic physical, chemical, and biological principles and employs statistical and mathematical analysis.
How many items are there in the physical geography catalog?
You can start in the library's online catalog with the following subject search: " physical geography ." That search finds 795 items under 322 subject headings.
What is the most highly regarded text in physical geography?
Among the most highly regarded texts in physical geography, Robert Christopherson's best-selling Geosystems: An Introduction to Physical Geography is known for its meticulous attention to detail, up-to-date accuracy, and rich integration of climate change science. Uniquely organized, the text presents Earth systems topics as they naturally occur: atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. This interconnected and organic systems-based approach is highlighted in strong pedagogical tools, a structured learning path, and current, updated information. ...
What do geographers think?
Geographers think broadly, emphasizing interconnections and complex issues, solving complicated problems such as resource management, environmental impact assessment, disease diffusion, and urban planning. Although many such occupations do not have the title of geographer, they require a geographic perspective.
What Approach Do Geographers Use to Investigate Important Issues?
In many ways, it is not what is studied that makes it geography, but instead how it is studied. The decision of whether to drill for oil in Alaska 's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is a complicated issue that can be best understood using the geographic approach.
What is the study of spatial distributions of phenomena across the landscape?
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY IS THE STUDY of spatial distributions of phenomena across the landscape, processes that created and changed those distributions, and implications for those distributions on people. Geography is both a natural and social science. Geographers think broadly, emphasizing interconnections and complex issues, ...
What is the spatial perspective of an issue?
5. The spatial perspective allows us to compare the locations of the physical, environmental, economic, political, and cultural attributes of the issue. On this map, ANWR is the large area outlined in orange. Its size is deceptive since Alaska is huge (by far the largest state in the U.S.). For comparison, ANWR is only slightly smaller than the state of South Carolina.
What is the holistic perspective of the environment?
7. The holistic perspective allows us to examine the interplay between the environment and the aesthetic, economic, political, and cultural attributes of the problem. Most of ANWR is a beautiful wilderness area, as well as being home to caribou, various plants and animals, and native people.
How do mountains affect water?
Melted snow flows downhill toward the lowlands, to the horses and cows. The elevation and shape of the land influence the spatial distribution and type of precipitation (rain, snow, and hail) and the pattern of streams that develop to drain water off the land.
What does green and yellow mean on a map?
Yellow and green indicate less steep slopes, and relatively flat areas are unshaded. Such a map would help us decide which areas could be new pastures. This image shows the shape of the land across the region, including the mountains (the pasture is on the left part of the map).
Overview
Historical evolution of the discipline
From the birth of geography as a science during the Greek classical period and until the late nineteenth century with the birth of anthropogeography (human geography), geography was almost exclusively a natural science: the study of location and descriptive gazetteer of all places of the known world. Several works among the best known during this long period could be cited as an example, from Strabo (Geography), Eratosthenes (Geographika) or Dionysius Periegetes (Per…
Sub-branches
Physical geography can be divided into several branches or related fields, as follows:
• Geomorphology is concerned with understanding the surface of the Earth and the processes by which it is shaped, both at the present as well as in the past. Geomorphology as a field has several sub-fields that deal with the specific landforms of various environments e.g. desert geomorphology and fluvial geomorphology; however, these sub-fields are united by the core proc…
Journals and literature
Physical geography and earth science journals communicate and document the results of research carried out in universities and various other research institutions. Most journals cover a specific field and publish the research within that field, however unlike human geographers, physical geographers tend to publish in inter-disciplinary journals rather than predominantly geography journal; the research is normally expressed in the form of a scientific paper. Additiona…
Notable physical geographers
• Eratosthenes (276 – 194 BC) who invented the discipline of geography. He made the first known reliable estimation of the Earth's size. He is considered the father of mathematical geography and geodesy.
• Ptolemy (c. 90 – c. 168), who compiled Greek and Roman knowledge to produce the book Geographia.
See also
• Atmosphere of Earth
• Earth system science
• Ecology
• Environmental science
• Environmental studies
Further reading
• Holden, Joseph. (2004). Introduction to Physical Geography and the Environment. Prentice-Hall, London.
• Inkpen, Robert. (2004). Science, Philosophy and Physical Geography. Routledge, London.
• Pidwirny, Michael. (2014). Glossary of Terms for Physical Geography. Planet Earth Publishing, Kelowna, Canada. ISBN 9780987702906. Available on Google Play.
External links
• Physiography by T.X. Huxley, 1878, full text, physical geography of the Thames River Basin
• Fundamentals of Physical Geography, 2nd Edition, by M. Pidwirny, 2006, full text
• Physical Geography for Students and Teachers, UK National Grid For Learning