Geography Courses Online

Introduction to Geography

The main objective of this online textbook is to introduce students to the exciting field of knowledge known as physical geography. Physical geography is a discipline that is part of a much larger area of understanding called geography. Most individuals define geography as a field of study that deals with maps. This definition is only partially correct. A better definition of geography may be the study of natural and human constructed phenomena relative to a spatial dimension.

The discipline of geography has a history that stretches over many centuries. Over this time period, the study of geography has evolved and developed into an important form of human scholarship. Examining the historical evolution of geography as a discipline provides some important insights concerning its character and methodology. These insights are also helpful in gaining a better understanding of the nature of physical geography.

History of Geography and Physical Geography

Some of the first truly geographical studies occurred more than four thousand years ago. The main purpose of these early investigations was to map features and places observed as explorers traveled to new lands. At this time, Chinese, Egyptian, and Phoenician civilizations were beginning to explore the places and spaces within and outside their homelands. The earliest evidence of such explorations comes from the archaeological discovery of a Babylonian clay tablet map that dates back to 2300 BC.

The early Greeks were the first civilization to practice a form of geography that was more than mere map making or cartography. Greek philosophers and scientist were also interested in learning about spatial nature of human and physical features found on the Earth. One of the first Greek geographers was Herodotus (circa 484 – 425 BC). Herodotus wrote a number of volumes that described the human and physical geography of the various regions of the Persian Empire.

The ancient Greeks were also interested in the form, size, and geometry of the Earth. Aristotle (circa 384 – 322 BC) hypothesized and scientifically demonstrated that the Earth had a spherical shape. Evidence for this idea came from observations of lunar eclipses. Lunar eclipses occur when the Earth casts its circular shadow on to the moon’s surface. The first individual to accurately calculate the circumference of the Earth was the Greek geographer Eratosthenes (circa 276 – 194 BC). Eratosthenes calculated the equatorial circumference to be 40,233 kilometers using simple geometric relationships. This primitive calculation was unusually accurate. Measurements of the Earth using modern satellite technology have computed the circumference to be 40,072 kilometers.

Most of the Greek accomplishments in geography were passed on to the Romans. Roman military commanders and administrators used this information to guide the expansion of their Empire. The Romans also made several important additions to geographical knowledge. Strabo (circa 64 BC – 20 AD) wrote a 17 volume series called “Geographia”. Strabo claimed to have traveled widely and recorded what he had seen and experienced from a geographical perspective. In his series of books, Strabo describes the cultural geographies of the various societies of people found from Britain to as far east as India, and south to Ethiopia and as far north as Iceland. Strabo also suggested a definition of geography that is quite complementary to the way many human geographers define their discipline today. This definition suggests that the aim of geography was to “describe the known parts of the inhabited world … to write the assessment of the countries of the world [and] to treat the differences between countries”.

During the second century AD, Ptolemy (circa 100 – 178 AD) made a number of important contributions to geography. Ptolemy’s publication Geographike hyphegesis or “Guide to Geography” compiled and summarize much of the Greek and Roman geographic information accumulated at that time. Some of his other important contributions include the creation of three different methods for projecting the Earth’s surface on a map, the calculation of coordinate locations for some eight thousand places on the Earth, and development of the concepts of geographical latitude and longitude.

Geography Written Test – Code Snmptn 167

Geography Written Test – Code Snmptn 169

Geography Written Test – Code Snmptn 267

Geography Written Test – Code Snmptn 269

Geography Written Test – Code Snmptn 367

Geography Written Test – Code Snmptn 369

Little academic progress in geography occurred after the Roman period. For the most part, the Middle Ages (5th to 13th centuries AD) were a time of intellectual stagnation. In Europe, the Vikings of Scandinavia were the only group of people carrying out active exploration of new lands. In the Middle East, Arab academics began translating the works of Greek and Roman geographers starting in the 8th century and began exploring southwestern Asia and Africa. Some of the important intellectuals in Arab geography were Al-Idrisi, Ibn Battutah, and Ibn Khaldun. Al-Idrisi is best known for his skill at making maps and for his work of descriptive geography Kitab nuzhat al-mushtaq fi ikhtiraq al-afaq or “The Pleasure Excursion of One Who Is Eager to Traverse the Regions of the World”. Ibn Battutah and Ibn Khaldun are well known for writing about their extensive travels of North Africa and the Middle East.

During the Renaissance (1400 to 1600 AD) numerous journeys of geographical exploration were commissioned by a variety of nation states in Europe. Most of these voyages were financed because of the potential commercial returns from resource exploitation. The voyages also provided an opportunity for scientific investigation and discovery. These voyages also added many significant contributions to geographic knowledge (Figure 1a-2). Important explorers of this period include Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan, Jacques Cartier, Sir Martin Frobisher, Sir Francis Drake, John and Sebastian Cabot, and John Davis. Also during the Renaissance, Martin Behaim created a spherical globe depicting the Earth in its true three-dimensional form in 1492. Behaim’s invention was a significant advance over two-dimensional maps because it created a more realistic depiction of the Earth’s shape and surface configuration.

Citation: Pidwirny, M. (2006). “Introduction to Geography”. Fundamentals of Physical Geography, 2nd Edition. Date Viewed.