Concept of Geography
Welcome to Geography. During this session you will learn what Geography is and what its main purposes are. You will discover that Geography is a very ancient discipline, very useful for human societies. For example, all the conquering empires along the History needed to know how the world was and the resources of new lands to be discovered and conquered. First of all, we want to ask you about the meaning of Geography. Do you know who Gaea is? Do you know the Greek myths about the world and the creation of humankind? Do you know that Herodotus of Halicarnassus is considered the “father” of Geography? And, what most importantly, do you know that Geography is more than studying maps? Origin of Geography Let´s begin with Greece. The ancient Greek civilisation is the origin of many of our concepts about the world, and the very first creators of some of the science you will study at school (Maths, Philosophy, History, etc.). Let´s read the myth of Uranus and Gaea: The Creation In the beginning there was only Chaos. Then appeared Erebus, the place where death lives, and Night. All else was empty, silent, endless, dark. Then, Love was born bringing along the beginning of order. From Love emerged Light, followed by Gaea, the earth.
FORM ONE : INTRODUCTION TO GEOGRAPHY
Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments. Geographers is person explore both the physical
BRANCHES OF GEOGRAPHY
There are three main branches of geography namely: -
(a) Physical geography
(b) Human and economic geography
(c) Practical geography
A. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Is concerned with Land formation processes, weather and climate . Also it is the branch of geography that studies all physical features
e.g .Mountain,rift valley
e.g .Mountain,rift valley
B. HUMAN AND ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY OR REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY.
It deals with all activities of human on the earth’s surface,which includes mining,agriculture,transportation,settlement,tourism etc,
C. PRACTICAL GEOGRAPHY
Is concerned with field study of photograph interpretation, map work , statistics and research.
Exercise 1
1. Why are we studying geography?
(i) To gain skills of observing,measuring,recording and interpreting phenomena
(ii) To understand interaction between our country and other countries and share ideas of solving problems.
(iii) To acquire skills for combating environment problems in order to conserve and manage the environment in a sustainable way.
(i) To gain skills of observing,measuring,recording and interpreting phenomena
(ii) To understand interaction between our country and other countries and share ideas of solving problems.
(iii) To acquire skills for combating environment problems in order to conserve and manage the environment in a sustainable way.
(iv) To develop awareness and knowledge about natural resources(Land forests, mineral deposits,water etc) wild animals climatic regions and other natural resources..
(v) It provide base for specialization career for example cartographer, climatology, geologist etc
(vi ) It helps to learn on how other countries in the world solve different problems like fire outbreak disease, environment problems e.t.c
(vii) It help us to understand aspect of weather and climate and how it influence the environment
(viii) To gain the knowledge of employment opportunities
(vii) It help us to understand aspect of weather and climate and how it influence the environment
(viii) To gain the knowledge of employment opportunities
Exercise 2
1. What is geography?
Geography is the study of human and environment in relation to the earth
2. How many branches of geography do we have?
There are three branches of geography namely;
(i) Physical geography
(ii) Human and economic geography
(iii) Practical geography
Physical geography concerned with Land formation process, weather and climate.
Physical geography concerned with Land formation process, weather and climate.
Human and economic geography deals with all activities of human on the earth’s surface.
Practical geography is concerned with field study, photograph interpretation ,map work and research
3. Why are we studying geography? (give three strong reasons and examples)
3. Why are we studying geography? (give three strong reasons and examples)
(i) To develop awareness of our country and heritage.
(ii) To expand our knowledge of employment opportunities.
(iii) To gain skills of observing, measuring, recording and interpreting phenomena.
properties of Earth's surface and the human societies spread across it.(iii) To gain skills of observing, measuring, recording and interpreting phenomena.
