Concept of Geography - Essay Example

? Geography Concepts of Geography Learnt [College] What Is Geography? Geography can be defined in various ways. One, it can be referred to as the study of the physical features of the earth and its atmosphere, and of the human activity as it affected by these and it can also be defined as the nature and relative arrangement of places and physical features. Geography comes from the Greek word “geographia” which means earth description and the “Geo” in geography stands for” the earth” and “graphein” for “to write”. It is basically divided into two main branches known as physical geography and human geography. The former mostly deals with examination of the natural environment and how both living and non-living things produce and interact. On the other hand, the latter focuses on the build environment and how human beings manage and influence space. To further understand geography we can try to relate it to different concepts that are included in both human and physical geography. The major concepts that will be discussed include; location, region, specialization, migration, diffusion, sovereignty, the environment itself and lastly land. The location of place and things is the starting point of geographic study. Location can be described in two different ways: relative and absolute and it commonly answer the question “where is it”. The absolute location involves the position of events or features in space or it is the identification of place by a precise and accepted system coordinates. It uses some geographical coordinates a good example is 300 North 450 west to show a specific location on the earth’s globe. In relative location descriptive texts are used in describing the position of events and features in relation to other events it can sometimes be referred to the mathematical location. If asked the question to mention the distance and direction of a place from another place, using relative location it would be, it is 40 mile south of town B. According to geography, region is groupings of different geographic information. It can be defined by on e or more distinctive characteristics. Normally, regions are based on the physical features, culture or religion and even political boundaries. A region can either be formal, perceptual or functional. Formal regions can also be referred to as homogenous or uniform regions, places that are homogenous in nature share common traits such as the residence of a country. Functional regions s defined as a region that is held by a focal point an example can be a school district for an elementary school. A vernacular region also known as popular region, it is a region that only exists as a part of an ethnic identity or cultural identity and is not influenced by political boundaries. The third geographic concept is spatial interaction or effect. This is as a result of an event in one region or area that ends up affecting another totally different area and takes a look at the connectivity and relationship of features. Spatial geographic concept can be grouped into diffusion, interaction and distribution. Spatial diffusion is the outward spread of a substance, a concept, a practice or population from its point of origin to other areas. Spatial distribution can be considered as the arrangement of things on the earth’s surface. An example is a change in land use from rural to high density can affect traffic congestion in adjoining areas. To be more specific, a mountain eruption that occurred in the late nineties of Mount Saint Helen affected an area far beyond the volcanic site that was caused by the ash fallout that reached states next to it. Migration can also be considered as a concept in geography. It involves both pull and push factors, all which defines the interrelationship between people or animals and their environment. Push migration factor is caused by negative conditions in a habitat hence causing or impels the decision to migrate from your original habitat o the new habitat. These factors may include overcrowding, war, famine or in general hostile and unfavorable environment. Pull factors are presumed positive attraction that led to migration. It included factors like food, better climate, available space for expansion and in general good environment. The environment or place can also be considered as a concept in geography. It comes about from environmental geography which is a branch of geography which describes the spatial aspects of interaction between humans and the nature world. One has to consider the physical attributes of a specific environment. The physical characteristics include: weather and temperature, land and soil and plant and animal life. The environmental circumstances directly affect agricultural potential and reliability. In addition size and scale can also be a concept in geography. Scale is the degree of generalization represented. When we refer to a certain place as large or small in size we are actually speaking of both the nature of the place itself and the generalization that can be made about it. However, in geography we are mostly concerned with scale. For example during a study of a problem like population or landforms at a local scale, the reference is strictly to the size of unit studied. In the geographic work or study awareness of scale is quite important this is because the concepts, relationship, and understandings that have meaning at one scale may not be applied in other areas. Similarly, physical and cultural attributes fall under the concepts of geography. All places have specific physical and cultural attributes that distinguish them from other places hence, gives it potential, character and most of all meaning. Geographers now come in by identifying and analyzing the details of these attributes and also identifying the relationship between the physical and cultural components of an area. The physical characteristic of a place may include aspects like natural climate, soil, mineral resources or rain forest. The natural landscape attributes provide a field in with human activities occur; they shape how people live but don’t dictate it. Direction is another spatial concept of geography. It can be classified into absolute and relative directions. Absolute direction is based upon cardinal points of north, south, west and east. This is the most commonly used in geography in terms of giving direction. In geographical navigation over different points, the cardinal points are used in determining the actual location of an object or point. Also we use relative directions or rotational directions. An example is in the United States, we go “out east”, “back west” excreta. Despite being reference to cardinal points the directions are based on their culture. Distance can also be included under both direction and location as an aspect. And like both of them it is also classified into absolute and relative. Where absolute distance is the spatial separation between two points on the earth’s surface and is measured by an accepted standard unit such as miles or kilometers. Relative distance converts those linear measurements into other units that are meaningful for the space relationship in question. From the above we have seen that geography can be define and explained with many concepts that affect the world. Other concepts that were not mentioned but are considered as aspects in geography include; place similarity, interrelation between places, diffusion of culture and assimilation, culture hearth, changing attributes of places excreta. We can conclude that is focuses on both the physical structure of the earth and on the nature and activities of the people living in different parts of the earth. References Getis, A., Getis, J., & Fellmann, J. D. (October 5, 2010). Introduction to geography (13th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Read More