Branches of Geography
Mainly Geography is divided into 2 parts.
i. Human Geography
ii. Physical Geography
Physical and human geography are two great branches of the discipline, and their origins can be traced to the Greeks and later the Romans. Greek scholars were curious about the world, particularly the physical aspects, and collected information from traders and travelers. The Romans, un-like the Greeks were empire builders and brought many different cultures under their control. They added to the Greek knowledge of the physical Earth and added information about different cultures they encountered or conquered. By the end of the Roman era, theories about a spherical Earth, latitudinal climatic zones, environmental influences on humans, and humans' role in modifying the Earth were established. The latter two are quite significant because today environmental geography is emerging as a link between human and physical geography.
Traditions
During the twentieth century, geography was marked by four durable traditions: earth-science (physical geography); cultural-environmental (encompasses a wide range of topics with a difficult, even controversial history); locational theory (the spatial focus of the discipline), which has become a modern element of human geography; and area analysis (primarily involving the description of areas and regions), giving rise to what is today called regional science. These four Traditions of Geography were first identified in an article by University of Chicago geographer W.D. Pattison in 1964. He argued that these were the four areas where geographic teaching, research, and other activity were concentrated.
New Themes
In the 1980s, rising concerns about geographic illiteracy in America prompted the National Geographic Society, and several other organizations, to begin campaigns to reintroduce geography into school curricula. In a 1986 publication, the NGS proposed a useful five theme framework for geography as developed by the Geography Education National Implementation Project (GENIP). Three of the themes correspond to traditions identified earlier: location, human environment interaction, and regions.
As the fourth tradition, the NGS proposed a single word, place because all places on the surface of the Earth have distinguishing human and physical characteristics. A fifth theme, movement, refers to the mobility of goods, ideas, and people, an appropriate theme in light of the mobile world we live in today.
Maps
Maps graphic representations of all or part of the Earth's surface drawn to scale are the most important tool of geographers. Maps and geography are practically synonymous, and mapmaking (cartography) is as old as geography itself. The spatial perspective is geography's unifying bond and there is no better way to demonstrate insights gained through spatial analysis than through the use of maps. Maps are our "window on the world."
Maps are used to portray the distinctive character of places; their relationship to environmental issues; the movements of people, goods, and ideas and regions of various types. Maps are used to wage war, make political propaganda, solve medical problems, locate shopping centers, bring relief to refugees and warn of natural hazards in short, for countless purposes.
Maps are not always printed. Everyone has a mental map in their mind. That has developed over years of looking at wall maps, atlas maps and maps in books, magazines and newspapers. People’s perception of places and regions is influenced by their individual mental maps as well as printed maps. Since one's perception of different places is a combination of general information, personal experiences, and what is called "hearsay" in the legal profession, that perception is not always accurate.
