Env 203/geo 205: Introduction To Geography: Moupia Rahman (MPR), PHD E-Mail

ENV 203/GEO 205: Introduction
to Geography
Lecture 1
Moupia Rahman (MpR), PhD

E-mail: moupia2004@yahoo.com
moupia.rahman@northsouth.edu
My Education
PhD in Environmental Science

University of Southampton, UK.
MPhil Leading to PhD

Environmental Science
University of Southampton, UK.
B.Sc. (Hons.) in Agriculture

Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymenshingh
Research Interest
Heavy metal pollution
Bioaccumulation of pollutants
Quantitative genetics
Outline
• Definition of Geography
• Dimension of geography
• History of geography
• Branches of geography
• Cartography
• GIS (details)
Chapter 1: Introduction to Geography
and GIS
History,
Themes and Concepts,
Definitions,
3 approaches of Geography: Physical, Human,
Socio-Economic
Geography
Study of interactions between humans and the environment over
space and time.
“The relationship of the earth and the humans”—Karl Ritter

(1779-1859).
“Geography is the description of the humans on earth”---Sir Dudley

Stamp (1898-1966).
Geography is the science that helps to determine the relationship

between humans and the earth.
The environment includes both living things, such as people,

plants, and animals, and nonliving things, such as air, water and
soil.
Dimensions of Geography
• Space (Spatial)
• Time (Temporal)
History: contributors
The ancient Greeks were also interested in the form, size, and
geometry of the Earth. Aristotle (384 - 322 BC) hypothesized
and scientifically demonstrated that the Earth had a spherical
shape.
Ptolemy (100 - 178 AD) made a number of important

contributions to geography. Ptolemy's publication "Guide to
Geography" compiled and summarized much of the Greek
and Roman geographic information accumulated at that time.
Development of the concepts of geographical latitude and

longitude was one of his (Ptolemy) important contribution.
History: contributors
Eratosthenes
(276 BC – 194 BC)
--was a Greek Mathematician, geographer, poet and athlete
He was the first person to use the word "geography" in Greek and
he invented the discipline of geography
He also invented the system of latitude & longitude
He was the first person to calculate the circumference of the earth
& calculated the tilt of the earth’s axis
Development of Modern Geography
Initiators of modern geography.
Alexander von-Humboldt Karl Ritter ((August 7, 1779 –

(September 14, 1769 – May 6, 1859) September 28, 1859)
Branches of Geography
Physical Geography
Geomorphology, fluvial process,
hydrology,
climatology/meteorology, soil
and biogeography,
Oceanography, glaciology etc.
Human Geography
Cultural geography, political geography, economic

geography, social geography, historical geography,
regional geography, urban geography, medical
geography, settlement geography, rural geography,
agricultural geography etc.
Socio-economic Geography
• Economic geography • Social geography
Mathematical Geography
• Statistical
geography
• Cartography
• modeling
• application
of remote
sensing &
GIS
Cartography
• The science or practice of drawing maps.
• The International Cartographic Association defines
cartography as the discipline dealing with the
conception, production, dissemination and study of
maps. Cartography is also about representation – the
map. This means that cartography is the whole process
of mapping.
Key concepts of Geography
The 8 key concepts are:
direction, distance, scale, location, distribution, localiz

ation, spatial interaction and region
1) Direction- is a geometric property used to describe

relative location. The true direction is measured by
reference to a meridian.
Nations that touch the Equator and the
Prime Meridian
2) Distance- Distance takes into account the dimension of
the surface of a feature to calculate the distance traveled
vertically.
3) Scale- is the size of the area being studied and is related

to the level of precision and generalization applied to the
area of interest. Scale on a map may be represented
three ways:
With a scale bar, as words " one centimeter to a

kilometer“ or as a representative fraction (1/10,000).
4) Location- is either relative or absolute. Absolute location is restricted to a
reference system similar to Euclidian distance or GPS location.
Relative location is related to other object as they are seen as
important (one example: the school is adjacent to the hospital).
5) Distribution- is the spatial pattern in an area. The three patterns

recognized in spatial statistics are:
7) Spatial interaction- is the movement of people, ideas, or
goods between areas on the earth. The concept of spatial
interaction is tied closely with human geography.
8) Region- A region is defined by the researcher to study the

likenesses and differences of areas. Regions in GIS are
represented by polygons or raster cells of the same value.
With the help of GIS we can explore the concepts of

geography and demonstrate how to analyze spatial data
based on these fundamental concepts.
GIS
• A geographic information system (GIS) is a framework

for gathering, managing, and analyzing data.
• GIS integrates many types of data.
• It analyzes spatial location and organizes layers of
information into visualizations using maps and 3D
scenes.
• With this unique capability, GIS reveals deeper
insights into data, such as patterns, relationships, and
situations—helping users make smarter decisions.
How GIS work
An example
PROSPECT OF PHYTOREMEDIATION OF ARSENIC BY BRASSICA
JUNCEA (L.) IN BANGLADESH
Map 3. Potential of B. juncea

Map 1. Arsenic Map 2. Area under
for Phytoremediation of
Contamination in Production of Rape and
Arsenic from Soil
Groundwater Mustard,
Application of GIS
Areas where GIS may contribute
What is Geo-Mapping?
A geo-map is a map of a country, continent, or region map,
with colors and values assigned to specific regions.
Measuring Size, Shape, •How long is the Dhanmondi Lake ?
and Distribution •How tall is the building at Dhanmondi?

•How densely people live at Dhanmondi?
•Describes a feature in terms of its area;
Measuring size and •Perimeter
shape; •Length
-- shows bigness •height
•volume.
of the object.
Which are the most polluted places in the world?

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ENV 203/GEO 205: Introduction

Moupia Rahman (MpR), PhD

PhD in Environmental Science

MPhil Leading to PhD

B.Sc. (Hons.) in Agriculture

“The relationship of the earth and the humans”—Karl Ritter

“Geography is the description of the humans on earth”---Sir Dudley

Geography is the science that helps to determine the relationship

The environment includes both living things, such as people,

Ptolemy (100 - 178 AD) made a number of important

Development of the concepts of geographical latitude and

Initiators of modern geography.

Alexander von-Humboldt Karl Ritter ((August 7, 1779 –

Cultural geography, political geography, economic

The 8 key concepts are:

direction, distance, scale, location, distribution, localiz

1) Direction- is a geometric property used to describe

3) Scale- is the size of the area being studied and is related

With a scale bar, as words " one centimeter to a

5) Distribution- is the spatial pattern in an area. The three patterns

8) Region- A region is defined by the researcher to study the

With the help of GIS we can explore the concepts of

• A geographic information system (GIS) is a framework

Map 3. Potential of B. juncea

and Distribution •How tall is the building at Dhanmondi?

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