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Unit I

GEOGRAPHY AS A DISCIPLINE

CHAPTER
NATURE AND SCOPE OF GEOGRAPHY

Y
ou have already been introduced to implications of location and arrangement of
geography as a part of social science in these phenomena for human beings.
secondary school. As such you learnt Over 6,000 million people live on the earth
about the world — its people and places; in innumerable places called villages, towns
distribution of various natural and cultural and cities spread over many continents and
features and phenomena over the earth’s countries. Continents, mountains, rivers,
surface; and the emerging patterns of human- plains and many other physical features are
environment interactions at local, regional and the outcome of natural processes in action,
global levels. Now, at this stage, you are being while countries, villages, towns, cities,
introduced to geography as a ‘discipline’ for the agriculture, industry, means of transport and
first time. In this chapter, you will get to know communication etc. are the products of
the nature and scope of geography and its human activities. A process is a sequence of
evolution over the years and the main change systematically related through a chain
branches. Soon you would realise that this of causes and effects. Human beings use the
fascinating area of study, offers immense natural resources of the earth such as land,
possibilities to use and apply the knowledge water, air, minerals, animals, forests and many
and skills required for living and working in others to make a living and to shape their
today’s world. culture. In doing so they change the earth
surface enormously. It is no longer natural in
NATURE OF GEOGRAPHY the real sense except in remote areas that are still
inaccessible, such as Antarctica. The inhabited
You must have noted that geography is part of the earth has a clear imprint of the human
concerned with the study of the earth’s surface use of nature.
where all life forms including human beings Geography thus, studies the sur face
live and all human activities take place. The features of the earth and their association with
earth’s surface includes the oceans, the one another and derives meaningful spatial or
atmosphere, the upper part of the earth’s crust regional patterns. It studies the factors and
and the biosphere. processes, which change these features; their
The earth’s sur face is ever changing, mutual relationships; and their spatial
sometimes slowly and imperceptibly, while at arrangement. And finally it studies the
others, rapidly and perceptibly. In general, the implications of the above changes for human
natural phenomena like mountains, rivers, beings and their activities.
lakes etc. change slowly while the cultural It would be pertinent to note that all
phenomena like buildings, roads, crops, etc. surface features of the earth that attract the
change fast. Geography studies the origin of attention of geographers are not visible; many
these changing phenomena; the processes of them are conceptual and, therefore,
that change them and have brought them to cannot be seen on the ground. For example,
the present state and arranged them in space we cannot see education, health, per capita
in the way they exist. It also studies the income as we can see rivers, mountains, roads
4 FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

etc. We can, however, see their social • How have they come into being?
topography when we convert their intensities • How are they distributed and why?
into patterns on maps. Thus, we have maps that • How are they associated with each other?
show literacy, mortality, longevity of life, • Are the existing patterns of distribution
environment, prevalence of diseases, quality of conducive to human welfare?
life, etc. • What can be done to modify them?
Nature provides the base, the resources as • What are the implications of the proposed
well as the resistances. Human beings use these changes for humans?
natural endowments to evolve their cultures and To sum up, geography is a science that
civilisations. Culture is the cumulative product studies the spatial arrangement of things on
of experiences; it consists of values, norms, the surface of the earth resulting from a
beliefs, thoughts, ethical standards and styles dynamic interaction between humans and
of life and living. Civilisation is the physical nature. Unlike other disciplines, geography
manifestation of culture. Houses, villages, cities, cannot be defined by its subject matter for
means of transport and communication, anything present on the earth surface can be
agriculture, industry, etc. forms part of and is studied by it. Geography uses
civilisation. Apparently, the two are closely information provided by various disciplines,
related and almost inseparable. In our all the way from nuclear physics to, let us say,
discussion, we will use the term culture to ancient history, as raw materials to analyse
include civilisation. Culture is cumulative and the emerging patterns and structures of the
therefore, ever changing. earth sur face and their implications for
In ancient societies human interaction human beings.
with nature was rather direct: As time passed,
experience accumulated to give rise to various SCOPE OF GEOGRAPHY
kinds of cultures. Cultures are not only the Literal meaning of the term ‘geography’ is
outcome of the interaction between humans ‘description of the earth’ (geo = earth +
and nature but also among the humans living graphos=description). The term was first used
in different natural environments. It is an ever by Eratosthenes, a Greek geographer who
evolving and ever changing phenomenon. lived in Alexandria, Egypt during 276-192 BC.
That is why in similar natural settings, This is how geography was conceived in
cultures and civilisations are not always the ancient times. At present, it is no longer
same. The earth surface that geographer confined to the description of the earth. It has
studies is, therefore, not homogeneous or now acquired the status of a science that
isometric; it is marked by vast differences in explains the arrangement of various natural
both natural and cultural features. and cultural features on the earth surface. In
Geography is thus, a natural-cum-human this section we will examine the scope of
science engaged in the study of factors and geography in greater details.
processes, both natural and human, that Geography is often called the mother of
shape the earth surface and give rise to all sciences. There is some truth in it. Humans
different cultures and civilisations. It classifies in their early stages of civilised life had to cope
and delineates the earth features to arrive at with an omnipotent and omnipresent nature.
regional patterns and structures; it identifies Nature was most important object of curiosity.
the agencies and processes at work to change As apparent from ancient literary works of
the existing patterns; and predicts the practically all cultures, nature was often
possible outcomes of the processes at work. personified and its elements were presented
Thus, geography tries to answer the following as Gods and Goddesses, and devils and evil
questions: spirits, depending upon how they affected
• What are the natural and cultural features human life. Humans suffered from serious
on the surface of the earth? limitations imposed by nature because nature
NATURE AND SCOPE OF GEOGRAPHY 5

was overpowering and the technological specialisation, which ultimately gave rise to
means to control it were primitive and systematic disciplines like physics, chemistry,
toothless. As such humans adjusted biology, economics, sociology, political science,
themselves to natural environment; they did etc. that once formed part of one unified
not try to transgress the dictates of nature; discipline called geography. Today there are
they cooperated with nature and felt one hundreds of disciplines and sub-disciplines
with it. aiming at unravelling the mysteries of nature
Domestication of animals and plants set in and human behaviour, not holistically, but
motion a great change in human life. It from one or the other perspective. They
culminated in Agricultural Revolution, which individually see part of the reality even if in
lasted until eighteenth century in Europe and great depth, not the whole of it.
nineteenth century in Asia, Africa and Latin The branching off of specialised disciplines
America. As the cultural base of humans did not, however, diminish the place and
expanded, their relationship with nature importance of geography. The need for a
changed from subservience to cooperation. discipline, which looked at the causes and
Their tools and techniques improved, as did consequences of the arrangement of various
their knowledge pool. By the seventeenth natural and cultural features of earth surface
century, they broke the shackles of nature holistically existed before and exists even
and ventured to control it to their advantage. today. Geography does not compete with
They developed a great variety of mechanical specialised sister disciplines; apart from
and chemical devices to usher in a change generating its own information, it takes
that is popularly known as Industrial knowledge generated by them and processes
Revolution. It took about three centuries, it to build up theories and principles to explain
eighteenth to twentieth to spread all over the the ongoing changes on the earth surface.
world. Geography is, therefore, a truly holistic and
The strength of the Industrial Revolution interdisciplinary field of study engaged in
lay in scientific inventions on the one hand understanding the changing spatial structure
and European discovery of the sea routes to at different territorial levels, global to local,
reach sparsely settled rich lands of Americas, and at different times, from past to the future.
Australia, Africa and highly advanced cultures
of Asia on the other. With increasing EVOLUTION OF GEOGRAPHY
interaction, knowledge about continents and As noted earlier, geography is perhaps the
oceans, mountains and plains, rivers and oldest intellectual preoccupation of man. Its
lakes, and peoples and places increased many foundation was laid by Indian, Chinese,
fold and measurements of distances, Greek, Arab, and other scholars of times
directions, heights, and depths along with immemorial who ventured out beyond their
details of cultural landscapes became own locale to write about other lands and
necessary for preparing maps and charts. peoples. Atharva Veda written around tenth
Geography became really global. The attitude century BC gives the details of the then known
of human beings changed and they started earth; its physical features, biogeography and
moving away from mythology to scientific human settlements. Indian Rishis went to
presentation of both natural and human different parts of the world to carry the
phenomena. message of Indian culture particularly of
Once the spirit of scientific enquiry was Hinduism and Buddhism to Central Asia,
kindled and information about the world East Asia, Southeast Asia, eastern coast of
became more copious, the urge for deeper Africa, etc. The Chinese scholars made similar
analysis of the processes that gave rise to such trips to different parts of the then known
a great variety of natural and cultural features world particularly to India, and so did the
in the world grew. This necessitated Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek and Arab
6 FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

travellers. They were the first discoverers of the Humboldt and Karl Ritter played a leading role.
unknown lands. The experiential knowledge Prior to them Imanuel Kant, the great German
of these itinerants produced a unique culture, master of logical thought, had given geography
the imprints of which still persist in the its place in the overall framework of organised
commonality of certain human values in South, objective knowledge otherwise known as
Southeast and East Asia. One gets a sense of science. He enumerated five sub-fields of
unity in diversity . geography: mathematical geography; moral
In sixth century BC, Thales of Miletus, a (cultural) geography; political geography;
Greek geographer gave the size and shape of commercial geography, and theological
the earth; in second century BC, Ptolemy gave (religious) geography.
latitudes and longitudes for map making and Geography became a very popular subject
locating places. In first century BC, Strabo, a in schools because it gave knowledge about
Roman geographer gave detailed description the lands to prospective migrants, adminis-
of the world in 17 volumes. The contributions trators and traders. Gradually, along with the
of Indian astronomers and geographers were description of places and peoples, explanation
highly advanced for their times. Aryabhatta for varying responses of people to natural
propounded the theory of heliocentric environment was also presented. Thus,
universe a century before Copernicus, and geography, in the later half of the nineteenth
Bhaskaracharya mentioned about the gravity century, emerged as the study of the
of the earth, 1,200 years before Newton. dynamics of man-environment relationship
Kalidasa’s description of the geography of and its imprints on the earth surface.
central India in Meghdoota is highly Geographers were not however united on
professional. Arabs too made significant the question of man-environment
contributions and carried the known relationship. Those who postulated that
knowledge to far off places. In fourteenth environment controlled or determined human
century AD, Ibn Batuta, travelled to India and activities were called ‘determinists’. They were
wrote about its land and people. lead by Friederich Ratzel and Elsworth
During fourteenth to eighteenth centuries, Huntington. And those who said that man
discoveries of new lands and ocean routes could modify the environment to create new
generated vast amount of information about opportunities for himself were lead by Vidal
physical configurations of the world and the de la Blache and L. Febvre. They were known
places and people beyond the shores of as ‘possibilists.’
Europe. These details enabled Europeans to In early twentieth century, H.J.
migrate from overpopulated Europe to less Mackinder, a British geographer of German
populated lands of Americas, Australia and origin, looked at geography as a science of
parts of Africa relieving Europe from the relationships; as a study of arrangement and
growing pressure of population. It also association of things on the face of the earth
enabled the Europeans to politically and to form regional systems and structures. He
economically subjugate practically the whole strongly advocated for synthesis of physical
of the resource rich Asia, Africa, Australia and and cultural streams of geography into a
Americas. Control over the resources of the regional frame. According to him humans
world and the opportunity for emigration to could not exist without nature and nature
other lands, were the main factors behind the could not escape the influence of humans.
rise of Eur ope as the most developed The two together shaped the earth surface
continent of the world. and gave rise to regional patter ns and
By the end of the eighteenth century, structures. Thus, Mackinder defined
efforts were afoot to scientifically analyse the geography as an outlook, as a way of looking
geographical accounts available from various at the earth; it did not confine itself to any
sources. Two German geographers, A.V. specific domain of factual information; it
NATURE AND SCOPE OF GEOGRAPHY 7

studied the spatial patterns on the earth became apparent in 1970s. It was Information
surface, the processes involved in their Revolution; its impact became apparent in
evolution, and the impacts they produced on 1990s. Apart from the fact that it enabled
humans and their activities. geographers to use their newly acquired
Thus, geography in the twentieth century quantitative techniques with greater ease and
became a discipline, which studied the earth swiftness, it produced immense amount of
surface from two perspectives: systematic information in photographs taken from several
and regional. The former produced sub- thousand metres above the earth otherwise
disciplines like geomorphology, climatology, known as remote sensing. Such photos were
biogeography, political geography, economic taken from aircrafts in post- World War II
geography, health geography etc., while the decades. To begin with, it was meant to secure
latter gave rise to regional geography, regional information about enemy positions and
science, regional development, regional movements during the war but soon it became
planning, area planning, etc. The first started an important source of information for
with systematic knowledge to arrive at development of agriculture, industry,
regional patterns, while the second started transportation, communication and public
with regions to arrive at systematic details. utilities. Along with the air photographs came
In both cases, humans remained a central photogrammetry, the technique of air photo
theme: how systemic processes and regional interpretation.
patterns affected humans and their activities. The 1980s brought artificial satellites,
In the second half of the twentieth century, which circled the earth at a set speed and
search for an acceptable definition of route, several kilometres above the earth to
geography was abandoned. It was realised take photographs of much larger chunks of
that no living discipline could be defined once the earth and with far greater precision and
for all. It must change with time. Geography sharpness than the aircrafts could ever do. It
too must change and no definition could be is possible to get satellite imageries
considered final. A group of geographers, (photographs) with a resolution of less than
economists, and statisticians under the one metre, that is to say that even a metre
leadership of Walter Isard of University of long thing could be photographed and
Pennsylvania, USA joined hands to evolve a identified. Further, practically all details of the
new and hybrid analytical discipline called earth surface, above it and below it, can be
Regional Science. It brought geography closer photographed. It is possible to image mineral
to other social sciences and mathematics and deposits and sources of ground water, to chart
triggered of f what is now known as weather conditions, to locate various features
quantitative revolution in geography. of the earth surface and changes therein, and
As quantitative methods and techniques to trace the movement of people, armies,
of Regional Science penetrated other social goods and services from place to place The
sciences, an environment of cross-fertilisation satellite imageries have made air photograph
set in and quantitative geography became a antiquated. The information they provide is
craze during 1960s and 1970s. It provided unimaginably vast and detailed. They have
scientific tools to study the relationship enabled geographers to develop Geographic
between physical and human phenomena, Information System (GIS), Land Information
and carry out regional analysis with a System (LIS), and Global Positioning System
precision never attempted before. It enabled (GPS) as location decision, administrative and
geographers to handle large number of factors managerial tools. Geography of the twenty-first
and processes together to discern meaningful century is set to enter a new era of Spatial
patterns and structures. Information Technology (SIT). Geographers of
Along with quantitative revolution, the tomorrow would be trained not only in
signs of another major revolutionary change answering the question what is where and
8 FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

why but also in what should be where and why; Physical Geography
not only in generating information for decision
Physical geography can be divided into four
making but also in actively participating in
main sub-branches:
decision making. • Geomorphology;
The last quarter of the twentieth century • Climatology;
has put geography on a new trajectory of • Hydrology;
development with SIT as the main source of • Soil geography.
information and information processing. It Geomorphology is a genetic study of
was also a period when concern about the landfor ms like continents, mountains,
deteriorating environment became vocal. plateaus, plains, river valleys, and a vast
Pollution of land, water, and air reached an number of other features. Climatology is the
alarming state. Environment had always been systematic study of climate and its constituent
a major concern of geography. Environmental elements like temperature, pressure, winds,
geography thus, emerged as a major branch rainfall, storms, etc. and their distribution.
of geography. Hydrology is the study of the role water plays
in nature and human life through oceans,
BRANCHES OF GEOGRAPHY rivers, glaciers, and water vapour. Soil
geography is the study of soil formation, its
Today geography is the only discipline that
typology and distribution.
brings all natural and human sciences on a
common platfor m to understand the
Biogeography
dynamics of the spatial configuration of the
earth surface. It is an interdisciplinary and The main sub-branches of biogeography are:
integrative science having numerous • Plant geography;
branches (Fig.1.1). Space in geographic • Zoogeography;
terminology is the congregation of places • Human ecology; and
on earth sur face to form patter ns and • Environmental geography.
structures, which support life particularly Plant geography studies the distribution
human life. of various kinds of forests and grasslands.
Zoo geography studies the distribution of
Systematic Geography animals and micro-organisms, and human
ecology studies the changing human-nature
Geography looks at the earth surface from relationship and its consequences for human
two perspectives: systematic, and regional. life and living. Environmental geography
A study of specific natural or social studies the quality of the living environment
phenomenon that gives rise to certain spatial and its implications for human welfare.
patterns and structures on the earth surface
is called systematic study. There can be as Human Geography
many systematic branches of geography as Human beings working with the nature create
the phenomena studied. Ordinarily, a great variety of cultural phenomena like
systematic geography is divided into four main villages, towns, cities, countries, factories,
branches: roads, houses, etc. They are also responsible
• Physiography, conventionally known as for destroying many things through conflicts
physical geography; and wars. Study of location and distribution
• Biogeography, including environmental of all such phenomena fall under the purview
geography; of human geography. The main sub-branches
• Human geography, also referred as of human geography are:
cultural geography; and • Cultural geography;
• Geographic methods and techniques. • Social geography;
Geography

t t
Systematic Regional

t t t t t t t t
NATURE AND SCOPE OF GEOGRAPHY

Physical Bio Human/ Methods and Techniques Regional Regional Regional Regional
Cultural of Geography Studies Planning Analysis Development

t
t t t t
Plant Zoo Human Environmental
Ecology t t t t
Field Cartography Quantitative Geo-Informatics
Survey

t t t t
Geomorphology Climatology Hydrology Soil

t t t t t t t t t t
Cultural Social Population Urban Rural Economic Agricultural Industrial Political Geography of
Trade and
Transport

Fig1.1 : Geography — Branches and Sub-Fields


9
10 FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

• Population geography; planning for problem areas and regions, are


• Urban geography; some of the principle concerns of regional
• Rural geography; geography. The main sub-branches of regional
• Economic geography; geography are:
• Agricultural geography; • Regional studies;
• Industrial geography; • Regional analysis;
• Political geography; • Regional development;
• Geography of trade and transport. • Regional planning including area and
Each of these studies the distribution of community planning.
the relevant elements, tries to find out the Regional studies encompass study of
processes involved in their origin and uneven selected areas and regions to bring out their
distribution, delimits the patter ns of geographic personality and potentials. They
distribution, and predicts the emerging include regional surveys. Regional analysis
patterns and structures. is far more technical than regional studies
both in terms of methodology used and the
Geographic Methods and Techniques scope. Regional analysis uses highly advanced
statistical and mathematical techniques in
Under geographic methods and techniques
analysing the data and lays greater emphasis
come:
on interregional relations and flows to
• Field studies (physical as well socio-
determine the potentials of a region for future
economic surveys);
development. Regional development is a
• Cartography;
branch of study that focuses on the processes
• Quantitative geography;
of development in a region and suggests
• Spatial information system (GIS, LIS,
policies and programs, which can help the
GPS).
region overcome its problems. Regional
planning is a technical exercise involving the
Regional Geography
theory and practice of area planning for urban
Unlike systematic geography, regional as well rural areas.
geography starts with the spatial imprints of To sum up, geography is a unified field of
one or all the systematic geographic processes study known for its approach and point of
discernible as regions of different sizes. view rather than for its subject matter. It
Regions could be based on a single factor like studies the spatial structure of the earth
relief, rainfall, vegetation, per capita income, surface and its implications for human life
literacy and so on. They could also be and living. As such the branches of geography
multifactor regions created by the association listed above are not exhaustive; they are only
of two or more factors. Administrative areas indicative. There can be as many branches
like states, districts, tehsils/taluks, revenue as the subject matters studied to arrive at
villages also can be treated as regions, even if meaningful scientific conclusions about the
they have no rationale other than causes and consequences of the existing or
convenience. For planning and development emerging spatial patterns and structures of
purposes, one can form specialised regions. the whole or part of the earth surface.
Identification of the relevant geographical There are two ways of studying geographic
characteristics of a region; study of interplay problems. One of the ways is to select a
between nature and human and its regional geographical factor such as climate and study
implications; delimitation of regions using its mechanism to evolve typologies and to
given criteria; tracing of mutual relationship examine the causes and consequences of their
among the regions, both vertical and spatial distribution on the surface of the earth.
horizontal; finding regional structures of The focus in this case is on climate and
economy, society, and polity; and regional climatic types as modified by local and
NATURE AND SCOPE OF GEOGRAPHY 11

regional factors. Such a study falls within the of human mind working on the physical
purview of systematic geography. Alter - base of the earth rather than of nature working
natively, one can start with a region, let us on man.
say a state of India, or a river basin, and then Movement from the theory of environmental
study it from different perspectives to determinism to that of social determinism did
understand its uniqueness, to diagnose its play a balancing role and made geography
problems and to suggest policies and plans once again a broad based discipline but it
to solve the problems. In either case region is induced a mindset which treated natural
a common denominator. Scientific study of the environment — land, water, air, soils,
causes and consequences of the spatial vegetation, animals etc. — as mere resources
structure of the earth surface forms the core to achieve economic progress. Resource
of geography. exploitation became a desirable activity. This
led to the destruction, pollution and shortage
IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY of practically all natural resources including
free gifts like air.
This book pertains to physical geography. It By 1950, humans realised the damage
covers all that is natural— lithosphere, they had done to their own future. They
atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. realised that natural resources constituted the
Lithosphere covers land forms, atmosphere life support system on the earth. Their
deals with climates, hydrosphere is the study destruction could lead to extinction of all life
of water features and biosphere focuses on on planet earth. Geographers in India, under
living things like plants, animals, micro the influence of American geographers and
organisms and human beings. Soils are the guided by theories of economic growth
products of all the four elements of physical deemphasised physical geography. In the
geography. light of the new situation emerging from
Modern geography, as it emerged in environmental crisis, geography has sought
Europe, was oriented to physical aspects. This to return to its physical base. Geography of
tradition continued almost till the end of the the twenty-first century has once again
nineteenth century. Colonial era was marked become a balanced, integrated and
by over emphasis on physical environment as comprehensive discipline giving equal
a determining factor in human behaviour, but importance to both physical and human
there were dissenting voices particularly from geography. There can be no geography
France and the United States where geographic without physical geography; nor there can be
patterns were considered primarily as products one without human geography.

EXERCISES

Review Questions
1. Answer the following questions:
(i) Who first used the term ‘geography’?
(ii) Why is geography often called the mother of all sciences?
(iii) Why was the need felt for specialisation, which gave rise to systematic disciplines?
(iv) Why did geography become a popular subject in schools by the end of the eighteenth
century?
(v) Name the two major revolutionary changes in geography, which influenced it most
during the second half of the twentieth century.
(vi) What are the two ways of studying geographic problems?
12 FUNDAMENTALS OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

2. Distinguish between:
(i) Culture and civilisation;
(ii) Systematic and regional geographies;
(iii) ‘Deterministic’ and ‘Possibilistic’ schools of thought;
(iv) Physical geography and biogeography.
3. Write short notes on the following:
(i) Geography in the twentieth century;
(ii) Geographic methods and techniques;
(iii) Contributions of ancient Greek and Indian scholars to geography.
4. Discuss the scope of geography with changing times.
5. ‘There can be no geography without physical or human geography’. Explain this statement
by giving suitable examples.

Project Work
Collect information regarding some eminent Indian geographers of the twentieth century and
their contributions.

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