What Is Geography?

This article covers the essentials of Geography, one of the most fascinating and relevant areas of study.

A captivating subject, geography is a scientific field that is devoted to the study of the Earth’s landforms, oceans, environment and ecosystems, as well as the interactions between the human society and their environment. The word geography literally means “earth writing”. Geography has been elucidated by various sources time and again. Here is a general definition of geography:

“Geography is the study of the Earth’s physical features and environment including the impact of human activity on these factors and vice versa. The subject also encompasses the study of patterns of human population distribution, land use, resource availability, and industries.”

Scholars who study geography are known as geographers. These people engage themselves in the exciting task of exploring and studying the Earth’s natural environment and human society. Although map-makers were known as geographers in the ancient world, today, they are more specifically known as cartographers. Geographers usually focus on two major fields of geographical studies: physical geography or human geography.