Contents of the presentation

• History of Geography
• Definition of Geography
• Branches of Geography
• Physical
• Human
• Dimensions of Geography
(a) Spatial dimension
Latitude and longitude
Angular velocity
(b) Temporal dimension
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
• Geography was first systematically studied by the ancient Greeks,
who also developed a philosophy of geography; Thales of Miletus,
Herodotus, Eratosthenes, Aristotle and, Chinese methods made
major contributions to geography.
• The oldest known world maps date back to ancient Babylon from
the 9th century BC. The best-known Babylonian world map,
however, is the Imago Mundi of 600 BC.
• The Roman contribution to geography was in the exploration and
mapping of previously unknown lands. Ptolemu, Hipparchus has
large contributions.
• Greek geographic learning was maintained and enhanced by the
Arabs during the Middle Ages after the fall of Roman empire
• Arab geographers, among whom Idrisi, Ibn Battutah, and Ibn
Khaldun are prominent, traveled extensively for the purpose of
increasing their knowledge of the world.
• The journeys of Marco Polo in the latter part of the Middle
Ages began the revival of geographic interest outside the
Muslim world.
• With the Renaissance in Europe came the desire to explore
unknown parts of the world that led to the voyages
of exploration and to the great discoveries.
• The 16th and 17th cent. reintroduced sound theoretical
geography in the form of textbooks (the Geographia
generalis of Bernhardus Varunius) and maps (Gerardus
Mercator’s world map).
• In the 18th cent. geography began to achieve recognition as a
discipline and was taught for the first time at the university
level.
Definition of
Geography

• Geography is the study of places and the relationships

between people and their environments. Geographers
explore both the physical properties of Earth’s surface and
the human societies spread across it.
• They also examine how human culture interacts with the
natural environment and the way that locations and places
can have an impact on people.
• Geography seeks to understand where things are found, why
they are there, and how they develop and change over time
(National Geographic Society).
Branches of Geography
There are two main branches of geography:
Human Geography and Physical Geography
 Branches of Geography
Physical geography's primary sub-disciplines:

Study the Earth's atmosphere (meteorology and climatology),

animal and plant life (biogeography), physical landscape
(geomorphology), soils (pedology), and waters (hydrology);
the list is non-exhaustive

The human geography includes:

Study the human society and culture (social and cultural

geography), behavior (behavioral geography), economics
(economic geography), politics (political geography), and
urban systems (urban geography); the list is non-exhaustive
Prime
Meridian
Difference between North and South Pole
Dimensions of Geography
Geographical studies can be studied
from spatial and temporal
dimensions.
 Difference
between latitude
and longitude
 Angular velocity of the earth

The planet Earth has three motions:

• it rotates about its axis, which gives us day and night;
• it revolves around the sun, giving us the seasons of the year,
• and through the Milky Way along with the rest of the Solar
System.
In each case, scientists have striven to calculate not only the time it
takes, but the relative velocities involved. When it comes to the
Earth rotating on its axis, a process which takes 23 hours, 56
minutes and 4.09 seconds, the process is known as a sidereal day,
and the speed at which it moves is known as the Earth’s Angular
Velocity. This applies equally to the Earth rotating around the axis of
the Sun and the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.
 Because of Earth's uneven
angular velocity and its
elliptical orbit, the sun crosses
the Greenwich meridian and
Elliptical orbit reaches the highest point in
of the earth the sky there.
Temporal Dimension

Greenwich Mean Time

•Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the mean solar
time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich,
London. GMT is also used as a synonym for
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).