TOPIC 1: CONCEPT OF GEOGRAPHY | FORM I
CONCEPT
OF GEOGRAPHY
Geography has its origin in Greek
language. It is a combination of two Greek words:Geo and Graphein or Grapho. Geo means the earth while
Graphein or Grapho means to write or describe.
The combination of these two Greek
words forms the word Geographia which means to write or describe about the
Earth. The word Geographia was converted into English language to be Geography.
Definition
of Geography
Geography is the study of man and his
or her environment. It is the study of the earth as a home of man. Geography is
the study of distribution and interrelationship of natural and human phenomena
on the Earth’s surface.
Branches
of Geography
Geography is divided into three main
branches which are:-
(a) Human and Economic Geography or Regional
Geography.
·Is
mainly concerned with the study of human beings and their activities on the
Earth’ surface.
·These
activities includes; mining, agriculture, fishing, trading, lumbering, etc.
(b) Practical Geography.
· Deals
with practical topics such as Cartography (map work), Photograph, Field
Research, Survey and Statistics.
Note: Cartography
is a science of map making or drawing. A
person who deals with map making or drawing is called Cartographer.
(c) Physical Geography.
·It
deals with the study of natural physical environment.
·Is mainly concerned with climate, weather, structure of the earth, Rocks, geomorphology, soil science, vegetation, etc.
Importance Of Studying Geography.
- To gain
knowledge for Environment conservation.
- To
understand how different landforms are created.
- To
provide foundation for advanced studies.
- To enable
people appreciate nature.
- To gain
scientific techniques of research.
- To enable
people to utilize the available resources.
- To be
aware of our country and heritage.
