HISTORY 3

WORLD GEOGRAPHY

Geography defined:

Geography - it is from the 2 Greek words “Geo” and “Graphein.” Geo which means earth or land and
graphein which means to draw or to describe.

It literally means “earth description,” ‘to draw the earth,” or “to describe the earth.”

It is a branch of Social Science which deals with the study of Earth’s physical features
and its effects on the people.

It is a broad division of human knowledge which is concerned with the study of the
surface of the earth and its relation to the activities of man. (Duka:2001)

It is also the study of the Earth as the home of mankind. (Agno et. al.:1998)

It is the study of the interaction of all physical and human phenomena at individual
places and of how interactions among places form patterns and organize space.
(Bergman:1995)

The Development of Geography

People credited with the development of geography:

1. Aristotle - he was the famous teacher of Alexander the Great who taught him that whenever
possible a person should personally investigate to learn the truth.

2. Eratosthenes – he was director of the library in Alexandria, an Egyptian city founded by

Alexander the Great. He was also believed to be one of the earliest who
supported the idea that the earth is round and even calculated its circumference
with amazing accuracy.

3. Hipparchus – he was a Greek scholar and was the first person to draw a grid of imaginary lines
on the earth’s surface to locate places precisely.

4. Ptolemy – is a Greek scholar who also worked at the library in Alexandria and whose book was
still taken as the most authoritative source of geographical knowledge.

Two Approaches to Geography/Branches of Geography

Geography can be organized in several ways. They may divide the field into regional and topical
geography. They may also classify branches of geography according to whether they deal with physical
or human activity.

1. Regional Geography - deals with all or many of the geographic elements of a place or region.
Within the region it investigates and analyzes the distribution and
association of elements which give the region its distinctive
character. It is also the description and analysis of any individual place in
each of the ff: categories;

a. Stature of the natives

b. Employment
c. Virtues, vices, learning and wit
d. Customs
e. Speech and language
 f. Political government
g. Religion and church government
h. Cities and renowned places
i. History
j. Famous people and inventors

2. Topical Geography - concentrates on the study of one earth feature or human activity as it
occurs throughout the world. The worldwide pattern of soil quality and
railroad transportation are two examples of the Topical
approach in geography.

3. Physical Geography - is concerned with the location of such earth features as land, water and
climate; their relationship to one another and to human
activities; and the forces that create and change them. Further sub-
divided into:

a. Geomorphology – is a kind of physical geography that studies land and waterforms as well
as the development and irregularities in the surface of the earth.

b. Climatology – analyzes differences and similarities in climate from place to place. It

considers wind movements, cloud formation, temperature changes and
precipitation of all kinds.

c. Mathematical Geography - has to do with accurate measurements of the earth and the
calculation of the exact location of points on the earth’s surface
such as the exact location of a city in latitude and longitude.

d. Oceanography – is concerned with the study of the ocean and its phenomena, current wave
activity, temperature differences , and tides.

e. Biogeography – is concerned with the study of the geographical distribution of plants,

known as plant geography and animals known as zoogeography.

4. Human Geography - another name for human geography is anthropology. Its primary concern
is man and his works so that it is closely allied with the other
social sciences such as economics, political science, history, sociology,
anthropology

a. Cultural geography
b. Population geography
c. Political geography
d. Historical geography
e. Urban geography

Basic Concepts Geographers Use

1. Location - is a unique attribute of any place. It may either be absolute location or relative
location.

a. Absolute location – it pinpoints a spot in terms of the global geographic

grid.
b. Relative location - tell us where a place is relative to other places.

2. Equator – is the earth’s midline that measures 0 degree.

3. Latitude – is the angular distance measured north and south of the equator. Latitude is
 expressed in degrees , minutes and seconds. There are 360 degrees (˚) in a circle; 60

minutes (΄) in a degree; and 60 seconds in a minute. Latitude varies from 0˚at the
equator to 90˚ degree at the North and South Poles. A line connecting all points of the
same latitude is called a parallel because it is parallel to all other lines of latitudes.

4. Longitude – is angular distance measured east and west on the earth’s surface. Longitude is also
measured in degrees, minutes and seconds. Ti is represented by imaginary lines called
meridians extending from pole to pole and crossing all parallels at right angles.

5. Prime Meridian – the line which runs north to south that measures 0 degree. It passes through
the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England just east of London.

6. Region – is a territory that exhibits a certain uniformity.

Graphic Representation of the Earth

Maps and globes are considered the most valuable tools of geography. They help us greatly in
studying the world by showing the shapes and sizes of countries, varied natural and cultural features,
locations and patterns of distribution over the earth’s surface.

1. Map – A map is a graphical representation of all or part of the Earth on a flat surface. Maps are
very useful to geographers as well as to other people.

Importance of Maps

A. Present certain informations about the world we live in.

B. Can show some patterns of distribution, such as population, rainfall, food production and
settlements.

C. Show sizes, shapes, directions and exact locations of countries.

D. Show how different rivers, roads, cities and coastlines are arranged on the Earth’s surface.

E. Show how places differ from one another.

Advantages over a Globe

a. It can easily be carried or transported.

b. They can easily be folded and stored.

c. They can easily be replicated using less expensive materials.

Development of Cartography

One of the earliest known maps was drawn on a clay tablet showing an area in Mesopotamia,
dating back about 4 000 years ago. Cartography or mapmaking is believed to have originated from the
ancient Greeks. Because of their speculation about the size and shape of the Earth which was later
proven to be correct, they were able to develop the grid system or network of lines of latitude and
longitude on a world map. Eratosthenes, a Greek scholar, speculated on the size of the Earth utilizing
Mathematics. Ptolemy, a well-known Greek cartographer and astronomer, produced a geography book
containing maps and valuable information of some 8 000 places. The Chinese also produced maps and it
was to their credit that the first printed map was published at about 1150, some 300 years before the
Europeans started printing maps. The Arabs on the other hand, kept map-making alive during the
Middle Ages. Europe, during this period, produced maps filled with religious beliefs and legends.
 During the emergence of the Renaissance, more maps were made available through the art of
printing. Later, the development of cartography was further enhanced by the extensive use of air
photography, color printing, lithography and computers in mapping.

Four basic aspects of the Earth’s surface

1. Distance
2. Direction
3. Area
4. Shape

Map Projections - It is the different ways of portraying the Earth on a plane.

- Is an orderly arrangement of meridians and parallels on which one draws a map.

Types of Map Projections

1. Mercator Projection – shows the lines of latitude and longitude as straight lines, these lines
meet each other at right angles. This makes the plotting and
reading of different directions easy. The Mercator projection
shows the true or correct shapes of areas on Earth. Time zones
can also be shown in this projection.

2. Equal Area Projection – shows the area of a place correctly. The proportion of an area is
correctly shown in this kind of map

3. Gnomonic Projection – shows true directions. This is the map used by pilots. This is used to find
out the shortest way or the air route between two places.

Classification of Maps

1. General Reference Maps – These maps present important geographic features such as plains,
mountains, and rivers. They give cultural information about
towns,
cities and boundaries. They also show locations of countries, cities,
road networks and boundaries. An example of this kind of map is
political map which shows the boundaries, capitals and important
landmarks in a particular region.

2. Special Purpose or Thematic Map – These maps show distributions or arrangements of things
on the Earth’s surface.

a. Physical Thematic Maps – it display the distribution of natural features such as minerals,
vegetation, soils and rainfall.

b. Cultural Thematic Maps - it show the distribution of cultural phenomena like religion,
population, language, ethnic groups, transportation and
communication facilities.

Basic Elements of a Map

1. Title – The title of the map suggests or tells what the map contains or what kind of map we are
looking at. For example, it may be a political map or a physical map of the world.

2. Legend – The legend explains the different symbols and signs used on the map. A red dot may
represent the capital of a country or dotted lines may represent the boundary between
two countries or states.
 3. Scale – The scale shows the relationship between the size or distances on the map and the
corresponding size or distances on the Earth.

Kinds of Scale

a. Graphic scale – is a bar scale that looks like a ruler. It is usually expressed in kilometers or
miles.

b. Verbal scale – is expressed in written form such as “an inch to a mile” which means that an
inch on the map is equivalent to one mile on the Earth’s surface.

c. Fractional scale or Numerical Ratio – is another way of showing map scale. For example, the
ratio 1:10 000 means that a unit of measure on the map
equals 10 000 units of the same measure on the Earth’s
surface.

4. Direction – The direction shown on any map indicates the orientation of the map. All maps
should be oriented to the North. This is why the arrow showing the direction toward
which the map is oriented points to the North.

5. Longitude and Latitude – The last element, the longitude and latitude show the geographical
extent of the area covered by the map.

Globe

The shape of the Earth is almost a sphere. Thus, the globe is a small scale model of the Earth. It
is man’s closest approximation of the Earth. It accurately shows the distances, locations, directions,
shapes and sizes of areas over the earth’s surface. The true proportions of continents and oceans are
shown on a globe. Thus, a globe makes the study of relationships among continents, regions or countries
much easier.

Origin of the Globe

The ancient Greeks were the first to speculate that the shape of the Earth was practically a
sphere. The first globe was produced by the Greeks around 1 600 years ago. The first globe, albeit crude,
was actually made by Crates in Greece, circa 150 B.C. it was Martin Behaim who constructed the oldest
globe in existence in 1492 in Germany. This globe shows the Old World after the Americas were
discovered.