Nature of Geography:

1. Geography is the study of the earth as a home of man and various phenomena related to it.
2. Therefore, geography is the study of the physical environment in relation to man. The physical environment has a direct effect on cultural and social environments.
3. The earth is dynamic in nature. Hence, we find variations in its physical and cultural/social environments.
4. In geography, we study the relation between the physical environment and production, distributions and their patterns and variations.
5. Geographers study the location, and geographical phenomena, whether physical or human, which are highly dynamic and their causes.
6. Since geography is the study of space and time, it makes geography dynamic in nature. In geographical study, the geographer tries to answer questions like what, why, where and when.

The Almagest is a 2nd-century mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths, written by Claudius Ptolemy (c. AD 100 – c. 170) in Koine Greek. One of the most influential scientific texts in history, it canonized a geocentric model of the Universe that was accepted for more than 1,200 years from its origin in Hellenistic Alexandria, in the medieval Byzantine and Islamic worlds, and in Western Europe through the Middle Ages and early Renaissance until Copernicus. It is also a key source of information about ancient Greek astronomy.

Ptolemy set up a public inscription at Canopus, Egypt, in 147 or 148. N. T. Hamilton found that the version of Ptolemy’s models set out in the Canopic Inscription was earlier than the version in the Almagest. Hence the Almagest could not have been completed before about 150, a quarter-century after Ptolemy began observing.

Marco Polo  (c. 1254 – 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in The Travels of Marco Polo (also known as Book of the Marvels of the World and Il Milione, c. 1300), a book that described the then-mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world, including the wealth and great size of the Mongol Empire and China under the Yuan dynasty, giving Europeans their first comprehensive look into China, Persia, India, Japan, and other Asian societies.

Born in Venice, Marco learned the mercantile trade from his father and his uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, who travelled through Asia and met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time. The three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, exploring many places along the Silk Road until they reached “Cathay”. They were received by the royal court of Kublai Khan, who was impressed by Marco’s intelligence and humility. Marco was appointed to serve as Kublai’s foreign emissary, and he was sent on many diplomatic missions throughout the empire and Southeast Asia, visiting present-day Burma, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. As part of this appointment, Marco also travelled extensively inside China, living in the emperor’s lands for 17 years and seeing many things previously unknown to Europeans. Around 1291, the Polos offered to accompany the Mongol princess Kököchin to Persia; they arrived there around 1293. After leaving the princess, they travelled overland to Constantinople and then to Venice, returning home after 24 years. At this time, Venice was at war with Genoa. Marco joined the war effort on behalf of Venice and was captured by the Genoans. While imprisoned, he dictated stories of his travels to Rustichello da Pisa, a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a wealthy merchant, married, and had three children. He died in 1324 and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Venice.

Though he was not the first European to reach China, Marco Polo was the first to leave a detailed chronicle of his experience. His account provided the Europeans with a clear picture of the East’s geography and ethnic customs, and it included the first Western record of porcelain, gunpowder, paper money, and some Asian plants and exotic animals. His narrative inspired Christopher Columbus and many other travellers. There is substantial literature based on Polo’s writings; he also influenced European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Catalan Atlas and the Fra Mauro map.

Anthropogeography, or as it is also called Human Geography, was developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, while the start of the use of the term and the basis of this approach comes from the two-volume book Anthropogeographie (1882 and 1891), written by the German geographer Friedrich Ratzel (1844–1904). Anthropogeography builds on earlier studies of the influence of geography on history and cultures made by  German geographer Carl Ritter (1779-1859). Anthropogeography studies the interrelationship of humans, their societies their migrations, on one side, and their physical geographical environment, on the other side. The most famous early student of Ratzel was French geographer Paul Vidal de La Blache, and Serbian geographer Jovan Cvijić.

Vidal de la Blache (1845-1918) introduced the concept of genre de vie, which refers to the ways people used techniques and technology, in order to exploit their environment. This interaction between the environment, technology, and people creates a specific way of life that propagates itself as a force of habit.

Cvijić mainly studied geography and geology, but he also made an extremely great contribution to the study of Balkan psychological types. He also studied populations, migration, classification, and typology of settlements, delineation of the most important cultural zones and zones of civilizations,  and economic activity of Balkan peoples. He is considered the founder of our anthropogeographic school and the founder of ethnopsychology in Serbia, a scientific discipline that deals with the study of the psychology of peoples, cultural and social groups. He developed his classification of different ethnopsychological types and varieties of Balkan people. Cvijić considered that the primary factor for the formation of ethnopsychological characteristics of the population and their types was the geographical environment and that secondary factors were historical processes and social structure, i.e. occupations, patterns of endogamy and exogamy, as well as migrations. Results of his theoretical and fieldwork were represented in the books Anthropogeographical Problems of the Balkan Peninsula (1902), and its significantly expanded version Balkan Peninsula and South Slavic Countries (1931).

Bernhardus Varenius introduced the dualism of general (Universal) geography and special (particular) geography, which led to the development of systematic and regional geography. Thus, Varenius was the first scholar who laid the foundation of the dichotomy of systematic vs. regional geography. Alexander Von Humboldt made difference between systematic and regional geography.

Systematic Geography

• The systematic geography approach is the same of general geography. This approach was introduced by Alexander von Humboldt, a German geographer.
• It deals with one or a few aspects of the human environment or the human population and study their varying performance in the world or over a predefined geographical space. It deals with whole world as a unit.
• It is concerned with the formulation of general laws, principles and generic concepts. It is essentially analytical.
• For example, the study of patterns of distribution of temperature, rainfall, vegetation, minerals and crops at the world level or continent wise is case of systematic geography.
• Supporter: Alexander Von Humboldt Koppen, Whittlesey, Stump, Candolle, Penck- all belonged to school of systematic geography.

Regional Geography

• This approach was developed by another German geographer and a contemporary of Humboldt, Karl Ritter.
• The approach of regional geography seeks to understand the unique character of an area as produced by the interaction of human activities and the physical environment.
• It is the study of the geography of regions. It deals with description of individual countries and world regions. It is necessarily synthetic and deals with unique situations and their peculiarities.
• For example, study of landforms climatic variables, soils, vegetation, minerals, fauna and flora and superimposition of these physical factors on the cultural landscape or on any of the elements of socio-cultural aspect highlights the peculiarities of a region and is a case of regional geography.
• Richard Hartshorne in his book ‘Nature of Geography’ declared that the essence of geography is regional geography. Ritter too believed in the centrality of regional geography and studied areas synthetically i.e. in their totality.
• Richthofen also emphasised that regional geography must be descriptive to highlight the salient features of a region. Alfred Hettner and Vidal de la Blache too claimed that geography is regional.
• Supporter: Karl Ritter, Richard Hartshorne, Richthofen, Alfred Hettner, Vidal de la Blache all belonged to school of regional geography.

Conclusion

• The dichotomy of systematic versus regional geography seems to be quite logical. Systematic geography emphasises on universal laws while regional geography emphasises on individual laws of region. However, the emphasis on any one of them is wrong.
• They do not oppose but support each other in the final analysis as the subject matter of geography. In the words of Berry “the regional and systematic geography are not different approaches, but are just the two extremes of a continuum.”

Geography is the study of Earth’s landscapes, environments, and the relationships between people and their environments. It is a multidisciplinary field that integrates physical and social sciences to understand the dynamics of natural and human systems. The two main branches of geography are physical geography and human geography. Physical geography examines natural processes and features such as climate, landforms, vegetation, and hydrology, focusing on the Earth’s physical structure and processes. Human geography, on the other hand, explores human activities, cultures, economies, and their interactions with the environment.

A key feature of geography is its emphasis on spatial analysis, which involves understanding the location, distribution, and organization of phenomena across the Earth’s surface. This spatial perspective is vital for identifying patterns, connections, and regional variations. Cartography and geographic information systems (GIS) play crucial roles in analyzing and visualizing spatial data, enabling geographers to address complex problems like urban planning, disaster management, and climate change.

Geography also emphasizes the concept of scale, examining phenomena at local, regional, and global levels. It connects natural sciences, such as geology and meteorology, with social sciences, including sociology and economics, making it inherently interdisciplinary. Furthermore, the interdependence of physical and human systems highlights how human activities affect natural environments and vice versa, shaping policies for sustainability and resource management.

In essence, geography provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the complexities of the world, emphasizing the interplay of natural and human systems to address global challenges effectively.

What is Geography?

The word ‘Geography’ has been derived from the Greek words ‘geo’ and ‘graphein’ which translate to earth description or earth writing. Geography involves the study of diverse places on the surface of Earth, their varied environments and also the interactions between them. 

This academic discipline studies the characteristics of the natural environment of a place, the residing population and the various interactions that occur. The geographic study of a place usually involves the learning about its topography, knowing the climate and the weather patterns, the vegetation prevalent in the area along with the response of the human beings to that environment by following the industrial, agricultural, urbanisation and other land settlement patterns.

Geography is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding of Earth and its human and natural complexities—not merely where objects are, but also how they have changed and come to be. While geography is specific to Earth, many concepts can be applied more broadly to other celestial bodies in the field of planetary science. Geography has been called “a bridge between natural science and social science disciplines.”

Origins of many of the concepts in geography can be traced to Greek Eratosthenes of Cyrene, who may have coined the term “geographia” (c. 276 BC – c. 195/194 BC). The first recorded use of the word γεωγραφία was as the title of a book by Greek scholar Claudius Ptolemy (100 – 170 AD). This work created the so-called “Ptolemaic tradition” of geography, which included “Ptolemaic cartographic theory.” However, the concepts of geography (such as cartography) date back to the earliest attempts to understand the world spatially, with the earliest example of an attempted world map dating to the 9th century BCE in ancient Babylon. The history of geography as a discipline spans cultures and millennia, being independently developed by multiple groups, and cross-pollinated by trade between these groups. The core concepts of geography consistent between all approaches are a focus on space, place, time, and scale.

History of Geography

Historically, the geographic discipline involved about the thinking of the environmental concept, the spaces and places. It was meant to provide an understanding of the physical dimension we occupy and the way we transform environments so that the places are more favourable for inhabiting in the long run. This discipline took major structure in the 20th century as it formed a bridge between the social and the natural sciences. 

Modern Geography

In recent times, Geography serves as a window to a number of concurrent issues such as environmental change and globalisation. It also highlights a detailed appreciation of differences that exist locally, the gradual change in disciplinary interests and the various practices that reflect those issues. 

Fields of Geography

A vast academic discipline, Geography, both in its approach and subject matter has been broadly classified into two fields. These fields include: 

• Physical Geography: This field of geography mainly is concerned with the natural processes of environments and the systems by which they are studied. Study of the contemporary process, as well as investigation of environmental change, are included under this field of study. 
• Human Geography: Human Geography mainly concerns with the social, cultural, economic and political disciplines, which are a reflection of the major areas of contemporary life. 

The Romans are one of the pioneers of many scientific studies such as geography, climatology, history and medicine etc. Strabo (64 BC-24 AD) was one of those Roman scholars who made significant contribution to geographical studies. Strabo’s contribution to geography can be seen in the 17 Volumes of Geographica written by him.

Strabo’s Geography

• He declared geography as a chorological science meaning a regional study.
• He surpassed all the geographical writing in term diversity and size of writing.
• Strabo was an avid traveler. Some of his writings are based on the knowledge gained from merchants and travelers.
• He was a regional geographer and gave appropriate meaning to the term ‘chorology‘.
• Strabo wrote 43 volumes of Historical Memoir.
• He tried to explain the different aspects of a place i.e. geography, economy, society etc. in relation to each other. This indicates his leaning towards regional geography.
• His Geographica and Historical Memoir provide wide information on cultural differentiation and regional uniqueness, types of social customs and governments of particular places.
• He divided world into natural regions and gave more importance to natural boundaries than political.

Strabo’s Contribution to Physical Geography

• He propounded two geographical principles.
  • Theory of alternative elevation and depression.
  • Deduction of larger physical phenomena from local physical phenomena.
• Since, Roman empire annexed most of Mediterranean coast, the Romans had the privilege to observe the movement of shoreline. Therefore, Strabo observed impact of transgression and regression of seas.
• His work revolves around the relationship between geography and history. He studied the impact of physical environment on the character and history of people of a particular region. For instance, he studied the impact of Roman environment and location on rise of Roman empire.

The term cosmography has two distinct meanings: traditionally it has been the protoscience of mapping the general features of the cosmos, heaven and Earth; more recently, it has been used to describe the ongoing effort to determine the large-scale features of the observable universe.

Premodern views of cosmography can be traditionally divided into those following the tradition of ancient near eastern cosmology, dominant in the Ancient Near East and in early Greece.

The 14th-century work ‘Aja’ib al-makhluqat wa-ghara’ib al-mawjudat by Persian physician Zakariya al-Qazwini is considered to be an early work of cosmography. Traditional Hindu, Buddhist and Jain cosmography schematize a universe centered on Mount Meru surrounded by rivers, continents and seas. These cosmographies posit a universe being repeatedly created and destroyed over time cycles of immense lengths.

In 1551, Martín Cortés de Albacar, from Zaragoza, Spain, published Breve compendio de la esfera y del arte de navegar. Translated into English and reprinted several times, the work was of great influence in Britain for many years. He proposed spherical charts and mentioned magnetic deviation and the existence of magnetic poles.

Peter Heylin’s 1652 book Cosmographie (enlarged from his Microcosmos of 1621) was one of the earliest attempts to describe the entire world in English, and is the first known description of Australia, and among the first of California. The book has four sections, examining the geography, politics, and cultures of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, with an addendum on Terra Incognita, including Australia, and extending to Utopia, Fairyland, and the “Land of Chivalrie”.

In 1659, Thomas Porter published a smaller, but extensive Compendious Description of the Whole World, which also included a chronology of world events from Creation forward. These were all part of a major trend in the European Renaissance to explore (and perhaps comprehend) the known world.

In astrophysics, the term “cosmography” is beginning to be used to describe attempts to determine the large-scale matter distribution and kinematics of the observable universe, dependent on the Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker metric but independent of the temporal dependence of the scale factor on the matter/energy composition of the Universe. The word was also commonly used by Buckminster Fuller in his lectures.

Using the Tully-Fisher relation on a catalog of 10000 galaxies has allowed the construction of 3D images of the local structure of the cosmos. This led to the identification of a local supercluster named the Laniakea Supercluster.

Economic geography is a subfield of geography that examines the spatial organization and distribution of economic activities and their interrelations with environmental, social, and political factors. It encompasses the study of production, distribution, consumption, and the dynamics of economic systems at various spatial scales, from local to global. This discipline critically investigates how spatial structures and processes influence economic systems and vice versa, emphasizing the interplay between space, place, and economy.

One central focus of economic geography is the spatial distribution of industries and resources, which is shaped by factors such as natural endowments, transportation networks, labor availability, and institutional frameworks. Classical theories, such as von Thünen’s model of agricultural land use and Weber’s theory of industrial location, provided foundational insights into the locational dynamics of economic activities. Contemporary approaches integrate global trends, such as globalization, technological innovation, and shifting trade patterns, to explore the emergence of new economic spaces like global cities, special economic zones (SEZs), and transnational production networks.

Another critical area of inquiry involves understanding regional development and spatial inequality. Economic geographers investigate why some regions become economic hubs while others remain marginalized, analyzing frameworks like the core-periphery model and concepts of agglomeration economies. The impacts of global value chains (GVCs), neoliberal policies, and environmental constraints are integral to these discussions.

Modern economic geography has embraced interdisciplinary methodologies, combining quantitative approaches (e.g., GIS and econometric modeling) with qualitative methods (e.g., ethnography and critical discourse analysis). It critically examines issues such as sustainability, climate change, and social justice, emphasizing the need for equitable and resilient economic systems. This evolving field provides theoretical and applied frameworks to address complex challenges in an interconnected global economy.

Al-Biruni’s Contributions to Geography

Al-Biruni (973–1048 CE), a polymath from the Islamic Golden Age, made seminal contributions to geography that integrated empirical observation, mathematical precision, and interdisciplinary methodologies. His work laid the groundwork for modern geographical and geodetic sciences, demonstrating an exceptional synthesis of astronomy, mathematics, cartography, and cultural studies.

1. Geodesy and Earth Measurements:
   Al-Biruni’s most notable contribution was in geodesy. He accurately calculated the circumference of the Earth using a novel method that involved trigonometric principles and measurements from a mountain’s height. This method, based on observations of the Earth’s curvature, yielded results remarkably close to modern estimates, showcasing his scientific rigor.

2. Latitude and Longitude Determination:
   He advanced techniques for determining the coordinates of locations, refining methods for calculating latitude and longitude. His use of astronomical observations and spherical trigonometry enabled him to map various regions with precision. He emphasized the importance of a global coordinate system, which influenced subsequent cartographic practices.

3. Regional Geography and Cultural Analysis:
   Al-Biruni authored “Kitab al-Tafhim” and “Kitab al-Hind,” works that combined physical and cultural geography. He provided detailed descriptions of South Asia, including its topography, rivers, and monsoonal systems, and documented the region’s social, economic, and cultural practices. His interdisciplinary approach bridged geography and anthropology, contributing to cross-cultural understanding.

4. Hydrology and Climatology:
   He explored the dynamics of water bodies, including seas and rivers, and theorized about their role in shaping landscapes. He also studied climatic variations, linking them to latitude and altitude, anticipating concepts later formalized in physical geography.

5. Cartographic Innovations:
   Al-Biruni proposed a mathematically grounded approach to mapmaking, incorporating principles of projection to represent the Earth’s spherical surface on a plane. His critiques of earlier maps reflect his commitment to accuracy and scientific rigor.

Al-Biruni’s integration of empirical observation, mathematical modeling, and interdisciplinary analysis established him as a pioneer of scientific geography, influencing later scholars in both the Islamic world and Europe. His legacy endures as a testament to the pursuit of knowledge grounded in both empirical evidence and intellectual curiosity.

Alberuni’s Visit to India

1. 1. Alberuni was born in the Khiza region in Kath, the capital of the Afrighid dynasty of Khwarezm in Central Asia (now Uzbekistan), in 973 AD.
   2. He spent his formative years in Khwarezm, where he studied a wide range of subjects including Islamic jurisprudence, theology, grammar, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and philosophy.
   3. In AD 1017, during the reign of Mahmud of Ghazni, Alberuni along with many other scholars were taken to Ghazni, the capital of the Ghaznavid dynasty.
   4. Abu Rayhan Muḥammad was appointed as a court astrologer and accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni on his invasions into India in the 11th century. He spent a few years in India, presumably in Punjab. Check out the details on Muslim Conquest of North India, Ghaznavids and Ghurids on the linked page.
   5. Alberuni was 44 years old when he accompanied Mahmud of Ghazni to India. Read more about Arab and Turkish Invasion in India on the given link.
   6. During his time in India, Alberuni immersed himself in studying the Indian culture. He learned Sanskrit and gained a deep understanding of Indian philosophy and the socio-economic conditions of the land.
   7. Alberuni was a Shi’ite Muslim with agnostic tendencies. His poetic works aimed to blend Greek wisdom with Islamic thought.
   8. In his book Tahqiq-i-Hind, Alberuni provided a detailed account of the social, political, religious, and economic conditions of India. He highlighted various aspects of the Gita, the Upanishads, Patanjali, Puranas, the four Vedas, and scientific texts (by Nagarjuna, Aryabhata, etc.), weaving in stories from Indian mythology to illustrate his points.
   9. Alberuni held Indian philosophy in high regard. He was particularly impressed by the Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gita.
   10. He also compared Indian thought with the Greek philosophies of Socrates, Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Galen, and others, and at times, with Sufi teachings. His book is a comprehensive survey of Indian life based on his studies and observations in India between 1017 and 1030.
   11. After thoroughly studying Brahmanical texts and society, Alberuni began his work on India with several general observations about the Hindus and their society. His writings provide a vivid picture of India, its land, its people, its religion, its philosophy, its sciences, and its literature. Let’s delve into Alberuni’s description of India –

• Impact of Mahmud’s invasion –
  • Mahmud of Ghazni’s invasion led to the end of prosperity in India. His harsh treatment of the people engendered a sense of disgruntlement among the Hindus. This resulted in the downfall of Hinduism and fostered a feeling of hatred among the remaining Hindus.
  • Hindus were known to prefer isolation from other countries. They considered foreigners as untouchable and ostracized them.
  • The educational centres, which were subjugated by Mahmud, led to the disintegration of education. As a result, the educational centres were concentrated in distant places like Kashmir, Banaras, and others due to their distance from Islamic centres.
• Social Condition –
  • The Indian society was riddled with casteism.
  • Several harmful practices such as child marriage, prohibition of widow marriage, ‘Sati’ and ‘Jauhar’ were prevalent in Hindu society.
  • Alberuni does not mention the system of dowry but he writes about the StreeDhan which the relatives of the bride present to her in-laws.
• Political Condition –
  • The country was divided into small states that frequently engaged in conflicts with each other. These states were jealous of each other and constantly fought against one another. Prominent among them were states like Malwa, Sindh, Kannauj, and Kashmir.
  • The sense of nationalism was almost non-existent among the Indians.
• Religious conditions –
  • Rural Hindus worshipped multiple gods and goddesses.
  • Idol worship was common. Brahmans had the exclusive right to read the Hindu scriptures.
  • Only the Brahmans had the privilege to attain salvation.
• Legal rules and state of Laws and Judicial system-
  • To seek justice, it was necessary to write applications that mention points against the accused. Justice depended upon the witnesses and before conducting witnesses, it was necessary to take oaths. Also, there were arrangements for oral justice.
  • The criminal law in India was quite lenient. Serious offenders had their limbs amputated. The Brahmans were exempted from the death penalty. If a Brahman committed murder, he was required to repent through fasting, prayers, and charity.
• Taxation system –
  • The king was not the owner of the land. He collected land tax from the peasants at the rate of 1/6th of the produce. The Brahmans were exempted from paying taxes.
• Alberuni believed that the people of the Indian subcontinent were excellent philosophers, proficient mathematicians, and astronomers. However, he criticized the hypocrisy of Brahmin Scholars who, despite understanding the scientific values of ancient texts, preferred to mislead the masses and keep them steeped in ignorance and superstition.

In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth’s surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and the environment (environmental geography). Geographic regions and sub-regions are mostly described by their imprecisely defined, and sometimes transitory boundaries, except in human geography, where jurisdiction areas such as national borders are defined in law. More confined or well bounded portions are called locations or places.

Apart from the global continental regions, there are also hydrospheric and atmospheric regions that cover the oceans, and discrete climates above the land and water masses of the planet. The land and water global regions are divided into subregions geographically bounded by large geological features that influence large-scale ecologies, such as plains and features.

As a way of describing spatial areas, the concept of regions is important and widely used among the many branches of geography, each of which can describe areas in regional terms. For example, ecoregion is a term used in environmental geography, cultural region in cultural geography, bioregion in biogeography, and so on. The field of geography that studies regions themselves is called regional geography. Regions are an area or division, especially part of a country or the world having definable characteristics but not always fixed boundaries.

In the fields of physical geography, ecology, biogeography, zoogeography, and environmental geography, regions tend to be based on natural features such as ecosystems or biotopes, biomes, drainage basins, natural regions, mountain ranges, soil types. Where human geography is concerned, the regions and subregions are described by the discipline of ethnography.

Settlement geography is a branch of human geography that investigates the Earth’s surface’s part settled by humans. According to the United Nations’ Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements (1976), “human settlements means the totality of the human community – whether city, town or village – with all the social, material, organizational, spiritual and cultural elements that sustain it.”

Referring to Stone (1960), settlement geography is

the description and analysis of the distribution of buildings by which people attach themselves to the land. Further, that the geography of settling designate the action of erecting buildings in order to occupy an area temporarily or permanently. It should be understood that buildings are one tangible expression of man-land relationships and that specification of this focus assumes study may be at any scale from quite general to most specific; there is no restriction to large-scale study of individual building plans or architectural details. Buildings are simply one representation of the process of people living in an area they are a mappable division of the landscape to which attention needs direction.

With respect to Stone’s definition, Jordan (1966) emphasizes that settlement geography not exclusively investigates the distributions, but even more the structures, processes and interactions between settlements and its environment (such as soil, geomorphology, economy or society), which produce them. More recently, however,

the study of settlement has evolved into the interaction of humans with the physical and ecological world. This more holistic study is concerned with sustainability and seeks to better understand the present landscape and plan the future.

In sum, settlement geography describes and explains the settlements’ location, substance, form and structure, as well as the functions and processes that produced them over time (Genesis, from Greek γέννησις, “origin, birth” or historical development). As an applied science, it projects future settlement development and contributes to the sustainable development of human-environmental systems.

Anaximander (610 BC – 546 BC)

He was a student of Thales, who introduced the Babylonian instrument gnomon to Greeks. This instrument was like the sun dial used to measure the length and direction of the shadow of the vertical pole. The noon-shadow provided an exact north-south line or the meridian (from merides, meaning noon).

Anaximander was a pioneer cartographer who prepared the first map of the world to scale.

The Sumerians before him had drawn pictorial maps. In his map, Greece has been shown in the centre of the world. His map was circular and was bounded on all sides by the Ocean River. Thales and Anaximander are generally considered as the founder of Mathematical Geography.

Key Points on Anaximander

• Anaximander was disciple/student of Thales.
• He introduced Babylonian instrument known as Gnomon.
• He prepared first map of the world to scale.
• His map was circular and bounded on all sides by ocean river.
• Often called as Father of Cosmology and Founder of Astronomy.
• Latitude and longitude term coined by him.
• Anaximander is also known as Founder of Mathematical Geography.

The Earth’s surface serves as the primary habitat for humanity, encompassing the physical, biological, and socio-economic systems essential for human survival and development. This concept is central to geography, emphasizing the interplay between natural environments and human societies. The Earth’s surface is a dynamic and heterogeneous space, shaped by geological processes, climate systems, and human interventions, making it both a provider of resources and a stage for anthropogenic activities.

Geographically, the Earth’s surface is divided into landforms, ecosystems, and climatic zones, each offering varying levels of habitability. Plains, valleys, and river basins have historically been the most favorable for human settlement due to their fertile soils, water accessibility, and mild climates. Conversely, extreme environments such as deserts, high-altitude regions, and polar areas present challenges to habitation, requiring technological adaptations. These spatial variations underscore the role of geography in determining population distribution and resource utilization.

The concept of the Earth’s surface as the “home of man” extends beyond physical characteristics to include the cultural landscapes created through human interaction with nature. These landscapes reflect diverse socio-economic systems, from agricultural practices in rural regions to the dense urbanization of metropolises. As humanity transforms the Earth’s surface through activities like deforestation, urban sprawl, and industrialization, the consequences—such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation—pose critical challenges to its sustainability as a habitable home.

In a globalized context, the Earth’s surface is increasingly understood as an interconnected space where ecological interdependencies and socio-economic networks influence human livelihoods. Sustainable management of this shared habitat requires balancing environmental stewardship with equitable resource distribution, ensuring that the Earth remains a viable home for present and future generations.

The concept of the small region or “pays” (a term derived from French geography) represents a fundamental approach in regional geography, emphasizing the study of localized and relatively homogeneous areas characterized by distinct physical, cultural, or economic traits. Introduced during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in French geographical tradition, the pays concept is rooted in the idea of identifying regions based on natural divisions and human perceptions, rather than administrative boundaries. It integrates both physical geography (landforms, climate, and resources) and human geography (cultural practices, settlements, and economies).

A small region or pays is defined by its internal coherence and functional unity, making it a meaningful unit for understanding spatial organization and human-environment interactions. For example, a river valley, with its distinct hydrology, soil composition, agricultural patterns, and settlement networks, could constitute a pays. This approach emphasizes regional particularity, enabling a micro-scale analysis that reveals the interdependence between natural systems and socio-cultural practices.

The pays concept is pivotal in studies of regional identity and sense of place, as these small regions often serve as the loci of shared histories, traditions, and livelihoods. It has applications in regional planning, resource management, and cultural preservation, where the focus is on sustainable development that respects the intrinsic characteristics of the region.

Critically, the small region approach contrasts with broader regional frameworks by focusing on qualitative and inductive methodologies, often employing fieldwork, ethnographic studies, and historical analysis. This perspective has influenced contemporary geographical theories, particularly in debates about regionalism, decentralization, and place-based governance, highlighting the pays as a dynamic, human-centered unit of analysis.

Geography as a science is a multidisciplinary field that systematically studies the Earth’s surface, its features, processes, and the interactions between humans and their environments. It occupies a unique position as both a natural science and a social science, integrating physical, biological, and cultural dimensions to provide a holistic understanding of spatial phenomena. This dual nature enables geography to bridge the gap between the physical and human worlds, making it inherently interdisciplinary.

Geography employs the scientific method, combining empirical observation, hypothesis formulation, and quantitative and qualitative analysis. Tools such as geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, cartography, and spatial statistics have revolutionized its methodologies, enabling precise measurement, modeling, and visualization of spatial patterns and processes. These advancements have solidified geography’s status as a scientific discipline, facilitating applications in fields like climate change modeling, urban planning, and disaster management.

Central to geography is its focus on spatial relationships and the concept of scale, which allows for the analysis of phenomena ranging from local to global levels. The discipline is further divided into physical geography, which studies natural systems (e.g., geomorphology, climatology, and hydrology), and human geography, which examines cultural, economic, and political systems and their spatial manifestations. The integration of these subfields underscores geography’s ability to address complex, real-world problems through a systems-based approach.

As a science, geography emphasizes the interconnectedness and interdependence of Earth’s systems, advocating for sustainable practices and policy development. Its ability to synthesize diverse data and perspectives makes geography a critical tool for understanding and addressing global challenges such as environmental degradation, population growth, and socio-economic inequality.

William Morris Davis was born of quaker parents in Philadelphia in 1850. He graduated from Harvard in 1869. From 1870 to 1873, Davis worked as an assistant at Argentina Meteorological Observatory in Cordoba (Argentina). He returned to Harvard for further geological and geomorphological studies where he was appointed an assistant to N.S. Shaler in 1876. In 1878, he was given the designation of Assistant Professor, and became Professor of Geography in 1899. He was one of the founders of the Association of American Geographers, which was established in 1904.

While working with Shaler, he learned the art of careful observation and made use of it in logical and impersonal argument. Moreover, he acquired the habit of seeing man and his works as part of the landscape, not separate from it. He also gained a clear appreciation of the importance of processes of change in explaining the varied features associated on the face of the earth.

In 1877, while doing observations in Montana, he developed the Theory of Cycle of Erosion which he defined as geomorphological cycle. Elsewhere he refers to is as topographical cycle. This cycle, in Davis’ own words, is as under:

It is a scheme under which a mental counterpart of every land form is developed in terms of its understructure of the erosional process that has acted upon it, and of the stage reached by such action in term of the whole sequence of stages from the initiation of a cycle of erosion by upheaval or the deformation of an area of the earth crust, to its close, when the work of erosion has been completed; and the observed land is then described not in terms of its directly visible features, but in terms of its inferred mental counterpart.

Davis presented his theory in the International Geographical Congress in 1899. In this model, Davis postulated that when an initial surface is raised, rivers at once begin the work of erosion. The surface is cut by narrow V-shaped valleys that are extended head-ward as more and more of the initial surface is consumed. But rivers cannot cut down their valleys indefinitely. There is a base level below which rivers cannot cut—a level determined by the surface of the body of water into which a steam flows.

Davis was a dedicated teacher and an engaging speaker. Mark Jafferson, Isaiah Bowman, Ellsworth Huntington, Ellen Churchill Semple, and Albert Brigham were some of his students.

In his later writings, Davis shifted his focus of study and asserted that the study of man on the earth could not be limited to the elements of physical environment. The ecological study of human groups, as of plants and animals, named ontography, demands the appraisal of adjustment to the physical earth as well as migration and segregation—a view that was basic to Ratzel’s work.

This change of viewpoint is abundantly evident in Davis’ later writings on the nature of regional geography. He recognized that regionalization of phenomena on the earth’s surface is the product of three forces—the site base, migration and association. Regional geography, he writes, seeks to describe “the geographical elements of a given area in their totality as they exist together in their natural combinations and correlation”.

Davis was a critic of human geographers. He was of the opinion that human geographers “fail to become all-round geographers” and that their studies are unbalanced and lack homologous treatment as they have less concern with the chronology of existing landforms than with the features of existing surfaces.

He insisted that regional descriptions must be ‘homologous’, that is, in all aspects, land, climate, vegetation, animals and man should receive equal emphasis. He claims that the purpose of “geographical study of man is to arrive at descriptive generalization on the basis of explanation of geographical qualities”. In the later years of his life, he became markedly ecological.

The ecological approach implies that the geographer studies life forms on the earth’s surface in terms of their adaptation to the site-base, the migration of particular elements or ideas, and to the modes of spatial association or segregation. It is far removed from exclusive concern with land-man relationship in the Darwinian sense. It is thus clear that Davis’ attitude in geography passed through both phases—deterministic and ecological. Later on, the German scholar Penck criticized the work of Davis, but there is no denying the fact that he was one of the pioneers in the field of geomorphology who tried to bridge the gap between geology and geography.

Indian geography has a long history. In fact, various geographical concepts have been developing in our country since the dawn of Indian civilization.

Though a systematic account of the classical Indian geographical concepts is not available in a book form, yet some valuable geographical information is contained in Hindu mythology, philosophy, epics, history and sacred laws. Chronologically, the Vaidikas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the works of Buddhists and Jains, and the Puranas are the main sources of ancient Indian geographical concepts.

The ancient Indian scholars had accurate knowledge of topography, physiography, flora, fauna, natural resources, agriculture and other socio-economic activities of India and adjoining countries. They also had conjectured about the solar system and the universe. In the Aitareya Brahmana one may find materials regarding the regional geography of India. The Satapatha Brahmana furnishes a systematic description of the various branches of geography. The Vaidika Age inspired geographers and they produced valuable works in various branches of geography.

In the Ramayana, inventory of mountains, rivers, plateaus, and important places has been made, while the epic of Mahabharata may serve as an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, and the Bhuvankosa deals amongst other things, with climatology and meteorology in detail. The Buddhist Jatakas furnish quite a good knowledge of ancient geography. The term ‘Bhugola’ has been first used in the Suryasiddhanta. The author has succeeded in defining the concept of the earth’s surface, the word known to the ancients, Bharatavarsa and its land and people and the concept of the ancients regarding village and town planning.

The ancient Indian geography hinges on religion. Every physical phenomenon, every major or spectacular landmark on the earth’s surface has a religious background for Indians. Every mountain peak, every river, every crag, every huge and useful tree is sacred and is preserved in these traditions.

Apart from religious records, the travelers, accounts (religious, commercial, expedition) abound in the description of different regions of the world. The accounts of these travellers reveal that India had closer links with the neighbouring lands and Indian scholars were familiar with the geographical conditions of China, South-East Asia, Central Asia, Mesopotamia and the Trans-Oxus Asia.

An in-depth study of the religious records, historical accounts and travelogues reveals that the ancient Indian scholars had fairly accurate concepts regarding cosmology and cosmography. They also had a good knowledge of the various dwipas (continents), mountain systems, rivers, fauna and flora of the brahmatvarsa (sub-continent) and the lands lying in its vicinity.

The work done by Varahmihira, Brahmagupta, Aryabhatta, Bhaskarcharya, Bhattila, Utpala, Vijaynandi and others has substantially helped the development of astronomy, mathematical geography and cartography. Thus, geography of the ancient time appears to have included astronomy in its sphere. The term ‘Bhogol’ (geography) in Indian geographical literature was used for the first time in Suryasiddhanta, and in the Padma Puranas a difference has been made between Bhogol (geography), Khogol (the science of space) and Jyotishakra (astrology).

The Universe and its Origin

The universe and its origin remained a point of speculation among all the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Babylonia, China, Greece and Rome. The ancient Indian scholars of the Vedic and Puranic periods gave considerable thought to this matter. The ancient Indian literature deals with many problems pertaining to cosmology and cosmography. For example, issues like whether matter existed prior to the creation of the world or whether the universe was fashioned out of a pre-existing substance or if it was made out of nothing are mentioned in the Vedas and the Puranas. The cosmology of the Vedas which has a strong bearing on the Puranic views may be summarized as (a) artistic origin of the universe, (b) mechanical origin, (c) instrumental origin, and (d) philosophical origin.

The Rigveda mentions a number of gods who performed various functions during the process of creation. These gods were artists who contributed their skill to the construction and completion of the universe. They wove various materials into a pattern, and shaped the universe by blasting and smelting. The universe was compared to a house and Rig-Veda alludes to various stages in the construction of this universal house.

The views regarding the mechanical origin of the universe developed in the last phase of Rigveda period. It suggests the sacrifice (or disintegration) of the primeval body known as adi-purusa who is conceived as soul and the nucleus of the universe and an embodiment of the supreme spirit. The sky, the wind, the moon the sun, and all the terrestrial elements were the result of dismemberment of purusa as a result of sacrifice ceremony.

The philosophical theory of cosmogony has its origin in the song of creation which says that in the beginning there was neither being (sat), or not-being (asat). There was no atmosphere, no sky, no days, and no nights. The space was empty but for a unit which was born by its own nature, perhaps due to its inherent heat. This heat has been explained by Wilson as austerities, but it may conveniently be considered as a physical action in the process of formation of the universe.

The instrumental origin of universe is based on the occurrence of parent bodies from which the universe was created. Agni (Fire), Indra, Soma, Surya (Sun), Rudra and the other gods are mentioned as having been instrumental in the creation of the earth and the heaven—the twin parents of the whole universe. The union of the earth and the heaven results in the birth of the sun which is the most important agent in the creation of the world. He is the soul of all that moveth or not moveth, the sun hath filled the air, and the earth and heaven. He was later identified with Rajapati, Viswakarma and sometimes with the golden egg and unborn being. The unborn being is also named as atma (soul) who produced the universe through an intermediary body.

The universe has been described as brahmand in the ancient Indian literature. It was conceived as very immense and wide which cannot be described. In the epics and Puranas, it was however, divided into seven upper and seven internal divisions.

About the origin of the earth, it has been mentioned in the Upanishads that in the beginning death concealed all. Water was produced after worshipping death, from which the earth was originated. According to the Puranas, there was neither day nor night, neither light nor darkness and nothing else.

Unlike our modern scientists, the ancient Indian astronomers believed in a geocentric universe. In the Rigveda, we come across the description of 34 heavenly bodies including the sun, the moon, five grabs (planets) and 37 constellations. The five planets have been described as the five gods.

The astronomers of the Puranic period established nine planets, namely, the Sun, the Moon, the Mars, the Mercury, the Jupiter, the Venus, the Saturn, the Rahu and the Ketu. The astrophysical characters of some of the planets have been described in classical literature. Budha (Mercury) has been taken to be of green colour, Sbukra (Venus) of white colour, Mangala (Mars) of red colour, Brahaspati (Jupiter) of yellow colour and Sani (Saturn) of black colour.

Eclipses

The ancient Indian scholars were also conscious of the causes of grahrias (eclipses). It was because of this knowledge that they advocated performing of some rituals and ceremonies on the days when eclipses occurred. The Aryans considered an eclipse inauspicious and a herald of disaster. It was also believed that if a solar and a lunar eclipse occurred in the same month, it becomes more disastrous. Varahmihira has considered the effects of eclipse month wise and emphasized the fact that eclipse in Posa (December) leads to famine and its occurrence in April and May results in good rainfall, while an eclipse in Phaguna (March) and Asadh (June) are inauspicious.

Earth

The concept of prithvi (earth) is the most basic concept in the study of geography. The word ‘prithvi’ (earth) has been used profusely in the Vedas and the Puranas. The word ‘Bhogol’ (geography) in the ancient Indian literature signifies the spherical shape of the earth. The spherical shape of the earth was visualized by Aitareya Brahmana, which who stated that sun neither sets, nor rises. We feel that is sets, but in reality, at the end of the day, it goes to the other side. Thus, it makes night on this side and day on the other. There is other evidence also like the shadow of the earth during lunar eclipse which is circular. From this it may be inferred that the earth is spherical in shape.

Size of Earth

Earth is an oblate spheroid slightly flattened at the poles; its equatorial diameter measures 12,757 km, and its polar diameter 12,713 km. In the Vedic and Puranic literature, no definite information regarding earth’s dimensions is available, but later literature of the 5th and 6th centuries A.D. on astronomy gives somewhat convincing information which is as follows:

Dimensions of the Earth:

These dimensions were based on crude estimates. The real facts about the earth as known today are that its volume is 260,000,000,000, the equatorial circumference 24,902 miles and meridinal circumference 24,860 miles and its estimated age according to the latest researches is at least 4,500 million years. The mass or weight of the earth has been calculated as 6,586,000,000,000,000,000,000 tonnes. The estimates made by Surya-Siddhanta and Aryabhatta were very close to these established facts.

Latitudes and Longitudes (Akshansa and Deshantra)

The position of a point on the earth’s surface in relation to equator, expressed as its angular distance from the equator, is known as latitude, while longitude is the angular distance of a given point measured in degrees east or west of the Greenwich meridian.

The classical Indian astronomers were conscious of the importance of akshansa (latitudes) and deshantra (longitudes) in the determination of a point or place on the earth’s surface.

In the Puranas, there are references about latitudes (akshansa) and longitudes (deshantra). On the basis of latitudes, they have divided the earth into various regions.

For example, the Niraksadesa (hell) represents the equatorial belt while Meru (North Pole) is 90° latitude. Sri Lanka (Ceylon) is placed on the equator and on the North Pole is the mountain of Meru, with its antipode (Nadir) on the South Pole named as ‘Badavanala’.¹⁵ The longitude of Ujjain passing through Lanka and Mt. Meru was taken as the prime meridian by the Indian astronomers.

Cardinal Points

The rishis of Rigveda initially formulated the principle of four directions, i.e., Purva (east), Paschima (west), Uttar (north) and Dakshina (south). By adding Zenith (Meru) and Nadir (Badavanala), it was raised to six. Afterwards eight and ten directions are frequently mentioned in the Puranic literature. The designation of directions in the Puranas and subsequent literature Saptapadarthi is significant in the sense that it bears the original concept of the gods dominating in each of them. The ten directions and the ruling deity of each direction are given as under:

The classical Indian astronomers were also conscious of the fact that local time of a place, depending upon the position of the sun or the moon in the sky, differs from that of other places situated along other meridians. They devised a method of calculating these differences. Some significant phenomena in the sky, like a lunar eclipse, was observed simultaneously from different places.

The exact time, showing contact of eclipse or its totality, was recorded in terms of the local time of the individual places. A comparison of these records could provide the correct difference in local times and consequently the longitudinal difference between individual places.

Origin

So far as the origin of the earth and the rock material of the earth-crust is concerned, the ancient Indian scholars believed in solidification o^r earth from gaseous matter. The earth crust, according to them, was made of hard rocks (sila), clayey (bbumih) and sandy (asma).

The Puranas consider the earth to be floating on water like a sailing boat in a river. The Aryans considered the problem of the distribution of land and sea and held the view that more land surface was to be found in the Northern Hemisphere.

Earthquakes (Bhukampas)

For earthquakes, the word ‘bbukampa’ has been used in the Puranas. It was assumed that earthquakes were caused by deities like Vayu (Air),

Agni (Fire), Indra and Varuna (Water). This shows that the ancient rishis and scholars had a fairly good knowledge about the origin of the earthquakes. Similarly, they has some knowledge about the origin of volcanoes (jawalamukhis).

Atmosphere, Weather and Climate

The evidences in the Vedic and Puranic literatures clearly reveal that the Aryans were quite familiar with atmosphere, weather and climate. According to them, the earth was surrounded by antriksa (space/atmosphere) which exists between the earth and the heaven. The Rigveda mentions that the thickness of the atmosphere cannot be traversed by birds. Moreover, the Ramayana furnishes a lot of information regarding the atmosphere. Later on, Bhaskaracharya has conceived the thickness of the atmosphere to be 12 yojanas (154 km) round the earth in which winds, clouds, lightning, rain, fog and frost occur.

The Rigveda also mentions five seasons, i.e., Vansant (spring), Grisma (summer), Prourit (rainy season), Sarad (autumn), and Hemanta (severe winter). In the Ramayana, Valmiki has, however, referred to six seasons (ritus) in India which are given below:

From the above ritus (seasons), it becomes clear that Indian in ancient times had a good knowledge of seasons, especially those of Northern India.

Continents (Dwipas)

In the early period of human civilization, owing to poor means of transportation and communication, knowledge of various parts of the world was very limited and it grew at snail’s pace. To explore the unknown parts of the world is an inherent habit of man. In fact, the ancient Indian explorers and travellers made voyages, travels, pilgrimages and military expeditions to acquire knowledge about the unknown parts of the world.

As per references found in the Puranas, the land mass of the earth was divisible into several dwipas (continents). The word ‘dwipa’ has been interpreted differently by different scholars.

Originally, a dwipa signified a land bounded by water (ocean, sea, river, lake or by a combination of these water bodies) on all sides. Thus, dwipa was equally applied to an island, a peninsula or a doab (land between two rivers). The Puranas appear to have further extended the meaning of the term ‘dwipa’ to include any land which was ordinarily inaccessible or detached by virtue of its being surrounded by water, sand, swamp, or even high mountains or thick forest. Thus, the Puranic dwipa, by accident or design, came to signify a natural region—either physiographic or climatic.

The known world during the Puranic period was divided into seven dwipas. The areal stretch of these dwipas has been given in Figure 3.1. The seven dwipas have been described briefly in the following paras:

1. Jambu Dwipa

The name Jambu Dwipa has been derived from the Jambu (Eugenia jambolana) tree. In the opinion of some of the ancient Indian scholars, it embraces the whole of the Northern Hemisphere, lying to the north of Salt Sea (Fig. 3.1). Jambu Dwipa is surrounded by the Salt Ocean and lies in the heart of the concentric sequence of the dwipas. This insular dwipa is further divided into sub-regions called varsas (realms)—the dwelling seats of rishis (observers). Ilavrila (Pamir region) is the central varsa (realm) and the Meru (Pamir), west of which is the Ketumala varsa and in the east lies the Bhadrasva varsa. Kimpurusa (Tibetan Plateau) lies to the south of the Ilavarila varsa.

In general, the Jambu Dwipa is comparatively lower on the south and north flanks and highly elevated in the middle. The Meru lying in the heart of the Jambu Dwipa is considered to be heaven in the Pamir. The Sita river flows to the east of Meru (Pamir Knot).

This river resembles the Yarkand river which has even today been referred to as Sito by the Chinese. The river Suvamksu (Amu-Darya) flows west of the Pamirs which is also called as Bakshu in Mongolia, Potsu in China and Paksu in Tibet. This river debouches into the Aral Sea.

The Bhadra, the river of the north is the Syr-Darya of today, flows northwards and debouches into the Aral Sea. South of the Pamir is the Kishan Ganga, flowing from the Gangabal Lake and Harmukh Glacier (about 70 km north of Srinagar in Kashmir).

Among the other geographical features of the Jambu Dwipa include the Nishad (Hindukush) extending from the Pamir knot to Kohe-Baba (Baba mountain) in the west of Kabul. It is said to be the three-peaked mountain (Trisringa) which is visible from Peshawar (Pakistan). The Vaidurya (Badakhshan) Mountain lies to the west of Pamir Knot.

2. Kusa Dwipa

Kusa Dwipa has derived its name from kusa grass or poa grass. This dwipa stretches over Iran, Iraq and the fringing lands of the hot deserts, i.e., the south-west corner of the landmass round Meru which is left out in the regional pattern of Jambu Dwipa. This is a land of grasses and characterized by seasonal droughts. It contains seven major rivers and thousands of their branches that flow when god Indra pours down rain. In other words, these tributaries are seasonal in character. The mountains of Kusa Dwipa are covered with herbs, trees and creepers. Its mountains and rocks are full of minerals and precious stones. The presiding deity of this dwipa is Agni (Fire).

3. Plaska Dwipa

Plaska Dwipa has derived its name from Plaska tree. Wilford identified this tree with fig. One would, therefore, without hesitation, identify this dwipa with the basin and the surrounding lands of the Mediterranean Sea (Fig. 3.1).

4. Puskara Dwipa

Puskara Dwipa is the land of horrors, devoid of purity, cruel and leading to the destruction of the soul. It is the land of demon, full of awful hollows which are twenty in number.

The name of this dwipa has been derived from the fact that it is surrounded by Puskara (lakes of lotuses). This dwipa is bounded by a huge circular chain of lakes. The people living in Puskara Dwipa are nomads, hunters and in general primitive and savage. One side of the dwipa is a dry desert and the other side is suitable for human occupation.

It promises a paradise for those who approach the dwipa from one direction, while it presents the appearance of a wasteland if one enters it from the opposite direction. Such phenomena of knife-edge boundaries between two regions of strong contrast are not uncommon. Puskara Dwipa is surrounded by an ocean of fresh water and surrounds the sea of milk. This region sprawls over the eastern and north-eastern Siberia (Russia). These countries contain numerous lakes, support nomadic people who live by hunting and are washed by Arctic waters and Bering Sea which have fresh water and low salinity.

5. Salmali Dwipa

Salmala Dwipa has derived its name from silk cotton tree. It consists of the tropical part of Africa bordering to the west of the Indian Ocean. It includes Madagascar, the Zenj of the Arab and Persian geographers. The main characteristic of this dwipa is salmali (silk cotton) tree. This tree is commonly found on the margins of equatorial regions of monsoon lands with moderate rainfall. It is a region of high cloudiness. Consequently, no star, planet or moon is visible. The people of this dwipa are essentially food gatherers and not food producers. The vegetation cover produces enough food to satisfy their needs.

6. Kraunca Dwipa

The Mahabbarata locates Kraunca Dwipa in the north and west of Meru (Pamir). This dwipa is watered by thousands of streams in addition to the seven important rivers which carry great volume of water. The dwipa, therefore, is definitely a humid region with abundant rainfall. The entire North-West Europe, including British Isles, thus constitutes the parts of this dwipa.

7. Saka Dwipa

Saka Dwipa has been identified as a wide stretch of land to the south-east of the Jambu Dwipa, covering the present Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the islands of the South-East Asia (East Indies). This has hot and moist climate with thick cover of evergreen forests (Fig. 3.1).

Apart from the dwipas (continents), the classical Indian scholars also tried to delineate the boundaries and frontiers of the Indian sub-continent. In the Vedic and Puranic literature, India has been given different names but Bharatvarsa is the one most commonly used in them.

Bharatvarsa

Bharatvarsa is commonly identified with the Indian sub-continent. But, in fact, no comprehensive designation was given to the Indian sub-continent in ancient Indian or foreign literature. ‘Sapta Saindhava’ was the name given to the Punjab plains by Vedic Aryans. ‘Aryavarta’ was the designation of Aryan domain in the days of Baudhayana and Manu; the word ‘Ind’ or ‘Indu’ (Hindu) was applied by Darius and Herodotus to the Indus Valley of the upper Gangetic region with which they were acquainted. It is only in or about the 4th century B.C. that Katyayna and Megesthnese gave an account of approximately the whole country down to the Padya region in the extreme south. The epics also mention the Pandya realm in the south and the peninsula and islands beyond the Bay of Bengal.

In the Puranic literature, the entire country from the Himalayas to Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin) is designated by a single name— Bharatvarsa (India). Bharatvarsa bears the testimony of Arayans.

The etymological meaning of the word ‘Bharatvarsa’ gives a clear conception of its various characteristics and its historical significance. It symbolizes a fundamental unity which was certainly perceived and understood by those who coined the term ‘Bharatvarsa’ derived from Bharata—a sovereign king. The Altareya Brahmana refers to his coronation ceremony, subsequent conquests and Asvamedha sacrifice.

According to one school of thought, Bharat is the name of Manu, who creates and sustains people in Bharatvarsa. Some of the Puranas mention the name ‘Bharata’ after king Bharat—the son of Rishabhadeva and the grandson of Nabhi.

Thus, Bharatvarsa was divided into nava khandas (nine divisions). These divisions were separated by seas. Out of the nine divisions, eight have been shown as parts of Greater India while the ninth is surrounded by the sea.

Culturally, caste has been the strongest element in ancient Hindu way of life. Caste is basically a system of functional stratification of society maintained by religious sanction. Bharatvarsa was inhabited by four castes, i.e., Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras. At the apex of the caste system were Brahmins—the priestly caste of Hindu religion.

The second caste consisted of Kshatriyas who were warriors, cultivators and artisans. The third caste, Vaisyas, consisted of traders and businessmen, while the Sudras used to do inferior services. The Sudras were excluded from the main street and were obliged to live outside the main village, commonly in much inferior dwellings of thatch and matting.

Mountains and Rivers

The Vedas, epics and Puranas have mentioned a series of mountains in Bharatvarsa. Himavat, Uttra-Kuru, Utter-Madra, Trikakud (Hindukush), Vindhya, Paripatra, Durdura and Mahendra are the main mountains described in the ancient Indian literature.

The Himalayas are mentioned as lying in the north, extending from west to east with its bend like a bow. Its regional divisions into Antargiri (inner Himalayas) and Bahirgiri (outer Himalayas) have been mentioned in the Mahabharata. The Kailash mountain has been said to be studded with diamonds, minerals and other precious stones. This was the abode of apsaras (nymphs) and devas (deities).

About the Vindhyans, it has been said that it is an extensive mountain with hundreds of peaks, variegated with trees and creepers. It stretches along the banks of the Narmada river up to Kaimur through Amarkantak.

The Eastern Ghats were known as Mahendra- Mali and the Malabar coast includes the Nalla-Malai, Anna-Malai and Eta-Malai ranges. There are a number of other mountains also mentioned in the Puranic literature. Some of them are Sahya (Western Ghats in Maharashtra), Suktiman (Mountains of Khandera, Ajanta, Golkunda) and Rika (from Ken to Ton river—north of Vindhya).

Apart from mountains, many drainage systems have been described in the ancient Vedic and Puranic literatures. The Rigveda has mentioned rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Sarasvati, Sutudri (Sutlej), Parusni (Ravi), Asikni (Chenab), Vitasta (Jhelum), Arjikiya (upper part of Indus), Susoma (Savan), Sindhu (Indus), Kubha (Kabul), Gomati (Gomala), and Krumu (Kurrum). There are references to the Indus drainage system, to Narmada, Tapti (Tapi), Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri and Tungbhadra. It abounds in elaborate descriptions of the Ganga and the Brahmaputra rivers.

The Ganga

The river Ganga is said to flow from the Vindusarovar (Gangotri). In the initial phase, it was divisible into seven channels, out of which three channels, i.e., Haradini, Pavni and Nalni, flow eastward and the other three, i.e., Suchaksu, Sita and Sindhu, flow westward. The seventh channel, known as Ganga, follows a southern course in the great plains of India. It is joined by the Yamuna at Prayag (Allahabad). The Ganga, after passing through thousands of mountains and hills, irrigates hundreds of valleys and passes through thousands of forests and hundreds of caves. It then merges into the Southern Sea.

Tsangpo

There is mention of river Lauhitya (Brahmaputra) which debouches at Dihang near Sadya (Assam). It has its source about 100 km (60 miles) east of Daya as per ancient Hindu literature.

Among the rivers of the south, the Narmada is said to take its course from the Amarkantak Hills. Its length is said to be 100 yojna (1,280 km) which tallies with the modern measurement. It is said to debouch into the Paschimodadhi (Arabian Sea). In the Puranas, it has also been mentioned that to the south of Bharatvarsa (India) there is an ocean Mahasagra (Indian Ocean) which is more than 10,000 yojnas in extent. In the Mahasagra, there are numerous islands (dwipas).

From the foregoing paras, it is abundantly clear that the rishis astronomers and scholars of the ancient Indian Vedic and Puranic period had well-developed concepts about cosmology, cosmogony, geography; and science of space. Their knowledge of the size, shape of the earth, continents, oceans, islands, eclipses, earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains, rivers, lakes, bays and peoples was appreciably correct and reliable. In fact, the Indian scholars contributed significantly to the growth and development of geography and its allied sciences.

The Dark Age in Geography refers to the period during the early Middle Ages (approximately 5th to 10th centuries CE) in Europe, characterized by a relative stagnation in geographical knowledge and scientific inquiry. This decline was influenced by several interconnected causes rooted in historical, cultural, and socio-political transformations.

1. Fall of the Roman Empire:
   The collapse of the Roman Empire in the 5th century disrupted the continuity of knowledge production and dissemination in Europe. Roman infrastructure, including libraries, educational institutions, and trade networks, deteriorated, leading to the loss or inaccessibility of classical geographical texts by scholars like Ptolemy, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder.

2. Shift to Theological Focus:
   The dominance of the Christian Church during this era led to a prioritization of theological studies over scientific inquiry, including geography. Biblical interpretations of the world, such as the T-O maps, became the primary framework for understanding geography, sidelining empirical and analytical approaches developed by classical scholars.

3. Decline in Trade and Exploration:
   The breakdown of Roman trade networks and the rise of feudalism led to the isolation of communities and a decline in long-distance exploration. This limited the exchange of geographical knowledge and the discovery of new territories, which had been catalysts for geographic advancement during earlier periods.

4. Loss of Greek and Roman Knowledge:
   Many classical works on geography were lost, destroyed, or became inaccessible in Europe. The lack of translations and a decline in literacy further restricted the study of geography.

5. Rise of Islamic Civilization:
   While Europe experienced stagnation, much of the classical geographical knowledge was preserved and expanded upon in the Islamic world. Scholars like Al-Biruni and Al-Idrisi advanced the field significantly during this period, but the lack of interaction between Europe and the Islamic world limited the transfer of this knowledge to medieval Europe.

The Dark Age in Geography was not a complete absence of geographical thought but rather a regional phenomenon in Europe. It highlights the critical role of socio-political stability, cultural openness, and institutional support in the advancement of scientific disciplines.

Biography of Vidal de Lablache

Vidal de Lablache (1848-1918) is known as the founder of human geography. He was essentially a scholar of classical languages. His interest in geography developed in 1861whenhe was studying archaeology at Athens. Later on, Vidal taught geography at the University of Nancy from 1872 to 1877, and then joined Ecole as Professor of Geography. In 1891, he founded a new professional periodical for the publication of best geographical writings. Theperiodical was called Annates de geographie. In 1894, Vidal published the first edition of the Atlas Generate Vidal Lablache. From 1896 to the time of his death (1918), he was Professor of Geography at the University of Sorbonne. During his career, he devoted himself to the cause of geography, and trained geography teachers over a period of about 26 years.

While delivering his first lecture at the Sorbonne University on February 2, 1899, he laid stress upon the relationship between man and his immediate surroundings (milieu) which could best be studied in small homogeneous areas. In France, such homogeneous areas are known as pays. In his opinion, the concept of country is inseparable from its inhabitants.

Vidal was a strong opponent and critique of the environmental deterministic approach. He was influenced by the writings of Ratzel, and from his second volume of Anthropogeographie, Vidal advocated the concept of ‘possibilism’ as postulated by Febvre. His basic approach towards the study of man and environment—the two major components of geographical study—was that nature (milieu) sets limits and offers possibilities for human settlement, but the way man reacts or adjusts to these given conditions depends on his own traditional way of living. Lablache insisted that human being “joins in nature’s game” and the milieu externa (external environment) was a partner, not a slave of human activity.

He opined that “nature is never more than an adviser”. Vidal’s belief was endorsed by the historian L. Febvre in a famous phrase: “There are not necessities but everywhere possibilities.” And, man as a master of these possibilities is the judge of their use. Febvre, however, regarded geography as a natural science, rather than a social science. He considered the earth’s surface as the terrestrial organism. He coined the concept of genres de vie (lifestyle). He was convinced that genres de view were themselves reflective of nature, even as they transformed it. He always conceived of human geography as natural, not a social science (Buttimer, 1971).

Vidal de Lablache’s book Tableau de la Geographie de la France was a good addition to the literature of geography. In this work, Vidal attempted a harmonious blending of physical and human features in the Tableau (France Plateau). He also tried a synthesis of pays. Vidal’s book deals with the recognizable regional units of France one by one and shows that each pay has its own distinctive agriculture due to its soil and water supply, and also due to the economic specialization made possible by the demands of the people living in towns.

Far from reducing the individuality of each pay, modern trade had accentuated it by making their agriculture distinctive.

Settlement showed a clear relationship to soil and water; for in some areas it was scattered and in others in the form of compact villages. Many of the pays had for generations been recognized as separate from, but complementary to their neighbours. These pays were, however, not homogeneous as in some there were local deposits such as limon over chalk which gave sharply contrasting soils reflected in difference in land use. The Tableau is a deeply human work with a firm physical base. From this time, French geographers published a series of regional monographs.

Vidal de Lablache was opposed to the idea of drainage basin as a unit of study. While criticizing the idea of taking drainage basin as the unit of study, he felt that such a unit will create many complications in understanding the reality of a region. For example, the Central

Massif of France is a well demarcated natural region in toto, but if it is divided into drainage basin units, then the culture, institutions, traditions and attitudes of the people cannot be properly understood. Regarding the method of geographical study he held the view that the basic objective of geography is to study the phenomena mutually interacting in a segment of the earth surface (pays).

In the opinion of Vidal de Lablache, the relatively small regions (pays) are the ideal units to study and to train geographers in geographical studies. The tradition of micro region study still persists in France. Many French geographers consider regional geography as best suited to doctoral work. He was, however, of the opinion that regional studies at the meso and macro levels can be of practical utility which can help in the planning of areas. It was with this objective that he prepared a scheme to study the larger regions of the world—covering the whole world.

This programme was partly carried out by Lucien Gallors after Vidal’s death. study of such regions should be the task of a geographer. Vidal, therefore, argued for regional geography as the core of geography. According to him:

Human societies, like those of plants and animal world, are composed of different elements subject to the influence of environment. No one knows what winds brought them together; but they are living together side by side in a region which has gradually put its stamp upon them. Some societies have long been part of the environment, but others are in process of formation, continuing to recruit numbers and to be modified day-by-day.

Societies have always begun to seek ways of satisfying their needs in the immediate vicinity. Vidal believed that population is a constantly changing phenomenon. Mankind has in common with all other forms of life the tendency toward expansion. Man is the most adaptable and mobile organism on the face of the earth.

He ensured that the population did not spread like a drop of oil; at the beginning it grew in clumps like corals. Vidal used the following illustration in order to underline the long association between the major factors governing the development of a community. While the surface of a shallow lake is being swept by a gust of wind, the water is disturbed and confused but after a few minutes the contours of the bottom of the lake can clearly be seen again. Similarly, war, epidemics and civil strife can interrupt the development of a region and bring chaos for a while, but when the crisis is over the fundamental developments reassert themselves.

Vidal’s model fitted well in the agricultural societies of France and other western countries of Europe. During the medieval period, these societies were agrarian.

After the industrial revolution the situation has changed in the developed countries and now in such societies ‘cultural determination’ seems to be more conspicuously dominant. Up to the industrial revolution, Vidal’s approach was well suited to explaining the development of European agricultural landscape. In those parts of the world where industrialization is yet to take place, his hypothesis and theory of possibilism has great utility.

After the industrial revolution in France, the traditional physical setting was disturbed. The railway tracks, canals, roads and industrial complexes initiated the decline of the traditional local self-sufficient economy. Industry was developed on the basis of new cheap and rapid means of transport and large scale production for a wider market. These developments reduced the value of the regional method in a growing number of areas.

In the late part of his life, Vidal reached the conclusion that with the industrial development the best in French life was vanishing. For future, he suggested that we should study the economic interplay between a region and the city centre which dominates it rather than the interplay of natural and cultural elements.

As a result of Vidal’s efforts, by 1921, there were 16 departments of geography in France, one in each of the 16 universities. Interestingly enough, all the chairs of geography were occupied by the pupils of Vidal de Lablache. Thus, geography in France owes much to Vidal, and he is rightly considered as the ‘father of human geography’ who advocated and pleaded for ‘possibilism’.

The Principle of Terrestrial Unity

Lablache developed the idea of ‘terrestrial unity’. In his opinion, the dominant idea in all geographical progress is that of terrestrial unity. The concept of the earth as a whole, whose parts are coordinated, where phenomena follow a definite sequence and obey general laws to which particular cases are related, had earlier entered the field of science by way of astronomy. In the words of Ptolemy, geography is “the sublime science which sees in the heavens the reflection of the earth”. But, the conception of terrestrial unity was confined to the domain of mathematics. It did not become part of the branch of geography until the time of Lablache. In his opinion the phenomenon of human geography is related to terrestrial unity by means of which alone can they be explained. They are everywhere related to the environment, itself the creature of a combination of physical conditions.

The idea of terrestrial unity was borrowed from the botanical geography which was the first to use a conception of environment. Alexander von Humboldt, with his usual foresight pointed out how important is the appearance of vegetation in determining the character of a landscape. The general appearance of vegetation is certainly the most characteristic feature of a region. Absence of it is striking.

Vegetation not only accentuates landforms, but gives to the landscape by their shape, colour, and manner of grouping a common, individual character. Steppe, savanna, silva etc., are collective terms which give an idea of such an ensemble.

The rivalry of plants among themselves is so active that only those best adapted to the environment are able to survive. Even so, only a state of unstable equilibrium is maintained.

Adaptation finds expression in different ways, in the height, size, and position of leaves, hairy covering, fibrous tissues, root, development, etc. Not only does each plant provide as best it can for the carrying of its own vital activity, but many different plant associations are formed so that one may profit by the proximity of other. Whatever the variety of species living side by side, whatever the external differences in the process of adaptation, the entire plant population has a common stamp not to be mistaken by trained eye.

Similarly, animals with their power of locomotion and man with his intelligence are better able than plants to cope with the environment. Thus environment, as a composite, is capable of grouping and holding together heterogeneous plants, animals and mankind in mutual vital interrelationship. This idea seems to be the law governing the geography of living creatures. This law of terrestrial unity is universally applicable to peoples of indigenous origin, ephemeral, migratory character.

In the study of man and environment this perspective is quite conspicuous. Prehistoric research has shown that man has been established since time immemorial in widely diverse parts of the globe, equipped with fire and fashioning tools; and however rudimentary his industries, the modifications that the face of the earth has undergone because of them cannot be ignored. The paleolithic hunter and earliest neolithic agriculturists destroyed certain species of plants and animals and favoured others. That these hunters and agriculturists operated independently of one another, in different localities, is proved by the various methods of making fire still in use. Man has influenced the living world longer and more generally than supposed.

There are numerous races, ethnic groups, and sub-races living in different physical environments in the various parts of the world. Nevertheless, all such heterogeneous groups blend in a social organization which makes of the population of a country/region a unit when looked at in its entirety. It sometimes happens that each of the elements of composite whole is well established in certain mode of life; some as hunters, other agriculturists, other shepherds; if such is the case, they cooperate with and supplement with one another.

It most often happens, except in some migratory Gypsies, Gitanos, Zingani, Gaddis, Bakarwals, and some of the desert tribes like Badwins. Human societies, like those of vegetation and animal world, are composed of different elements subject to the influence of environment. No one knows what winds brought them together, nor whence, nor when; but they are living side by side in a region which has gradually put its stamp on them. The lifestyle of most of the societies of the world are in adjustment to their physical environment. The principle of terrestrial unity is of vital importance and is universally applicable.

• Possiblism in Geography developed as a reaction to Determinism.
• It presented man as an active rather than passive agent.
• It is associated with the French School of Geography.
• The term Possiblism was given by Lucian Febvre.
• But, Vidal de la Blache is regarded as the father of French School and Possiblism.
• Febvre said that, “The true and only geographical problem is that of utilization of Possibilities. There are no necessities but everywhere possibilities.”
• The philosophy of Possiblism is the belief that people are not just the products of their environment or just pawns of natural environment.
• Blache says that: “Nature sets limits and offers possibilities for human settlement, but the way man reacts or adjusts to these conditions depends on his own traditional way of life”
• Blache used the term of ‘genre de vie’ that means way of life or Lifestyle. In his opinion, lifestyles are the product and reflections of a civilization, representing the integrated result of physical, historical and social influences
• After Vidal, Jean Brunhes was a strong supporter of Possibilism. He proposed the systematic approach to study Human Geography.
• Carl O Sauer asserted that geographer’s role is to investigate and understand the nature of the transition from the natural to the cultural landscape.
• According to Possiblists, Nature is never more than an adviser.

CRITICISM OF POSSIBLISM

• It exaggerated the role of culture and neglects the importance of Physical Environment.
• It promotes over anthropocentrism in Geography.
• Taylor opined that society as a whole should make a choice, an since only an advisory role is assigned to a geographer, his function “is not that of interpreting nature’s plan” i.e. the task of geography is to study the natural environment and its effect on man, not all the problems associated with man or the ‘cultural landscape’.

The Principle of Distinct Modes of Life refers to the concept in geography and anthropology that human societies develop unique ways of living based on their interaction with specific environmental, cultural, and socio-economic conditions. This principle emphasizes that geographic location, natural resources, and environmental constraints significantly influence the livelihoods, social structures, and cultural practices of communities. It highlights the diversity of human adaptations to varying ecological contexts and underscores the role of geography in shaping human existence.

In its essence, the principle is rooted in the idea that environmental determinism—the notion that physical geography directly shapes human behavior—provides only a partial explanation. Instead, it integrates concepts from possibilism, which argues that while the environment sets certain limits, human ingenuity and cultural practices play a pivotal role in defining distinct ways of life. For example, nomadic pastoralism develops in arid regions due to the scarcity of water and arable land, while settled agriculture thrives in fertile river valleys.

The principle finds practical application in understanding regional differentiation and cultural landscapes. It explains why fishing communities along coasts adopt practices vastly different from those of agrarian societies in fertile plains or industrialized populations in urban centers. These modes of life reflect a combination of resource availability, technological development, historical traditions, and social organization.

Furthermore, this principle is crucial in studying sustainable development and cultural resilience. It sheds light on how traditional societies have developed environmentally sustainable practices adapted to their unique ecological niches. However, globalization and environmental degradation threaten these distinct modes of life, leading to homogenization and loss of cultural diversity.

By focusing on the interplay between environment and culture, the Principle of Distinct Modes of Life underscores the importance of understanding local contexts to address global challenges effectively.

The concept of space in geography is a foundational theoretical construct that examines the arrangement, organization, and interaction of phenomena across the Earth’s surface. Space in geography is not merely a physical entity; it is a dynamic, multidimensional construct encompassing physical, social, cultural, and economic dimensions. It serves as the framework within which geographers analyze patterns, processes, and relationships.

Space can be understood in several contexts:

1. Absolute Space: Derived from classical geography and rooted in the Cartesian tradition, absolute space refers to a fixed, measurable framework of coordinates and distances. It is used in mapping, geodesy, and GIS, providing the foundation for spatial analysis of phenomena like urban growth or transportation networks.

2. Relative Space: Influenced by relational geography, relative space emphasizes the perception and meaning of space as shaped by human experiences, activities, and interactions. For example, a city center’s importance as a node in a global network of trade transcends its absolute geographic location.

3. Social Space: Emerging from human and cultural geography, social space integrates physical locations with social relations, power dynamics, and cultural meanings. It examines how spatial arrangements reflect and reproduce social inequalities, such as the segregation of urban neighborhoods.

4. Lived Space: Influenced by phenomenology, lived space focuses on how individuals and communities experience, perceive, and attach meaning to spaces, often informed by cultural or personal significance.

The study of space is also deeply intertwined with scale, from the local to the global, and with concepts such as spatial interaction, spatial distribution, and spatial diffusion. These frameworks enable geographers to address complex issues like urbanization, migration, resource allocation, and environmental sustainability.

In contemporary geography, space is not static but dynamic, constantly shaped by processes like globalization, technological innovation, and environmental change. This conceptualization of space bridges the divide between physical and human geography, offering insights into the interconnectedness of natural systems and human societies.

Stop-and-Go Determinism, also known as Possibilistic Determinism, is a concept in geography that seeks to balance the perspectives of environmental determinism and possibilism. This approach acknowledges the role of the environment in shaping human activities and societal development but emphasizes that human agency and innovation play a critical role in overcoming environmental constraints. The term reflects the idea that the environment acts as both a limiting (stop) and facilitating (go) factor in human progress, depending on the circumstances.

Key Principles

1. Environmental Constraints:
   The environment imposes certain limitations on human actions. For example, deserts limit agricultural activities, and mountainous regions constrain transportation and communication networks. These natural barriers act as “stops” in human development, requiring adaptation.

2. Human Agency and Innovation:
   While the environment sets initial limits, humans possess the capacity to overcome these barriers through technological advancements, cultural adaptation, and resource management. For example, irrigation systems enable agriculture in arid regions, and tunnels and bridges facilitate transportation in mountainous terrains.

3. Dynamic Interaction:
   The concept underscores a dialectical relationship between humans and their environment. While environmental factors influence human behavior, humans, in turn, modify the environment through their actions. This interaction reflects a dynamic and iterative process of “stop” and “go” moments in societal development.

Applications

Stop-and-Go Determinism has practical implications in understanding regional development, sustainability, and resilience. For instance, urban planning in flood-prone areas involves recognizing natural risks (stop) and implementing flood control measures (go). Similarly, advancements in renewable energy allow societies to overcome dependency on fossil fuels constrained by geographical distribution.

By integrating environmental determinism and human possibilism, Stop-and-Go Determinism provides a nuanced framework for analyzing how natural and human factors collectively shape societal progress. It highlights the importance of adaptability and innovation in overcoming environmental challenges.

The Principle of Activity in geography emphasizes the dynamic interaction between human activities and physical environments, underscoring how these relationships shape spatial patterns and processes. Rooted in behavioral geography and human-environment interaction studies, this principle examines the spatial mobility of individuals and groups, their decision-making processes, and how activities are distributed across geographic space.

This principle is particularly relevant in analyzing urban planning, resource utilization, and transportation systems. For instance, urban centers often emerge as hubs of intense activity, driven by economic opportunities, infrastructure development, and population density. Similarly, agricultural activities are influenced by climatic conditions, soil fertility, and water availability, showcasing the interdependence of natural systems and human behavior.

Studies on the Principle of Activity also highlight spatial diffusion, where innovations, goods, or cultural practices spread from one location to another, influenced by proximity, accessibility, and networks. For example, the diffusion of agricultural practices during the Green Revolution transformed rural landscapes and activity patterns worldwide.

Moreover, this principle aids in understanding spatial inequalities, as disparities in resources or infrastructure often limit activity in underdeveloped regions, exacerbating socio-economic challenges. It is also integral to sustainable development discussions, where balancing human activities with environmental constraints is critical for resilience and adaptation to climate change.

By focusing on the dynamic interplay between human actions and spatial contexts, the Principle of Activity offers a robust framework for interpreting complex geographic phenomena and informing policy interventions.

In the post-Second World War period, the definition of geography, geographic thought, and geographic methodology have undergone great transformation.

In order to put the subject on a sound footing and to command respect in sister disciplines, geographers have increasingly concentrated in the last few decades on the theme of geographic generalization, formulation of models, theories and general laws. This geographic generalization is also known as ‘model-building’.

The term ‘model’ has been defined differently by different geographers. In the opinion of Skilling (1964), a model is “either a theory, a law, a hypothesis, or a structured idea. Most important, from the geographical point of view, it can also include reasoning about the real world (physical and cultural landscape) by means of relation in space or time. It can be a role, a relation or an equation”.

In the opinion of Ackoff, “a model may be regarded as the formal presentation of a theory or law using the tools of logic, set theory and mathematics”. According to Haines-Young and Petch, “any device or mechanism which generates a prediction is a model”. Accordingly, modeling, like experimentation and observation, is simply an activity which enables theories to be tested and examined critically.

Most of the geographers of the post-Second World War period have widely conceived models as idealized or simplified representation of reality (geographic landscape and man-nature relationship).

Significance of Model

Geography is a discipline which deals with the interpretation of man-nature relationship. The earth—the real document of geographical studies—is however, quite complex and cannot be comprehended easily. The earth’s surface has great physical and cultural diversity.

In geography, we examine location, landforms, climate, soils, natural vegetation and minerals’ spatial distribution and their utilization by mankind which lead to the development of cultural landscape. Moreover, geography is a dynamic subject as the geographical phenomena change in space and time.

The subject matter of geography, i.e., the complex relationship of man and environment can be examined and studied scientifically by means of hypotheses, models and theories. The basic aim of all models is to simplify a complex situation and thus render it more amenable to investigations. In fact, models are tools which allow theories to be tested. A more restricted view of models is that they are predictive devices.

Need of Modelling in Geography

Geographers are interested in making laws and theories in their discipline like those in physical, biological and social sciences. Model is a device for understanding the vast interacting system comprising all humanity and its natural environment on the surface of the earth. This is of course not attainable except in a highly generalized manner.

Modelling in geography is, therefore, done due to the following reasons:

1. A model-based approach is often the only possible means for arriving at any kind of quantification or formal measurement of unobserved or unobservable phenomena. Models help in estimations, forecasts, simulations, interpolation and generation of data. The future growth and density of population, use of land, intensity of cropping, migration pattern of population, industrialization, urbanization and growth of slums may be predicted with the help of such models. These are very useful in the forecast of weather, change of climate, change in sea level, environmental pollution, soil erosion, forests depletion and evolution of landforms.
2. A model helps in describing, analyzing and simplifying a geographical system. Locational theories of industries, zoning of agricultural land use, patterns of migration and stages of development of landforms can be easily understood and predicted with the help of models.
3. Geographical data are enormous and with every passing day these data are becoming more and more difficult to understand. Modelling is undertaken for structuring, exploring, organizing and analyzing the obtained enormous data through discriminating pattern and correlation.
4. Alternative models can be used as ‘laboratories’ for surrogate observation of systems of interest which cannot be observed directly, and for experimenting and estimating the effects and consequences of possible changes in particular components as also for generating future scenario of evolution and end states of system of interest.
5. Models help in improving the understanding of causal mechanism, relationships between micro and macro properties of a system and the environment.
6. Models provide framework within which theoretical statements can be formally represented and their empirical validity then put under scrutiny.
7. Modelling provides linguistic economy to geographers and social scientists who understand their language.
8. Models help in the building of theories, general and special laws.

Features of a Model

The main features of a model are as under:

1. The geographical reality of the earth’s surface and man-environment relationship are quite complex. Models are the selective pictures of the world or part of it. In other words, a model does not include all the physical and cultural attributes of a macro or micro region. In fact, model is a highly selective attitude to information.
2. Models give more prominence to some features and obscure and distort some others.
3. Models contain suggestions for generalization. As stated above, predictions can be made about the real world with the help of models.
4. Models are analogies as they are different from the real world. In other words, models are different from reality.
5. Models tempt us to formulate hypothesis and help us in generalizing and theory-building.
6. Models show some features of the real world in a more familiar, simplified, observable, accessible, easily formulated or controllable form, from which conclusions can be drawn.
7. Models provide a framework wherein information may be defined, collected and arranged.
8. Models help in squeezing out the maximum amount of information from the available data.
9. Models help to explain how a particular phenomenon comes into existence.
10. Models also help us to compare some phenomena with the more familiar ones.
11. Models cause a group of phenomena to be visualized and comprehended which otherwise could not be comprehended because of its magnitude or complexity.
12. Models form stepping-stones to the building of theories and laws.

Types of Models

As described earlier, the term ‘model’ has been used in a great variety of contexts. Owing to the great variety, it is difficult to define even the broad types of models without ambiguity. One division is between the descriptive and the normative. The descriptive model is concerned with some stylistic description of reality whereas the normative model deals with what might be expected to occur under certain stated or assumed conditions. Descriptive models may be concerned with the organization of empirical information, and termed as data, classificatory (taxonomic), or experimental design models. Contrary to this, normative models involve the use of a more familiar situation as a model for a less familiar one, either in a time (historical) or a spatial (geographical) sense and have a strongly predictive connotation.

On the basis of stuff (data) from which they are made, models may also be classified into hardware, physical or experimental models. The physical or experimental model may be iconic (idol-shaped) in which the relevant properties of the real world are presented with the same properties with only a change in scale. For example, maps, globes and geological models are physical or experimental models. Models may be an analogue (simulation) having real world properties represented by different properties. Analogue or simulation models are concerned with symbolic assertion of a verbal or mathematical kind in logical terms.

General Classification of Models

As stated at the outset, complexity of geographical landscapes and geographical situations is such that models are of particular importance in studying geography. A large number of models have been designed, adopted and applied by geographers.

A more simple classification of models illustrated with examples has been given as follows:

Scale Models

Scale models, also called hardware models, are perhaps the easiest type to appreciate as they are direct reproductions, usually on a smaller scale of reality. Scale models may be either static, like the model of a land surface of a geological model, or dynamic, like a wave tank or river flume. Dynamic models are perhaps more interesting and useful in geographical work. The great advantage that a dynamic model has over reality is that the operative processes can be controlled. This allows each variable to be studied separately.

In a wave tank, the effect of material size, wave length and wave steepness on a beach slope can be measured quite accurately if two variables are held constant while the third is varied. If the resultant beach slope angle is plotted against each variable in turn the points obtained in each case may either fall in a nearly straight line indicating a significant relationship, or in a diffused scatter suggesting little or no relationship. Close relationships revealed by the model may not be apparent on a natural beach where the wave variables cannot be controlled.

There are, however, difficulties in applying the results of model studies of this type to a natural situation. One of these is the problem of scale. If wave size and material size are scaled up in the same proportion, then the sand of the model would become large cobbles in nature—and these two materials do not react similarly to waves. Again if sand in nature is scaled down to model size, it would be silt or clay which also responds differently from sand under wave action.

Despite such difficulties scale models have yielded very useful results in many fields of enquiry. The fact that engineers make a scale model before embarking upon any major project such as river improvement, dam construction, canal excavation, landslides, tidal surges, flood forecast, or harbour works scheme, demonstrates the value of this type of model.

Scale models are often used by physical geographers and especially by geomorphologists. In fact, geomorphologists have carried out fundamental research with scale models in order to investigate processes that are difficult to observe under natural conditions, such as river action, glacial movement, wind erosion, marine processes and erosion by underground water.

Maps

Maps are the models that are most familiar to geographers. They are a special type of scale model which become increasingly abstract as the scale becomes smaller. At one end of the spectrum is the stereo-pair vertical air-photograph which provides virtually a true scale model of the real world. It is, however, static and represents only the area shown at one instance of time. A simple vertical air photograph loses the impression of height but still shows all the visible elements of the landscape virtually true to scale.

A large-scale map loses much of the detail of the landscape although it can show buildings, roads and other features of this size accurately. As the scale is reduced the information becomes more symbolic and can no longer be shown true to scale; even more detail must be omitted. The map can, however, give an indication of the relief by means of contours, hill shading and hachures; this is missing from the simple vertical air photograph. Another advantage which maps also have over reality is that they show a very large area simultaneously, so that mutual space relationships can be much more easily appreciated and compared than on the ground.

Many maps use symbols to show specific features or distributions such as population density; these are even more abstract and further removed from reality that they represent. A new insight into a familiar area can be given by drawing a diagrammatic map where the scale is not correct for an area, but is adjusted to show population or some other variable to scale.

Modifications in area, distance and direction are also needed in maps covering the world or large parts of it. A curved surface cannot be correctly reproduced on a plane or flat piece of paper. In fact, it is impossible to show a three dimensional earth on a two dimensional plane or sheet of paper. The earth may be truly represented on a globe, but globes have very little utility in geographical studies.

Simulation and Stochastic Models

Simulation means imitating the behaviour of some situation or process by means of a suitably analogous situation or apparatus, especially for the purpose of study or personal training. Stochastic means: randomly determined or that which follows some random probability distribution or pattern, so that its behaviour may be analyzed statistically but not predicted precisely.

Simulation and stochastic models have been developed to deal with dynamic situations rather than with a static state shown on a map. This type of model simulates particular processes by means of random choices, hence the term ‘stochastic’, one which is connected with chance, occurrences. It can be illustrated by its application to drainage development.

Starting with a pattern of grid squares it is assumed that a stream source exists at the centre of certain randomly chosen squares. Random numbers are again used to determine in which of the four possible directions, each stream will flow and a line is drawn to represent its course as far as the centre of the adjacent square.

By repeating the process (with certain reservations that approximate to reality) there emerges a complete drainage network which shows many similarities to natural drainage patterns. Thus a conclusion can be reached that the natural drainage pattern has some element of chance about its make-up.

Simulation models can also be of use as a means of analyzing a large number of variables, which is a recurring problem in geography. For instance, the development of coastal spit can be shown to depend on a number of distinct processes or wave types. These different processes can be built into a model in such a way that each of them is allocated a specific range of random numbers. Each random number that comes up results in the operation of the appropriate process. In this way, the spit can be built up by the action of different processes in a random order, but in specific proportions. If the simulated spit resembles the real one, then one can conclude that the processes probably operate in the proportion specific in the model. Once a realistic model has been found it can then be used to predict future development of the spit provided the processes continue to operate in similar proportions.

Stochastic simulation models have also been successfully used in the field of human geography to study the spatial diffusion of a variety of phenomena, including the spread of population diseases such as malaria, smallpox, fever and AIDS or innovations such as the use of a particular piece of machinery, tractors, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and weedicides. The simulation is made realistic by imposing barriers that can be crossed with a varying degree of difficulty. Random numbers are used to determine the direction of spread and the effect of the barriers can then be assessed.

The term ‘Monte Carlo’ is used to describe some stochastic models, in which chance alone determines the outcome of each move within the conditions of the model.

The Monte Carlo model may be compared with the Markov Chain model in which each move is partially determined by the previous move.

The Markov Chain is exemplified in the random-walk drainage development model described above. Both types have been applied in many fields of geographical research.

Mathematical Models

Mathematical models are considered to be more reliable but difficult to construct. They obscure many of the human values, normative questions and attitudes. Yet, they have symbolic assertions of a verbal or mathematical kind in logical terms.

For example, suppose I offer the following arguments:

(1) A is larger than B, and (2) B is larger than C.

Now by virtue of (1) and (2) together, I offer the following theorem or conclusion: (3) Therefore, A is larger than C.

The logical validity of this conclusion will not change with the change in time. Logically, it had to be true in 3000 B.C., 2000 B.C., 1000 A.D., and it will be true in 2025 A.D., 3000 A.D., 4000 A.D. Thus, the validity of the conclusion does not depend on specific historical period. It is a historical.

In the same way, the logical validity of a theory is also spatial. If a theorem is logically valid, it must be locally valid in the United States, Germany, Russia, France as well as in India, Pakistan, China and Japan.

Mathematical models can be further classified according to the degree of probability associated with their prediction into deterministic and stochastic.

Mathematical models represent the equation of specific processes by means of mathematical equations which relate the operative process to the resultant situation. It is necessary, however, to have a sound knowledge of the physical processes concerned, and consequently, this type of model-building has been mainly the work of physicists. For example, a dynamic mathematical model of glacier flow has been constructed by J.F. Nye. He simplifies the basic assumptions as far as possible to make the equations sufficiently simple to solve.

Thus, the glacier bed is assumed to have a rectangular cross profiled (U-shaped valley) of uniform size and specific roughness. The ice is assumed to be perfectly plastic in its response to stresses. Then, given certain stresses, the response of the ice can be calculated by means of differential equations. These can predict specific flow patterns and ice profiles for given values of the assumed conditions.

The geomorphologist can play his part by measuring flow patterns and glacier dimensions in the field. The closeness with which these approximate to the calculated values is a measure of the success of the mathematical model. If the observed flow pattern agrees closely with the predicted one, then the model can be used with some confidence to provide values for flow in parts of the glacier that cannot readily be measured in the field, but which are very important in studying the effect of glaciers on the landscape.

The speed of basal flow is important in this context. Mathematical models have also advanced our knowledge of how rivers move their load and adjust their beds, and how waves operate on the coast. These models are usually in the form of differential equations largely based on known physical relationship, and it is essential to test their numerical results against observations made under natural conditions or in a scale hardware model. The models are only as successful as the assumptions and simplifications on which they are based are true and valid. They provide a very simplified situation, but one that can be expressed in precise numerical terms and hence is capable of suitable mathematical manipulation. For this reason such models are more suited to problems in physical geography.

There have, however, been somewhat different development of mathematical model in human geography. These are more in the nature of empirical relationships that can be expressed in mathematical terms. An example is the rank-size relationship. This relationship shows that within any class of occurrences there are usually a few large items and many small ones with a fairly regular distribution between them.

It has been applied to towns in many parts of the world. There are a few large towns but many more small ones, and between the two, a moderate number of medium ones; the relationship is approximately linear on a double logarithmic scale. Mathematical models have also been developed in economic geography, which is more susceptible to quantitative formulation than other branches of human geography. Such models are often not dynamic in the same way as are the differential equations in physical geography, although some deal with flow of goods, etc., from one region to another.

Another mathematical model is linear programming, which is relevant to many situations in economic geography. It is a method of finding the optimum solution to a problem in which several conditions must be fulfilled. A factory will have certain requirements of labour, raw materials, transport and access to markets and each of which determines conditions that can be expressed as mathematical equations and represented graphically on straightlines. When all the equations have been plotted they reveal the point of optimum value in terms of location. The procedure provides a definite solution based on the values assigned to the equations. If the values are accurate, then the optimum solution will be obtained.

Analogue Models

Analogue models differ from those type of models which have already been described. In the analogue models, instead of using limitations of the original or symbols to represent it, the feature being studied is compared with some completely different feature by means of an analogy. An analogue model uses a better known situation or process to study a less well-known one. Its value depends on the researcher’s ability to recognize the element common to two situations. These elements constitute the positive analogy; the dissimilar or negative analogy and the irrelevant or neutral analogy are ignored.

Reasoning from analogy has long been a part of geographical study. James Hutton, in his major work published in 1795, recognized the similarity between the circulation of blood in the body and the circulation of matter in the growth and decay of landscapes.

A similar circulation can also be seen in the hydrological cycle. The Davis’ concept of ‘normal cycle of erosion’ and Ratzel’s concept of ‘state as a living organism’ are important examples in which landforms and state have been compared to living organism. Both these concepts are thus analogies. The analogy used to further geographical knowledge must be better understood than the feature being investigated.

The behaviour of metals under stress has been intensively studied, and this has allowed useful analogies to be drawn between metals and ice. Methods of dealing with one problem can often be transferred by analogy to a completely different situation. The study of kinetic waves has been applied to the movement of vehicles on crowded roads, to the movement of stones and flood waves in rivers, and to the formation of surges at a glacier snout. These very dissimilar problems have a common fact that they are one-dimensional flow phenomena and from this point of view they can be treated with the same technique.

Analogies have also proved fruitful in the study of problems in human geography; for example, those that draw on certain well-established relationships in physics. The gravity model is a good example of this type. It is based on the physical observation that the attractive force between two bodies is proportional to the product of their masses divided by the square of the distance between them. The value for the distance in the model is often squared to approximate more closely to the force of gravity as observed in physics.

The attractive force may be considered in terms of transactions between two places. The number of transactions is likely to increase as the size of the places, often measured in terms of population number, increases and as the distance between them decreases. This model presupposes that there is no other force involved to limit the transaction, such as an international or language barrier. Various other physical relationships used as analogue models include the patterns of a magnetic field and the second law of thermodynamics

Theoretical Models

Theoretical models can be divided into two categories. The conceptual models provide a theoretical view of a particular problem allowing deductions from the theory to be matched against the real situation. This can be exemplified by the theoretical consideration of the effect of a rising and falling sea level upon the coastal zone if certain specific conditions are fulfilled. It is assumed that wave erosion is the only process operating, that waves can only erode rock to r. certain depth of the order of about 13 metres (40 feet) and that the waves erode a wave-cut platform to a certain gradient below which they cannot operate effectively. It is also assumed that the initial coastal slope is steeper than this gradient.

A consideration of the prolonged action of waves eroding under these conditions, with a rising and falling sea level, leads to the conclusion that only with a slowly rising sea level, can a wave-cut platform of great width be produced. The theoretical forms of the coastal zone under the various conditions specified can be established and then compared with actual coastal zones. Much more elaborate theoretical models of this conceptual type have been developed in the study of the evolution of slope profiles. These are based on the known or assumed effect of different slope processes.

A long series of stages of modification can be derived from this type of theoretical model, and these can again be matched with actual slopes.

The second type of theoretical model is associated with the word ‘theory’, when this is used to denote the overall framework of a whole discipline. The framework must not be too rigid or it will cramp the growing edges of the subject, where the most exciting work is going on. The ideal is a flexible framework that can contain a wide variety of geographical endeavour and yet give it coherence and purpose. Models are particularly valuable in this context as they are often common to all branches of the subject and so help to give it unity.

An analogy may help to illustrate the way in which the vast and growing amount of geographical data may be organized within a theoretical framework. Geography may be compared with a five-storeyed building, each storey being supported by the one below and supporting the one above (Fig. 11.1):

1. The lowest storey is the one which accommodates the data, the raw material of geographical study.
2. The data lead up to the level of model where they are organized in a suitable way for analysis.
3. The techniques of analysis, lying on the next storey, depend on the model adopted for the study.
4. Analysis leads up to the next floor, concerned with the development of theories.
5. The theories in turn lead up to formulation of tendencies and laws. These are located at the top as they are the ultimate aim of geographical methodology.

Critical Views

For understanding and explaining complex geographical phenomena, models are of great importance. Modelling has, however, been criticized on many counts. Critical views on modelling vary from those which accept modelling but criticize the way in which modelling is done to those which reject modelling as a worthwhile activity in geography.

Those who agree with modelling in geography but do not agree with the way models are being prepared and hold the view that most of the models are prepared badly. The basic aim of the modeller is to represent complexity by something simpler. In the exercise of modelling, the modeller may simplify the complexities of geographical realities too much or too little. Oversimplification may mislead students and generate misunderstanding which may ultimately lead to bad prediction. Under simplification is of little use in teaching as it does not explain the reality and gives insufficient basis for prediction.

The second objection to modelling is that the modellers may concentrate on the wrong things. Sometimes models may neglect to fulfil the basic criterion of simplifying. They go for the principal component analysis, stepwise regression and Q-analysis. These techniques often produce models more complicated than the original data. Moreover, models may incorporate some of the salient points and omit others.

There are scholars who do not question the appropriateness of modelling as a generally applicable strategy in geography. There is a group of geographers who consider modelling as a worthwhile activity but hold the view that geographers should not be forced to apply modelling techniques to everything. According to them, modelling is not appropriate in some branches of geography, especially in human geography, regional geography, cultural geography and historical geography. In various branches of regional, cultural and historical geography, modelling strategies have distorted the subject by putting overemphasis on some topics and under emphasis on others. By this strategy, generalizations have been made on the basis of few cases and many a time at the expense of specific cases.

Those who out rightly reject modelling in geography say that geography is not a pure physical science, it has a very strong component of human beings and models may not properly adjust and interpret the normative questions like beliefs, values, emotions, attitudes, desires, aspirations, hopes, and fears, and therefore, models cannot be regarded as dependable tools for explaining correctly the geographical reality.

Criticism of modelling may also be based on objections to the generalization that modelling usually involves. It may be considered futile to construct general models to apply to geographical events, especially where idiosyncratic (regional) human actions and free will are concerned. Or, it may be that the geographer’s purpose is to predict or understand specific events and situations, his or her interests may be in the unique (specific, regional) case for which a general model is thought irrelevant.

Many of the models in geography have also been criticized on the grounds of application of sophisticated mathematical and statistical tools and techniques. Despite the quantitative revolution, few geographers feel comfortable with mathematical symbolism and ideas, and are thus largely unconscious of the generality, clarity and elegance that mathematical modellers appreciate in a good model. Geographers apart, even students, policy makers, clients and the public at large, may find mathematical models difficult to understand.

Another criticism is that no model is adequate by itself; any model must be continually subject to reassessment, modification and replacement. In Feyerabend’s words (1975):

Knowledge…is an ever-increasing ocean of mutually incompatible (and perhaps incommensurable) alternatives, each single theory, each fairy tale, each myth that is part of the collection forcing the other into greater articulation and all of them contributing, via this process of competition to the development of consciousness. Nothing is ever settled, no view can ever be omitted from a comprehensive account.

In fact, accountable growth of knowledge is not a well-regulated activity where each generation automatically builds upon the results achieved by earlier workers. It is a process of varying tension in which tranquil periods characterized by steady accretion of knowledge are separated by crises which can lead to an upheaval within subjects, disciplines and break in continuity.

Model-building also demands considerable reliable data. Such reliable data are rarely attainable in the developing and underdeveloped countries. As a matter of fact, any set of data collected in the developing countries have many pitfalls and shortcomings. Any model, theory, or law developed on the basis of weak and unreliable data is bound to give only a distorted and faulty picture of the geographical reality. It has also been found that generalizations done with the help of models and structured ideas are bringing exaggerated results leading to wrong predictions.

Most of the models have been developed in the advanced countries of Europe and America, and theories and models were constructed in these countries on the basis of data collected there. There is certainly a danger that the models developed in Europe and America may be elevated to general truth, and given the status of universal models. In reality we do not have universal human, cultural, industrial, agricultural and urban geography. There are different socio-cultural and agro-industrial processes, working in different parts of the world, which result into different cultural landscapes. Owing to these constraints, generalizations made on the basis of models may be misleading and faulty.

Moreover, the data used by the western experts are related to a period of about one hundred years. If these models, developed on the basis of data of developed countries, are applied in the developing countries, the results and predictions may be disastrous.

The ecological approach in geography is an approach that views nature as a complex system consisting of various interrelated and interacting components. Based on this approach, geography not only studies natural phenomena, but also analyzes how interactions between humans and the environment affect the natural system. In this article, we will discuss in depth the ecological approach in geography through nine paragraphs.

First, the ecological approach in geography emphasizes the importance of understanding the dynamics of ecosystems as a systemic whole that includes interactions between organisms and their environment. Basically, the ecological approach sees the environment as an integrated system consisting of various components and analyzes how each component interacts with each other to form a balanced ecosystem.

Secondly, the ecological approach also considers that nature is a constantly changing system. Changes in nature can be caused by natural factors, such as climate and geological changes, but also by human activities such as land cultivation and pollution. Therefore, the ecological approach in geography not only studies static natural systems, but also explores how interactions between humans and the environment affect these natural systems.

Third, the ecological approach in geography also considers cultural and social factors as important influences in shaping ecosystems. For example, traditional sustainable farming activities may shape different land use patterns compared to modern farming activities that use chemicals. Human activities can also affect the types of flora and fauna that exist in a region.

Fourth, the ecological approach in geography also explores how changes in one part of the ecosystem can affect the ecosystem as a whole. For example, a reduction in the number of bird species in a forest can affect the pattern of vegetation and the development of other animals that live in the forest. Therefore, the ecological approach in geography strongly emphasizes the importance of understanding the interactions between different species in an ecosystem.

Fifth, the ecological approach also emphasizes the importance of maintaining ecosystem balance. Humans often carry out activities that can damage the balance of the ecosystem, such as excessive land cultivation or excessive use of chemicals. Therefore, the ecological approach in geography emphasizes the importance of maintaining the balance of ecosystems so that nature can function properly and continue to provide benefits to humans.

The Age of Exploration happened between the 15th and 17th centuries. There was a need for new routes and discoveries which led the adventurous sailors from Europe to go on interesting trips to new lands. They went on these trips to get wealthy, spread faith, or simply explore.

List of Well-Known Explorers

Here are the details about some of the top explorers along with their exploration info:

Why was there an Age of Exploration?

The Age of Exploration happened because European countries had many reasons to explore new lands. One big reason was to become richer and more powerful. Countries like Portugal and Spain wanted to find new trade routes to Asia, where they could get valuable things like spices and silk.

Another reason was to spread Christianity. Spain and Portugal also wanted to share Christianity with new places. The Catholic Church supported exploration to convert people to Christianity and spread its influence. Also, there was a lot of competition between European countries. They competed with each other for wealth and land.

This competition, especially between Portugal and Spain, pushed them to explore and claim new territories. New inventions also helped exploration. The invention of the printing press spread the news about past explorations, inspiring more explorers and supporting further exploration.

Positive Impacts of the Age of Exploration

The Age of Exploration added about many positive results that severely influenced the direction of human knowledge and contributed to the advancement of civilizations all over the world. You can see some of the positive impacts below:

1. One of the biggest impacts of the Age of Exploration was the discovery of new of cultures that resulted in an exchange of ideas, languages, and religions among people from different countries.
2. There were improvements in shipbuilding, cartography, and astronomy. Along with the improvement in crafting, explorers also got better in cruising techniques, which included the use of the astrolabe and compass, which helped with longer journeys.
3. The journeys during the Age of Exploration caused the discoveries of new lands, people, plants, and animals, which helped in increasing human knowledge. Explorers and cartographers made targeted maps, atlases, and navigational charts that provided precious data about previously unknown areas, contributing to the improvement of geography, science, and cartography.
4. The Columbian Exchange, the large switch of flowers, animals, meals, and technologies among the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, had a deep impact on both Old World and New World societies. This choice of products and ideas helped with agricultural innovation, improved diets, and brought new crops, which included potatoes, tomatoes, and maize, to many new areas.
5. The voyages of exploration inspired scientific explorations as well, leading to huge discoveries in astronomy, biology, and anthropology.

Negative Impacts of the Age of Exploration

While the Age of Exploration delivered many nice changes in the world, it also had many impacts that affected native people and societies around the world. Here are some of the negative impacts of the Age of Exploration.

1. European exploration caused the exploitation of indigenous lands and assets. Colonizers inflicted their authority over native populations, leading to the removal, marginalization, and in a few cases, the destruction of indigenous cultures and societies.
2. Millions of indigenous people and Africans were enslaved and treated to brutal situations on plantations and mines resulting in the loss of lives and systemic injustices.
3. Indigenous populations in the Americas had little power for conditions like smallpox, measles, and influenza delivered by European explorers, resulting in epidemics that wiped out millions of people and destabilized indigenous societies.
4. European colonization often caused exploitation and degradation of natural environments. Deforestation, overhunting, and the occurrence of invasive people disrupted ecosystems and biodiversity, mainly due to environmental degradation.
5. European exploration and colonization often started conflicts and wars between colonizers and indigenous people and among competing European powers fighting for control of overseas territories. These conflicts often resulted in violence and the destruction of communities and livelihoods.

Economic Impact of the Age of Exploration

The Age of Exploration changed the world’s economy a lot. Here’s how it happened:

1. New Trade Routes

Explorers found new ways to travel and trade with faraway places. They discovered sea routes to Asia, bringing back valuable things like spices and silk to Europe.

2. More Expanded Markets

They explored new lands and set up colonies. These places provided things like sugar, tobacco, and gold, which Europe wanted. They sent these goods back to Europe to sell and make money.

3. Motive of Getting Rich

European countries got richer by using the resources from colonies. Gold and silver from the Americas helped them grow their economies and pay for big projects.

4. New Ideas and Tools

Explorers needed better tools and ways to sail long distances. This led to new inventions like the compass and better ships, which helped trade and travel.

5. Starting Businesses

People wanted to make money from trading with new places. They started companies, like the Dutch East India Company, to fund and manage these trading ventures.

6. Using Forced Labor

Sadly, many explorers used forced labor from local people and slaves to build colonies and work on farms. This helped them make more money but caused a lot of suffering.

7. Connecting the World

Exploring new places brought different cultures together. It helped ideas, technologies, and cultures spread around the world, making it more connected.

What were the social and political changes in the world due to the Age of Exploration?

The Age of Exploration brought big changes in how societies were organized and how people ruled themselves. Here are some important changes:

1. Countries Get Stronger

• Exploring helped countries become stronger. Leaders sent explorers to find new trade routes and lands. This made their countries more powerful.
• Countries competed for new lands and wealth. This led to wars like the Hundred Years’ War and the Italian Wars.
• Leaders made their countries stronger by supporting exploration with money and resources. This helped create the countries we know today.

2. Feudalism Changes

• Feudalism, the old way people lived and worked in Europe, started to fade away.
• Trading and business grew. This gave new opportunities to people who wanted to move up in society.
• Some people left Europe to find their fortune in faraway lands. This made the old system of lords and peasants less important.

3. New Social Groups

• Exploring made new groups of people important in society.
• Merchants, who bought and sold goods, became powerful. They challenged the old nobles and clergy.
• But there were also enslaved people and servants. They did the hard work in new lands, often treated badly.

4. Effects on Native People

• When explorers met new people, it changed the native societies forever.
• Europeans took over their lands, making them move or work for them.
• Diseases from Europe, like smallpox, killed many native people. This changed their societies and their way of life.

5. Power Shifts

• Exploring changed who had power in the world.
• European countries fought for control of new lands and trade routes.
• They built big empires, ruling over people far away from Europe.
• Finding new lands and riches helped Europe become stronger and more advanced.

Legacy of the Age of Exploration

Because of the Age of Exploration, many legacies were left behind. Here are some of the legacies:

1. Making Friends Around the World

During the Age of Exploration, people from far-off locations began learning about each other. They traded goods, shared ideas, and even discovered new technology from one another. This helped in building networks that connected different parts of the world.

2. Building Big Empires

Exploration also resulted in powerful nations like those in Europe building large empires by taking over lands in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. However, this often came at a cost for the native individuals who lived there. Many of them lost their homes, were mistreated, and had their cultures threatened.

3. Discovering New Things

Explorers during this time made important discoveries in science. They found new types of plants and animals, drew maps of places no one knew existed before, and learned more about how the world works.

4. Making Money Moves

Exploration was a big boost for making money. It created new ways to trade goods and find markets to sell things. This led to the growth of businesses and the idea of making a profit. It was like laying the groundwork for today’s economy.

5. Better Boats and Tools

The Age of Exploration also pushed people to make better ships, maps, and tools for sailing and exploring. This made long trips across the sea safer and faster. Innovations like the compass and stronger ships made exploration easier.

Conclusion

To sum it all up, the Age of Exploration changed the world. Explorers went on trips, discovering new lands, and meeting new people. These explorations modified the area a lot, bringing new ideas, different routes, and cultures together. But it wasn’t always with the best methods, and there were crises like wars and illnesses. Still, the legacy of exploration lives on, reminding us of the energy of discovery and journey.

• The Concept of Neo-Determinism was put forward by Griffith Taylor – a leading Australian Geographer.
• He opined that people might attempt whatever they wished with regard to their environment, but in long term, nature’s plan would ensure that the environment won the battle and forced a compromise out of its human occupants.
• He says that, Man is able to accelerate, slow or stop the progress of a country’s(region’s) development. But he should not, if he is wise, depart from directions as indicated by natural environment. He(man) is like the traffic Controller in a large city who alters the rate but not the direction of the progress.
• He used the term, “STOP AND GO” Determinism as his philosophy can be very vividly explained by the role of a Traffic Controller.

Eratosthenes (276-194 BC)

Eratosthenes was a Greek mathematician, geographer, astronomer & poet. He developed systems of latitudes and longitudes and ascertained accurate length of equator using Gnomon.

He is regarded as the first scientific geographer who measured the length of the equator almost accurately (24860 miles) on sound principles with the help of gnomon. He drew the meridian through Alexandria, Syene, Rhodes and the mouth of Boresthenes (Dniester).

He was appointed as the Librarian of the Library of Alexandria-the post of highest academic honour of that period. He remained the librarian for about 40 years till his death.

He was a follower of Aristotle in his belief about the spherical shape of the Earth which he considered to be placed in the centre of the universe. He believed that the celestial bodies revolved around the Earth.

He was also of the opinion that the spread of the world from west to east is more than from north to south. He extended the habitable world from Thule to Taprabone (Sri Lanka) and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Bay of Bengal. He conceived the subcontinent of India to be of rhomboidal form and supposed the range of Imaus (Himalayas) which he said extended from west to east, to have made the boundary of India. Moreover, he conceived the peninsula of India Pointing towards the south-west, instead of south.

Eratosthenes was well acquainted with the extent of the Red sea, which he described as extending for about 9000 stadia (900 miles) from the head of Gulf of Suez to the Bab-al-Mandab.

The book written by him describes the ekumene (inhabited) world. He accepted the three continents (Europe, Asia, and Libya) and five climatic zones (one torrid zone, two temperate zones, and two frigid zones)

Key Points on Eratosthenes

Locational analysis is an approach to human geography which focuses on the spatial arrangement of phenomena.

Its usual methodology is that of spatial science. The main objective of locational analysis was expressed as building accurate generalization, models and theories with productive power (Berry and Marble, 1968).

Locational analysis is based on the philosophy of positivism. The philosophy of positivism underpins the approach, which concentrates on the identification of theories of spatial arrangements and so is closely linked to the discipline’s quantitative revolution.

A number of geographers in U.S.A. advocated the cause of locational analysis in the 1950s, although it has much deeper roots in the work of pioneers who were later adopted by geographers. Bunge (1966), for example, wrote a thesis on Theoretical Geography based on the premises who stated that geography is the ‘science of locations’. Others such as McCarty, were strongly influenced by developments in the field of economics, to which they introduced the spatial variable. These links led to the close interrelationship between geographers and regional scientists in the 1960s and 1970, and illustrated by attempts to build economic geography theories of spatial arrangements (Smith, 1981).

Locational analysis is based on empiricism. Empiricism is a philosophy which accords special privilege to empirical observations over theoretical statements. Specifically, it assumes that observational statements are the only ones which make direct reference to phenomena in the real world, and that they can be declared true or false without reference to the truth or falsity of the theoretical statements. In empirical inquiry, it is assumed that its facts ‘speak for themselves’. They presented a strong case for using geometry as the language for the study of spatial form.

Haggett, in his book Locational Analysis in Human Geography (1965), appealed to adopt the geometrical tradition to explain order, location order and patterns in hun an geography. Such a focus needed: (1) to adopt a system approach which concentrates on the patterns and linkages within a whole assemblage; (2) to employ models as to understand man and environment relationship; and (3) to use quantitative techniques to make precise statements (generalizations) about locational order. For the spatial analysis they suggested to adopt ‘linear model’, spatial autocorrelation and regression.

Other geographers who contributed substantially to the field of locational analysis are Morril, Col, Chorley, Cox, Harvey, Johnston, Pooler, Sack and Smith.

Morril was strongly influenced by the geometrical traditions adopted by Bunge and Haggett. In his book, The Spatial Organisation of Society, he argued that people seek to maximize spatial interaction at minimum cost and so bring related activities into proximity—the result is that human society is surprisingly alike from place to place… [because of] the predictable, organized pattern of locations and interactions.

The locational approach in human geography has been criticized on philosophical and methodological grounds by the behaviouralists and humanists.

Some of the main criticisms against locational analysis are as under:

1. The locational analysis based on positivism ignores the normative questions to explain the man and environment relationship. It was their mistaken belief that “positive theory would lead to normative insight”. The cultural values are quite important in any decision making process. The ideal location for any economic activity may not be acceptable to individuals and the society (see quantitative revolution).
2. The locational analysis did not reflect the reality of decision making processes and so was of little value in predicting locational arrangement.
3. The models developed with the help of locational analysis conceal the complexities of the real world.
4. At present, there is economic interdependence of societies at the global level, which means that spatial interdependence has become much more important and “locally experienced environmental dependencies lost their rationale”.
5. Locational analysis has also been criticized on the ground that it encourages the social order of capitalism in which the owners of the means of production become rich and the poor becomes poorer.
6. The locational analysis has given a chance to the capitalists to optimize their profits. It gives an uncontrolled liberty and licence for plunder and miscalled profit.
7. Owing to locational analysis, there is over production and the economy enters the era of over industrialization.
8. It is mainly because of the locational analysis and capitalism that there is a total newness—new technology, new means of transportation, new education, new art, new morals, new media, new amusement, new weapons, new violence, new terrorism, new war and new mode of exploitation.
9. The followers of spatial science (positivists) treat people as dots on a map, statistics (data) on a graph, or numbers in an equation. They consider humans as non-living and other livings (plants and animals).

It is because of the inadequacies of the locational analysis that the ‘behaviouralism’ and ‘humanism’ achieved much significance in human geography.

Whatever the reason for its origin, there is little doubt that locational analysis substantially changed the nature of human geography from the mid-1960s, although there is some doubt that it ever dominated the discipline (Mikesell, 1984). It presented geography as a positivist social science, concerned to develop precise, quantitatively stated generalization about pattern of spatial organization, thereby enriching and being enriched by Location

Theory, and to offer models and procedures which could be used in physical planning. By 1978, therefore, Haggett could write that

the spatial economy is more carefully defined than before, we know a little more about its organisation, the way it responds to shocks, and the way some regional sections are tied into others. There now exist theoretical bridges, albeit incomplete and shaky, which span from pure spaceless economics to a more spatial reality.

Twelve years later, he continued to promote the search for ‘scientific generalization’ (Haggett, 1990), while accepting, that in the search for spatial order “the answer largely depends on what we are prepared to look for and what we accept as order”: for only a minority of geographers can now claim that order is the focus of their quest.

Ptolemy was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who authored several scholarly treatises. He was a Roman citizen living in Alexandria, Egypt, who published scholarly works in Greek. He was a geographer as well as a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, and poet. Ptolemy wrote various scientific publications that resonated with many ancient cultures, including Islamic and European scholars, for centuries.

Ptolemy

• Ptolemy, full name Claudius Ptolemaeus, was an Egyptian astronomer, mathematician, and geographer of Greek heritage who thrived in Alexandria around the second century CE.
• His writings reflect the pinnacle of Greco-Roman knowledge in various domains, especially his geocentric (Earth-centred) model of the cosmos, today known as the Ptolemaic system.
• He produced a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were influential in subsequent Byzantine, Islamic, and Western European science
• The first is the Almagest, an astronomical book that was initially called the Mathematical Treatise and afterwards renamed The Greatest Treatise.
• The second section is Geography, which is a comprehensive treatment of maps and geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world.
• The third is an astrological book in which he sought to conform horoscopic astrology to his day’s Aristotelian natural philosophy.
• This is also referred to as the Apotelesmatika, although it is more usually referred to as the Tetrabiblos, from the Koine Greek for “Four Books,” or by its Latin counterpart Quadripartite.
• Unlike other ancient Greek mathematicians, Ptolemy’s writings (particularly the Almagest) were copied and commented on throughout Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages.

Ancient Geography of India

• Ptolemy (90–168 CE) was an Egyptian Roman citizen who wrote in Greek.
• He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet, among other things.
• The Geographike hyphegesis (Guide to Geography) contained all of the knowledge and procedures needed to construct maps of the section of the world known to Ptolemy’s contemporaries.
• According to Ptolemy, he did not attempt to gather and filter all of the geographical material on which his maps were based.
• His second work, Geography, is a detailed examination of the Greco-Roman world’s geographic understanding.
• In it, he claims that the real shape of India, the most prominent aspect of the country, is the sharp angle made by the peninsula’s two coastlines meeting in a single coastline running virtually straight from the mouth of the Indus to the mouth of the Ganga.

Maps

• Ptolemy’s greatest contribution was not the maps themselves, but the principles behind the maps.
• He gave coordinates for all of the geographic features he knew, which totaled over 8,000 locations, and presented three distinct map projection methods.
• He developed the notion of latitude and longitude, which is still used in mapping today.
• Latitude was measured horizontally from the equator, while longitude was taken from the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain, the westernmost continent known to date.
• Ptolemy charted not just the known globe, but also the known universe.
• He held the Earth to be the centre of the cosmos and plotted it accordingly.

Conclusion

Claudius Ptolemy might be considered as a Renaissance figure from ancient Rome. He was a Roman citizen living in Alexandria, Egypt, who published scholarly works in Greek. His writings reflect the apex of Greco-Roman knowledge in a variety of fields, particularly his geocentric model of the universe, which is now known as the Ptolemaic system. He wrote a dozen scholarly treatises that influenced European science.

The concept of landscape in geography encompasses the visible features of an area of land as shaped by both natural processes and human activity. Rooted in cultural geography and physical geography, landscapes are studied as dynamic entities that reflect the interaction between environmental and cultural systems. The term originated from the German Geographical School and was later developed through the works of Carl Sauer, who emphasized the role of culture in transforming natural landscapes into cultural landscapes.

A natural landscape comprises elements like topography, climate, vegetation, and hydrology, which evolve through geophysical processes. For example, the Himalayas showcase a dynamic natural landscape shaped by tectonic forces and glacial activity. In contrast, cultural landscapes result from human intervention, such as urbanization, agriculture, and infrastructure development. The rice terraces of the Philippines and European vineyard landscapes are UNESCO World Heritage examples illustrating the integration of human and environmental systems.

The concept is further categorized into designed landscapes (e.g., gardens and parks), organically evolved landscapes (e.g., historical towns), and associative cultural landscapes (e.g., sacred sites like Mount Fuji). These classifications, defined by UNESCO, highlight the diverse interpretations of landscape through cultural, historical, and ecological perspectives.

Modern geographic studies employ tools like GIS and remote sensing to analyze landscapes at various scales, identifying changes due to factors like urban sprawl, deforestation, and climate change. The concept of landscape is pivotal in planning and conservation, ensuring sustainable management of both natural and cultural heritage.

Philosophy of geography is the subfield of philosophy which deals with epistemological, metaphysical, and axiological issues in geography, with geographic methodology in general, and with more broadly related issues such as the perception and representation of space and place.

Though methodological issues concerning geographical knowledge have been debated for centuries, Richard Hartshorne (1899–1992) is often credited with its first major systematic treatment in English, The Nature of Geography: A Critical Survey of Current Thought in the Light of the Past, which appeared in 1939, and which prompted several volumes of critical essays in subsequent decades. John Kirtland Wright (1891–1969), an American geographer notable for his cartography and study of the history of geographical thought, coined the related term geosophy in 1947, for this kind of broad study of geographical knowledge. Other books oft-cited as key works in the field include David Harvey’s 1969 Explanation in Geography and Henri Lefebvre’s 1974 The Production of Space. It was a discussion of issues raised by the latter which in part inspired the founding of a Society for Philosophy and Geography in the 1990s.