Geographers Craft Branches of Geography 2 major branches

Geographer’s Craft

Branches of Geography � 2 major branches � Physical � Focus Geography on the Earth’s physical features Climate, land, water, plants, animals � Human Geography � Also called cultural geography � Study of human activities and their relationship to the cultural and physical environments Concentration of political, economic, and cultural factors � Branches are divided into smaller groups of study � Example: Meteorology – study of weather and forecasting the weather

Geographer’s at Work � Research � Direct Observation � � methods Observing the Earth and patterns of human activities Mapping Creation of maps � Cartography – involves studying and making maps � Maps often can explain things better than written text � � Interviewing � � Statistics � � Contacting and speaking with people within a group to get more information about that culture Statistical information can be organized so geographer’s can see trends or patterns. Example: population growth trends amongst groups Technology Scientific instruments to help them study places or people � Satellites or computers with radar, cameras, remote sensors � Geographic Information Systems (GIS) – computer tools that process and organize data and satellite images with other information �

Other Disciplines � History Use of historical evidence to help in research � What places looked like in the past � � Government Political science of a place to determine how places are governed and how people respond to that � How the people have received change over years � � Culture � How the interaction of people with each other and their environment create culture � Economics Location of resources and how those resources are used by groups of people in a place � Farming, mining, manufacturing, and selling �

Questions � What may happen if a geographer did not interview people before creating a city transportation plan? � How would geographers use other fields of research in their jobs to help them in their own research?