biography meaning geography

Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments.

Earth Science, Geography, Human Geography, Physical Geography

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Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments. Geographers explore both the physical properties of Earth’s surface and the human societies spread across it. They also examine how human culture interacts with the natural environment, and the way that locations and places can have an impact on people. Geography seeks to understand where things are found, why they are there, and how they develop and change over time.

Ancient Geographers

The term "geography" was coined by the Greek scholar Eratosthenes in the third century B.C.E. In Greek, geo- means “earth” and -graphy means “to write.” Using geography, Eratosthenes and other Greeks developed an understanding of where their homeland was located in relation to other places, what their own and other places were like, and how people and environments were distributed. These concerns have been central to geography ever since.

Of course, the Greeks were not the only people interested in geography, nor were they the first. Throughout human history, most societies have sought to understand something about their place in the world, and the people and environments around them. Mesopotamian societies inscribed maps on clay tablets, some of which survive to this day. The earliest known attempt at mapping the world is a Babylonian clay tablet known as the Imago Mundi. This map, created in the sixth century B.C.E., is more of a metaphorical and spiritual representation of Babylonian society rather than an accurate depiction of geography. Other Mesopotamian maps were more practical, marking irrigation networks and landholdings.

Indigenous peoples around the world developed geographic ideas and practices long before Eratosthenes. For example, Polynesian navigators embarked on long-range sea voyages across the Pacific Islands as early as 3000 years ago. The people of the Marshall Islands used navigation charts made of natural materials (“stick charts”) to visualize and memorize currents, wind patterns, and island locations.

Indeed, mapmaking probably came even before writing in many places, but ancient Greek geographers were particularly influential. They developed very detailed maps of Greek city-states, including parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia. More importantly, they also raised questions about how and why different human and natural patterns came into being on Earth’s surface, and why variations existed from place to place. The effort to answer these questions about patterns and distribution led them to figure out that the world was round, to calculate Earth’s circumference, and to develop explanations of everything from the seasonal flooding of the Nile to differences in population densities from place to place.

During the Middle Ages, geography ceased to be a major academic pursuit in Europe. Advances in geography were chiefly made by scientists of the Muslim world, based around the Middle East and North Africa. Geographers of this Islamic Golden Age created an early example of a rectangular map based on a grid, a map system that is still familiar today. Islamic scholars also applied their study of people and places to agriculture, determining which crops and livestock were most suited to specific habitats or environments.

In addition to the advances in the Middle East, the Chinese empire in Asia also contributed immensely to geography. Around 1000, Chinese navigators achieved one of the most important developments in the history of geography: They were the first to use the compass for navigational purposes. In the early 1400s, the explorer Zheng He embarked on seven voyages to the lands bordering the China Sea and the Indian Ocean, establishing China’s influence throughout Southeast Asia.

Age of Discovery

Through the 13th-century travels of the Italian explorer Marco Polo, European interest in spices from Asia grew. Acquiring spices from East Asian and Arab merchants was expensive, and a major land route for the European spice trade was lost with the conquering of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire. These and other economic factors, in addition to competition between Christian and Islamic societies, motivated European nations to send explorers in search of a sea route to China. This period of time between the 15th and 17th centuries is known in the West as the Age of Exploration or the Age of Discovery.

With the dawn of the Age of Discovery, the study of geography regained popularity in Europe. The invention of the printing press in the mid-1400s helped spread geographic knowledge by making maps and charts widely available. Improvements in shipbuilding and navigation facilitated more exploring, greatly improving the accuracy of maps and geographic information.

Greater geographic understanding allowed European powers to extend their global influence. During the Age of Discovery, European nations established colonies around the world. Improved transportation, communication, and navigational technology allowed countries such as the United Kingdom to establish colonies as far away as the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Africa. This was lucrative for European powers, but the Age of Discovery brought about nightmarish change for the people already living in the territories they colonized. When Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492, millions of Indigenous peoples already lived there. By the 1600s, 90 percent of the Indigenous population of the Americas had been wiped out by violence and diseases brought over by European explorers.

Geography was not just a subject that enabled colonialism, however. It also helped people understand the planet on which they lived. Not surprisingly, geography became an important focus of study in schools and universities.

Geography also became an important part of other academic disciplines, such as chemistry, economics, and philosophy. In fact, every academic subject has some geographic connection. Chemists study where certain chemical elements, such as gold or silver, can be found. Economists examine which nations trade with other nations, and what resources are exchanged. Philosophers analyze the responsibility people have to take care of Earth.

Emergence of Modern Geography

Some people have trouble understanding the complete scope of the discipline of geography because geography is interdisciplinary, meaning that it is not defined by one particular topic. Instead, geography is concerned with many different topics—people, culture, politics, settlements, plants, landforms, and much more. Geography asks spatial questions—how and why things are distributed or arranged in particular ways on Earth’s surface. It looks at these different distributions and arrangements at many different scales. It also asks questions about how the interaction of different human and natural activities on Earth’s surface shape the characteristics of the world in which we live.

Geography seeks to understand where things are found and why they are present in those places; how things that are located in the same or distant places influence one another over time; and why places and the people who live in them develop and change in particular ways. Raising these questions is at the heart of the “ geographic perspective .”

Exploration has long been an important part of geography, and it’s an important part of developing a geographic perspective. Exploration isn’t limited to visiting unfamiliar places; it also means documenting and connecting relationships between spatial, sociological, and ecological elements.

The age-old practice of mapping still plays an important role in this type of exploration, but exploration can also be done by using images from satellites or gathering information from interviews. Discoveries can come by using computers to map and analyze the relationship among things in geographic space, or from piecing together the multiple forces, near and far, that shape the way individual places develop.

Applying a geographic perspective demonstrates geography’s concern not just with where things are, but with “the why of where”—a short but useful definition of geography’s central focus.

The insights that have come from geographic research show the importance of asking “the why of where” questions. Geographic studies comparing physical characteristics of continents on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, for instance, gave rise to the idea that Earth’s surface is comprised of large, slowly moving plates—plate tectonics.

Studies of the geographic distribution of human settlements have shown how economic forces and modes of transport influence the location of towns and cities. For example, geographic analysis has pointed to the role of the United States Interstate Highway System and the rapid growth of car ownership in creating a boom in U.S. suburban growth after World War II. The geographic perspective helped show where Americans were moving, why they were moving there, and how their new living places affected their lives, their relationships with others, and their interactions with the environment.

Geographic analyses of the spread of diseases have pointed to the conditions that allow particular diseases to develop and spread. Dr. John Snow’s cholera map stands out as a classic example. When cholera broke out in London, England, in 1854, Snow represented the deaths per household on a street map. Using the map, he was able to trace the source of the outbreak to a water pump on the corner of Broad Street and Cambridge Street. The geographic perspective helped identify the source of the problem (the water from a specific pump) and allowed people to avoid the disease (avoiding water from that pump).

Investigations of the geographic impact of human activities have advanced understanding of the role of humans in transforming the surface of Earth, exposing the spatial extent of threats such as water pollution by artificial waste. For example, geographic study has shown that a large mass of tiny pieces of plastic currently floating in the Pacific Ocean is approximately the size of Texas. Satellite images and other geographic technology identified the so-called “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”

These examples of different uses of the geographic perspective help explain why geographic study and research is important as we confront many 21st century challenges, including environmental pollution, poverty, hunger, and ethnic or political conflict.

Because the study of geography is so broad, the discipline is typically divided into specialties. At the broadest level, geography is divided into physical geography, human geography, geographic techniques, and regional geography.

Physical Geography

The natural environment is the primary concern of physical geographers, although many physical geographers also look at how humans have altered natural systems. Physical geographers study Earth’s seasons, climate, atmosphere, soil, streams, landforms, and oceans. Some disciplines within physical geography include geomorphology, glaciology, pedology, hydrology, climatology, biogeography, and oceanography.

Geomorphology is the study of landforms and the processes that shape them. Geomorphologists investigate the nature and impact of wind, ice, rivers, erosion, earthquakes, volcanoes, living things, and other forces that shape and change the surface of Earth.

Glaciologists focus on Earth’s ice fields and their impact on the planet’s climate. Glaciologists document the properties and distribution of glaciers and icebergs. Data collected by glaciologists has demonstrated the retreat of Arctic and Antarctic ice in the past century.

Pedologists study soil and how it is created, changed, and classified. Soil studies are used by a variety of professions, from farmers analyzing field fertility to engineers investigating the suitability of different areas for building heavy structures.

Hydrology is the study of Earth’s water: its properties, distribution, and effects. Hydrologists are especially concerned with the movement of water as it cycles from the ocean to the atmosphere, then back to Earth’s surface. Hydrologists study the water cycle through rainfall into streams, lakes, the soil, and underground aquifers. Hydrologists provide insights that are critical to building or removing dams, designing irrigation systems, monitoring water quality, tracking drought conditions, and predicting flood risk.

Climatologists study Earth’s climate system and its impact on Earth’s surface. For example, climatologists make predictions about El Niño, a cyclical weather phenomenon of warm surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. They analyze the dramatic worldwide climate changes caused by El Niño, such as flooding in Peru, drought in Australia, and, in the United States, the oddities of heavy Texas rains or an unseasonably warm Minnesota winter.

Biogeographers study the impact of the environment on the distribution of plants and animals. For example, a biogeographer might document all the places in the world inhabited by a certain spider species, and what those places have in common.

Oceanography, a related discipline of physical geography, focuses on the creatures and environments of the world’s oceans. Observation of ocean tides and currents constituted some of the first oceanographic investigations. For example, 18th-century mariners figured out the geography of the Gulf Stream, a massive current flowing like a river through the Atlantic Ocean. The discovery and tracking of the Gulf Stream helped communications and travel between Europe and the Americas.

Today, oceanographers conduct research on the impacts of water pollution, track tsunamis, design offshore oil rigs, investigate underwater eruptions of lava, and study all types of marine organisms from toxic algae to friendly dolphins.

Human Geography

Human geography is concerned with the distribution and networks of people and cultures on Earth’s surface. A human geographer might investigate the local, regional, and global impact of rising economic powers China and India, which represent 37 percent of the world’s people. They also might look at how consumers in China and India adjust to new technology and markets, and how markets respond to such a huge consumer base.

Human geographers also study how people use and alter their environments. When, for example, people allow their animals to overgraze a region, the soil erodes and grassland is transformed into desert. The impact of overgrazing on the landscape as well as agricultural production is an area of study for human geographers.

Finally, human geographers study how political, social, and economic systems are organized across geographical space. These include governments, religious organizations, and trade partnerships. The boundaries of these groups constantly change.

The main divisions within human geography reflect a concern with different types of human activities or ways of living. Some examples of human geography include urban geography, economic geography, cultural geography, political geography, social geography, and population geography. Human geographers who study geographic patterns and processes in past times are part of the subdiscipline of historical geography. Those who study how people understand maps and geographic space belong to a subdiscipline known as behavioral geography.

Many human geographers interested in the relationship between humans and the environment work in the subdisciplines of cultural geography and political geography.

Cultural geographers study how the natural environment influences the development of human culture, such as how the climate affects the agricultural practices of a region. Political geographers study the impact of political circumstances on interactions between people and their environment, as well as environmental conflicts, such as disputes over water rights.

Some human geographers focus on the connection between human health and geography. For example, health geographers create maps that track the location and spread of specific diseases. They analyze the geographic disparities of health-care access. They are very interested in the impact of the environment on human health, especially the effects of environmental hazards such as radiation, lead poisoning, or water pollution.

Geographic Techniques

Specialists in geographic techniques study the ways in which geographic processes can be analyzed and represented using different methods and technologies. Mapmaking, or cartography, is perhaps the most basic of these. Cartography has been instrumental to geography throughout the ages.

Today, almost the entire surface of Earth has been mapped with remarkable accuracy, and much of this information is available instantly on the internet. One of the most remarkable of these websites is Google Earth, which “lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean.” In essence, anyone can be a virtual explorer from the comfort of home.

Technological developments during the past 100 years have given rise to a number of other specialties for scientists studying geographic techniques. The airplane made it possible to photograph land from above. Now, there are many satellites and other above-Earth vehicles that help geographers figure out what the surface of the planet looks like and how it is changing.

Geographers looking at what above-Earth cameras and sensors reveal are specialists in remote sensing. Pictures taken from space can be used to make maps, monitor ice melt, assess flood damage, track oil spills, predict weather, or perform endless other functions. For example, by comparing satellite photos taken from 1955 to 2007, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) discovered that the rate of coastal erosion along Alaska’s Beaufort Sea had doubled. Every year from 2002 to 2007, about 13.7 meters (45 feet) per year of coast, mostly icy permafrost, vanished into the sea.

Computerized systems that allow for precise calculations of how things are distributed and relate to one another have made the study of geographic information systems (GIS) an increasingly important specialty within geography. Geographic information systems are powerful databases that collect all types of information (maps, reports, statistics, satellite images, surveys, demographic data, and more) and link each piece of data to a geographic reference point, such as geographic coordinates. This data, called geospatial information, can be stored, analyzed, modeled, and manipulated in ways not possible before GIS computer technology existed.

The popularity and importance of GIS has given rise to a new science known as geographic information science (GISci). Geographic information scientists study patterns in nature as well as human development. They might study natural hazards, such as a fire that struck Los Angeles, California, United States, in 2008. A map posted on the internet showed the real-time spread of the fire, along with information to help people make decisions about how to evacuate quickly. GIS can also illustrate human struggles from a geographic perspective, such as the interactive online map published by the New York Times in May 2009 that showed building foreclosure rates in various regions around the New York City area.

The enormous possibilities for producing computerized maps and diagrams that can help us understand environmental and social problems have made geographic visualization an increasingly important specialty within geography. This geospatial information is in high demand by just about every institution, from government agencies monitoring water quality to entrepreneurs deciding where to locate new businesses.

Regional Geography

Regional geographers take a somewhat different approach to specialization, directing their attention to the general geographic characteristics of a region. A regional geographer might specialize in African studies, observing and documenting the people, nations, rivers, mountains, deserts, weather, trade, and other attributes of the continent. There are different ways you can define a region. You can look at climate zones, cultural regions, or political regions. Often regional geographers have a physical or human geography specialty as well as a regional specialty.

Regional geographers may also study smaller regions, such as urban areas. A regional geographer may be interested in the way a city like Shanghai, China, is growing. They would study transportation, migration, housing, and language use, as well as the human impact on elements of the natural environment, such as the Huangpu River.

Whether geography is thought of as a discipline or as a basic feature of our world, developing an understanding of the subject is important. Some grasp of geography is essential as people seek to make sense of the world and understand their place in it. Thinking geographically helps people to be aware of the connections among and between places and to see how important events are shaped by where they take place. Finally, knowing something about geography enriches people’s lives—promoting curiosity about other people and places and an appreciation of the patterns, environments, and peoples that make up the endlessly fascinating, varied planet on which we live.

Gazetteer A gazetteer is a geographic dictionary. Gazetteers, which have existed for thousands of years, usually contain some sort of map and a set of information. Some gazetteers may contain a list of capital cities or areas where a specific resource is found. Other gazetteers may contain information about the local population, such as languages spoken, money used, or religious beliefs.

Old Maps People have been making maps for thousands of years. One of the oldest known maps was found near the city of Kirkuk, Iraq. Most geographers say it dates from 2500 B.C.E. It is a palm-sized block of clay depicting an area with two hills and a stream. (Some geographers think the stream is a canal made by people for irrigation.) Geographers have identified one of the towns on the map. However, they are not sure exactly what the hand-held map represents. Ancient maps could also be quite large. A nine-foot wall painting in Catal Hyuk, Turkey, was made about 6000 B.C.E. It is a map of a busy city, complete with crowded housing and even an erupting volcano. However, some scientists believe this "map" is decorative and not an accurate representation of what was there.

Wrong-Way Corrigan The American aviator Douglas Corrigan is often nicknamed "Wrong-Way Corrigan" because of a navigational error he made on a flight in 1938. Corrigan had just piloted a very impressive flight from the U.S. cities of Long Beach, California, to New York, New York. He was scheduled to fly back to Long Beach. Instead, with the sky covered in clouds, Wrong Way Corrigan flew to Dublin, Ireland.

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Biography: A Very Short Introduction

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Biography: A Very Short Introduction looks at the origins and development of biographical writing. Why do certain people and historical events arouse so much interest? How can biographies be compared with history and works of fiction? Does a biography need to be true? Is it acceptable to omit or conceal things? Does the biographer need to personally know the subject? Must a biographer be subjective? This VSI considers the cultural and historical background of different types of biographies, looking at the factors that affect biographers and whether there are different strategies, ethics, and principles required for writing about one person compared to another.

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Biogeography: Species Distribution

Overview and History of the Study of Geography and Animal Populations

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• M.A., Geography, California State University - East Bay
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Biogeography is a branch of geography that studies the past and present distribution of the world's many animal and plant species and is usually considered to be a part of physical geography as it often relates to the examination of the physical environment and how it affected species and shaped their distribution across the world.

As such, biogeography also includes the study of the world's biomes and taxonomy—the naming of species—and has strong ties to biology, ecology, evolution studies, climatology, and soil science as they relate to animal populations and the factors that allow them to flourish in particular regions of the globe.

The field of biogeography can further be broken down into specific studies related to animal populations include historical, ecological, and conservation biogeography and include both phytogeography (the past and present distribution of plants) and zoogeography (the past and present distribution of animal species).

History of Biogeography

The study of biogeography gained popularity with the work of Alfred Russel Wallace in the mid-to-late 19th Century. Wallace, originally from England, was a naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, and biologist who first extensively studied the Amazon River and then the Malay Archipelago (the islands located between the mainland of Southeast Asia and Australia).

During his time in the Malay Archipelago, Wallace examined the flora and fauna and came up with the Wallace Line—a line that divides the distribution of animals in Indonesia into different regions according to the climates and conditions of those regions and their inhabitants' proximity to Asian and Australian wildlife. Those closer to Asia were said to be more related to Asian animals while those close to Australia were more related to the Australian animals. Because of his extensive early research, Wallace is often called the "Father of Biogeography."

Following Wallace were a number of other biogeographers who also studied the distribution of species, and most of those researchers looked at history for explanations, thus making it a descriptive field. In 1967 though, Robert MacArthur and E.O. Wilson published "The Theory of Island Biogeography." Their book changed the way biogeographers looked at species and made the study of the environmental features of that time important to understanding their spatial patterns.

As a result, island biogeography and the fragmentation of habitats caused by islands became popular fields of study as it was easier to explain plant and animal patterns on the microcosms developed on isolated islands. The study of habitat fragmentation in biogeography then led to the development of conservation biology and landscape ecology .

Historical Biography

Today, biogeography is broken into three main fields of study: historical biogeography, ecological biogeography, and conservation biogeography. Each field, however, looks at phytogeography (the past and present distribution of plants) and zoogeography (the past and present distribution of animals).

Historical biogeography is called paleobiogeography and studies the past distributions of species. It looks at their evolutionary history and things like past climate change to determine why a certain species may have developed in a particular area. For example, the historical approach would say there are more species in the tropics than at high latitudes because the tropics experienced less severe climate change during glacial periods which led to fewer extinctions and more stable populations over time.

The branch of historical biogeography is called paleobiogeography because it often includes paleogeographic ideas—most notably plate tectonics. This type of research uses fossils to show the movement of species across space via moving continental plates. Paleobiogeography also takes varying climate as a result of the physical land being in different places into account for the presence of different plants and animals.

Ecological Biogeography

Ecological biogeography looks at the current factors responsible for the distribution of plants and animals, and the most common fields of research within ecological biogeography are climatic equability, primary productivity, and habitat heterogeneity.

Climatic equability looks at the variation between daily and annual temperatures as it is harder to survive in areas with high variation between day and night and seasonal temperatures. Because of this, there are fewer species at high latitudes because more adaptations are needed to be able to survive there. In contrast, the tropics have a steadier climate with fewer variations in temperature. This means plants do not need to spend their energy on being dormant and then regenerating their leaves or flowers, they don’t need a flowering season, and they do not need to adapt to extreme hot or cold conditions.

Primary productivity looks at the evapotranspiration rates of plants. Where evapotranspiration is high and so is plant growth. Therefore, areas like the tropics that are warm and moist foster plant transpiration allowing more plants to grow there. In high latitudes, it is simply too cold for the atmosphere to hold enough water vapor to produce high rates of evapotranspiration and there are fewer plants present.

Conservation Biogeography

In recent years, scientists and nature enthusiasts alike have further expanded the field of biogeography to include conservation biogeography—the protection or restoration of nature and its flora and fauna, whose devastation is often caused by human interference in the natural cycle.

Scientists in the field of conservation biogeography study ways in which humans can help restore the natural order of plant and animal life in a region. Often times this includes reintegration of species into areas zoned for commercial and residential use by establishing public parks and nature preserves at the edges of cities.

Biogeography is important as a branch of geography that sheds light on the natural habitats around the world. It is also essential in understanding why species are in their present locations and in developing protecting the world's natural habitats.

• The 5 Themes of Geography
• Major Sub-Disciplines of Geography
• What Is Physical Geography?
• What Is the Wallace Line?
• A Geographic Overview of the Bering Strait
• Population Geography
• A Geography and Overview of Earth's Arctic Region
• The Link Between Biomes and Climate
• The Geography of Oceania
• Regional Geography Overview
• Biography of Carl O. Sauer
• Medical Geography
• Geography Definition
• Mexico’s Geographic Potential
• The Effects of Global Warming on Wildlife
• Economic Geography Overview

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biogeography

[ bahy-oh-jee- og -r uh -fee ]

• the study of the geographical distribution of living things.

/ ˌbaɪəʊdʒɪˈɒɡrəfɪ; ˌbaɪəʊˌdʒɪəˈɡræfɪkəl /

• the branch of biology concerned with the geographical distribution of plants and animals

/ bī′ō-jē-ŏg ′ rə-fē /

• The scientific study of the geographic distribution of plant and animal life. Factors affecting distribution include the geologic history of a region, its climate and soil composition, and the presence or absence of natural barriers like deserts, oceans, and mountains. Biotic factors such as interactions among competing species, coevolutionary influences, and the reproductive and nutritional requirements of populations and species are also studied.
• ◆ A biogeographic region is a large, generally continuous division of the Earth's surface having a distinctive biotic community. Biogeographic regions are usually defined separately for floral and faunal communities and are largely restricted to the terrestrial areas of the Earth.

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Derived forms.

• ˌbioˌgeoˈgraphically , adverb
• biogeographical , adjective

Other Words From

• bio·ge·ogra·pher noun
• bi·o·ge·o·graph·ic [ bahy-oh-jee-, uh, -, graf, -ik ] , bio·geo·graphi·cal adjective
• bio·geo·graphi·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of biogeography 1

Example Sentences

The molecular tree has these colors grouped together better than the morphological tree, indicating closer agreement of the molecules to biogeography.

Hamdan studies deep sea biogeography—particularly, how shipwrecks change the biodiversity of the ocean floor.

One of Ed’s most productive collaborations was with Robert MacArthur, an ecologist with mathematical training, leading to their landmark 1967 book The Theory of Island Biogeography.

Much more important to Vavilov than the accolades was his small empire of institutes and field stations devoted to the study of the biogeography, genetics, and evolution of domesticated crops.

Bird watching triggered his lifelong pursuits of evolution and biogeography, as well as conservation.

They illustrate the phenomenon known as island biogeography.

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biogeography

Definition of biogeography

Examples of biogeography in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'biogeography.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

International Scientific Vocabulary

1884, in the meaning defined above

Dictionary Entries Near biogeography

biogeocoenosis

biogeoscience

Cite this Entry

“Biogeography.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biogeography. Accessed 22 May. 2024.

Medical Definition

Medical definition of biogeography, more from merriam-webster on biogeography.

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about biogeography

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Meaning of geography – Learner’s Dictionary

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• geographical
• geographically

(Definition of geography from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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