The 14 Branches Of Geography: What They Are And What They Study
Geography is a science that studies the phenomena that occur on the Earth’s surface, including geographical features, ethnic groups, economic activities associated with the land and the distribution of living species.
There are many branches of geography and all of them can be included in different groups Below we will see the main branches of this discipline, in addition to learning what they do and what their main objects of study are.
Geography is a science that is responsible for studying the phenomena that occur on the earth’s surface Within its general conception, this discipline analyzes the environments, spaces and inhabitants of the Earth and their interactions, which is why we can find within its field of study geographical features, rivers, mountains, landscapes, countries, societies, ethnic distribution… .
Since there are many things that geography can study, it is subdivided into several branches which can be grouped into different groups. Furthermore, being a discipline that touches on so many different aspects, it has an integrative nature, drawing on knowledge and methods from other fields such as biology, geology, history, chemistry, sociology…
As we have mentioned, there are several branches of geography. Are They can be grouped according to their field of study and, below, we present several geographical branches classified into three main groups : physical geography, biological geography and human geography.
Physical geography
physical geography includes any branch of geography that focuses its field of study on the physical surface of the earth That is, within physical geography there is any discipline that addresses the natural geographic space and the factors that condition it. The branches within it are intended to explain the Earth in its physical constitution, form and natural accidents.
1. Geomorphology
Geomorphology was a branch originally developed by geographers and therefore within their discipline. Nowadays It is considered a science that is halfway between geography and geology and which is responsible for studying the shapes of the Earth’s surface. Investigate the topographic forms that make up the earth’s landscape, such as mountains, valleys, plateaus, hills…
Hydrography studies the waters of the earth’s surface, such as rivers, lakes, oceans and seas It is also responsible for studying phenomena associated with the flow of water, such as sediments, the formation of rivers, tidal waves, swamps… This science is very important since 70% of the earth’s surface is water.
3. Glaciology
glaciology studies the different forms that water has in a solid state in nature Although solid water is commonly known as ice, that is not its only form of presentation. Solid water also comes in the form of snow, blizzard, glaciers, hail… Glaciology studies both current natural solid water and that of past eras and geological age.
4. Climatology
Climatology is responsible for studying the atmospheric states of a region Its object of study is the phenomena that occur when a part of the atmosphere comes into contact with a part of the Earth’s surface. This field of knowledge obtains information from meteorological data and relying on other branches of physical geography.
5. Soil science
The soil science studies the nature and properties of soil from various points of view taking into account the morphology, composition, formation, evolution, classification, conservation, recovery and distribution of the land.
biological geography
Biological geography is comprised of several branches, all of them responsible for studying the associations between living beings with the different existing terrestrial environments That is, it is responsible for studying how plants, animals and other organisms interact and are conditioned by the Earth’s surface. The most notable are the following two:
6. Phytogeography
Phytogeography is responsible for analyzing the relationship that exists between different plant species and the terrestrial environment It studies the habitat of plants and also groups them according to their genetic relationship and adaptability to the geographical environment. This discipline is what allows us to know in which latitudes we are most likely to find one type or another of vegetation.
Zoogeography is very similar to phytogeography, only instead of focusing on plants it focuses on animals. It is responsible for studying the geographical distribution of animal species on the Earth’s surface and what factors have influenced their dispersion such as migrations, adaptations and intra- and interspecies competitions.
Human geography
Human geography studies the causes and effects that have influenced the formation and distribution of human groups on the earth’s surface It is also responsible for investigating what role geographical conditions play on human beings and how people and the environment have influenced each other, adapting to the environment or destroying it.
8. Geography of the population
Population geography is a discipline that is responsible for studying human geography in its entirety He studies aspects of human populations such as their composition, distribution, growth and migratory movements, viewing the existence of human groups as a dynamic phenomenon.
9. Urban geography
urban geography deals with studying the elements and spaces that make up cities This branch tries to analyze and search for the relationships that occur within an urban center. It also studies how cities grow both spatially and demographically, what changes are incorporated into a city to make it more beneficial for its inhabitants and the distribution of streets, neighborhoods, parks, commercial areas…
10. Rural geography
Rural geography is responsible for analyzing How rural spaces are made up and how this conditions economic activities that are carried out in them. Thus, this branch of geography takes into consideration the agricultural, livestock and commercial uses that are given to the land.
It also addresses possible technical problems that influence production, how agriculture can harm or be respectful of the environment, changes in rural towns and how this influences the personality and culture of its inhabitants.
cultural geography studies the phenomena and processes that occur within human groups each with its cultural characteristics such as identity, language, traditions, customs and worldview.
Originally this branch was more oriented towards the relationships between human beings and the environment in which they lived, but with the passage of time its perspective has changed and now economic and social factors are also taken into account.
12. Political geography
Political geography studies and interprets the relationships that may exist between the territory and the State as well as the growth of a country or changes in its territorial domain. Thus, within this branch we find aspects such as borders, diplomacy between states, strategic invasions, geographical changes of a country during its history…
13. Economic geography
As its name suggests, economic geography focuses on economic aspects. Study how the combination of natural and spatial factors influences the economic activities of a population group or specific region. In addition, it takes into account aspects such as supply and demand relationships taking a geographical perspective, that is, analyzing the relationships between consumers and producers in a specific area.
14. Regional geography
Regional geography focuses on the study of a specific region of the Earth , that is, it delves into the geographical characteristics of a clearly delimited territory. Due to this, regional geography is, in addition to human, biological, physical, cultural, economic and other characteristics since it is actually a hybrid branch of all of the previously mentioned. It could be considered to be the application of general geography but limited to a specific piece of the Earth’s crust.
