List of basic geography topics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For a more comprehensive list, see the List of geography topics.

Geography is the study of the Earth and its features and of the distribution of life on the earth, including human life and the effects of human activity. Geography research addresses both the questions of where, as well as why, geographical phenomena occur. Basic topics in geography include:

Contents 1 Nature of geography 2 Branches of geography 2.1 Sub-fields of physical geography 2.2 Sub-fields of human geography 2.3 Geographic multi-disciplinary fields 3 History of geography 4 Earth's spheres 5 Geographical features 5.1 The Continents 5.2 Natural geographical features (landforms) 5.3 Manmade geographical features 6 Basic geography concepts 7 Influential geographers 8 Geography lists 9 See also

[edit] Nature of geography

Main articles: Earth and Geography

[edit] Branches of geography

Geography is divided into 2 main branches: physical geography and human geography. Each of these branches is divided into a number of subfields:

[edit] Sub-fields of physical geography

Main article: Physical geography

Fields of physical geography	Focal subjects
Biogeography	Species
Climatology	Climate
Coastal/Marine studies	Coasts
Environmental geography	Environmental science
Geodesy	Gravity, Magnetic field
Geomorphology	Landforms
Hydrology	Water cycle, Water resources
Glaciology	Glacier
Oceanography	Ocean, Sea
Limnology	Lake, Pond, River
Landscape ecology	Nitrogen cycle
Palaeogeography	Continental drift
Pedology	Soil

[edit] Sub-fields of human geography

Main article: Human geography

Fields of human geography	Focal subjects
Behavioral geography
Children's geographies
Cultural geography
Economic geography
Environmental geography
Feminist geography
Development geography
Health geography
Historical geography
Military geography
Political geography, including Geopolitics
Population geography or Demography
Regional geography
Social geography
Strategic geography
Transportation geography
Time geography
Tourism geography
Urban geography

[edit] Geographic multi-disciplinary fields

• Cartography
• Ethnography
• Geographic information systems (GIS)
• Geostatistics

[edit] History of geography

Main article: History of geography

[edit] Earth's spheres

Main article: Earth Spheres

Atmosphere Biosphere Hydrosphere

Lithosphere Anthrosphere Cryosphere (Sometimes included in the hydrosphere)

Geosphere Pedosphere (Soil)

[edit] Geographical features

[edit] The Continents

Main article: Continent

Africa Antarctica

Australia Eurasia

North America South America

[edit] Natural geographical features (landforms)

Main article: Landform

Bay Badlands Bluff Canyon Cape Cave Channel Cliff Coast Continent Coral reef Cove Crater Cuesta Dale Dell Delta Desert Escarpment Estuary Fen Fjord Foothills Forest Geyser

Glacier Glen Gulf Gully Grassland Gully Highland Hill Hoodoo (geology) Inlet Island Knoll Lagoon Lake Landform Marsh Mesa Mountain Mountain pass Mountain range Ocean Plain Plateau Pond Prairie

Peninsula Reef Ravine Ridge River Sandbar Savanna Sea Sound Source (river or stream) Spring (hydrosphere) Steppe Strait Stream Swamp Tide pool Tundra Vale Valley Vernal pool Volcano Waterfall Watershed Waterway Wetland

[edit] Manmade geographical features

Airport Aqueduct Bridge Canal City Country Dam Farm

Highway Megalopolis Nation National park Nature reserve Orchard Park Pipeline

Ranch Reservoir Road Tunnel Tree farm Viaduct Wildlife reserve

[edit] Basic geography concepts

Climate Demographics Geography

Great Plains Landform (see below) Map

Population density Population explosion

[edit] Influential geographers

Main article: List of geographers

[edit] Geography lists

Main article: Lists of geography topics

Geography of present-day nations and states List of city listings by country Lists by country Lists of country-related topics

Lists of counties Lists of countries Lists of lakes Lists of mountains

Lists of place names Lists of places Lists of rivers

[edit] See also

List resources
Basic topic lists • Topic lists • Reference tables • Countries • People • Timelines