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Geography as a Discipline Book PDF Free Download
Chapter 1: Geography as a Discipline
You have studied geography as one of the components of your Social Science course upto the secondary stage. You are already aware of some of the phenomena of geographical nature in the world and its different parts. Now, you will study ‘Geography’ as an independent subject and learn about the physical environment of the earth, human activities and their interactive relationships.
Therefore, a pertinent question you can ask at this stage is — Why should we study geography? We live on the surface of the earth. Our lives are affected by our surroundings in many ways. We depend on the resources to sustain ourselves in the surrounding areas. Primitive societies subsisted on ‘natural means of subsistence’, i.e. edible plants and animals. With the passage of time, we developed technologies and started producing our food using natural resources such as land, soil and water.
We adjusted our food habits and clothing according to the prevailing weather conditions. There are variations in the natural resource base, technological development, adaptation with and modification of physical environment, social organisations and cultural development. As a student of geography, you should be curious to know about all the phenomena which vary over space.
You learn about the diverse lands and people. You should also be interested in understanding the changes which have taken place over time. Geography equips you to appreciate diversity and investigate into the causes responsible for creating such variations over time and space. You will develop skills to understand the globe converted into maps and have a visual sense of the earth’s surface.
The understanding and the skills obtained in modern scientific techniques such as GIS and computer cartography equip you to meaningfully contribute to the national endeavour for development. Now the next question which you may like to ask is — What is geography? You know that earth is our home. It is also the home of many other creatures, big and small, which live on the earth and sustain. The earth’s surface is not uniform. It has variations in its physical features.
There are mountains, hills, valleys, plains, plateaus, oceans, lakes, deserts and wilderness. There are variations in its social and cultural features too. There are villages, cities, roads, railways, ports, markets and many other elements created by human beings across the entire period of their cultural development. This variation provides a clue to the understanding of the relationship between the physical environment and social/cultural features.
The physical environment has provided the stage, on which human societies enacted the drama of their creative skills with the tools and techniques which they invented and evolved in the process of their cultural development.
Now, you should be able to attempt the answer of the question posed earlier as to “What is geography”? In very simple words, it can be said that geography is the description of the earth. The term geography was first coined by Eratosthenese, a Greek scholar (276-194 BC.). The word has been derived from two roots from Greek language geo (earth) and graphos (description).
| Author | NCERT |
| Language | English |
| No. of Pages | 12 |
| PDF Size | 1.4 MB |
| Category | Geography |
| Source/Credits | ncert.nic.in |
NCERT Solutions Class 11 History Chapter 1 Geography as a Discipline
Question 1.
What is the importance of Physical Geography?
Answer:
Physical geography includes study of Lithosphere, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere and Biosphere. Each element is very important for human beings. Landforms provide base for agriculture, industries, transport and communication, and settlements. Mountains provide water to rivers, forests-center for tourist spots. Climate influences on the cropping pattern, livestock, food and clothes of the people. Climate and precipitation influence the type of forests. Oceans provide food, water transport, and influence the climate; they are the source of hydrological cycle.
Each element of physical environment is important for human beings. Landforms provide the base on which human activities are located. The plains are utilised for agriculture. Plateaus provide forests and minerals. Mountains provide pastures, forests, tourist spots and are sources of rivers providing water to lowlands. Climate influences our house types, clothing and food habits.
The study of physical geography is emerging as a discipline of evaluating and managing natural resources. In order to achieve this objective, it is essential to understand the intricate relationship between physical environment and human beings. Physical environment provides resources, and human beings utilise these resources and ensure their economic and cultural development. Accelerated pace of resource utilisation with the help of modern technology has created ecological imbalance in the world. Therefore, abetter understanding of physical environment is essential in study of Geography.
Question 2.
Physical and human factors both are dynamic not static. Explain.
Answer:
The geographical phenomena, both the physical and human, are not static but highly dynamic. They change over times as a result of the interactive processes between ever changing earth and untiring and ever-active human beings.
1. Primitive human societies were directly dependent on their immediate environment. Human beings have come to terms with nature through adaptation and modification.
2. The present society has passed the stage of primitive .societies, which were directly dependent on their immediate physical environment for sustenance. Present societies have modified their natural environment by inventing and using technology and thus, have expanded the horizon of their operation by appropriate utilisation of the resources provided by nature.
3. With the gradual development of technology, human beings were able to loosen the shackles of their physical environment. Technology helped in reducing the harshness of labour, increased labour efficiency and provided leisure to human beings to attend to the higher needs of life. It also increased the scale of production and the mobility of labour. The interaction between the physical environment and human beings has put their imprints everywhere and created new possibilities in collaboration with nature. Thus, we find humanised nature and naturalised human beings and geography studies this interactive relationship.
4. The space got organised with the help of the means of transportation and communication network. The links (routes) and nodes (settlements of all types and hierarchies) integrated the space and gradually, it got organised.
5. It takes note of the associations and interrelationships between the phenomena over space and interprets them providing explanations for these patterns. It also takes note of the associations and inter-relationships between the phenomena resulting from the dynamic interaction between human beings and their physical environment.
Question 3.
Explain different branches of Physical geography.
Answer:
It has four sub-branches which are as fallows:
- Geomorphology: It is concerned with the study of landforms, their evolution and related processes.
- Climatology: It is concerned with the study of structure of atmosphere and elements of weather and climates and climatic types and regions.
- Hydrology: It studies the realm of water over the surface of the earth including oceans, lakes, rivers and other water bodies and its effect on different life forms including human life and their activities.
- Soil Geography: It is concerned with the study of the processes of soil formation, soil types, their fertility status, distribution and use.
Geography as a Discipline Book PDF Free Download