Geography has many branches and covers many fields. The branches of geography are :
1. Physiography
2. Economic geography
3. Human geography
4. Cartography
5. Mathmatical geography
A brief description of these branches given below :
Physiography
Under this branch of geography we study relief, soil and structure of the earth. It is divided into the following branches :
(a) Geomorphology : In this branch we study the earths structure, the rocks, mountains, plains and their evolution.
(b) Geology : It is the branch of geography in which we study rocks and underground phenomena.
(c) Glacilogy : It deals with the study of glaciers.
(d) Seismology : It is the study of earthquakes and the internal structure of the earth.
(e) Hydrology : It deals with the study of water resources such as rivers, lakes, floods, water table, underground water etc.
(f) Oceanography : It is the study of the seas, ocean, tides, waves and the ocean floor.
(g) Climatology : It deals with the causes and distribution of temperature and winds, rainfall and runoff, weather and climate.
(h) Pedology : It is the study of soil science. Soil which is the result of complex physical and chemical reactions of parent rock material needs the support of other sciences like chemistry, geology and biology.
(i) Biogeography : It deals with the studies of distribution of flora (plant) and fauna (animal) in different parts of the world.
(j) Paleography : It is the study of physical geography in the past geological ages. It studies the distribution of land and sea through successive geological times.
Economic Geography
It deals with the study of the production and distribution of raw materials in a country. It also deals with international trade. In this branch we also study problems of labour and location of industries. The study of agriculture and livestock also comes under economic geography.
Human Geography
This branch deals with the human evolution and its different races. In this branch of geography we study physical environment and human ability to make the best use of natural resources. It has the following branches :
(a) Anthrogeography : In this branch we study the distribution of human communities on the earth with respect to environment.
(b) Demography : It deals with different aspects of population like birth rate, death rate and age composition. It also deals with the sex composition.
(c) Settlement geography : It deals with the study of human settlements and their growth.
(d) Agricultral geography : It deals with the farms and farming systems.
(e) Urban geography : It deals with the location, interaction and movement of human population. It also deals with land use patterns.
(f) Political geography : It deals with the study of governments, states and countries. Political idealogies are also studied in this branch.
Cartography
It is the branch of geography which deals with the art of drawing maps and charts.
Mathematical Geography
It is related to the making of maps, their interpretation and analysis of geographical statistical data.
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