Geography is the science that studies and describes the shape of the Earth, or the distribution and arrangement of elements on the earth's surface; the term comes from the Greek words Geo (land) and graphe (description). The geographical study includes both the physical environment and the relationship of human beings with that physical environment. But what is geography for ? Well, this serves to analyze all the phenomena that arise on the earth's surface.
In other words, it describes geographical features such as climate, soils, landforms, water or plant formations, together with the elements that human geography studies, such as population entities, different cultures, networks communication and other modifications made by man in the physical environment.
This implies the need for a detailed analysis in which other sciences and disciplines contribute valuable data. All of this raises the fact that geography is not an isolated science, but is linked to geology, astronomy, history, political economy, and natural sciences.
What is geography
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Geography is one of the oldest known sciences. The answer to what does geography mean? is that, etymologically it means "description of the earth", geography is responsible for the study of the spatial distribution of all natural or human phenomena on the surface of the terrestrial globe. For this science, not only everything related to the earth's surface is important, it also studies the population that inhabits it and its adaptation in different types of spaces.
To study geography, different geographical methods are used: data collection, annotation of the results of the studies in the form of charts, graphs, texts, especially on maps, and finally, the analysis of said information.
History of geography
Geography was elevated to the category of science by the Greeks. The great traveler Herodotus of the 5th century BC was the first to present a map of the world with the names of the peoples that inhabited it. Along with this descriptive geography continued by Strabo, mathematical geography would emerge, the work of mathematicians and astronomers such as Eratosthenes and Ptolemy that led to the development of cartography. In the Middle Ages, Arab geographers were those who contributed to the expansion of knowledge of the earth's surface.
During the Renaissance the progress of geography accelerated thanks to the great geographical discoveries, thus the sixteenth century was the great age of world maps and atlases. But geographical science did not reach its maturity until the 19th century thanks to the work of famous figures such as Humboldt, Ritter and Reclus.
In the 20th century, the growing interest in human geography has motivated the development of specialized disciplines in the different problems that affect man and his environment: urban geography, rural or agrarian geography, industrial geography, among others.
Importance of the study of geography
The study is one of the main tools through which man can form his intellectuality, through it he can nurture his knowledge and create cultured people without ignorance.
The importance of geography and its study has a great educational value, since through it awareness is formed about the geographical reality of the population. Populations with geographic awareness, have a reflective knowledge of their country and using their experience, identify and participate in solving their own problems. People who know Mexico and its problems become active agents who act to solve them, that is, active agents of national development.
All the analyzes or studies that are carried out in any country in the world, be they economic or political, require prior knowledge of the national reality, that reflective and real knowledge is given by geography as a science of the geographical space that is inhabited.
Currently the planet is going through serious situations caused mainly by low water levels, global pollution, among other aspects that affect world populations, for this reason geography teachers must take actions and focus their classes on these issues as important and at the same time so serious for all of us who inhabit the planet.
What is general geography
General geography is the science whose main objective is to study the planet earth from a physical or social point of view. He generally concentrates his research on studying the factors that describe or affect the earth's surface. In addition, it is a system of sciences called geographical science system, whose characteristic is to have its own object of study, laws, category system and research methods, its own concepts and particular works.
When the question arises, what does geography study ? General geography studies the human and physical elements of the Earth on an individual basis. For its study it is divided into branches: physical geography (it studies the shape and structure of the earth's surface, it is subdivided into geomorphology, climatology, and terrestrial and maritime hydrography); Biological geography (studies the manifestations of animal and plant life), and human geography (investigates man and his spatial distribution, his productive activity and his territorial organization, it is subdivided into demographic geography, economic geography, social, rural and urban geography, political geography and historical geography)
Branches of general geography
General geography presents a set of diverse types of sub-disciplines configured around its own object, with strong links with their respective auxiliary sciences and with different degrees of communication between them. It is a study of a multitude of specific sciences that are related to each other by the object of study, our planet, especially the concepts and processes that occur on the surface of the earth.
The branches of geography arise due to the wide field of study that this science has, since as previously indicated, it studies the spaces, environments and inhabitants of the earth and their interactions.
Physical geography
To the question, what is physical geography ? It is the branch of geography that is responsible for the study of the living and non-living elements of the planet, that is, the natural phenomena that occur on earth. This explains everything concerning the planet earth, both in its form and in its physical constitution and natural accidents and that due to its extensive research work is divided into the following sub-disciplines:
Climatology
It is responsible for analyzing the atmospheric state that occurs in a certain place and in a habitual way. Basically the phenomena that occur in the connection between the earth's surface and the atmosphere. This is based on the study of meteorology, but also with the support of other branches of physical geography.
Geomorphology
Geomorphology is responsible for the study of the irregular and topographic shapes found in the crust of the earth's surface, such as mountains, plateaus, hills, valleys, plains, among others.
This branch was initially developed by geographers, although at present it occupies a place between geology and geography since both are used, for these reasons it is considered a branch of both disciplines.
Hydrography
Hydrography is a discipline of geography that focuses on the study of the waters of the earth's surface, that is, river, marine and continental or lake waters. Marine waters include seas and oceans and river waters are lagoons, lakes, streams, streams, aquifers, and wetlands.
With regard to continental waters, this discipline is dedicated to studying specific characteristics such as the basin, flow, sedimentation and the riverbed. Together these waters cover approximately 70% of the planet.
Glaciology
This discipline is responsible for the study of the diversity of forms that water acquires in a solid state in nature, among these forms are glaciers, ice, snow, sleet, hail, etc. It deals with all phenomena of this type, whether current or geological age that may occur in nature.
Edaphology
This one is in charge of the analysis of the nature and the properties of the soil from all its aspects. That is, from the point of view of morphology, its formation, its composition, evolution, utility, conservation, taxonomy, recovery and distribution. Despite the fact that this discipline has its origin in geology, it is considered an auxiliary branch of geography. This is because its main objective is to compare the different types of soils and their close relationship with the field of study of geography.
Human geography
Human geography is considered the second great division of geography and studies human societies from a spatial perspective, that is, it studies the population from its structures and activities, whatever they are, social, economic, political and cultural. This extends to the way this population relates to nature.
This discipline is responsible for the realization of maps and objective description of the areas where populations or industries are located, its main objective is to find the origin and reason for the development of certain structures and human activities in a specific place.
Previously, the main methods of human geography were observation and data entry, followed by careful description and mapping, as well as analyzing minor details that are still important. At the time when spatial analysis was the main trend, empirical tests of deductive theory were included.
Among the methods used were statistical analysis and model construction. Currently, the methods include obtaining primary data, through questionnaires, interviews and participation techniques, and the analysis of the data obtained, using qualitative and quantitative techniques.
Human geography includes text analysis and radical geography in empirical research, using statistics and other sources. The recent appearance of spatial analysis is carrying out a detailed study of data such as censuses, market studies or postal codes, using specialized computer programs, such as Geographic Information Systems, which allow modeling.
In the division of human geography the following branches stand out:
Population geography
This discipline deals with the study of demographic phenomena, tries to explain this phenomenon and its dynamics. It is a comprehensive study of human geography, this discipline has increased its importance today, especially since its subject is centered on a dynamic human, and according to demography it has been shown that this area deserves more attention from governments, since the population is growing continuously, this endangers the balance of resources necessary for its development and warrants further studies and debates.
This discipline should not be confused with demography, although they are very similar, demography dedicates its studies to the relationships of nature with the behavior of the population.
Economic geography
The definition of economic geography indicates that it is a discipline that is responsible for the study of the location, distribution and organization in space, of the economic activities of people.
This field is fed by the knowledge provided by sociology, political science, history, economics and other sciences. These studies are carried out by economic geographers, who focus on how economic activities are distributed in space, what type of activities are practiced in each country or region and in what way they are carried out, for this they use mathematical models such as:
- Development of the phenomena of industrialization and globalization.
- How economic activities affect the environment.
- The development of agglomeration economies.
- Trends in national or international trade.
- The communications and transportation.
- The economies of specific groups, as well as those of ethnic groups.
Cultural geography
This branch of human geography is responsible for the study of the elements and phenomena that occur on earth by the people who inhabit it. The object of study of Cultural Geography are landscapes, whose analysis and interpretation is as interesting as it is complex. The landscape bears the stamp of the societies that lived in the past and those that do so in the present, it is also a historical totalizer. It is evident from the use and advance of the technique and scientific development, to the religious and social manifestations, as well as the political ideas and aspirations of the groups that inhabit it, their social fractures and their level of social and democratic maturity.
Urban geography
This discipline studies the city, covering a variety of topics such as the positioning of industrial centers and their development points, the dynamism of internal spaces such as neighborhoods, streets, parks and commercial areas, in addition to their demographic evolution. His work is highly related to different disciplines of a similar field of focus. Among the most notable examples we can highlight urban sociology, urban anthropology and urban planning.
However, the main difference between these disciplines and urban geography is the focus of urban areas. The urban geographer considers a city as a complete and practical system, therefore, he will evaluate the different variables, functions and structures that allow the flow of said system.
Rural geography
This branch of human geography analyzes and explains rural spaces in their diversity on a world scale, these spaces are shaped according to their uses such as agricultural, commercial and livestock. It is in charge of the rural study according to the economy of a nation, the distribution of the population, the displacement of the population, migration, environmental and cultural problems, as well as technical production problems that may arise.
Medical geography
The meaning of medical geography is a discipline that deals with the study of the effects of the environment on people's health and the geographical distribution of diseases, including the study of environmental factors that influence their spread. The object of study of medical geography is the human being, his community and society, the study of health regions and mutual relationships between the individual, the natural environment, vectors that transmit diseases, risk factors to deteriorate health of the population and the infrastructure and care conditions in the health services of a community.
Concepts associated with the fields of epidemiology (the science that studies disease) and medical geography are relatively poorly understood and widespread in the humanities and natural sciences.
Auxiliary sciences of geography
The auxiliary sciences of geography, also called auxiliary disciplines, have a link with it since, in addition to helping you through your practice, their applications contribute to the development of your area of study. With the incorporation of methods, theories and procedures in his area of study, he allows new perspectives with an enrichment and opening of novel lines of study, as is the case of geopolitics, which is nothing more than the incorporation of political knowledge and political science in the field of geography.
Some of these sciences are: astronomy, technical drawing, history, botany, zoology, geology, demography, petroleum engineering, speleology, thalassology, economics, agrostology, eology, political science, aeronautical engineering, etc.
What is regional geography
The concept of regional geography is a discipline that is responsible for the study of geographic complexes, the definition of this geography is divided since some specialists and authors believe that this branch is responsible for the study of geographic complexes such as landscapes, territories, the regions that make up the earth, while some geographers and academic specialists consider that the regional term is indeterminate, since all geography is responsible for studying and describing the thousands of regions that make up the planet.
Due to the aforementioned, the study of regional geography is closely linked to the description of the various types of regions, including human regions, (conditioned only to human activities), natural regions (conditioned to abiotic and biotic elements) and landscape regions (conditional on the structure of the land surface)
From a global point of view, geography can be divided into regional and general. Regional geography studies the various areas of the earth and focuses, above all, on the unique and particular combinations of human and physical traits that characterize each region and the differences between them.
Geography of Mexico
Mexico is a country located in the south of North America, this territory is very varied thanks to its geographical location and its geology. It is one of the most populated Spanish-speaking countries and its limits are to the north with the United States, to the south with Central America (Guatemala and Belize), to the east with the Gulf of Mexico and to the west with the Pacific Ocean.
In its territorial sea there are a large number of islands, including the Revillagigedo group or archipelagos which are: Clarion, Socorro, Roca Partida and San Benedicto. Also the Marías Islands, in the Pacific; those of Ciudad del Carmen, Mujeres, Cozumel and the Alacranes reef in the Atlantic basin; those of Guadalupe, Angel de la Guarda, Cedros, Coronado, Roca Alijo, Isla del Carmen, in front of the Baja California peninsula and the Sonora Coast. All of these add up to an area of 5,127.
The territorial area and international limits of this country are:
- Continental surface: 1,959,248 Km2.
- Territorial surface: 1,964,375 Km2.
- Island area: 5,127 Km2.
- International limits of its continental territory: 4,301 km.
- United States: 3,152 km2.
- Belize: 193 Km2.
- Guatemala: 956 Km2.
- Length of the coastline: 11,122 km2.
Relief
Mexico is a territory of great instability between the Pacific, Caribbean and Cocos plates, for this reason earthquakes are very frequent and it has a number of active volcanoes.
This is characterized by having a plateau relief. An altiplano is a very high plateau located between two or more mountain ranges developed at different times, this territory bears the name of the Mexican Plateau, and is surrounded by the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Sierra Madre Occidental.
The Mexican relief is formed by the Sierra Madre Occidental, which is the longest and widest, consists of 1200 kilometers of territory and extends 300 kilometers. This mountain range is the continuation of the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At the end are the Mexican plains, the Sea of Cortez and the California peninsula
The heart of Mexico is located on the Anáhuac plateau, known as the most populated area in the country. This plateau represents the meeting point between the plateau, the neovolcanic axis and the Eastern Sierra. It is in this territory where Mexico City is located.
On the other hand, the pockets predominate in the northern sector, where the relief is much flatter. A pocket is a kind of circular basin that does not allow the water to escape.
The Mexican plateau covers thirteen states of the country: Chihuahua, Durango, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, Coahuila Jalisco, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Federal District, Querétaro, Hidalgo and Mexico. The plateau is divided into the Center table and the South table.
The central mesa, or plateau of Anáhuac, makes up the south of the Mexican Plateau. This plateau exceeds the northern table in height, and is considered an area with high volcanic activity. It is a populated area and has abundant rainfall.
Hydrography
Mexico's relief of huge mountain ranges very close to the coasts and endorheic basins, called pockets, makes the rivers generally short. 1,471 hydrographic basins are delimited, which present great disparity in their size. Almost 55% of these basins are smaller than 50 km2 and occupy less than 1% of the national territory. The largest basins are Río Bravo, Nazas and Balsas and the smallest are Escondido, Punta Puerto, Boca la Luz and Caleta al Pando.
There are three types of hydrographic basins that are: the endorheic basins which discharge their water to a continental body of water such as a pocket or lake, the exorheic basins, their waters flow into the sea and the arreicas basins, these do not discharge their waters anymore that it evaporates or seeps into the ground.
This country faces a serious problem when it comes to the distribution of drinking water. This is because most of it comes from groundwater through rainfall, this region has been severely affected by deforestation, it produces soil erosion and directly affects the absorption of the liquid thanks to surface runoff.
Climate and Vegetation
From the deserts of Sonora, to the humid jungles of Chiapas, through the high mountains of the center of the country, Mexico has almost contradictory climates. The example of the state of Chihuahua is remarkable, where the lowest temperatures in the country occur, which can reach -30 ºC, and the highest temperatures in the Sonoran desert, which can exceed 45 ºC.
In general, the north of the country, especially the region downwind of the Sierra Madre Occidental, is a type of desert. These dry climates extend through the Altiplano to the center of the country, but here it gets much colder due to the altitude.
In most of the country, however, low rainfall is normal. In the temperate zone of the Altiplano it rains an average of 635 mm per year. The coldest area, high mountains, has indexes of 460 mm. Meanwhile, the semi-desert north of the Altiplano barely reaches 254 mm of annual precipitation.
Mexico has a very varied flora. In this country you will find a rich and different ecosystem, plateau forests, jungles, volcanoes, deserts, lakes and biosphere reserves, as well as coastal regions. In total there are more than 25,000 different flower species. Sometimes characteristic vegetation dominates a specific area.
For example, the virgin tropical forest and jungle of the south, the savannas of the north, the cactus areas of Baja California and the typical brambles in any photo of Yucatan. The best known in Mexico are cacti, and with good reason. In the Mexican territory there are 4,000 of the 6,000 known cactus species.
Population
Mexico is a country with a population of 103 million inhabitants, it is one of the countries that has experienced, throughout the 20th century, one of the largest natural or vegetative growths. At present its growth rate oscillates around 2% per year.
The majority of its population lives in the central strip of the territory, around a quarter of Mexican citizens live in the urban agglomeration of Mexico City, which with almost 20 million inhabitants, is one of the most important urban phenomena on the planet.
This demographic imbalance is caused by the annual migration of more than 200,000 people who go from the countryside to the city in search of better living and working conditions. Other important cities are Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla León, Acapulco, Tijuana and Mexicali.
Economy
Mexico recovered effectively from the economic crisis that hit Latin America in the 1990s. What it could not avoid was the terrible crisis of 1994 that led to poverty for at least 50% of the population. Despite the macroeconomic figures, there is still a big difference between rich and poor.
The southern states, the less populated and the rural population have very high poverty rates. These obvious differences cause some populations to have subsistence agriculture with the most modern plantations and industrial crafts with the most advanced technology.
This nation is among the 15 largest economies in the world and is the second largest economy in Latin America. It depends largely on the United States, its largest trading partner and the destination of 80% of its exports.
Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2018 was moderate at 2.2%; Economic growth was driven by domestic demand, strong household consumption, and higher investments compared to 2018, especially through the rebuilding of areas of Mexico City after the strong earthquakes of 2017.
Mexico's public deficit stood at 2.6% in 2018 and is expected to remain at identical levels during 2019 and 2020. Gross public debt decreased slightly from 54.3% to 53.8% in 2018; Similar levels are expected for 2019 and 2020. International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates increased from 6% to 4.8% in 2018, while the 2019 rate is expected to be 3.6% and the 2020 rate is 3%..
Geography books
The authors of the school books used in the 19th century point out that it signifies geography and the importance of teaching, highlighting its utilitarian character. The most repeated idea at that time was to know the dimensions, wealth and location of the soil of his country, as highlighted by Eduardo Noriega in his geography book entitled "Geography of the Mexican Republic" in 1898.
Books or texts not only indicate or transmit knowledge, but also social values and a better understanding of the history and geography of the world.
The Ministry of Education of the Government of Mexico has a web portal where there is a catalog of free books available to students in this country. In this matter there are excellent geography covers that are very easy to consult. It also has the Institute of Geography, which is in charge of carrying out research that contributes to the understanding and solution of the nation's problems.
There are other methods for teaching geography, among them you can name geography games, on the web there are sites that help you learn and put into practice knowledge about this subject, for example Seterra - Geography games // online. seterra.com/es/ where the dynamics is to locate countries, rivers, seas, etc, it also has a range of geography images and the best of all is that it can be played in 35 languages, being very fun and dynamic.
World Geography Atlas
Atlas of geography of the world is a collection of maps organized in a systematic way and of various types, containing different topics such as physical geography, in addition to the socioeconomic, political and religious situation of specific territories, that is, the world geography represented on a map.
