Physical Geography

Physical Geography is a broad field encompassing several specialized areas:

(i) Geomorphology: This area focuses on studying landforms, including their formation, evolution, and related processes.

(ii) Climatology: Climatology involves the study of the Earth’s atmosphere, including its structure, weather patterns, climate types, and regional variations.

(iii) Hydrology: Hydrology examines the distribution and movement of water over the Earth’s surface, including oceans, lakes, rivers, and other water bodies. It also explores the impact of water on various life forms, including humans, and their activities.

(iv) Soil Geography: Soil Geography is dedicated to understanding the processes of soil formation, the different types of soils, their fertility levels, distribution patterns, and utilization in various human activities.

Class 11 Geography: Branches of Geography (Based on Systematic Approach): The two major approaches to studying geography are the systematic and regional approaches. The systematic approach, pioneered by Alexander Von Humboldt, involves studying phenomena worldwide and identifying typologies or spatial patterns. On the other hand, the regional approach, developed by Karl Ritter, divides the world into regions at different hierarchical levels and studies all geographical phenomena within a particular region.

Dualism is a characteristic of geography, reflecting the emphasis placed on either physical or human geography. While early scholars focused on physical geography, it became apparent that humans are an integral part of the Earth’s surface and have contributed significantly through cultural development. Thus, human geography emerged, emphasizing human activities alongside the study of nature.

In this article, we will delve deep into the topic of “Branches of Geography (Based on Systematic Approach)” from the NCERT Class 12 Geography Book. These notes are specially curated by an expert team at w3wiki for all the students.