Study Map

Geography Resources

The original Greek word from which we get the word "geography" means "earth writing" or "description of the earth." Basically, geography studies the world.

A geographer's most important tool is the map, which is a two-dimensional picture of a place or of the whole world.

In a geography class at school, you might look at a lot of maps and memorize the places on them. You might think that geography is all about remembering the names and locations of places, but that's not true! Geographers, like detectives, ask questions about what they find. They want to not only know "what" and "where" but also "how" and "why" about places.

Geography helps us better understand things that happen every day. For example, in ancient times, people believed that giant creatures moving under the earth caused earthquakes. Thanks to geography, we now know that the movement of pieces of Earth's crust and mantle, called tectonic plates, and not underground monsters, is what creates earthquakes.

In addition to studying places and the environment, geography looks at how these things affect people and how people affect them. You can think of geography as one broad field with two main sub-fields: physical geography, which focuses on natural land forms and processes; and human geography, which focuses on how humans interact with the physical geography.

By studying geography, you learn about the interaction between people and the environment and the impact your everyday decisions have on your community. It is a worthwhile study for anyone at all curious about their world.

Geography Basics

Maps

Physical Features

Natural Processes

Human-Environment Interaction

Fun and Games