THE ANCIENT ORIGINS

& BASIC CONCEPTS

OF
WORLD GEOGRAPHY

DR. DUKUZUMURENYI
 I

WHAT DOES GEOGRAPHY MEAN?

WHY STUDY WORLD GEOGRAPHY?

WHAT DOES GEOGRAPHY MEAN?
GEOGRAPHIA

1. GEO- THE GREEK WORD

FOR EARTH.
2. GRAPHIA- THE GREEK
WORD FOR GRAPH.
GRAPH- A NETWORK OF
LINES CONNECTING
POINTS. A GRID SYSTEM.
 WHAT IS A GRID SYSTEM?
AGRAPH WHICH ALLOWS THE
LOCATION OF A POINT ON A
MAP OR ON THE EARTH’S
SURFACE TO BE DESCRIBED IN
A WAY THAT IS MEANINGFUL
AND UNIVERSALY
UNDERSTOOD.
GRID SYSTEM
 WHAT IS WORLD GEOGRAPHY?
THE SCIENCE THAT STUDIES-
THE AREAL DIFFERENTIATION
OF THE EARTH’S SURFACE.
[AREAL DIFFERENTIATION-
DIFFERENCES ON THE EARTH’S
SURFACE.]
 TYPES OF DIFFERENCES ON THE
EARTH’S SURFACE
1.CHARACTER: VARIOUS
APPEARANCES. DIFFERENT
PLACES LOOK DIFFERENT.
SAHARA DESERT

AMAZON RAIN
FOREST
 TYPES OF DIFFERENCES ON THE
EARTH’S SURFACE
2.ARRANGEMENT: PATTERN.
DIFFERENT PLACES ARE
ORGANIZED DIFFERENTLY.

NICARAGUAN VILLAGE
MALI VILLAGE
 TYPES OF DIFFERENCES ON THE
EARTH’S SURFACE
3.INTERRELATIONS:
CONNECTIONS. DIFFERENT
PLACES HAVE DIFFERENT TYPES
OF INTERACTION.

FALLUJAH, IRAQ
GHANA MARKET
ELEMENTS OF WORLD GEOGRAPHY
1. CLIMATE: WEATHER
CONDITIONS OF A REGION.
2. ELEVATION: THE ALTITUDE
OR HEIGHT OF A PLACE.

TORNADO MT. KILIMANJARO

ELEMENTS OF WORLD GEOGRAPHY
3. SOIL: DISINTEGRATED
[BROKEN DOWN] ROCK AND
HUMUS [ORGANIC MATERIAL-
DEAD ANIMALS & PLANTS].
4. VEGETATION: PLANT LIFE.

5. POPULATION: NUMBER OF

PEOPLE IN A PLACE.
ELEMENTS OF WORLD GEOGRAPHY
6.INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS: PROTECT
THE INTERESTS OF MEMBER
NATIONS. EXAMPLES: UNITED
NATIONS [UN]; AFRICAN UNION
[AU]; ORGANIZATION OF
PETROLEUM EXPORTING
COUNTRIES [OPEC].
ELEMENTS OF WORLD GEOGRAPHY
7.POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS:
NATIONS OF THE WORLD.
EXAMPLE: UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA; THE PEOPLES
REPUBLIC OF CHINA; FEDERAL
REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA; GREAT
SOCIALIST PEOPLES LIBYAN
ARAB JAMAHIRIYA.
 II

WHY STUDY WORLD GEOGRAPHY?

 PREPARES YOU TO PARTICIPATE IN
SOCIETY.
 Itallows you to obtain a range of learning
experiences and skills which make you
highly attractive to a wide range of future
employers. The skills practiced in
geography are used by many
professionals: urban and regional
planners, resource managers, attorneys,
legislators, business and political
leaders, architects, marketing consultants
and engineers. It is an ideal stepping
stone to a wide range of careers.
 IT IS A BROAD DIVERSE SUBJECT
THAT ENCOMPASSES A WIDE
ARRAY OF KNOWLEDGE.
 Geography is a broad flexible subject,
which may be classified as an art,
science or social science. Geography,
as a discipline, is as diverse as the
problems facing our planet. From saving
a forest to planning a downtown
development project, geographers are
there.
 STUDYING GEOGRAPHY PROMOTES
ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY.
 Education is the most effective means that
society possesses for confronting the
challenges of the future. In order to address
the environmental challenges society is
currently faced with, people are needed who
can think broadly and understand the
systems, connections, and patterns of the
physical and cultural world. We desperately
need people equipped with the analytical
skills necessary to rebuild neighborhoods,
towns, and communities.
STUDYING GEOGRAPHY EXPANDS
OUR KNOWLEDGE OF OUR PLANET.
 Studying Geography can take you to
distant lands and cultures. You can
develop the skills that will help you
recognize and make sense of the
patterns, distributions, and interactions
between living things and their
environment. Geographers often study
places by experiencing them first-hand.
They use cutting edge technology to
study the landscapes and patterns that
define who we are and what we do.
 III
THE ANCIENT ORIGINS OF
WORLD GEOGRAPHY
 ANCIENT ORIGINS

THE GREEKS
WROTE THAT THE
WORLD’S OLDEST
RACE OF MEN
DEVELOPED ALL
OF THE SCIENCES,
INCLUDING
GEOGRAPHY. HERODOTUS
484 B.C. - 432 B.C.
 ANCIENT ORIGINS

THE DEVELOPERS OF
GEOGRAPHY WERE THE
BLACK MEN AND WOMEN OF
CLASSICAL KEMET [EGYPT] &
TA-SETI [NUBIA: THE SUDAN]
 ANCIENT ORIGINS

THE PRIESTS OF CLASSICAL

KEMET USED GEOGRAPHY TO
ALIGN THE GREAT PYRAMIDS
WITH TRUE NORTH.
 ANCIENT ORIGINS

THE PRIESTS OF KEMET SHOWED

THE GREEKS HOW TO MEASURE
THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF THE
EARTH, USING LATITUDE AND
LONGITUDE.
ANCIENT ORIGINS
THE GREEK LIBRARIAN
ERASTOSTHENES [275
BC - 193 BC] WAS THE
FIRST GREEK TO LEARN
OF THE AFRICAN
METHOD FOR
MEASURING THE
EARTH’S
CIRCUMFERENCE.
ANCIENT ORIGINS
EARTH CIRCUMFERENCE FORMULA
A/360 = D/C
WHERE,

A = SHADOW ANGLE
360 = DEGREES IN CIRCLE
D = DISTANCE FROM
EQUATOR.
C = CIRCUMFERENCE
 ANCIENT ORIGINS
PIRI REIS MAP - MADE IN
CONSTANTINOPLE IN 1513 BY
ADMIRAL PIRI IBN HAJI
MEHMED.
 SHOWS ANTARTICA FREE OF
ICE. EUROPEANS DID KNOW
ABOUT ANTARTICA UNTIL 1818
AND THE INTERIOR OF
ANTARTICA UNTIL 1958.
 ADMIRAL PIRI REIS MAP
THE MAP GIVES EXACT
INFORMATION ABOUT THE
WESTERN COAST OF AFRICA,
EASTERN COAST OF SOUTH
AMERICA AND NORTHERN
COAST OF ANTARTICA.
IT IS BASED ON MUCH OLDER
MAPS.
ADMIRAL PIRI REIS MAP
 IV
BASIC CONCEPTS OF
WORLD GEOGRAPHY
 1.
FIVE THEMES OF WORLD
GEOGRAPHY
 LOCATION
RELATIVELOCATION
ABSOLUTE LOCATION
 PLACE
HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
 HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL
INTERACTIONS
HUMANS ADAPT TO THE
ENVIORNMENT.
HUMANS MODIFY THE
ENVIRONMENT.
HUMANS DEPEND ON THE
ENVIRONMENT.
 MOVEMENT
PEOPLE

GOODS

IDEAS
 REGIONS

FORMAL REGION: ONE

ESSENTIAL UNIFORMITY IN
ONE OR A LIMITED NUMBER
OF RELATED PHYSICAL OR
CULTURAL FEATURES.
 REGIONS
[CONTINUED]
FUNCTIONAL REGIONS: A
SPATIAL SYSTEM, WHOSE
PARTS ARE
INTERCONNECTED. HAS A
CORE AREA SURROUNDED BY
TOTAL SUBORDINATE AREAS.
VERNACULAR [PERCEPTUAL]
 REGIONS
[CONTINUED]
REALM: THE LARGEST LOGICAL
REGIONS INTO WHICH
GEOGRPAHERS DIVIDE THE
WORLD. DEFINED IN TERMS OF
A COMPOSITE OF ITS LEADING
CULTURAL, ECONOMIC,
HISTORICAL, POLITICAL AND
APPROPRIATE ENVIRONMENTAL
FEATURES.
 GEOGRAPHY REALMS
NORTH AFRICA
SOUTHWEST ASIA

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

SOUTHEAST ASIA

PACIFIC REALM

NORTH AMERICA
 GEOGRAPHY REALMS
[CONTINUED]
CENTRAL AMERICA
SOUTH AMERICA

EUROPE

RUSSIA

EAST ASIA

SOUTH ASIA

AUSTRAILIA
 2.
GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVES
 SPATIAL
WHERE THINGS ARE.

THINGS EXIST IN SPACE.

 THINGS CREATE SPATIAL

PATTERNS, WHICH ARE
PATTERNS IN THE SPACES
INHABITED BY HUMANS, OR A
SPATIAL SYSTEM.
 ECOLOGY
RELATIONSHIPSAMONG
LIFE FORMS AND
PHYSICAL ELEMENTS.
 HISTORICAL
WHEN AND WHY
SOMETHING HAPPENED
AT A PARTICULAR TIME.
 ECONOMIC
HOW SOCIETIES
PRODUCE AND
EXCHANGE RESOURCES
TO MEET THE NEEDS OF
ITS PEOPLE.
 CULTURAL
HOWA PARTICULAR
ETHNIC GROUP/RACE
VIEWS REALITY.
 3.
BRANCHES OF WORLD
GEOGRAPHY
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
THESTUDY OF THE EARTH’S
ENVIRONMENT: PROPERTIES
OF LAND, WATER, AIR,
PLANTS AND ANIMALS, THEIR
DISTRIBUTION AND
INTERRELATIONS.
 CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
THERELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN PEOPLE AND
THEIR ENVIRONMENT.
ANALYZES THE SPATIAL
VARIATIONS OF MATERIAL
TRAITS, SUCH AS HOUSE
TYPES AND SPIRITUAL
SYSTEMS.
 POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY
POLITICALLY ORGANIZED
AREAS [NATIONS OR
STATES], THEIR RESOURCES
AN EXTENT, AND THE
REASONS FOR THE
GEOGRAPHICAL FORMS
WHICH THEY ASSUME.
 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
AKA ANTHROPOGEOGRAPHY.
ANTHROPO: MAN
[ANTHROPOLOGY: THE STUDY
OF MAN]
DEALS WITH MAN IN HIS
GEOGRAPHIC ASPECTS, SUCH
AS HIS LOCATION, REGION,
ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION,
MOVEMENT, SOCIETY.
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY

USES THE FIVE THEMES

TO STUDY THE
GEOGRAPHY OF THE
PAST.
 URBAN GEOGRAPHY
STUDY OF THE PROBLEMS
ASSOCIATED WITH CITIES,
AND TOWNS AND THE
GROWTH ASSOCIATED WITH
URBANIZATION, WHICH IS THE
GROWTH OF CITIES AS A
RESULT OF RURAL
MIGRATIONS TO CITIES.
 CARTOGRAPHY
THESCIENCE OF THE
CONSTRUCTION (MAKING) OF
MAPS USING MATHEMATICS,
STATISTICS AND
COMPUTERS.
 4.
RELATED FIELDS OF STUDY
 GEOMETRY
GEOMETRIA: LAND MEASURER
DEALS WITH THE DEDUCTION OF
THE PROPERTIES, MEASURMENT
AND RELATIONSHIP OF POINTS,
LINES, ANGLES AND FIGURES IN
SPACE FROM THEIR DEFINING
CONDITIONALS BY MEANS OF
CERTAIN ASSUMED PROPERTIES
OF SPACE.
 GEODESY
GEODAISIA: EARTH DIVISION.
DEALS WITH MEASUREMENT OF
THE SHAPE OF AN AREA AND
DISTANCES BETWEEN LARGE
TRACTS OF LAND, THE EXACT
POSITION OF GEOGRAPHICAL
POINTS, AND THE CURVATURE,
SHAPE AND DIMENSION OF THE
EARTH.
 5.
CONCEPTS
 SCALE
TELLS THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THE SIZE OF AN
AREA ON A MAP AND THE
ACTUAL SIZE OF THE
MAPPED AREA ON THE
EARTH’S SURFACE.
 SPATIAL INTERACTION
COLLABORATIONBETWEEN
PLACES OCCURING IN
STRUCTURED AND
COMPREHENSIBLE WAYS.
 SPATIAL INTERACTION
[CONTINUED]
AFFECTED BY:
DISTANCE:
LINEAR DISTANCE
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE
TIME DISTANCE.
 SPATIAL INTERACTION
[CONTINUED]
DISTANCEDECAY:
DECREASE IN INTERACTION
AS DISTANCE INCREASES.
 SPATIAL INTERACTION
[CONTINUED]
ACCESSIBILITY: HOW
DIFFICULT OR EASY IS IT TO
OVERCOME TIME OR SPACE
SEPARATION.
 SPATIAL INTERACTION
[CONTINUED]
CONNECTIVITY: ALL THE
TANGIBLE AND
INTANGIBLE WAYS
PLACES ARE CONNECTED.
 SPATIAL DIFFUSION
THEPROCESS OF
DISPERSION OF A THING
OR IDEA.
 SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONS
THE BASIS OF REGIONS. THEY
ARE THE TERRITORIAL
OCCURRENCE OF
ENVIRONMENTAL, HUMAN, OR
ORGANIZATIONAL FEATURES
SELECTED FOR STUDY.