Geography and Environment · Classes 9-10 · Chapter 1

Branches of Geography.

Hills wear down into plains, sea water is salty, and a shop at a crossroads slowly grows into a town. All of it is geography, but not all of it belongs to one branch. Which topic belongs to which branch is what exams ask most.

1. The two main branches

Geography has two main branches: Physical Geography and Human Geography. Physical Geography is the branch that deals with the natural features of the earth, the home of human beings.

Physical Geography deals with water, air, animals and the land, everything that is part of the four spheres: atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. The Bangla book lists its subjects as landforms and how they form, the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and climate. Tap a row to check.

2. Five physical branches

Geomorphology studies the landforms of the planet, from their development to their disappearance through erosion and other processes. Climatology looks at the distribution of long-term weather patterns and the activities of the earth's atmosphere.

Biogeography studies the distribution of plants and animals on or near the surface of the earth. Soil geography studies the upper layer of the lithosphere, the soil of the earth, its categories and the pattern of its distribution.

About three fourths of the earth is water, so the sea gets a branch of its own. Oceanography discusses transport and communication among continents across the ocean, the rise and fall of the ocean surface and floor, the chemical quality and salinity of sea water, and the management of ocean resources.

3. Eight human branches

Human geography is a major branch of geography that studies people, their interaction with the earth, and how they organise space on the earth's surface. The Bangla book puts it as the search for how and why people live as they do in different environments.

Economic Geography deals with the economic activities people undertake to live and cope with nature and the natural environment. These include farming, animal rearing, collecting forest and mineral resources, and running trade and commerce.

Population Geography focuses on population, the trend of its growth, its causes and effects, and its influence on social and economic life. Regional Geography studies region by region: the distinctive physiography, climate, vegetation, animals, population and lifestyle.

Political Geography deals with political evolution, political division and boundary, and the geographical issues within a boundary. Quantitative Geography uses quantitative techniques and models to test a hypothesis, and these methods are often used in many other branches.

Transport Geography studies both government and non-government transport systems and the movement of people and goods from one place to another. Urban Geography deals with the origin, evolution, classification and environment of cities and towns, their different areas, and the slums of a city. Disaster management focuses on how to reduce loss during disasters and how to protect the environment and the oceans from them. The Bangla book says resources where the English book says oceans.

There is one real trick to telling branches apart: look at what is being studied. Here is one stretch of coast and two pairs of eyes. Switch eyes, then pick a branch and see which part of the picture is its own.

4. Where the chart puts each branch

In the book's chart, Physical Geography branches into Biogeography, Climatology, Geomorphology, Soil Geography, Oceanography and Zoo Geography. Human Geography branches into Economic, Population, Political, Regional, Social, Quantitative, Transport, Urban and Medical Geography, Disaster Management and the Geographical Information System. Open the branches and look.

Now sort the chips into two boxes, the way the chart places them.

Now the other way round: read a situation and name the branch. Pick the right one and the book's one-line definition appears.

Now a fictional story. Mr. Naeem fills a low plot at a four-road crossing, builds a shop on it, and puts up a house behind. Tap the three parts and see what people are doing here.

The branch is human geography. Now say which processes are at work in what Mr. Naeem did.

However many parts you cut geography into, environment is tied into every one of them. That is why geography and environment are now taught together, and the natural and the social environment carry equal importance.

5. Check yourself

The first question is in the exam's style.

In the second, name the branch.

In the last, think which branch the topic belongs to.

The whole note on seven cards.

Source: Geography and Environment, Classes 9-10 (NCTB), Chapter 1 “Geography and Environment”, the “Branches of Geography” part.