GEOG101: World Regional Geography

As a human geographer, Dorling uses maps to show cultural landscapes and the landscapes humans have altered or created, such as trade routes, light pollution, and where rice, maize, and corn grow.

A physical geographer, on the other hand, considers the physical landscape. They would look at Dorling's annual precipitation map to see if a pattern exists among the physical features. For example, they would see if the location of mountain ranges, the distance from the coast, the pattern of ocean currents, or other physical factors might explain why annual precipitation differs from place to place. Like human geographers, physical geographers study and compare places, but they focus on non-human elements, such as rivers, landforms, climate, and plants.

Below is a summary of some more specializations within the subdisciplines of human and physical geography. Note that the categories of human and physical geography often overlap. Some specializations span both disciplines. For example, a hazard geographer studies the physical aspects of certain phenomena (such as earthquakes or wildfires) in addition to efforts to mitigate their effect on humans. Figure 1.7 shows specializations within geography that share aspects of human and physical geography. Note that this figure does not include every specialization within geography – there are lots more!