Why is geography known as the spatial science

The key question facing most sciences is "how" and thus focus on the process whereby something comes about regardless of time or place. Geography is described as a spatial science because it focuses is on "where" things are and why they occur there. Geographers seek to answer all or more than one of four basic questions when studying our environment.

These relate to location, place, spatial pattern, and spatial interaction. Let's look at how a physical geographer answers these questions about a desert. Figure 1. Location: Location is defined as "the position in space" of something.

Latitude and longitude is a convenient way to locate something's position. This defines the Sonoran Desert's absolute location. We can also define the Sonoran Desert in relation to a known location, called its relative location. A geographer may want to know how the Sonoran Desert compares to the Sahara desert.

Translate PDF. Geography: The Spatial Science "Geography is the only subject that asks you to look at the world and try to make sense of it. The field never stops being exciting because that's what geography is all about - trying to make sense of the world.

What if? Studying geography is a key to understanding the world. It broadens the mind and it just helps us to understand how other countries are the way they are, and this is really very important in just helping us to realize that we all share the same planet and we should know more about what makes us different as well as what makes us similar. Field trips are very important…I looked at books, I looked at maps, I looked at atlases, I enjoyed that, but the thing that inspired me most of all was being taken from the school into the local area to look at nature.

But, mere names of places It has higher aims than this: it seeks — to classify phenomena, to compare, to generalize, to ascend from effects to causes, and in doing so, to trace out the laws of nature and to mark their influences upon man.

Hence, Geography is a Science—a thing not of mere names but of argument and reason, of cause and effect William Hughes, National Research Council says: geography has a well-developed set of perspectives: 1.

Geography is the science of place and space. Geographers ask where things are located on the surface of the earth, why they are located where they are, how places differ from one another, and how people interact with the environment. Geography is unique in linking the social sciences and natural sciences together.

Some researchers are environmental geographers, part of an emerging field that studies the spatial aspects and cultural perceptions of the natural environment.

Environmental geography requires an understanding of both physical and human geography, as well as an understanding of how humans conceptualize their environment and the physical landscape. The physical landscape is the term used to describe the natural terrain at any one place on the planet. Many states and national parks in the United States attempt to preserve unique physical landscapes for the public to enjoy, such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon.

Human geographers examine the spatial distribution of human populations, religions, languages, ethnicities, political systems, economics, urban dynamics, and other components of human activity. They study patterns of interaction between human cultures and various environments and focus on the causes and consequences of human settlement and distribution over the landscape. While the economic and cultural aspects of humanity are the primary focus of human geography, these aspects cannot be understood without describing the landscape on which economic and cultural activities occur.

For example, the urban cultural landscape of a city may include buildings, streets, signs, parking lots, or vehicles, while the rural cultural landscape may consist of fields, orchards, fences, barns, or farmsteads.

Cultural forces unique to a given place — such as religion, language, ethnicity, customs, or heritage — influence the cultural landscape of that place at a given time. The colors, sizes, and shapes of the cultural landscape usually symbolize some level of significance regarding societal norms.

Spatial dynamics assist in identifying and evaluating cultural differences between places. World regional geography studies various world regions as they compare with the rest of the world.

Factors for comparison include both the physical and the cultural landscape. The main questions are, Who lives there? What are their lives like? What do they do for a living? Physical factors of significance can include location, climate type, and terrain. Human factors include cultural traditions, ethnicity, language, religion, economics, and politics. Spatial studies can play an essential role in regional geography.