γεωγραφία "earth description" from γῆ "earth" + γράφω write, describe)

Object of study of geography- laws and patterns of placement and interaction of the components of the geographic environment and their combinations on different levels. The complexity of the object of study and the breadth of the subject area led to the differentiation of a single geography into a number of specialized (branch) scientific disciplines that form the system of geographical sciences. Within its framework, natural (physico-geographical) and (socio-economic) geographical sciences are distinguished. Sometimes geographic cartography is singled out separately as a separate geographical discipline.

Geography is one of ancient sciences. Many of its foundations were laid in the Hellenic era. The outstanding geographer Claudius Ptolemy summarized this experience in the 1st century AD. e. The heyday of the Western geographical tradition falls on the Renaissance, which is marked by a rethinking of the achievements of the late Hellenistic era and significant achievements in cartography, which are usually associated with the name of Gerhard Mercator. The foundations of modern academic geography in the 1st half of the 19th century were laid by Alexander Humboldt and Karl Ritter.

history of geography[ | ]

Geography of the Ancient East

In the second millennium BC. e. in ancient Egypt, expeditions were equipped to the center of Africa, along the Mediterranean and Red Seas. The resettlement of peoples, wars and trade expanded people's knowledge of the surrounding spaces, developed the skills of orienting in the Sun, Moon and stars. The dependence of agriculture and cattle breeding on river floods and other periodic natural phenomena determined the appearance of the calendar.

In the III-II millennium BC. e. representatives of the Harappan civilization (on the territory of modern Pakistan) discovered the monsoons. Geography elements contain sacred ancient Indian books. In the Vedas, an entire chapter is devoted to cosmology. In the "Mahabharata" you can find a list of oceans, mountains, rivers. Already in the IX-VIII centuries BC. e. in ancient China, when choosing a place to build a fortress, they made maps of suitable sites. In the III century BC. e. there are works entirely devoted to geography, a compass and a device for measuring distance, the "Regional Atlas" of China.

Antique mediterranean geography

World map made by Ptolemy

We also heard about a round map, a contemporary of Hecateus, executed on copper and depicting the sea, land and rivers. From the evidence of Herodotus and Aristotle, we can conclude that on ancient maps inhabited earth also depicted as round and surrounded by the ocean; from the west, from the Pillars of Hercules, the middle of the ecumene was cut through by the inner (Mediterranean) sea, to which the eastern inland sea approached from the eastern margin, and both of these seas served to separate the southern semicircle of the Earth from the northern one. Round flat maps were in use in Greece back in the time of Aristotle and later, when the sphericity of the Earth was already recognized by almost all philosophers.

The era of expeditions

Alexander von Humboldt, 1806

AT XVII-XVIII centuries the search for new lands and routes was carried out on a state scale. Great importance acquired fixation, mapping and generalization of acquired knowledge. Search southern mainland ended with the discovery of Australia (Janszon) and Oceania. Three round the world expeditions committed by James Cook, discovering Hawaii and the Great Barrier Reef. Russian pioneers advanced to Siberia to the Far East.

Subject and methods of geography[ | ]

Satellite image of the Earth

Earth Height Map

Map as a basis geographical research

“All geographical research comes from the map and comes to the map, it begins with the map and ends with the map” (N. N. Baransky). Despite the introduction of new methods in geography, cartographic method is one of the most important in research. This is due to the fact that the map is the most perfect way transmission of spatial information. The modeling method in geography, geoinformation and remote methods are based on the cartographic method.

Geographical picture of the world and geographical culture

Geographical culture is most often understood as the culture of geography as a science. culture geographical knowledge both geographers and the public. In the works " Geographic culture"and" The geographical picture of the world "V. P. Maksakovskiy considers these interrelated concepts from the position modern geography. It includes the following components in geographical culture: 1) geographical picture of the world, 2) geographical thinking, 3) methods of geography, 4) language of geography. There is a gap between popular and scientific geographic culture, as society is mainly faced with descriptive geography and has no idea about the language and methods of modern geography.

Personalities [ | ]

Scientists who have made a significant contribution to the development of geography as a science [ ] :

Alexander von Humboldt, 1847

Carl Ritter

Travelers who have made significant discoveries (excluding travel scientists):

• Vasco da Gama
• Christopher Columbus
• Ivan Fyodorovich Kruzenshtern
• Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev
• Afanasy Nikitin
• Marco Polo
• Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky
• and others.

When I graduated from school, the exam had not yet been invented. Now I often hear that the tests are very difficult, and I decided to test myself by looking at the list of approximate topics and assignments in geography. That's what came out of it.

Ocean Science

I got into the section of geographical sciences. The first question concerned the science that studies the processes taking place in the World Ocean. I knew that its name was oceanology. This science covers so many points in this area that it was divided into more highly specialized ones:

1. Chemical Oceanology.
2. Physical.
3. Technical.
4. Interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere.
5. Marine.
6. Trade.

Soils for buildings

The behavior of soils intended for structures and their interaction with the elements of the technosphere is studied engineering geology. There are three sections-components in its structure: engineering geodynamics, soil science and regional engineering geology.

Climate and relief of the Earth

Climatic conditions globe, patterns of climate formation and their placement on the planet are studied by the science of climatology.

The relief, the nature of the surface, the history of development and the origin of landforms, the patterns of their distribution are studied by geomorphology. In this science, relief levels are studied in detail: elements, forms and complexes.

Earth's crust

Composition, structure, nature of the surface, as well as patterns of development earth's crust of our planet are included in the circle of interests of the science of geology. It covers many individual sciences which have their own specific objects of study and use their own research methods. Examples of these sciences are tectonics, volcanology, mineralogy, paleontology, and even the aforementioned engineering geology.

Population and the influence of the specifics of the territory on its health

Science, whose attention is focused on the population of the Earth, the patterns of distribution and reproduction, on its migration, number, composition, is called demography.

The influence of the characteristics of the geographical environment on people's health, the order of the spread of diseases is studied by medical geography.

Geography is a very unusual science that arose not in the silence of temples and monasteries and not in the dungeons of ancient laboratories. It appeared in antiquity, in the thick of life. And it was created not by priests, not by monks and not by scientists, but by those who, for one reason or another, set off on their journey - sailors and merchants, diplomats and missionaries, warriors and naturalists. It was they who paved paths into the unknown, describing the lands they encountered.

Translated from Greek, "geography" means "description of the earth", and in this word there is an answer to the question of what geography studies. It arose from a pressing need. The rulers wanted to know how their countries and other states were arranged, the merchants needed to explore new trade routes, and sailors tried to find new sea routes. That is why the first geographers were people of rather unusual professions that were completely far from science.

Years and centuries passed, and in geography, as in every science, specialization appeared. Having completed the accumulation of material, scientists-geographers took up its analysis and synthesis, proceeded to study the patterns of development of nature. Modern physical geographers are engaged not only in describing the terrain, they study not only outside phenomena, but also delve into their essence, seek to study the relationship and understand the causes natural processes flowing in every locality.

In principle, this explains what physical geography studies. This is a science that studies the geographic shell of the Earth and its structural parts. So, for example, if we remember that the continents are part of geographical envelope, it becomes clear what the geography of the continents is studying.

As part of physical geography there are three basic science. This is geography, which studies general patterns structure and development of the geographical envelope, landscape science, which studies the territorial natural complexes, and paleogeography. In turn, these sections have their own hierarchical structure according to the types of components, processes and phenomena being studied. Thus, individual components of the geographic envelope are studied by geomorphology, climatology, meteorology, hydrology, glaciology, soil geography, and biogeography. And at the junction with other sciences, such new areas of physical geography as medical geography and engineering geography were formed.

Physical geography is closely related to other geographical sciences - cartography, regional studies, historical geography, socio-economic geography.

Modern physical geography pays special attention to the study of the structure and dynamics various systems, their origin, processes of energy and mass transfer between the components physical shell Earth, circulation of substances and energy flows, development forecast.

The methods that physical geographers use in their research are varied. This and traditional methods, such as expeditionary descriptive, comparative geographical, cartographic and descriptive. But scientists also came to the aid of methods based on the achievements of other sciences - mathematical, geophysical, geochemical.

Geography(from Greek. geo and grapho - I write), science (a system of natural and social sciences), studying the structure, functioning and evolution, interaction and distribution in space-time of its individual parts - natural and natural-social geosystems and components, in order to scientific justification territorial organization society, distribution of population and production, effective use natural resources, geographic forecast, preservation of the human environment, creation of the foundations of a strategy for an environmentally safe sustainable (balanced) development of society.

System of geographical sciences

Modern geography is a system of sciences in which natural (physical-geographical), social (socio-geographical and economic-geographical) sciences, applied geographical sciences and sciences of an integral nature are distinguished.

Physical geography includes complex sciences about the geographical shell as a whole - geography (general physical geography), landscape science (regional physical geography), paleogeography (evolutionary geography). In the process of the long development of geography, private sciences have been formed about the components of the geographical shell - topography, geomorphology, geocryology, climatology and meteorology, hydrology (with subdivision into land hydrology, oceanology), glaciology, soil geography, biogeography.

Socio-economic geography includes complex sciences - social geography and economic geography, geography of the world economy, regional socio-economic geography, political geography. Private sciences: geography of industry, geography Agriculture, transport geography, population geography, service sector geography, behavioral geography, etc.

The integral geographic sciences include cartography, regional studies, historical geography, ocean geography. The development of geography led to the formation of applied geographical sciences - medical geography, recreational geography, military geography, land reclamation geography, etc. They perform a connecting function between geography and other scientific disciplines. The unity of geography is due to the natural-historical unity of the object of study; the commonality of the methods used; substantive complementarity in solving territorial problems. Fundamental difference two branches of geography - essentially natural and public laws and patterns. The language of geographical science includes a map, concepts and terms, facts, figures, dates, geographical names; geographic representations(images).

What do geographic research methods include?

• general scientific (mathematical, historical, ecological, modeling, system, etc.);
• specific scientific (geochemical, geophysical, paleogeographic, technical and economic, economic and statistical, sociological, etc.);
• working methods and methods for obtaining information (field observations, remote, including aerospace;
• laboratory, for example physical and chemical analysis substances, spore-pollen analysis, questioning; samples, etc.);
• empirical and theoretical generalization information (indicative, estimated, analogues, classifications, etc.);
• storage and processing of information (including on electronic media).

Academician K.K. Markov identified end-to-end methods (directions) in geography: comparative geographical (descriptive), cartographic, evolutionary-historical (paleogeographic), mathematical (geoinformation), geophysical and geochemical. At the origins of comparative geographical method stood the ancient Greek scientists Herodotus and Strabo. For formation and development comparative method Much has been done in physical geography by A. Humboldt. The term cartography appeared in the Renaissance, but the cartographic method is organically connected with the birth of geography. The development of the method is associated with the names of G. Mercator, S.U. Remezova, A.A. Tillo, Yu.M. Shokalsky, K.A. Salishcheva, A.M. Berlyant.

The purpose of the evolutionary-historical (paleogeographic) direction is to establish the patterns of development of natural and anthropogenic landscapes. The paleogeographic direction was developed by I.P. Gerasimov, K.K. Markov, A.A. Velichko, P.A. Kaplin.

origins mathematical geography belong to the times of Thales of Miletus and Eratosthenes. Until the beginning of the 20th century, this concept was invested with a different meaning than today. The area of ​​interest of mathematical geography as part of physical geography included the study of the shape and size of the Earth, the systematization of information about its movement, and the solution of astronomical and geodetic problems. Development of modern mathematical methods began in the 1950s and 1960s. in the USSR, USA, Sweden. Introduction of mathematical methods in geography ( probability theory, one-dimensional and multidimensional statistical, multidimensional parametric and non-parametric, fractal, cluster, spectral mathematical analyzes etc.) is associated with the names of D.L. Armand, L.N. Vasilyeva, A.S. Viktorova, Yu.G. Puzachenko, S.N. Serbenyuk, Yu.G. Simonova and others.

Geochemical method for studying landscapes, which allows studying the distribution, processes of migration and concentration chemical elements and their compounds is implemented in the framework of landscape geochemistry, originated in the 30-40s of the 20th century. The main principles were formulated by Academician B.B. Polynov and his students - M.A. Glazovskaya, A.I. Perelman and developed by V.V. Dobrovolsky, S. Kasimov, V.A. Snytko and others.

The formation and development of the geophysical method is associated with the names of A.I. Voeikova, A.A. Grigorieva, M.I. Budyko. (D.L. Armand, N.L. Beruchashvli, K.N. Dyakonov) has been developing since the 60s of the 20th century. thanks to stationary complex physical and geographical research. The essence of the method is the construction of balance models of matter and energy natural landscapes, the study of transformation solar energy along food chains.

Milestones of development

Reliable geographical. information has come down to us from 4-3 millennium BC. and refer to Babylon, Egypt and Ancient China. isolated hearth highly developed civilization formed in northeast China. The geographical outlook of the Chinese was quite wide: from the Japanese Islands to modern Vietnam and the Tibetan Plateau. The Chinese knew the properties of a magnetic needle, they made cards from wooden clichés.

The ancient Mediterranean civilization is characterized by fundamental achievements in geography. The initial attempts at a natural scientific explanation of geographical phenomena belong to the ancient Greek philosophers of the Milesian and Ionian schools - Thales of Miletus and Anaximander. Aristotle introduced the idea of ​​the sphericity of the Earth and laid the foundations for the differentiation of the geographical sciences. Eratosthenes quite accurately determined the circumference of the globe, formulated the concepts of "parallels" and "meridians", introduced the term "Geography". The ideas of latitudinal zonality were formulated by Posidonius, who singled out 13 geographical zones(corresponding modern classification). The ancestor of evolutionary geography and regional studies is Strabo, who summarized regional knowledge in geography in 17 volumes; K. Ptolemy in the "Guide to Geography" laid the foundation for building a map of the Earth. The creation of a transformative (reclamation) direction in geography is associated with the construction of canals, roads, water pipelines, etc.

In the Middle Ages, the Arab scientists and encyclopedists Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Biruni, and the travelers Ibn Batutta and Idrisi played a significant role in the development of geography. The great European traveler was Marco Polo. The Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin walked the Caspian, Black and Arabian seas, having reached the shores of India, he described the nature, life and life of the population of this country. In the Middle Ages, the idea of ​​the sphericity of the Earth was rejected. In the 15th century, when the works of ancient geographers were translated, this idea began to revive.

Age of the Greats geographical discoveries expanded horizons scientific thinking and approved the idea of ​​the integrity of the world and the unity of the oceans. Cartography is characterized by two outstanding achievements: the creation of a cylindrical conformal projection, a handwritten atlas - the pinnacle of Russian cartography "The Big Drawing of the entire State of Moscow", ca. 1600) (1598?) and updated in 1627, and compiling a map of Mercator, which shows the real outlines of the continents and coastlines. Basics physical thinking in geography was laid by B. Varenius in "General Geography" (1650), where the object of geography was an "amphibian ball", which can be studied as a whole (now it is general geography) and by separate parts(analogous to modern country studies or local history); he divided geography into chorography, which describes large territories, and topography, which studies small territories; as well as I. Newton in "The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" (1687).

A significant contribution to the development of the methodology of geography was made by V.N. Tatishchev. In his work “On Geography in General and on Russian Geography”, he divided geography into: universal, or general, covering the Earth or its large parts; special, or private, describing different countries; topography, or predescription, illuminating parts of the country and individual cities. Tatishchev also divided geography “according to qualities” into mathematical (astronomical and geodetic direction), physical and political. He assigned to physical geography the study of the territory “from place to place”, natural “contents and disadvantages”, and the leading role was assigned to the climate; political geography studied the occupations of the population, cities, villages, etc.

M.V. Lomonosov in the middle of the 18th century. was the first to express the idea of ​​the role of the time factor in the development of nature and introduced the term "economic geography" into science. With the opening of the Geographical Department in 1739, the role of the Academy of Sciences in organizing a systematic geographical study Russia. At the end of the 18th century under Catherine II, a general survey of Russia was carried out, “ Economic Notes”which contained information about the size of land, land quality, land use, etc. General land surveying stimulated the development of economic geography.

The generalization of the data of field expeditions led the German naturalist A. Humboldt to develop a comparative method in geography, classify the Earth's climates, substantiate latitudinal zonality and vertical zonality; he became the ideologist of an integrated approach in geography, set the task of studying physical geography general laws and relationships earthly phenomena primarily between animate and inanimate nature. In 1845, through the efforts of F.P. Litke, K.I. Arsenyeva, K.M. Baer, ​​F.P. Wrangel, V.I. Dahl, I.F. Kruzenshtern and others in St. Petersburg, the Imperial Russian geographical society. In 1884 at Moscow University D.N. Anuchin created the first department of geography (department of geography and ethnography) and founded the school of complex physical geography. The formation of the geographical school at St. Petersburg University is connected with the ideas of V.V. Dokuchaev and A.I. Voeikov.

In 1898 V.V. Dokuchaev expressed the idea of ​​the need to oppose the “spreading in all directions geography” new science about the interaction and relationship of living and inanimate nature. In the work “Our steppes before and now” (1892), Dokuchaev outlined the main ideas and principles landscape science as an integral geographical science. The development of Dokuchaev's ideas by his followers (G.N. Vysotsky, L.S. Berg, G.F. Morozov, A.A. Borzov, L.G. Ramensky) led to the substantiation of the concept of a geographical landscape as a functional-genetic unity.

In the 2nd half of the 19th century. the ideas of geographical determinism, which asserted that geographical factors play a decisive role in the life of people, the development of peoples and countries, were widely adopted. A prominent representative of the trend was L.I. Mechnikov, author of the fundamental work Civilization and Great Historical Rivers (1889). The development of geography at the end of the 19th, beginning. 20th century associated with the names of K. Ritter, P.P. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, A.I. Voeikova, D.N. Anuchina, Vidal de la Blacha, V.V. Dokuchaeva, V.M. Davis, L.S. Berg.

The development of geography in the 20th century. determined to a large extent by tradition national schools, such as french school“Geography of Man” by Vidal de la Blasha, the Russian geographical school, later Soviet, was formed under the influence of the teachings of V.V. Dokuchaev about natural areas, IN AND. Vernadsky on the role of living matter in the formation modern biosphere Earth and its evolutionary-stage development, A.A. Grigoriev about and its dynamic processes, L.S. Berg, L.G. Ramensky, S.V. Kalesnik, N.A. Solntsev about the landscape structure of terrestrial nature, N.N. Baransky about the geographical (spatial) division of labor.

The Soviet period in the development of geography had a huge impact to the world geographic and ecological science. The Russian Electrification Plan (GOELRO) set geographers the task of studying natural resources, scientific substantiation of the creation of thermal and hydroelectric power stations, land reclamation. Special attention devoted to the development of the Northern sea ​​route and expansion of geographical research in the Arctic. Drifting constantly functioned scientific stations The joint venture, the first of which was headed by I.D. Papanin in 1937. In the 1920s and 1930s, the USSR Academy of Sciences organized large complex expeditions to study the country's productive forces. In 1937 the Great Soviet Atlas of the World was published.

More difficult was the development of socio-economic geography. In the 20-30s of the 20th century. there was a heated discussion between representatives of the sectoral-statistical and district (regional-complex) directions. The development of economic geography went in the second direction (N.N. Baransky, N.N. Kolosovsky), but the constructive provisions of the sectoral direction were in demand. After the Great Patriotic War has begun new stage development of geography. It is characterized by the formation and development of large geographical schools in academic institutions, public universities and pedagogical institutes. By the middle of the 20th century took shape modern system geographical sciences, leading geographical schools were created. Among them is the school of physical and geographical regional studies (regional complex physical geography) - N.A. Gvozdetsky, N.I. Mikhailov, F.N. Milkov, E.M. Murzaev; economic and geographical country studies - I.V. Komar, Yu.G. Saushkin and others; district economic and geographical school N.N. Baransky - N.N. Kolosovsky - I.A. Witwer; academic geophysical school A.A. Grigorieva - I.P. Gerasimov - D.L. Armand; complex (landscape) geography - A.A. Borzova - L.S Berga - N.A. Solntseva - A.G. Isachenko; landscape-geochemical school B.B. Polynova - A.I. Perelman - M.A. Glazovskaya - N.S. Kasimov; academic landscape-ecological school of Siberian geographers - V.B. Sochavy - V.A. Snytko; Voronezh - in anthropogenic landscape science - F.N. Milkova - V.I. Fedotov.

Along with the development of integral trends in geography, fundamental results have been obtained in particular geographical sciences. Geomorphological schools of Moscow State University I.S. Shchukin, marine geomorphology O.K. Leontiev, IG RAS I.P. Gerasimov - Yu.A. Meshcheryakov, St. Petersburg University Ya.S. Edelstein. a huge role in the development of geography, the school of physical climatology M.I. Budyko. Progress has been made in the classification of climates (B.P. Alisov), the study of moisture circulation and circulation of the atmosphere, and fluctuations in humidity (O.A. Drozdov, M.A. Petrosyants, S.P. Khromov). Mathematical climate models(M.I. Budyko, A.V. Kislov) Several directions have taken shape in the study of land waters. Even in the prewar years, V.G. Glushkov, M.A. Velikanov, S.D. Muraveisky, and others developed the theoretical foundations geographic direction in hydrology. The hydrological school of the Institute of Geology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (M.I. Lvovich) calculated the components water balance individual continents and the globe as a whole. The problems of global hydrology were developed by G.P. Kalinin. Fundamental results in the field channel processes and sediment runoff were obtained by N.I. Makkaveev, R.S. Chalov, N.I. Alekseevsky. The direction associated with the transformation of the runoff is clearly indicated river systems, With anthropogenic changes water quality sushi (M.I. Lvovich). Studies of lakes and reservoirs were carried out by L.L. Rossolimo, B.B. Bogoslovsky, S.L. Vendrov, V.M. Shirokov, K.K. Edelstein and others. The glaciological school was founded and developed by S.V. Kalesnik, M.V. Tronov, G.A. Avsyukom, P.A. Shumsky, V.M. Kotlyakov. One of the founders of avalanche science was G.K. Tushinsky and his students M.Ch. Zalikhanov, V.M. Kotlyakov. AT Soviet period cryolithology has received significant development (A.I. Popov, P.I. Melnikov, V.P. Melnikov, .N. Konishchev).

The founder of the school of biogeography V.N. Sukachev and his followers A.G. Voronov, A.N. Formozov, A.A. Tishkov laid the foundations of the doctrine of biogeocenoses, developed a typology of forests. The geographical direction in soil science manifested itself in studies on the genesis, classification of soils and their mapping (I.P. Gerasimov, E.N. Ivanova, N.N. Rozov, V.O. Targulyan, etc.), their water regime (A. A. Rode, S.V. Zonn), geochemistry (M.A. Glazovskaya, V.O. Targulyan) and soil evolution (I.P. Gerasimov, A.N. Gennadiev, A.L. Aleksandrovsky).

The socio-geographic direction included: theoretical and methodological (N.N. Baransky, S.B. Lavrov, I.M. Maergoiz, A.A. Mints, V.V. Pokshishevsky, Yu.G. Saushkin, P.Ya. Baklanov, Yu.N. Gladky, N.S. Mironenko); regional, including economic and geographical research foreign countries(Yu.D. Dmitrievsky, Ya.G. Mashbits, G.V. Sdasyuk) and industry. The most important of them are studies on the geography of industry (A.E. Probst, P.N. Stepanov, A.T. Khrushchev), the geography of agriculture (A.N. Rakitnikov, V.G. Kryuchkov), transport (I.V. Nikolsky), geography of the service sector (S.A. Kovalev, A.I. Alekseev), geography of the population and cities (S.A. Kovalev, G.M. Lappo, V.V. Pokshishevsky). The growing scale of consumption of natural resources led to the development of a geographical direction in resource use. Theoretical and regional studies performed by A.A. Mints, I.V. Komar (the concept of resource cycles), E.P. Romanova.

At the turn of the century, new trends in the development of geography emerged: computerization of data collection and processing methods with the widespread use of mathematical methods, the creation of geographic information systems, ecologization, humanitarization and humanization, sociologization, globalization of thinking. In the USSR and Russia, geography has become one of the basic sciences about the environment. Ecological-geographical methods underlie impact assessments. All this poses challenges for geography: the study of the dynamics of natural, socio-economic and geopolitical processes, the forecasting of global and regional socio-economic and political situations, the development of recommendations for environmental protection, the optimal design and functioning of natural and technical systems in order to increase the safety of human existence , the quality of life of people, sustainable development society, economy.

The state of geography abroad

Foreign geography in the 20th century went from classical problem descriptions earth's surface, nature, economy and population, to the search for geographical patterns and laws. A great unifying influence on the development of geography was exerted by the chorological concept of the German scientist A. Gettner, who saw the task of geography in identifying “ earthly spaces according to their differences and spatial relationships”. The horological concept was developed in the USA in the works of R. Hartshorne. In this theoretical basis in the first half of the 20th century in Great Britain, the USA, Australia, work on zoning of the territory has been widely developed. Significant contribution to the development theoretical problems introduced in Germany by Z. Passarge, A. Penk, O. Schlüter, K. Troll, J. Schmithusen; in the USA - K. Sauer, I. Bowman. Schools of regional and cultural geography were formed in France (P. Vidal de la Blache, E. Marton, J. Beau-Garnier). Geographical determinism, popular in English-speaking geography of the early 20th century, directly deduced historical and economic processes from natural conditions(E. Huntington).

In biogeography, the idea of ​​change in time became guiding after the work of F. Clements. Schools formed historical geography in the USA (K. Sauer) and Great Britain (H. Darby). K. Sauer laid the foundations of human ecology and saw the basis for the unity of geographical science in the study of nature and man. Political events the first half of the 20th century stimulated the development of geopolitical theories, which proceeded from ideas about the state as an organism with the necessary living space(F. Ratzel, R. Kjellen, H. Mackinder).

In the second half of the 20th century the main efforts were directed to the creation of an apparatus for spatial analysis. There was a theory central places V. Kristaller and A. Lesh, which made it possible to explain the hierarchy and spatial arrangement of settlements. In geomorphology, the works of R. Horton and A. Strahler laid the foundation for quantitative morphology river basins. The theory of island biogeography explained quantitative ratio species diversity of wildlife from the area of ​​the island and its remoteness from the mainland (R. MacArthur, E. Wilson). implemented systems approach, self-regulation, sustainability (R. Chorley, B. Kennedy, R. Huggett, R. Bennett, E. Neef). In the 1970s and 1980s, the study of the problem of the hierarchy of processes in time and spatial objects came to the fore. Within the framework of social geography, behavioral geography (behaviorism) was developed - D. Wolpert, K. Cox, R. Golledzh). Since the 90s, studies on the perception and aesthetics of the landscape have been popular, especially in France (J. Bertrand, A. Decamps). In the 1960s and 1970s, the ecologization of geographical research began to take shape (D. Stoddart, G. Haze, I. Simmons, F. Heer). In the 1970s and 1980s, landscape ecology was formed. Awareness of global and regional environmental issues required the development of concepts of nature management and nature protection. Since 1982 there has been International association landscape ecology. Main applied value landscape ecology is in land use planning, more broadly - in landscape planning, Institute of Geography SB RAS, Pacific Institute of Geography FEB RAS, Institute of Steppe Ural Branch RAS, Institute water problems RAS, Institute of Water and Environmental Problems SB RA, Institute of Water and Environmental Problems FEB RAS, geographical faculties and faculties of geography and geoecology of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh, Tver, Tyumen and other universities (in total, more than 30 universities train geographers); geographical faculties of pedagogical universities - Moscow, St. Petersburg, etc. Leading scientific geographical journals - Proceedings of the Russian Academy of Sciences, geographical series, Bulletin of Moscow University, ser. 5. Geography, Geography and natural resources, Water resources, Proceedings of the Russian Geographical Society, Geomorphology, Meteorology and hydrology, etc.

Various areas of scientific, educational and practical geographical activities are coordinated by the Russian Geographical Society with its regional centers and departments.

Geographers of the world are united in the International Geographical Union, which convenes international geographical congresses every four years. The international activity of cartographers is directed by the International Cartographic Association. In Russia international activities geographers coordinates National Committee Russian geographers.

Recommended reading

Armand D.L. Landscape science. M., 1975;

Baransky N.N.. Economical geography. Economical cartography. 2nd ed., M., 1960.

Berlyant A.M. Cartography. M., 2001.

Bokov V.A., Seliverstov Yu.P., Chervanev I.G. General geography. St. Petersburg, 1998.

Voronov A.G. and others. Biogeography with the basics of ecology. Textbook for high schools. M., 2003.

Glazovskaya M.A., Gennadiev A.N.. Geography of soils with the basics of soil science. M., 1995.

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