Editing Geographer (section)

== Areas of study in geography ==
{{History of geography sidebar}}

Subdividing geography is challenging, as the discipline is broad, interdisciplinary, ancient, and has been approached differently by different cultures. Attempts have gone back centuries, and include the "Four traditions of geography" and applied "branches."<ref name="Traditions1">{{cite journal |last1=Pattison |first1=William |title=The Four Traditions of Geography |journal=Journal of Geography |date=1964 |volume=63 |issue=5 |pages=211–216 |doi=10.1080/00221346408985265 |bibcode=1964JGeog..63..211P |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/00221346408985265 |access-date=27 August 2022}}</ref><ref name=Sala1>{{cite book |last1=Sala |first1=Maria |title=Geography Volume I |date=2009 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems|EOLSS]] UNESCO |location=Oxford, United Kingdom |isbn=978-1-84826-960-6 }}</ref><ref name=Sala2>{{cite book |last1=Sala |first1=Maria |title=Geography – Vol. I: Geography |date=2009 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems|EOLSS]] UNESCO |url=https://www.eolss.net/sample-chapters/c01/E6-14.pdf |access-date=30 December 2022}}</ref> 
 
===Four traditions of geography===
{{Main|Four traditions of geography}}

The four traditions of geography were proposed in 1964 by William D. Pattison in a paper titled "The Four Traditions of Geography" appearing in the [[Journal of Geography]].<ref name="Traditions1" /><ref name="Traditions2">{{cite journal |last1=Murphy |first1=Alexander |title=Geography's Crosscutting Themes: Golden Anniversary Reflections on "The Four Traditions of Geography" |journal=Journal of Geography |date=27 June 2014 |volume=113 |issue=5 |pages=181–188 |doi=10.1080/00221341.2014.918639 |bibcode=2014JGeog.113..181M |s2cid=143168559}}</ref> These  traditions are:
* [[Spatial Analysis|spatial or locational tradition]]<ref name="Traditions1" /><ref name="Traditions2" />
* [[area studies]] or [[Regional geography|regional tradition]]<ref name="Traditions1" /><ref name="Traditions2" />
* [[Integrated geography|Human–Environment interaction tradition]] (originally referred to as the "man-land tradition")<ref name="Traditions1" /><ref name="Traditions2" />
* [[Earth science|Earth science tradition]]<ref name="Traditions1" /><ref name="Traditions2" />

===Branches of geography===
{{Main|Category:Branches of geography}}

The [[UNESCO]] [[Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems]] subdivides geography into three major fields of study, which are then further subdivided.<ref name=Sala1>{{cite book |last1=Sala |first1=Maria |title=Geography Volume I |date=2009 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems|EOLSS]] UNESCO |location=Oxford, United Kingdom |isbn=978-1-84826-960-6 }}</ref><ref name=Sala2>{{cite book |last1=Sala |first1=Maria |title=Geography – Vol. I: Geography |date=2009 |publisher=[[Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems|EOLSS]] UNESCO |url=https://www.eolss.net/sample-chapters/c01/E6-14.pdf |access-date=30 December 2022}}</ref> These are:

* [[Human geography]]: including [[urban geography]], [[cultural geography]], [[economic geography]], [[political geography]], [[historical geography]], [[marketing geography]], [[health geography]], and [[social geography]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nel |first=Etienne |date=2010-11-23 |title=The dictionary of human geography, 5th edition - Edited by Derek Gregory, Ron Johnston, Geraldine Pratt, Michael J. Watts and Sarah Whatmore |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-7939.2010.01189_4.x |journal=New Zealand Geographer |volume=66 |issue=3 |pages=234–236 |doi=10.1111/j.1745-7939.2010.01189_4.x |bibcode=2010NZGeo..66..234N |issn=0028-8144}}</ref>
* [[Physical geography]]: including [[geomorphology]], [[hydrology]], [[glaciology]], [[biogeography]], [[climatology]], [[meteorology]], [[Pedology (soil study)|pedology]], [[oceanography]], [[geodesy]], and [[environmental geography]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marsh |first=William M. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/797965742 |title=Physical geography : great systems and global environments |date=2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |others=Martin M. Kaufman |isbn=978-0-521-76428-5 |location=Cambridge |oclc=797965742}}</ref>
* [[Technical geography]]: including [[geoinformatics]], [[geographic information science]], [[geovisualization]], and [[spatial analysis]].

===Five themes of geography===
{{main|Five themes of geography}}

The [[National Geographic Society]] identifies five broad key themes for geographers:
* human-environment interaction
* [[Location]]
* Movement
* [[Place identity|Place]]
* Regions<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 October 2008 |title=Geography Education @ |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/education/themes.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100207230321/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/education/themes.html |archive-date=7 February 2010 |access-date=16 July 2013 |website=Nationalgeographic.com}}</ref>