géographie

Géographie (geography) is the science that studies the surfaces of the Earth, the distribution of phenomena across space, and the relationships between people and their environments. It seeks to understand where things are located, why they are there, how they interact, and how processes unfold over different scales—from local landscapes to the planet as a whole.

Geography is traditionally divided into physical geography, which investigates climate, water, landforms, soils, vegetation, and ecosystems, and human geography, which analyzes populations, cultures, economies, urbanization, and political organization. Subfields include cartography, geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, and spatial analysis, all of which use field work, data collection, and analysis to describe patterns and test explanations.

Historically, geography emerged in ancient times and matured in the 19th century with scholars such as Alexander von Humboldt and Carl Ritter. The 20th century brought the quantitative revolution and later the adoption of geospatial technologies, broadening the scope and methods of the discipline. Geography remains inherently interdisciplinary, linking natural and social sciences.

Applications include urban and regional planning, environmental management, resource assessment, disaster risk reduction, transportation, and tourism. The field emphasizes spatial thinking—the capacity to reason about the location, arrangement, and interconnections of phenomena—and the use of maps and data to communicate information and inform decision making. The word geography derives from Greek ge (earth) and graphein (to write).