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| Home >> Geography Info >> Are you a Geographer? | |
| Are you a Geographer? | |
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• What is Geography? • What do Geographers do? • How do you know if you want to be a geographer? |
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| What is Geography? | |
 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. Geographers have skills
to analyze environmental information: cartography (map making) and
Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Geographers care about the spatial aspects of human existence - how people and their activity are distributed in space and how they create and sustain the places that make up the earth's surface. Because we study the linkages between human activity and natural systems, geographers were among the first scientists to sound the alarm that human-induced changes to the environment is threatening the balance of life itself. We are active in the study of global warming, desertification, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, groundwater pollution, and flooding. |
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| What do geographers do? | |
| Geographers examine the way the physical environment and human activities interact and affect each other. We study patterns of climates, land forms, vegetation, soils, and water. We may work in the fields of urban and regional planning, transportation, marketing, real estate, tourism, and international business. We may forecast the weather, manage land and water resources, and analyze and plan for forests, rangelands, and wetlands. |
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| How do you know if you want to be a geographer? | |
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Are you curious about places?
Geography channels this interest into a rigorous study of the makeup of places and what makes them tick. |
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| Do you like to study maps?
The geographer's first inclination is to put information on a map in order to see how it looks spatially. |
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| Do you prefer the window seat on airplanes?
Geography tries to explain the constantly-changing patterns of human activity and natural phenomena on the landscape. |
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| Do you like to work outside?
Many geographers obtain their basic data from field investigation in environments that range from wilderness areas to cities. |
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| Are you a problem solver?
As scientists, geographers are naturally curious about how the world is arranged. They ask lots of questions about why things are located the way they are and try to answer those questions. |
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| Can you adapt to rapid technological change?
Geography has been buffeted by monumental changes in technology. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have revolutionized the way geographers collect, store, analyze, and present spatial information. |
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| Do you try to see the big picture?
Geographers look at how places interact with each other, and how they are influenced by larger, more global forces. Geographers think big! |
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| Are you interested in connections between people and the environment?
Geographers see the world as the human habitat, one that we have transformed and that has transformed us. |
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