Nature And Definitions Of Human Geography

Nature of Human Geography :-

Human geography studies the relationship between physical environment and human-generated socio-cultural environment through their interactions. Landforms, soils, water, climate, natural vegetation, various fauna, flora, rocks and minerals are the elements of the physical environment. Man, through his activities on the platform provided by the physical environment, produces certain characteristics for his comfort and development.

Houses, villages, fields, cities, canals, roads, railways, factories, dams, schools, ports and things of daily use are such human characteristics. Man-made conditions reflect the cultural development of human beings. The physical environment has a huge impact on all the developmental activities of human beings. Therefore, human beings create cultural or human environments only by making extensive adaptations from the physical environment. Similarly, the physical environment has also been changed by humans on a large scale.

Therefore, it is studied in human geography that how is the response of man in different physical conditions? And how he adjusts to nature or struggles to fulfill  his needs and makes them useful for himself. This is possible only when there is some naturalization of humans and some humanization of nature.

Definitions Of Human Geography:-

1. “Human geography is the synthetic study of the relationship between human societies and the earth’s surface.” – Fredric Ratzel
2. “Human geography is the study of the changing relationship between the unresting man and the unstable earth.” – Miss Ellen C. Semple
3. “Conception resulting from a more synthetic knowledge of physical laws governing one earth and of the relations between the living beings which govern it is called human geography.” – Paul Vidal- de-la Blache