10 Pillars: Tree of Human Knowledge

Geography is the study of the surface of the earth. It is composed of two main branches: human geography and physical geography. Human geography studies the human aspects of geography and is part of the social sciences (see pillar 7). Physical geography focuses on the natural aspects of the earth.

Sub-fields. The main subfields of physical geography are atmospheric sciences, which include climatology (study of climate) and meteorology (study of weather), biogeography (study of the environmental effects on biodiversity (the varieties of life on earth)), geomorphology (study of landforms), hydrology (study of water and natural water resources), oceanography (study of oceans and seas), pedology (study of soil; it is part of soil sciences), glaciology (study of ice and glaciers), and cartography (study and practice of geographical and astronomical mapping), which is actually part of technology (sub-cat. 9.3.1). (C. Zins, 2011).