Portal:Geography

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Geography is the main study of the location, extent, distribution, frequency and interaction of all significant elements of the human and physical environment on or near the Earth's surface, particularly its features and of the distribution of life on the earth, including human life and the effects of human activity. The word geography derives from the Greek γη (ge) or γαια (gaia) ("Earth") and γραφειν (graphein) ("to inscribe"). Physical geography focuses on the physical, chemical and biological patterns and processes on Earth. Human geography focuses on economic, political and cultural processes and features in their spatial dimensions. Biogeography focuses on the spatial distributions of organisms, species and ecosystems, and how these are affected by climate change. In addition to studying human and natural features of Earth, Geographers also study Earth's place in the Solar System and the Universe and how this affects the Earth features (e.g. climate, sea currents and tides), as well as physical processes on other planets.

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The Polaris expedition (1871) was led by the American Charles Francis Hall, who intended it to be the first expedition to reach the North Pole. Sponsored by the United States government, it was one of the first serious attempts at the Pole, after that of British naval officer William Edward Parry, who in 1827 reached latitude 82°45′ North. Under Hall's command, the Polaris departed from New York City in June 1871. By October, the men were wintering on the shore of northern Greenland, making preparations for the trip to the Pole. Hall returned to the ship from an exploratory sledging journey, and promptly fell ill. Before he died, he accused members of the crew of poisoning him. An exhumation of his body in 1968 revealed that he had ingested a large quantity of arsenic in the last two weeks of his life. The expedition's notable achievement was reaching 82°29'N latitude by ship, a record at the time. On the way southward, nineteen members of the expedition became separated from the ship and drifted on an ice floe for six months and 1,800 miles (2,900 km) before being rescued. The damaged Polaris was run aground and wrecked near Etah, Greenland, in October 1872. The remaining men were able to survive the winter, and were rescued the following summer.

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Map of the World, 2004
Photo credit: CIA World Factbook

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Did you know...

...that sandstone layers (pictured) now exposed in the Canyons of the Escalante in Utah were deposited during the Mesozoic period, when the area was covered with sand dunes about 180 to 225 million years ago?
...that the Firth of Clyde is Great Britain's first seabird reserve?
...that Amsterdam has a concentric belt of canals around it?
...that the Karatoya River, a small stream in Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh, was once a large and sacred river?
...that Belgium's sillon industriel (steelmaking) was the first fully industrialized area in continental Europe?

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Antarctica	Afro-Eurasia	Americas
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