What is Geography?

Geography is the study of the spatial dimensions of physical, natural and social phenomena. In other words, when it comes to the physical, natural, cultural, political and economic environment, geography is the "wheres." Geographers seek to understand the factors that make places, spaces and regions unique, as well as what causes their characteristics to change.

Geography has a long history as an environmental science examining the relationship of humans and their environment. Geographers seek to:

• Understand why things happen in particular locations, places, spaces, and regions.


• Identify the physical, social, and natural factors that make particular locations, places, spaces and regions unique.


• Explain how space influences human behavior and the distributions of activities.


• Investigate how and why humans create particular kinds of places and spaces and why human, physical, and natural phenomena are unevenly distributed.


• Demonstrate how and understand why materials, phenomena and resources move across the surface of the Earth.


• Represent three-dimensional space (i.e., reality) through two-dimensional representations (i.e., maps and images) in order to demonstrate the locations, patterns, and distributions of phenomena.


• Reveal the spatial dimensions, idiosyncrasies, and characteristics (i.e., the boundaries, distributions, patterns, flows, and connections) of the physical, natural, and human world.

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Student Voices

"The professors I’ve had are amazing. They welcome questions with open arms. They love to be challenged as well as challenge their students."

— Sarah Geise, '11, Waukesha, Wis.

Hear what students have to say about studying geography and earth science at Carthage.