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1. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Definition
Nature
Scope
Earth as a system and its components

2. INTRODUCTION
• Geography is the study of spatio-temporal variations in the human-
environment relationship
• The environment can be divided into physical and human
• Thus there are two major branches that study these: Physical
Geography and Human Geography
• Human Geography studies the distribution of humans over the earth,
their characteristics and their activities
• Physical Geography studies the physical environment that provides
the stage over which human activities are carried out

3. DEFINITIONS
• Arthur Holmes: The study of the physical environment is Physical
Geography which includes consideration of surface relief of the globe
(geomorphology), of the seas and the oceans (oceanography) and of
the air (meteorology and climatology)
• Strahler: Integrated study of the natural environment on or close to
the earth’s surface
• Other definitions: Spatial analysis of various physical components and
natural processes of the earth
• A study of the earth’s surfaces and the processes that shape it

4. NATURE AND SCOPE
• The physical environment is dynamic and Physical Geography studies
the processes that make it dynamic
• It tries to understand the earth as a natural system made up of
several interlinked subsystems
• It studies the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere,
including the processes that operate within them
• Some of these processes operate from under the earth’s surface and
some from above
• Some operate very slowly while others operate very fast

5. COMPONENTS
• Physical Geography studies the different components of the physical
environment
• Geomorphology is the study of the lithosphere
• Hydrology and oceanography study the atmosphere
• Climatology and meteorology study the atmosphere
• Biogeography studies the biosphere
• Although we may study them separately, all spheres are
interconnected and influence one another

6. SCHEMATIC REPRESENTATION