Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Although these developments in physical geography were
moves towards a more focused and scientifi c approach, physical
geography also played a major role in regional geography, which
became the dominant theme within geography as a whole
during the fi rst half of the 20th century. In published regional
geographies, a largely descriptive account was provided of the
physical background to human occupation and use of different
parts of the Earth's surface. Such accounts generally took the form
of chapters on landforms, climate, vegetation, and soils.
Towards the end of the fi rst half of the 20th century, therefore,
physical geography was developing only slowly. The main area of
progress was in the global classifi cation of landforms, climates,
vegetation, and the other phenomena making up the Earth's
surface. The knowledge base was being broadened and organized.
The characteristics and diversity of vegetation formations, of
climate types, and of landform assemblages were being more fully
catalogued. Although the classifi cations were often linked - types
of climate to vegetation formations, for example - there was
little attempt to understand the key Earth-surface processes that
underpinned these phenomena. Earlier attempts to develop an
integrated physical geography of the geo-ecosphere were being
largely forgotten.
New directions
As interest in traditional regional geography waned around the
mid-20th century, there was rapid growth and diversifi cation
within physical geography. This take-off point in the emergence
of modern physical geography can be attributed to two main
interrelated developments: fi rst, the 'quantitative revolution'
in geography as a whole, which brought an explicit emphasis
on scientifi c method; and second, a 'process revolution' within
physical geography itself, which brought greater understanding
of the processes that produce the variable characteristics of the
