List of basic geography topics

For a more comprehensive list, see the List of geography topics.

Geography is the study of the Earth and its features and of the distribution of life on the earth, including human life and the effects of human activity. Geography research addresses both the questions of where, as well as why, geographical phenomena occur. Basic topics in geography include:

Nature of geography

Main articles: Earth and Geography

Branches of geography

Geography is divided into 2 main branches: physical geography and human geography. Each of these branches is divided into a number of subfields:

Sub-fields of physical geography

Main article: Physical geography

Fields of physical geography	Focal subjects
Biogeography	Species
Climatology	Climate
Coastal/Marine studies	Coasts
Environmental geography	Environmental science
Geodesy	Gravity, Magnetic field
Geomorphology	Landforms
Hydrology	Water cycle, Water resources
Glaciology	Glacier
Oceanography	Ocean, Sea
Limnology	Lake, Pond, River
Landscape ecology	Nitrogen cycle
Palaeogeography	Continental drift
Pedology	Soil

Sub-fields of human geography

Main article: Human geography

Fields of human geography	Focal subjects
Behavioral geography
Children's geographies
Cultural geography
Economic geography
Environmental geography
Feminist geography
Development geography
Health geography
Historical geography
Military geography
Political geography, including Geopolitics
Population geography or Demography
Regional geography
Social geography
Strategic geography
Transportation geography
Time geography
Tourism geography
Urban geography

Geographic multi-disciplinary fields

• Cartography
• Ethnography
• Geographic information systems (GIS)
• Geostatistics

History of geography

Main article: History of geography

Earth's spheres

Main article: Earth science

• Atmosphere
• Biosphere
• Hydrosphere

• Lithosphere
• Anthroposphere
• Cryosphere (Sometimes included in the hydrosphere)

• Geosphere
• Pedosphere (Soil)

Geographical features

The Continents

Main article: Continent

• Africa
• Antarctica

• Australia
• Eurasia

• North America
• South America

Natural geographical features (landforms)

Main article: Landform

• Bay
• Badlands
• Bluff
• Canyon
• Cape
• Cave
• Channel
• Cliff
• Coast
• Continent
• Coral reef
• Cove
• Crater
• Cuesta
• Dale
• Dell
• Delta
• Desert
• Escarpment
• Estuary
• Fen
• Fjord
• Foothills
• Forest
• Geyser

• Glacier
• Glen
• Gulf
• Gully
• Grassland
• Gully
• Highland
• Hill
• Hoodoo (geology)
• Inlet
• Island
• Knoll
• Lagoon
• Lake
• Landform
• Marsh
• Mesa
• Mountain
• Mountain pass
• Mountain range
• Ocean
• Plain
• Plateau
• Pond
• Prairie

• Peninsula
• Reef
• Ravine
• Ridge
• River
• Sandbar
• Savanna
• Sea
• Sound
• Source (river or stream)
• Spring (hydrosphere)
• Steppe
• Strait
• Stream
• Swamp
• Tide pool
• Tundra
• Vale
• Valley
• Vernal pool
• Volcano
• Waterfall
• Watershed
• Waterway
• Wetland

Manmade geographical features

• Airport
• Aqueduct
• Bridge
• Canal
• City
• Country
• Dam
• Farm

• Highway
• Megalopolis
• Nation
• National park
• Nature reserve
• Orchard
• Park
• Pipeline

• Ranch
• Reservoir
• Road
• Tunnel
• Tree farm
• Viaduct
• Wildlife reserve

Basic geography concepts

• Climate
• Demographics
• Geography

• Great Plains
• Landform (see below)
• Map

• Population density
• Population explosion

Influential geographers

Main article: List of geographers

Geography lists

Main article: Lists of geography topics

• Geography of present-day nations and states
• List of city listings by country
• Lists by country
• Lists of country-related topics

• Lists of counties
• Lists of countries
• Lists of lakes
• Lists of mountains

• Lists of place names
• Lists of places
• Lists of rivers