Portal:Geography

Topics

Culture

Geography

Health

History

Mathematics

Nature

People

Philosophy

Religion

Society

Technology

---

Sociology portals: Arts · Anthropology · Community · Culture · Economics · Education · Geography · Gender studies · Globalization · History · Human rights · Internet · Law · Philosophy · Social movements · Social sciences · Social welfare and social work · Society

Places near you

Human geography Geography is the science that studies the lands, the features, the inhabitants, and the phenomena of the Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes (276–194 BC). Four historical traditions in geographical research are the spatial analysis of the natural and the human phenomena (geography as the study of distribution), the area studies (places and regions), the study of the human-land relationship, and research in the Earth sciences. Modern geography is an all-encompassing discipline that foremost seeks to understand the Earth and all of its human and natural complexities—not merely where objects are, but how they have changed and come to be. Geography has been called "the world discipline" and "the bridge between the human and the physical science". Geography is divided into two main branches: human geography and physical geography. More about geography… Mauna Loa is an active shield volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii. Mauna Loa is Earth's largest volcano, with a volume estimated at approximately 18,000 cubic miles (75,000 km³), although its peak is about 36 m (120 ft) lower than that of its neighbor, Mauna Kea. Lava eruptions from Mauna Loa are very fluid and the volcano has extremely shallow slopes as a result. The volcano has probably been erupting for at least 700,000 years and may have emerged from the sea about 400,000 years ago. Its magma comes from a hotspot in the Earth's mantle far beneath the island that has been responsible for the creation of the Hawaiian island chain for tens of million of years. The slow drift of the Pacific Plate will eventually carry the volcano away from the hotspot, and the volcano will thus become extinct within 500,000 to one million years from now. The first recorded summiting of Mauna Loa was in 1794 by naturalist Archibald Menzies, then-Lieutenant Joseph Baker, and two others. Mauna Loa's most recent eruption occurred from March 24, 1984 to April 15, 1984. In view of the hazards it poses to population centers, Mauna Loa is part of the Decade Volcanoes program, which encourages studies of the most dangerous volcanoes. Mauna Loa has been intensively monitored by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) since 1912. Observations of the atmosphere are undertaken at the Mauna Loa Observatory, and of the Sun at the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory, both located near its summit. More anniversaries... ...that Raspberry Island (pictured) in the Gulf of Alaska boasts some of the largest Roosevelt elk ever recorded? ... that Georgian daba Manglisi has been a mountain resort area for the people of Tbilisi since the 19th century? ...that only three of the largest islands of the United States – the Big Island of Hawaii, Kodiak Island, and Puerto Rico – are greater than 3,000 square miles (8,000 km²) in size? Template:/box-header {{Wikipedia:WikiProject Geography/to do}} Template:/box-footer Zhang Heng was an astronomer, mathematician, inventor, geographer, cartographer, artist, poet, statesman, and literary scholar from Nanyang, Henan, and lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25–220) of China. After beginning his career as a minor civil servant, he eventually became Chief Astronomer, Prefect of the Majors for Official Carriages, and then Palace Attendant at the imperial court. His uncompromising stances on certain historical and calendrical issues led to Zhang being considered a controversial figure, which prevented him from becoming an official court historian. Zhang applied his extensive knowledge of mechanics and gears in several of his inventions. He invented the world's first water-powered armillary sphere, to represent astronomical observation; improved the inflow water clock by adding another tank; and invented the world's first seismometer, which discerned the cardinal direction of an earthquake 500 km (310 mi) away. Furthermore, he improved previous Chinese calculations of the formula for pi. His fu (rhapsody) and shi poetry were renowned and commented on by later Chinese writers. Zhang received many posthumous honors for his scholarship and ingenuity, and is considered a polymath by some scholars. ▼ Geography ► Geography awards and competitions ► Geography education ► Exploration ► Geocodes ► Geographers ► History of geography ► Landscape ► Geography-related lists ► Navigation ► Places ► Surveying ► Geographic images ► Geography stubs Parent project WikiProject Geography Descendant projects Caves Cities Countries Country subdivisions Demographics Deserts Former countries Geographical coordinates Glaciers Islands Lakes Maps Mountains Protected areas Rivers Subdivisions of former countries Tropical cyclones Urban studies and planning Volcanoes Waterfalls Related projects WikiProject Globalization What are WikiProjects? The Horn is the most prominent peak on the Mount Buffalo plateau in Victoria, Australia. It has an elevation of 1,723 m (5,653 ft) AHD. Found on the west side of the Victorian Alps (part of the Australian Alps and the Great Dividing Range), the top of the mountain has granite boulders and rock formations. Antarctica Afro-Eurasia Americas Australia Africa Eurasia North America Oceania Europe Asia South America Supercontinents: Gondwana • Laurasia • Pangaea • Rodinia Template:/box-footer Africa Antarctica Arctic Asia Caribbean Central America Europe European Union Islands Latin America Mediterranean Middle East North America Oceania Oceans South America Atlas Atmosphere Atmospheric sciences Disasters Earth sciences Earthquakes Energy Environment Global warming Islands Mountains Physics Political science Science 65x40px Seamounts Sociology Sustainable development Tropical cyclones Volcanoes Water Weather The following Wikimedia sister projects provide more on this subject:

• What are portals?
• List of portals
• Featured portals