Smart Art: Geography

How to Learn Geography

The word "geography" literally means "earth writing." That makes it similar, in some ways, to cartography (map-making).

To some school students (in bad schools), it means numbly memorizing the names of places they don't care about. But to just about everyone else, it means the study of the earth and its features. Geography is one of the earth sciences, and it's one of the oldest sciences. Many other sciences have sprouted from it. Perhaps the most notable example is geometry.

When you say "geography," most people will picture a continent or other earth feature or maybe the planet as seen from space. That's physical geography. There's another kind also, and it's called cultural geography. This latter is the effect of humans (and our culture) upon the planet.

Generally, geography lessons are location-centric. For example, you begin with an outline of Africa. You draw in the national borders (which are not natural features, but manmade) and then begin filling in the names of all the countries (Africa is quite a bit larger than most Americans realize, and it contains a huge number of countries). Then maybe the capitals. You identify some rivers, lakes, and mountain ranges. Geography lesson completed, but what did you really learn?

Here's an approach that will prove more interesting and more valuable. First, you need the big picture. So go ahead and learn the general layout of the earth. There are seven continents:

1. Antarctica
2. Africa
3. Asia
4. Europe
5. North America
6. South America
7. Australia

Now, Antarctica is a truly strange place. It's the coldest, driest place on earth. If you will set aside 30 minutes on every odd-numbered day for just one month to learn something about Antarctica, you'll develop a keen appreciation for what makes it so alluring to explorers. You can check out books and videos from your library, watch videos online, and read magazine articles about it.

When that month is up, repeat for each of the other six continents. You'll notice that, along the way, you've picked up the names of places. And you've done that without having to sit there numbly memorizing them. Because you read or watched a variety of interesting things about each continent, you have a context for the places to be important to you. In seven months, you've gotten a good overview of the entire world and you've gained some understanding about each continent.

Not all inhabitable areas are on continents. So use month eight to read about the Pacific Islands and any other islands you can dig up information on.

In month nine, pick a continent other than Antarctica. Pick one country from that continent. Now, repeat that same exercise as for the continents, but this time focus on:

• Major cities: name, location, weather, population, general characteristics. And note three interesting things about each one.
• Waterways and lakes.
• Highway, rail, and air systems.
• Mountains and other topographical features.

By taking geography in manageable bites, you can learn quite a bit over time and have fun doing it. And you will be one very interesting person because your geographic knowledge will be rich in its detail. And, of course, having a slew of posters like those above can't hurt.