The Links Between Geography and Human Development

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Often lost in the discussion of geography is the distinction between natural geography and man-made geography, and the different subsets of each; although all of these elements inform the same discussion, they also affect it in wildly different ways that must be understood on their own before understanding geography as a whole. It is one of the primary subjects taught in school and there are many resources about geography for teachers to use when teaching.

For example, the study of water masses can generally be broken down into the studies of major seas and oceans, although the average person typically confuses a good deal of the two by simply assuming large size constitutes an ocean. In truth, the distinction is less absolute: the Arctic Ocean, for example, is the smallest of all the world’s five oceans, yet still covers about four times as much land as the South China Sea, the world’s largest non-oceanic body of water (and largest of the major seas). The largest US lake, Lake Superior, in turn covers less than ten percent of the landmass the South China Sea does, yet its name and more frequent mention in headlines implies a greater size than it can actually boast.

Most common landforms suffer from similar confusion among their casual students, yet their differences should make them stand apart more visibly than might already happen in everyday discussion. Volcanoes and islands, for example, are often tied together thanks to common images of exploding islands and reliance in literature on the phrase “volcanic island.” In truth, a volcano and an island are entirely unrelated entities; an island may feature a volcano within its borders, but volcanoes can also be found in mainland areas, such as Mt. St. Helens in Washington State, or any of the other nearly 20 volcanoes in the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Some of the most famous mountains in the world are in fact volcanoes, but are never viewed as such by virtue of not having erupted in recent enough history to have been documented doing so.

Islands are also often equated with desert landforms, although this again has more to do with the appearance of more well-traveled islands than it does with any known geographic trends. What defines an island is not what is contained in it, but what surrounds it: water. In truth, every landmass on Earth can be viewed as an island, since all are ultimately surrounded by water, but the accepted definition only applies to especially small land masses, usually those covering less than 100 square miles, although certain exceptions are made for larger or small land masses. The nation of Greenland, for example, is accepted as the largest island in the world, covering 840,004 square miles, although the larger definition of an island could be extended to the continent of Australia and the nearly 3 million square miles contained therein. However, the distance between any two polar opposite ends of Australia render it too large for the surrounding water to have a consistent affect across the land; however, Greenland displays relatively uniform climate impact from its proximity to water, and as such retains the island designation.

But beyond physical, natural geography is the issue of political geography, such as the division of nations on continents, or of states and provinces within nations, or counties and territories within those states and provinces. With the United States, for example, you can look at each of the 50 states as a composite entity, or you can look at each as its own self-contained geographic entity, each containing a unique combination of natural geographic features. Each state, for example, can be described in terms of a population, a capital, neighboring states, and key landmasses or landforms contained within its boundaries. Using the state of New York, one could form a geographic description based on its capital city (Albany), its population (19 million), its largest city (New York City), its land-neighboring states (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont), its water-neighboring state (Rhode Island), its international border (with the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec), and its defining physical geography (water to the east, mountains to the south and northwest, and plains to the direct west). Because that particular combination refers solely to New York, it forms that state’s geographic identity, one which could not possibly describe any other state within the United States of America.

At a more basic and methodical level, the inclusion of latitude and longitude can describe a place, landform, or entity not in terms of its features but in terms of its specific location. Measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds and expressed as distance from the equator (latitude) or the prime meridian (longitude), the two are expressed as a pair to pinpoint a location on a map. In the city of Chicago, for example, 41 degrees, 47 minutes north and 87 degrees, 45 minutes west would refer to Midway Airport, which is north of the equator and west of the prime meridian; 41 degrees, 59 minutes north and 87 degrees 54 minutes west would refer to O’Hare Airport, which itself is just slightly north and west of Midway Airport. These markers, while extremely difficult to calculate against the spherical curvature of the Earth’s surface, can still quite easily be used as general indicators of distance; New York City’s Central Park (40 degrees, 47 minutes north, 73 degrees, 58 minutes west) and Honolulu, Hawaii (21 degrees, 20 minutes north, 157 degrees, 55 minutes west) show superficially different numbers of considerable magnitude, which makes sense considering the 5,657 miles separating the two.

Links Between Geography and Human Development

Geography is a strong determinant in the development of human culture. It also plays a critical role in the advancement of technology, in agriculture and in war. If the climate, generally a result of geography, in a particular region is harsh, it may make human development problematic or impossible. Another manner in which climate is a factor is as an impetus for society to advance agriculturally. Life in a lush jungle, for example, where tropical fruits are available in abundance does not provide great incentive for a people to seek better ways of raising crops.

The key for development is a balance between an abundance and too little. Both of these conditions can lead to the same result- a primitive civilization. There must be enough food and resources that people are not fixated on simply trying to survive every day. But if there is a surfeit of food available, there is a tendency for people to remain listless. If the geography of a place offers the middle ground of some resources and food but not a copious amount, the conditions are present for human development. The inhabitants have the motivation, free time and resources to develop ways to maximize the results of their efforts or to invent tools or techniques that will rid them of the dangers and annoyances of their civilization.

There also need to be a balance with neighboring societies. If they are too aggressive and strong, the potential exists for the other people to destroy a society. If they are too passive, however, assimilation might result. This could lead to dramatic changes in or the eventual end of a particular people. Again, the middle ground provides the optimal conditions for human development. It stimulates advances in the fields of defense, diplomacy and espionage.

Another factor in human development is the availability of fauna that can be domesticated. By example, horses and donkeys for transportation and plowing and cows and sheep for milk, meat, leather and wool add to the development of a civilization. Natural resources, such as trees for lumber, coal or oil for fuel and ore for various metals are critical for human advancement. A lack of resources will keep a civilization at a primitive level. A highly significant resource is water. The availability of water influences development because of the essential role it plays in agriculture and other aspects of a society. Also, if there are sufficiently large bodies of water, fishing and shipping industries can develop. The geography of a place can also stunt development if it is one that promotes illnesses and epidemics. For example, if there are swamps, they might result in malaria.

The geography of the land has an effect on the degree of isolation that a civilization will experience. Being surrounded by impassable mountains offers protection from hostile neighbors. But these mountains are also a barrier to trade with other civilizations and the exchange of ideas. The mountainous regions of ancient Greece served to divide the population into small communities. The flat terrain of China enabled a powerful central government to develop.

The key aspect of geography that influences the development of human civilization is the correct balance of food and resources, climate, neighboring civilizations, animals and topography.

Geography ultimately hopes to bridge these gaps, between the practical and the specific, so that experts and observers alike can discuss the natural and human environments around them in a shared language, even if the specifics vary from conversation to conversation. But like any good scientific endeavor, geography is less concerned with the how as it is with the what; even while using highly sophisticated measurements and tools, the findings and purposes are perhaps the most basic of any science: there is a world out there just waiting to be studied.

Resource by S.Henniman

I am an aspiring artist and writer from Phoenix Arizona. I enjoy golfing, skiing, college football, and hanging out with my two favorite girls (my wife and 4 year old daughter).

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