Geography
a delineation or description of the earth as it at present is, leaving it to geology to investigate how it came into its present condition. It may be divided into three distinct sciences, mathematical or astronomical, physical, and political geography. Mathematical geography views the earth as a planet; it investigates its relations to the sun, the moon and other bodies belonging to the solar system. It gives attention to the angle at which its axis is the arctic and antarctic circles and the inclined to the ecliptic, the position of tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, the parallels of latitude, and the meridians of longitude. Physical geography treats of the present distribution of sea and land, the currents of the oceans, the climates of the several continents and islands.
With regard to the land, it commences by indicating the position of the mountain chains and table lands, thus fixing the positions of the great rivers, to which attention is next turned. Then the position of the alluvial plains, the deserts, etc., is pointed out; the distribution of the plants over the surface of the earth, often called botanical geography, follows next; then that of the animals; and finally that of the several races of mankind. This branch of the science approaches those of geology, hydrology, meteorology, botany, zoölogy, and ethnology or anthropology. Finally, there follows political geography; which treats of the present distribution of political power over the world, the position and resources of the several empires, kingdoms, republics, etc.
History. Eratosthenes, в. c. 240, was one of the earliest ancient geographers of eminence; but the greatest names in this department were Strabo-who lived during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius-and Ptolemy, who flourished about A. D. 139. The discovery of the' GEOK TEPE passage round the Cape of Good Hope and that of America in the 16th century gave a great impulse to its modern advance. In the United States geographical science has been carefully fostered by the government, a board being appointed to supervise all practical work and to insure uniformity of nomenclature. Under the patronage of several of the earlier presidents, there was great activity in geographical research and exploration of the vast domain which lay to the W. of the then settled portions of the country. The most notable of these early expeditions was that undertaken by authority of President Jefferson, the leaders of the enterprise being Gen.
Meriwether Lewis and Gen. William Clark (afterward governor of the territory of Louisiana). This attempt bore fruit in the settlement of the great Mississippi basin to the N. W., and it was supplemented a few years after by the expedition under Lieut. (afterward Gen.) John C. Frémont. The great apostle of the United States Coast Survey was Ferdinand Rudolph Hassler, who was invited to the United States by President Tyler. A geographical congress was held at Paris in 1875, and at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago.