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• Geography can be split into three areas: human geography, physical geography and environmental geography.
• Human geography is the study of societies, cultures and economies.
• Physical geography is the study of landscapes and environments.
• Environmental geography is the study of how humans impact the Earth.

Geography is the study of the world, but as the world is a large and complex place, the subject is divided up into two main areas - human geography and physical geography. The study of the relationship between these two main areas is called environmental geography, which can be considered the third area of geography.

Human geography relates to the people who live on our planet, Earth. In this area of study, geographers might explore the following things:

• population - how the number of people in the world is growing and why
• migration - why people make the choice to move
• urban patterns - where people live and what these places are like
• societal changes - development, globalisation, resources and conflict

Physical geography relates to the natural world around us. In this area of study, geographers might explore the following things:

• how our landscape is created and changes over time
• how rivers and glaciers change the environment around us
• why areas experience the weather and climate they do
• different ecosystems and biomes of the Earth
• the hazards humans face from volcanoes, earthquakes and tropical storms

These lists are not exhaustive and cover only a small part of what geographers investigate.

The study of interactions between humans and the physical world is known as environmental geography. This can be considered the third type of geography.

A physical process, such as an earthquake, will affect the human geography of a country, destroying settlements and disrupting development. Just as physical processes impact upon humans, humans also impact upon the Earth.

In this area of study, geographers might explore the following things:

• pollution
• the destruction of habitats
• climate change

Although humans only appeared on Earth around 200,000 years ago, we have made enormous changes to our environment. We have cleared forests to farm and build settlements. Most scientists agree that human action such as the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of the rainforest is contributing to climate change.