GEODYNAMICS 



chosen, and its length carefully 

 measured. From this base line the 

 distances of any other points may 

 easily be calculated by measuring 

 certain angles. Geodesy conse- 

 quently involves the use of the 

 most delicate and accurate tele- 

 scopes and theodolites. See Ord- 

 nance Survey ; Surveying ; Theo- 

 dolite. > 



Geodynamics. Science relating 

 to the forces latent in the earth's 

 mass. They arise from its size and 

 constitution, as well as from the 

 fact that it is in movement, and is 

 subject to gravitational forces 

 exerted by the moon, the sun, and 

 other members of the solar system. 

 See Earth ; Sun. 



Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 

 1100-54). English chronicler. He 

 was archdeacon of Llandaff c. 1140, 

 and bishop of St. Asaph in 1152. 

 His great work is the Historia Bri- 

 tonum, finally published about 



3469 



1147, a legendary history of the 

 English people, based on the stories 

 of Nennius and on ancient Breton 

 myths. It preserves numerous 

 stories of great value (e.g. the his- 

 tories of Arthur and his court, of 

 Lear, Brutus, Vortigern, and 

 others), and is of great importance 

 in literary history, though its his- 

 torical reliability is small. 



Geographical Society, ROYAL. 

 Society for the promotion of ex- 

 ploration and discovery and the 

 improvement of geographical teach- 

 ing in universities and schools. 

 Formed in 1830, it has a house at 

 Lowther Lodge, Kensington Gore, 

 S.W., where its afternoon meetings 

 are held, the evening meetings tak- 

 ing place in suitable large halls. 

 The Map Room and Museum at 

 Lowther Lodge are open to the 

 public. The Geographical Journal, 

 the organ of the Society, is issued 

 monthly. 



GEOGRAPHY AND ITS USES 



I>. W. Lyde, Prof, of Economic Geography, TTniv. Coll.. London, 

 and B. C. Wallis, B.Sc., Author of A Geography of the 'World 



This general article on the science of Geography is supple- 

 mented by those on Glacier ; Mountain ; River and other of the 

 earth's physical features. See also Geology ; Map ; etc. 



Geographical study begins with 

 topography, the accurate descrip- 

 tion of all parts of the earth, the 

 people who live there, the lives 

 they lead, the kinds of plants, 

 animals, minerals found there ; and 

 early in the 19th century the num- 

 ber "of topographical facts was so 

 huge that geographers began to 

 compare and classify them in 

 order to reduce the content of geo- 

 graphy to manageable dimen- 

 sions. These processes have re- 

 sulted in an assumption that the 

 earth comprises a series of definite 

 regions which are so much alike 

 that a clear conception of one 

 specimen of a region suffices for 

 the understanding of the similar 

 areas elsewhere. 



The standard illustrative region 

 is the area bordering the Mediter- 

 ranean, which has warm, wet win- 

 ters, and hot, dry summers, a 

 characteristic natural vegetation, 

 cultivated crops of a definite type. 

 A knowledge of the shorelands of 

 the Mediterranean Sea implies also 

 a knowledge of California, parts 

 of Chile, the Cape of Good Hope 

 district, and the South of Austra- 

 lia, all of which are Mediterranean 

 regions in this sense. ^ 



The regional conception, how- 

 ever, is insufficient beyond a cer- 

 tain point, for it implies no rela- 

 tion between the configuration of 

 the land, the occurrence of useful 

 minerals or, most important of all, 

 the character and distribution of 

 the population. Within definite 

 limits, however, the regional con- 



ception simplifies the geographical 

 story and is, therefore, useful. 



During the centuries of explora- 

 tion geographers were also con- 

 cerned with the earth as a whole, 

 with the physical forces which 

 influence men's lives, with the 

 scientific classification of all forms 

 of life, including man, and with the 

 history of human development. 

 They have always been interested in 

 the physical sciences, astronomy, 

 geology, meteorology, and biology, 

 and in the human sciences, ethno- 

 ology, sociology, economics. Since 

 these sciences steadily developed 

 their special knowledge of one 

 aspect of the universe, geographers 

 used their conclusions as a basis for 

 the explanation of many of the 

 observed facts of topography. 

 Modern Geography 



Modern geography therefore in- 

 cludes, primarily, a certain amount 

 of gazetteer information, and 

 secondarily, the application of cer- 

 tain scientific conclusions to human 

 activities ; it is the study of the 

 earth as the " home of man," of 

 " man's place in nature," and 

 ' ' man and his work. ' ' But although 

 the geographer is indebted to other 

 scientific studies, he does not make 

 scientific data a portion of the con- 

 tent of geography until he has 

 applied them to the life of man. 

 From astronomy he borrows facts 

 about the earth as a planet to ex- 

 plain the consequences for man of 

 the daily march of the sun in the 

 sky and the rhythmic swing of the 

 tides in the oceans. From geology 



GEOGRAPHY 



he borrows facts about the conti- 

 nents which preceded those now 

 in existence, in order to explain 

 the existing land forms which re- 

 strain or incite human activities. 



The subject matter of meteor- 

 ology becomes climatology for the 

 geographer who wishes to under- 

 stand the circulation of the atmo- 

 sphere in order to realize the effects 

 of air currents, winds, storms, etc., 

 and the rams they bring, upon the 

 labours of men. The conclusions 

 of the biologist are useful mainly 

 when they show what are the pre- 

 cise plant regions and the definite 

 animal zones. 



Throughout the ages geogra- 

 phers have tended to adhere to one 

 or other of two schools of thought, 

 the physical and the humanistic, 

 in accordance with the emphasis 

 they laid upon the environment 

 or the men within it. At present 

 geography would appear to have 

 reached a definite compromise be- 

 tween these two methods. 



Analysis of Environment 



From the recent advances in 

 other sciences the geographer is 

 beginning to see his way towards 

 separate regional analyses of the 

 world under the heads of land 

 forms, climate, forms of life ; he 

 can indicate the relation between 

 these elements of man's environ- 

 ment, and is on the eve of a classi- 

 fication of the physical world into 

 precise regions, so that the physical 

 geographer the word physical 

 here implying attention to every- 

 thing which does not deal with 

 man as a sentient being is almost 

 prepared to submit a thorough 

 analysis of man's environment. 



Being supplied with these re- 

 gional analyses of the world, the 

 humanist has two problems to face, 

 first, the interaction between one 

 type of man and different regions 

 and, secondly, that between differ- 

 ent types of men and one region. 

 For example, there are the pro- 

 blems of the Frenchmen of the Paris 

 basin and of the French portion of 

 the Mediterranean area, and of the 

 Californian, the Chilean, and the 

 South Australian in relation to their 

 environment. 



But having worned out his re- 

 sults in comparison with the main 

 natural regions of the world, the 

 humanist is faced by a new diffi- 

 culty. The world is administered 

 politically in regard to empires, 

 kingdoms, and republics, and the 

 political frontiers introduce com- 

 plications. It is his province to de- 

 termine the relation of the several 

 states to the natural regions and to 

 explain the size and shape of coun- 

 tries, and the distribution of their 

 inhabitants, in relation to his ideal 

 analysis of the world into regions. 



