UPSC Preparation: Introduction to Geography

The field of science which involves the study of the landforms, the inhabitants, the features and the processes of the Earth is known as Geography. Eratosthenes was the first person to use the word “Geography” during 276 – 197 BC. This subject has been considered as a “world discipline” and seeks to bridge both physical and human sciences. In modern times, the discipline of Geography could be classified into two: 1) Physical Geography and 2) Human Geography.

 

The branch of natural science which covers the phenomena in the environment such as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere and biosphere is known as physical geography. Whereas human geography solely deals with people, their different cultures, the world and the relationship they share with each other. 

India could be divided into five physiographic regions which are as follows: 1) The Northern Mountains 2) Indo Gangetic Plains 3)The Peninsular Plateaus 3) The Islands and 5) The Coastal Plains. India’s geography is known for a number of important facts. The country of India spreads over an area of 3, 287, 263 sq. km. which makes it the seventh largest country in terms of total covering area,  India legally shares a 106 km border with Afghanistan in northwestern Kashmir and Nicobar is closer to Kuala Lampur (about 977 km) than to any point on mainland India.

In the video titled “Geography: Introduction 1.1 - Unacademy UPSC Videos by Roman Saini”, various important topics from the Geography portion of the Civil Services Examination have been covered in detail from the perspective of both the Preliminary Examination and the Mains Examination. This tutorial gives a broad overview of the Importance of Geography, Weightage of Geography and Environment in Prelims, Geography: Definition, Traditional vs Modern Geography, Core areas of Geography: Physical, World and Indian, Useful resources, Geography Syllabus in Prelims and Mains (GS-I, GS-III), GC Leong: Part 1 and Part 2, How to prepare Geography for Civil Services Exam and the major topics to be covered.

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