Topography vs. Geography

By Jaxson

Main Difference

The main difference between Topography and Geography is that the Topography is a field of science and Geography is a science that studies the terrestrial surface, the societies that inhabit it and the territories, landscapes, places or regions that form it when interacting with each other.

  • Topography

    Topography is the study of the shape and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area could refer to the surface shapes and features themselves, or a description (especially their depiction in maps).

    Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary science and is concerned with local detail in general, including not only relief but also natural and artificial features, and even local history and culture. This meaning is less common in the United States, where topographic maps with elevation contours have made “topography” synonymous with relief.

    Topography in a narrow sense involves the recording of relief or terrain, the three-dimensional quality of the surface, and the identification of specific landforms. This is also known as geomorphometry. In modern usage, this involves generation of elevation data in digital form (DEM). It is often considered to include the graphic representation of the landform on a map by a variety of techniques, including contour lines, hypsometric tints, and relief shading.

  • Geography

    Geography (from Greek: γεωγραφία, geographia, literally “earth description”) is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of the Earth and planets. The first person to use the word γεωγραφία was Eratosthenes (276–194 BC). Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding of Earth and its human and natural complexities—not merely where objects are, but also how they have changed and come to be.

    Geography is often defined in terms of two branches: human geography and physical geography. Human geography deals with the study of people and their communities, cultures, economies, and interactions with the environment by studying their relations with and across space and place. Physical geography deals with the study of processes and patterns in the natural environment like the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere.

    The four historical traditions in geographical research are: spatial analyses of natural and the human phenomena, area studies of places and regions, studies of human-land relationships, and the Earth sciences. Geography has been called “the world discipline” and “the bridge between the human and the physical sciences”.

Wikipedia
  • Topography (noun)

    A precise description of a place.

  • Topography (noun)

    A detailed graphic representation of the surface features of a place or object.

  • Topography (noun)

    The features themselves; terrain.

  • Topography (noun)

    The surveying of the features.

  • Geography (noun)

    A description of the earth: a treatise or textbook on geography; an atlas or gazetteer.

  • Geography (noun)

    The study of the physical properties of the earth, including how humans affect and are affected by them.

  • Geography (noun)

    Terrain: the physical properties of a region of the earth.

  • Geography (noun)

    Any subject considered in terms of its physical distribution.

  • Geography (noun)

    Similar books, studies, or regions concerning other planets.

  • Geography (noun)

    The physical arrangement of any place, particularly a house.

  • Geography (noun)

    The lavatory: a room used for urination and defecation.

  • Geography (noun)

    The relative arrangement of the parts of anything.

  • Geography (noun)

    A territory: a geographical area as a field of business or market sector.

Wiktionary
  • Topography (noun)

    the arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of an area

    “the topography of the island”

  • Topography (noun)

    a detailed description or representation on a map of the physical features of an area.

  • Topography (noun)

    the distribution of parts or features on the surface of or within an organ or organism.

  • Geography (noun)

    the study of the physical features of the earth and its atmosphere, and of human activity as it affects and is affected by these, including the distribution of populations and resources and political and economic activities.

  • Geography (noun)

    the nature and relative arrangement of places and physical features

    “the geography of post-war London”

  • Geography (noun)

    (especially in business) a geographical area; a region.

Oxford Dictionary

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