Geography And Geography Essay

I. Introduction

Geography as we know is the study of the physical features of the earth and its atmosphere, and of human activity as it affects and is affected by these. Among the factors that geography gets to dictate is the distribution of populations, resources, climate, location, and stability of a country.

Geography goes beyond the studying and memorization of a map as there are certain fields of study that require an adequate background in the knowledge and understanding of geography. Among this is epidemiology which is the study and analysis of the patterns, causes and effects of health and disease conditions in defined populations.

The geographic patterns of disease is part of the triad in descriptive epidemiology of "time, person

Understanding the role of Geography

Geographical issues are important in answering health questions as a variety of place- based influences affect health. First, would be physical circumstance, such as altitude, temperature regimes and pollutants. An example of this is people in cold climates being more likely to suffer from colds as people in the tropics are likely to subject themselves to skin rashes, heat induced headaches and migraines.

Second, social context meaning access to care and perception of risk behaviours and lastly economic conditions which include the quality of nutrition and access to health insurance. However, locational influences are constantly shifting as a result of people themselves moving around, understanding the effects of geography to the spread of diseases is one of the most contemporary geographical problems.

Among the questions that arise when studying the spread of diseases include:

• Are the victims exposed to heavily polluted areas?

• What are the hygiene practices and eating habits of the victims?

• Is there access to clean and potable water among the areas in which a lot are sick?

• What are the health care programs of the governments for their

The origin of the Black Death was traced to China however new research shows that it began in the spring of 1346, in the steppe region where a plague reservoir stretches from the north-western shores of the Caspian Sea where people still occasionally contact it even today. Chroniclers identify the estuary of the river Don where it flows into the Sea of Azov as the area of the original outbreak, others state this area as in valid as it is also possible that it started in the River Volga on the Caspian Sea.

At this time, 1346, the area was under the rule of the Mongols who as Muslims did not tolerate trade between Christians. As a result of this discrepancy among religions, the caravan routes between China and Europe were cut off. This cutting off is stated as the reason why the Black Death did not spread from the east through Russia towards western Europe but stopped at the Mongol border. As a result, Russia which was supposed to be the first victim of the Black Death was its last because it got invaded from the