Sadly, these first early geographers had no accurate means of measuring distances and direction or keeping records of their discoveries. As stories passed from one generation to the next, they became a mixture of fact and legend.

It took many, many years for true geography to develop. The earliest real geographers were the Greeks, more than 2,000 years ago.

Geography is a science that gives us ways to understand the world. Modern geographers have huge opportunities to learn about lands and what makes them different. They study the Earth's surface and how humans use the land and change it. They study populations and industries. They study the climate and how it affects the land. Geographers observe carefully, and accurately report and record their discoveries.

Maps are an important tool in geography. Maps give us the information on where we are located in reference to other places. They show us landforms, continents, oceans, mountain ranges, boundaries, weather and climate conditions, and much more useful and necessary information.

With the aid of geography, the world is made "smaller." Geography makes it possible for us to understand the news broadcasts and weather reports we hear on television. Our lives are influenced by it. Even without realizing it, geography affects us all.

From farming the land, to finding the best location for a highway, from the study of mountains to the problems of erosion, from the designing of maps to the discovery of America, this is geography!