Contribution of Arab Geographer in geographical thought UPSC ~ Geography Notes for UPSC , State PCS Exam, and NCERT Classes

The thought of the early Arab geographer was highly influenced by the ideas of the Greek geographers such as:

During the medieval period [tenth and eighteenth centuries] Arab geographers contributed their new ideas to geography.

The contribution of Arab geographers in geographical development is as follows:

In the field of geomorphology:

Contribution of Al Biruni:

Al Biruni gave the reason for the spherical shape of rocks. He explains that when the rocks fall from the mountains and when it moves through the river valleys, the stone takes a circular shape.
Al Biruni also gave the names of the alluvial soil and said that it was found far away from the mountain.
Al Biruni explained the effects of climate on vegetation.

Another Arab geographer pointed out that mountain peaks are made of hard rocks that are resistant to erosion.

In oceanography:

Arab geographers pointed out the main reason for the tides to be the attraction power of the moon and the sun, due to which the seawater rises.
Al Masoodi pointed out that due to the presence of salinity in the seawater, the color of the water is salty and the main source of salinity of the oceans is the land. The salt from the land goes to seawater.

In the field of climatology:

The Indian monsoon was described by Al Masoodi, an Arab geographer.
Al Masoodi, during his visit to India, named monsoon, which is derived from the Arab word "Mausam" which means the reversal of winds.
Al Balakh prepared the world's first climate atlas (Kitab-ul-Ashkal).
Al Magadisi divided the world climate into 14 regions on the basis of vegetation and climate change.

In the field of human geography:

Arab geographers pointed out that both climate and vegetation contribute to the development of region-specific societies and influence their forms.
Ibn-Khaldun pointed out that people in warmer regions tend to be more sentimental than colder regions, and thus Ibn-Khaldun gave rise to location-specific geography.
Ibn-Khaldun also pointed out that the Northern Hemisphere is a more densely populated region than the Southern Hemisphere. And the area near the equator is sparsely populated and the area with fertile land is very densely populated.
Ibn Battuta mentioned the human settlement of the desert area. He told that there is a different way of building a house in the desert and the construction material used to build the house is also mentioned.

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Geography Notes for UPSC , State PCS Exam, and NCERT Classes