Karl Ritter
Also called: Carl Ritter · Topic: Geography as a Discipline: Nature, Branches and Approaches · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 1 "Geography as a Discipline"
Meaning
Karl Ritter (1779–1859) was a German geographer who worked at the same time as Humboldt. He developed the regional approach. In this approach, the world is divided into regions, and all the features of each region, physical and human, are studied together. His major work was Erdkunde (1817–1859), meaning "earth science". He aimed to find "unity in diversity" within each region.
Example
A regional study of the Chota Nagpur Plateau in Jharkhand follows Ritter's method. It looks at the plateau's old rocks, mineral wealth, forests, rivers, tribal communities and mining towns together, as parts of one region.
Don't confuse with
- Alexander von Humboldt: Humboldt is linked to the systematic approach and Kosmos. Ritter is linked to the regional approach and Erdkunde. Both died in 1859.
Related concepts
- Systematic and regional approaches
- Systematic geography
- Regional geography
- Alexander von Humboldt
- Dualism in geography
- Nomothetic and idiographic approaches