They learn not only where places are, but how maps construct particular meanings about places. While Cartography is as old as geography itself, modern geographers have developed new computer-age tools to assist analysis. GIS has many practical applications, including locating optimal business sites given multiple spatial criteria, land use planning, assessing environmental change over time, and predicting weather patterns. In addition to computer frontiers, fieldwork continues to be central to geographic exploration. Geographers learn skills in data collection, research methods, interview techniques and data analysis.
Field research is vital to the making of discoveries.
The geographic tradition is one that is based on the crossing of boundaries, creating an almost limit-less frontier of knowledge exploration. As the world changes, so does geography. We adapt our discipline in order to examine the most pressing questions of our time and to gain the knowledge necessary for addressing the greatest challenges of our time.