Historical geography

[5] Current research in historical geography is being performed by scholars in more than forty countries.

[7] Historical geography seeks to determine how cultural features of various societies across the planet emerged and evolved by understanding their interaction with their local environment and surroundings.

By 1975 the first number of the Journal of Historical Geography [12] had widened the discipline to a broader audience: 'the writings of scholars of any disciplinary provenance who have something to say about matters of geographical interest relating to past time'.

Sauer's philosophy was the principal shaper of American geographic thought in the mid-20th century.

Despite this, some geographers feel that it harmed the discipline; that too much effort was spent on data collection and classification, and too little on analysis and explanation.