geography (from greek: , "geographia", literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of the earth and planets. the first person to use the word γεωγραφία was eratosthenes (276–194 bc). geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding of earth and its human and natural complexities—not merely where objects are, but also how they have changed and come to be.