Humboldt started directly from the observed facts and used the comparative method to reveal the cause-and-effect relationships of natural phenomena. He thus opened a gap in the rigid view of nature from the perspective of physical geography and founded physical geography. Since then, science has entered an era of great scientific differentiation.

Little was the first to elaborate on the relationship between man and land and the comprehensiveness and unity of geography, laying the foundation for human geography; he advocated causal research, comparative research and morphological geography research in modern geography. He has made fundamental contributions to the construction of discipline systems and scientific ideas.

Why are Humboldt and Ritter said to be the masters of classical geography and the pioneers and founders of modern geography?

1. Humboldt started directly from the observed facts and used the comparative method to reveal the cause-and-effect relationships of natural phenomena. Thus, from the perspective of physical geography, he opened a gap in the rigid view of nature and founded physical geography. Since then, science has entered an era of great scientific differentiation. Humboldt was creative and realistic and had fruitful achievements in many fields. He has a profound foundation in natural science and geology, focuses on physical geography research, focuses on the interconnection between natural elements, and emphasizes the importance of field investigation. He is the author of "The Universe, a Summary of the Material World", "Collected Essays on Plant Geography", "Travel Notes on the New World Tropics", "Collected Treatise on the Politics of the Kingdom of Spain" and other works. Its outstanding contributions are reflected in the following:

1. Emphasizing the idea of ??"wholeness" and proposing the "harmonious man-land relationship theory" - correctly revealing the causal relationship between various things in nature, including human beings The inner nature is viewed as a unified, interconnected, and eternally moving whole. It is believed that human beings are part of nature and that all human races and nations are equal.

2. Humboldt had outstanding attainments in geography, especially physical geography. He explored the relationship between terrain, climate and plants from a geographical perspective and founded plant geography. Produced the world's first isotherm map and proposed the concept of continentality. The igneous origin of rocks such as granite and gneiss is proposed. Proposed the "magnetic storm" and discovered the law that the geomagnetic intensity decreases from the poles to the equator (solar activity will cause huge interference to the earth's magnetic field in a short period of time, causing the magnetic field intensity to increase sharply. This phenomenon is called a magnetic storm).

3. Humboldt emphasized the importance of fieldwork. The steps he took in field research - observation, collection, verification, verification, and inference are still considered very correct today.

Little was the first to elaborate on the relationship between man and land and the comprehensiveness and unity of geography, laying the foundation for human geography; he advocated causal research, comparative research and morphological geography research in modern geography. He has made fundamental contributions to the construction of discipline systems and scientific ideas.

2. Little is considered the father of modern human geography and regional geography. He founded the Berlin Geographical Society and was the world's first geography professor and geography educator. It has a solid foundation in history, economics and literature, focusing on human geography research, emphasizing that humans are the apex and core of the entire geographical research and the impact of nature on human history. We insist that geography is an experimental science and cannot start from concepts and assumptions. Observation is the basis of geographical work. Use inductive and deductive methods to try to establish the general system, principles and laws of man-land relations. Adhering to the teleological philosophical point of view, he believes that God is the master who built the earth, and believes that the earth was designed by God's will for a purpose, that is, as the home of mankind. This is his religious belief and his philosophical explanation of things that cannot be understood. He wrote "European Geography", "General Theory of Geography" and other works. His main geographical thoughts and contributions are as follows:

1. Established the conceptual system of geography and regarded the earth's surface as the research object of geography. It is the task of geography to emphasize the integrity of a region.

2. He was the first to elaborate on the relationship between man and land and the comprehensiveness and unity of geography, laying the foundation for human geography.

3. Advocated the study of causality, comparative research and morphological geography in modern geography, and made foundational contributions to the construction of the scientific system and scientific ideas of geography.

The so-called comparative geography is to collect as much data as possible by region and reveal the unique personality and general regularity of the region through deduction, induction, and vertical and horizontal comparison.