Orography

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɒˈɹɒɡɹəfi/

Definitions

1. The branch of geology that deals with the study and description of mountains and other landforms is known as this term
2. This term refers to the scientific investigation and classification of mountain structures as well as their effects on climate
3. The field that encompasses the analysis of orogenic processes and their geographical implications is identified by this term

Etymology: Orography is a technical coinage built from two Greek elements, not a word that circulated in antiquity. The first part, "oro-", comes from ancient Greek "óros", meaning mountain, a sense that also survives in "orogeny", the process of mountain building. The second part, "-graphy", descends from "graphḗ", a writing or drawing, from the verb "gráphein", to write, which gave English a long family of descriptive sciences such as geography and cartography. Put together, the word literally means "the writing or description of mountains." Its meaning is therefore close to a mountain-focused branch of geography, concerned with how the shape and height of mountain ranges and other elevations are described and mapped. The word belongs to the same modern scientific vocabulary as "hydrography", the description of bodies of water, which follows the same pattern of a Greek first element followed by "-graphy".