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Moreover, he stressed that these three sets of observable phenomena do riot set the limit of geographical regions. Beyond these phenomena 'the geography of history' i.e. distribution of population; - production, transport exchange and political societies (territory, routes, frontiers, groups of states), social geography are also the important components of a geographical region. All these physical and cultural factors, therefore, need to be studied to make a comprehensive study of region. In his approach of geographical study, he emphasized the two principles i.e.

Jean Brunhes was of the opinion that the physical and cultural phenomena are in a state of perpetual change and they must be studied in the temporal change, instead of taking them as static in the time scale. He was of the opinion that 'everything is either growing or diminishing', 'expanding or shrinking' and nothing is 'stable and static'. For example, the heights of mountain peaks, the sea level, the ice-sheets, glaciers, size of valleys, deltas, volcanoes, and forest are continuously changing in their shape, size and altitude. So in order to understand the interrelationship of physical and cultural components of a meso or micro unit the principle of activity is to be kept in mind to arrive at a just synthesis.

The idea of 'Principle of Interaction' Jean Brunhes borrowed from Vidal de La Blache, who advocated the 'Principle of Terrestrial Whole'. Brunches assumed that geographical phenomena (both physical and social) are closely interrelated with one another, and must studied in all their numerous combinations or with permutations and combinations. The idea of the terrestrial whole or the terrestrial unity was the fundamental concept, which later on inspired the 'regional synthesis'. All the physical and human forces are thus closely bound together because of the endless interrelations of the conditions they bring out.

Elisee Reclus was one of the disciples of Carl Ritter, and attended his lectures at Berlin in 1849-50. He wrote two volumes of La Terre and the approach in these volumes is deterministic. Reclus was condemned for anarchism and was imprisoned, but this sentence was later converted to exile. During the years of his exile he lectured in Edinburgh and Brussels where he had an important influence on the development of geography in Belgium.

In his work L'homme et la Terre (The Earth and its inhabitants) he asserted that man is not the product of his environment but an important part of it; which can be appreciated from the following statement of Reclus:

"Man may modify (his dwelling place) to suit his own purpose; he may overcome nature, as it were, and convert the energies of the earth into domesticated forces. 'One must seek the gradual changes in the historical importance of the configuration of the land' and in studying space 'we must take account another element of equal value-time'."

Reclus pointed out that man has destroyed natural flora and wild animals and replaced them with his own cultivated crops and domesticated animals. He has changed the balance of nature, sometimes to his disadvantage, by introducing ruptures in the harmony of Nature'. What is needed is 'a robust education face to face with Nature' ...This will give us the grandest development of the 'real love of nature'. Thus Reclus discussed the man-nature inter-relationship in a very scientific way.

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