Introduction: Concept and evolution of geography. If, in order to define what geography is, we have to pay attention to what its history and evolution indicate, we will obtain a very clear and generalised concept: geography is the science that studies the relationship man and the physical environment that surrounds him. Geography is not an exact science, it is a conjunctural science, due to the fact that many of the phenomena it studies are changeable: its truths are relative and the interpretations given to any phenomenon vary with time; they vary from the moment in which the same fact is contemplated from a different point of view or from the moment in which different natural causes affect the same fact. Every science is defined by its object and its method. Thus, the object of geography is the study of human living conditions; that is to say, human living conditions depend first of all on the physical environment and then on man's capacity to act on that physical environment: certain forms of organisation lead to certain specific forms of life. The method used by the geographer is, initially and given the variety of it covers, common to that of many other sciences, but its term will always be different as it relates some causes to others and some effects to others. Geography was born in the Greek world with a very clear purpose: to describe the surface of the Earth. In general, it is what today we would call Tourist Geography, describing itineraries, landscapes, etc. Almost at the same time, Astronomical Geography appeared, concerned with outer space, discovering such important aspects as the Sun as the centre of the universe, the inclined axis of the Earth, the plane of the elliptic, etc. During the Middle Ages this knowledge was lost and it was not until the second half of the Middle Ages, especially from the 14th century onwards, that geography began to acquire importance. Astronomical geography reappeared, but at the same time, as navigation had evolved and there was a greater habit of travelling, the curiosity to know the customs of other peoples began, and the travellers -geographers of the time- described them, giving rise to the primitive Geography of the Regions. The 16th century, the era of the great geographical discoveries, was the century of Cartography, and it was the navigators who were the geographers. Two key figures appeared in the 18th century: Humboldt and Ritter, considered as the founders of Scientific Geography: Humboldt in terms of Physical Geography and Ritter in terms of Human Geography. Both see both facets, the former being a great naturalist while the latter is concerned with the role of man within the different spaces. In one way or another, both are based on Kant's philosophy. In the eagerness to follow these two great figures, we arrive at what was properly called Scientific Geography, based on coincidences, which soon led to geographical determinism, far from the path created by Humboldt and Ritter. This Scientific Geography produced the first deviations from what we now call Geography: it was held that the only valid one was physics; thus Geophysics appeared. This state of affairs led to a great opposition from traditional geographers: "the object of Geography is the whole Earth, not only the surface or crust". Thus, German geography created a term called "landscape", which does not correspond at all to the concept we have of it today; we speak of landscape in the sense of perception, of the impact of vision on a given area. This is a new trend, Landscape Geography. In the 19th century, the division of Geography into two fundamental branches took shape in Germany: General Geography and Regional Geography. These two branches are in constant controversy. Regional Geography studies the facts that occur in a given area; the definition of the region is the result of climate, relief, society: it is synthetic. General Geography is analytical in terms of the facts. Another important division is the one that considers Geography as two fundamental branches, which are Physical and Human, following the previous basic tendencies. It is also a controversial division since Human Geography and Physical Geography differ, in principle, in terms of their object and method, which is strange since they are one and the same science. Throughout the 19th century until the 1950s, Geography was mainly Physical Geography; but in these years a total change took place with the progress of social sciences, starting the rise of Human Geography. Thus, to conclude, among all these currents and trends, we can distinguish two major geographical schools worldwide: the German and the French. During the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, Geography was almost a German science, especially as far as General Geography was concerned. It is distinguished by their great concern to make it scientific, which led them to study all of Geography, falling into defects such as the Geography of War, Geopolitics, etc., which in reality do not exist, or even to a radical determinism. Today German geographers have been left far behind, mainly because there is no single outstanding figure. Famous names are: Humboldt, Ritter, Passarge, Otremba, Lautensach, Wegener, etc. The French geographical school, although it appeared in the last century, had a great boom after World War II. It was born with Vidal de la Blache and with him, Brunhes and Demangeon, being the three great masters. Then there are also important names such as De Martonne, Sorre, Blanchard, Le Lannou... French regional studies are very prestigious, and their interest in the subject is due to the beginning of a colonial life from around the last quarter of the 19th century. Today, French geography is also in crisis: the whole of France is well known and there is practically no material for new theses. From 1950 onwards, people began to speak of a Spanish geographical school, but it is neither important nor its own: it has many influences. The Spanish school basically follows the French school, at least after the First World War. Having made this general overview of the evolution of Geography in the world, the next step will be to focus on how this evolution has been felt in the -much more restricted- framework of the Basque Country: to what extent geographers who have studied the Basque Country have been influenced by one or another tendency or school.