Charles F. Richter’s contribution to geography (mainly earthquakes) is undeniably important, his development of the Richter scale, and subsequent research provide scientists even today with handbooks still used in the field for reference. His work ranged from developing the famous Richter scale to mapping earthquake prone areas in California and also taking a huge role in Californias earthquake safety. His contribution is extremely important to the Geography of Natural hazards and Seismology, which is what the criteria of this essay, for his contribution to the discipline will be based on, the extent to which he influenced the geography of Natural hazards and our understanding. Charles Francis Richter was born in 1900, in a small village…show more content… Charles Richter in 1958 after lecturing undergraduates at Caltech, published his book ‘Elementary Seismology’ contains a catalogue of major earthquakes recorded by Richter, as well as containing information on the nature of earthquake movement, earthquake insurance and talked of building codes to reduce earthquake impacts. The book also covered the method of many practical skills relevant to seismology, this book is still highly regarded by scientists worldwide and is considered by many to be Richter’s greatest contribution to the geography of natural hazards (YourDictionary, 2018). The importance of this piece of work to geography is shown with it’s current application to seismology and standard use in the field, helping researchers to locate an earthquakes epicenter, and also contains many practical methods for research amongst many other integral studies all relevant to earthquake studies to date. The book also shows Richter’s involvement with Gutenberg when the structure of the earth was first being mapped via measurement of seismic waves traveling through the earth, another vital contribution to geography and the understanding of our planet, helping geographers to understand how body waves travel (Richter, 1969). A further contribution of Charles Richter to the discipline of natural hazards was his involvement in mapping seismicity around the world, increasing seismologists understandings of…show more content… He often talked about how damage to property and death could greatly be reduced during an earthquake with proper management and preparation (Gutenberg, 2011). One of the regulations Richter suggested was abstaining from building anything above 30 stories high. His suggestions influenced the City of Los Angeles and they began to remove extraneous parts of buildings alongside promoting earthquake safety drills. Richter was congratulated for saving many lives after the Los Angeles earthquake in February 1971, this achievement highlighting his contribution to the discipline of geography in helping to understand how earthquakes can be prevented to respectable success (Encyclopedia.com, 2018). Richter also took it upon himself to map out earthquake prone areas within the USA, producing reports on how likely the risk of damage was in set locations should an earthquake strike, he used the mercalli scale to create a more relatable risk assessment, as the damage predicted could be visualized easier than with the Richter scale. The Maps were based off local geology, proximity to active faults and past records of seismicity (DuBridge, 1959). The corroboration between Richter’s risk maps and state building codes both acted to reduce severe loss of life after his regulations on building were regularly applied, all of which helped natural