Geography: Understanding the World in Which We Live By: Ms. Astle

What is Geography? Geography is the study of the earth and everything on it. Geography describes the earth’s land, water, plant, and animal life. Geography is also the study of places, and the relationship between people and their environments. Picture from: Microsoft Clip Art

Continents The earth is divided into seven continents: North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica. Picture from: The Seven Continents

Oceans of the World The Earth is made up of 70% water. The Earth also has four major oceans: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic. Picture from: Oceans and Seas of the World

Hemispheres A Hemisphere is any half of the earth. The earth is divided into 4 hemispheres: Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western. The Northern and Southern Hemispheres are divided along the Equator. The Eastern and Western Hemispheres are divided on the Prime Meridian. Picture from: The Hemisphere Map

Latitude and Longitude Maps have lines of latitude and longitude that form a grid. The distance between the lines is measured in degrees. Every place on earth has a unique position or “address” on this grid. Knowing latitude and longitude makes it easier for you to locate cities and other places on a map. Example: New Orleans is located at 30*N, 90*W. Picture from: Latitude and Longitude

Latitude Lines of latitude circle the earth, and measure either north or south of the equator (0* Latitude.) They measure north and south of the equator. Picture from: Learn about Latitude and Longitude Picture from: World Atlas

Longitude Lines of longitude stretch from the North Pole to the South Pole. They measure east or west of the Prime Meridian (0* Longitude.) Picture from: Learn about Latitude and Longitude Picture from: World Atlas

Map Projections A Map projection is a mathematical method of showing a map of the globe on a flat surface. There are two main types of projections: The Mercator Projection and the Robinson Projection. 1 st globe was created by Martin Behaim. It is the first plotting of the earth as a sphere.

Mercator Projection Mercator Projection---shows land shapes accurately, but not size and distance. Picture from: Mercator’s Projection

Robinson Projection Robinson Projection---shows fairly accurate view of most sizes, shapes, and distance. Robinson Projection is the most used. Picture from: The Arthur H. Robinson Map Library

5 Themes of Geography To help study the geography of the earth geographers have broken geography into five themes. The Five Themes of Geography are: –Location –Place –Human/Environment Interaction –Movement –Regions

Location Location is where a place is located on the earth. There are two types of location: Absolute location is an exact position of place on the Earth. Relative location tells where a place is in relation to other places. Pictures from: Microsoft Clip Art

Place Place describes what a place is like. Place can be described using physical or human characteristics. Physical characteristics include landforms, climate, and plant and animal life. Human characteristics include language, religion, culture, and way of life. Picture from: Heather Astle’s Korea and Hogle Zoo Pictures

Region To help organize the study of geography, geographers often group places or areas into regions. Regions are areas with one or more common characteristics. Picture from: Microsoft Clip Art

Human/Environment Interaction Human/Environment Interaction is the study of how people use the environment and how their actions affect the environment. Pictures from: Microsoft Clip Art

Movement Movement is the study of how people, ideas, and goods move from place to place. Why do people move to one place but not others? Picture from: Microsoft Clip Art

PARTS OF A MAP

Compass Rose Compass Rose---It is a direction marker. This tells you where the cardinal directions are positioned –north, south, east, and west Picture from: Wikipedia: Compass Rose

Key/Legend Map Key/Legend---explains the lines, symbols, and colors on a map and what they mean. Picture from: Explore Maps

Scale Scale---A measuring line that helps you determine distance on a map. The Scale tells you what distance on earth is represented by the measurement on the scale bar. Picture from: Using Map Scales

Types of Maps

Understanding Maps Maps are used all of the time in our everyday world and each one has a specific use. Types of maps include: physical, political, topographical, road maps, and special purpose maps.

Political Map Picture from: Wikipedia: WikiProject Maps

Physical Map Picture from: Map of US

Road Map Picture from: Rhode Island Road Map

Topography Map Picture from: Wikipedia: Topographical Map

Types of Maps Used in Everyday Life Picture from: Wikipedia: Floor Plan

Special Purpose Map Picture from: Tourist Guide Barcelona

How Does Geography Influence History? Geographic factors—landforms, waterways, natural resources— have shaped America’s history. Geography helps determine what you eat and depend on for food, your clothing, shelter, and tools. Geographic barriers such as mountains and deserts determined where people first settled. The building of canals, railroads, steamboats helped people to move past physical barriers and move west. Picture from: Wikipedia: Ancient Pueblo Peoples Picture from: Wikipedia: Rail Transport

Resources Microsoft Clip Art (2008) Microsoft Corporation. Heather Astle’s Korea and Hogle Zoo Pictures (2006) Heather Astle. Wikipedia: Compass Rose (2008) Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. at URL: Wikipedia: Topographical Map (2008) Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. at URL: Wikipedia: Floor Plan (2008) Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. at URL: Wikipedia: WikiProject Maps (2008) Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. at URL: Using Map Scales (2002) David J. Leveson at URL: se.html se.html Explore Maps (2008) Explore Maps at URL:

Resources Map of the Capitol Complex (2008)Architect of the Capitol at URL: University of Tennessee Chattanooga Campus Map (2008) The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga at URL: Rhode Island Road Map (2008) VisitRhodeIsland.com at URL: The Hemisphere Map (2008) Maps.com at URL: The Seven Continents (2008) Around the World at URL: academy.com/Web_Quests/Around_The_World/html/the_continents.ht ml academy.com/Web_Quests/Around_The_World/html/the_continents.ht ml Oceans and Seas of the World (2006) Compare Infobase Limited at URL: World Atlas (2008) AOL, LLC. At URL:

Resources Tourist Guide Barcelona ( ) Barcelona-tourist-guide.com at URL: files/maps/barcelona-metro-map.gifhttp:// files/maps/barcelona-metro-map.gif Map of US (2008) Code Network Media Group (Ltd.) at URL: Latitude and Longitude (2008) geographyalltheway.com at URL: ses/imagesetc/latitudelongitude.jpg URL: ses/imagesetc/latitudelongitude.jpg Learn about Latitude and Longitude ( ) Junglephotos.com at URL: ml ml Wikipedia: Ancient Pueblo Peoples (2008) Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. at URL: Wikipedia: Rail Transport (2008) Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. at URL:

Resources Mercator’s Projection (2003) Robert Israel at URL: The Arthur H. Robinson Map Library (2007) Board of Regents University of Wisconsin-Madison at URL: