Exploring Geography

Bell Ringer 3 –EXPLAIN a trip you have taken. (This can be another town, city, state or country.) –DESCRIBE how your vacation destination was different from Meade County? –LIST any similarities your vacation destination shared with Meade County?

I. The Importance of Geography You can learn about the earth Understand where you live and the places you visit You become aware of what the world has to offer Appreciate the things you have that others do not Empathize with the lives others are forced to live.

II. The Five Themes of Geography A.Place 1.Describes how areas are alike and different from one another a.Physical features i. Landforms, ecosystems b.Human characteristics i.How many people live there? ii.Language, customs and beliefs iii.Economy, government c.How people live there?

On your paper, DESCRIBE your vacation spot you chose for your bell ringer. –Surrounded by crystal clear blue water –Warm breezy weather –Palm trees and white sand beaches –Secluded –Mountains –King Kamehameha’s land –Pineapple farms –Poi –Economy relies heavily on tourism

B. Regions A group of places with at least one thing in common. Formal Regions –Certain characteristics are found throughout the region Countries, states and cities are all included Functional Regions –The central place and surrounding places affected by it. The Corn Belt Amazon drainage basin in South America is drained by the Amazon River

On your paper… Write two examples of formal regions Write one example of functional regions

C. Human/Environment Interaction How people use and change in their environment. These have positive and negative effects on the surroundings

On your paper… List three positive ways people have changed an environment List three negative ways people have changed an environment Example: Natives have built large resorts in Hawaii. Positives: Brings enormous amounts of revenue into the state. Negatives: Diminished natural land and beaches.

D. Movement The ways people, goods and ideas move from one place to another. What would the United States be like if there were no movement in the 1800s?

On your own paper… Briefly explain which type of transportation you think is the MOST important to the success of the United States.

E. Location There are two ways to describe location. –Absolute: The actual location on the globe. Latitude/longitude –Relative: Relation to other places

On your own paper… Using the maps in your book, write the relative and absolute location of each place listed. Louisville, KY Lima, Peru Ottawa, Canada Madrid, Spain Canberra, Australia