Geography

What is geography? Let’s brainstorm…

The study of the earth and its resources, how we use the resources, how we affect the environment, and how the environment affects us.

The study of the earth and its resources… Let’s break this down into regions PHYSICAL human landforms culture water economics climate

Before we talk about the regions of the U. S Before we talk about the regions of the U.S. and the world, let’s discuss the regions of GVMS!

Just like a geographer that breaks the world into regions to study it easier, we can break up our middle school into regions to help us look at it easier. From the outside, our school is one large building. Yet, there are different parts of the building that serve different purposes.

Your goal is to make a list of all the regions of the school Your goal is to make a list of all the regions of the school. Start with the largest areas to the smallest areas. Key point to remember: each region must have similar characteristics

This is a map! It’s a flat representation of a region. This is a compass rose! It gives us cardinal directions.

Physical regions in the U.S. and around the world…

A bay is a body of water that directly connects to a large body of water (sea, ocean, lake).

A mountain range is a group of mountains together A mountain range is a group of mountains together. A single mountain is just 1 mountain by itself. A valley is the space that dips down between mountains. A glacier is a slow moving mass of ice on a mountain. Mountain range mountain glacier valley

Here is another example of a valley (the dip between landforms where the water flows). A valley at the Grand Canyon!

An island is land totally surrounded by water. The state of Florida is a peninsula where just 3 sides are surrounded by water.

A cape is a raised piece of land that extends into a body of water. Cape Henlopen!!

A volcano is a rupture in the earth where hot lava, gas, and hot ashes escape. This is Mt. Saint Helens in Washington state. It erupted in 1980. BEFORE AFTER

A desert is a dry area with very little rain A desert is a dry area with very little rain. An oasis is an area within a desert that has fresh water from a natural underground source.

The Florida Keys is made up of swamp lands, which are wetlands with trees. Swamps are usually found near rivers.

A lake is a large body of water (not as big as an ocean) A lake is a large body of water (not as big as an ocean). This is Lake Michigan, the largest lake in the U.S.

The Nile River (in northern Egypt) is water flowing naturally toward an ocean, sea, or lake. The mouth of a river is the point where the river enters another body of water. A delta is land that forms at the mouth. Mouth Delta River

A plain is a flat landmass with no hills or mountains A plain is a flat landmass with no hills or mountains. This is Nebraska in the U.S.