World Cultures & Geography Exploring the World Around Us

Geography: the study of the Earth Geography comes from the Greek word geo meaning “earth” and graphy meaning “science of”. Study of people, environment, and resources. Maps, globes, charts, and graphs.

5 Themes of Geography Location Place Interaction between people and Environment Movement Region

Location Location: Position on the Earth’s surface. Two ways to determine location: Absolute - Relative –

Location (continued) Absolute Location: A place’s exact location on the Earth. Example: 37.9319˚ N (Latitude), 121.6958˚ W (longitude). Latitude/Parallels: Are imaginary lines that run horizontally around the globe: East & West. Longitude/Meridians: Are imaginary lines that circle the globe vertically: North to South. Draw Globe on Whiteboard before class. w/ lat & long lines.

Location (continued) Relative location: This term explains where a place is by describing places near it. Oakley/Brentwood area is about 60 miles southeast of San Francisco Turn to a partner & give them a relative location of a store of your choice.

Place Place: Physical and human characteristics or features of a location. 1) Physical features Water Climate (hot or cold) Land (hilly, flat, etc.) 2) Human characteristics Reasons why people live in a certain area How many people live in a certain place What kind of work people do

Place Turn to a partner & give them the physical features and human characteristics of a place of your choice. BE PREPARED TO SHARE OUT.

Human-Environment Interaction HEI: The theme of how people affect their environment, the physical characteristics of their natural surroundings, and how their environment affects them. People change their environment Examples: Clearing forests, damming rivers, and digging tunnels. Consequences of people’s actions: Environmental impact such as erosion, pollution, and fertile land.

Human-Environment Interaction (continued) People adapt People change to suit environment Eskimo’s Chinese stir fry People change environment deserts to fertile land valleys flooded for lakes, dams, etc.

Human-Environmental Interaction Turn to a partner & brainstorm different HEI’s Brentwood/Oakley has had in the last 10 years. BE PREPARED TO SHARE OUT.

Movement Movement: helps explain how people, goods, and ideas get from one place to another Migration: the movement of people from one country or region to another in order to make a home Why migrate? food, work, trade (imports and exports) Ideas spread Cultural changes and Mix of cultures Interdependence globalization and trade

Regions Regions: Areas with their own unique characteristics which unify their locations. Geographical or land Culture or history Political or economic Religion or beliefs Geographers use the theme of regions to make comparisons. On maps, geographers use color and shape or special symbols to show regions A place can be part of several regions at the same time Houston, Texas is both a plains region and an oil producing region

Remembering the 5 Themes If you can’t remember what they are, just ask MR. HELP M – Movement R – Regions He – Human Environment interaction L – Location P - Place