What is Geography? GEO means Earth The "ography”—Greek word meaning to write about something. Thus GEO + GRAPHY literally means "to write about the Earth.” Geography is the study of Earth and its peoples, places, and environments.

Geography Geographers Look at people and the world in which they live In terms of place and space Where people live on Earth Why they live there How they interact with each other and the physical environment

Thinking Spatially Thinking Spatially Spatial refers to Earth’s features in terms of their locations, their shapes, and their relationships to one another.

Perspective of Place Locations on Earth are made up of different combinations of physical and human characteristics. Physical features Climate Landforms Vegetation Combine with human features Population Economic activity land use Combine to create places

Perspective Geography Experience everyday Live in world Changing seasons Hear sounds

A Changing World Earth is dynamic People always changing Geographers Study how places change over time? What impact those changes have? What factors made a city grow? What effect did a growing city have on the people who live there? What effect did the city’s growth have on nearby communities and on the land and water near it?

5 Themes of Geography

Location Describes where something is on earth. Absolute location: exactly where a place is located. (i.e. latitude and longitude) Relative location: a place in relation to another place. (i.e. it is near, above, west of, etc.)

Place The physical and human characteristics of a place. Physical characteristics - terrain, height above sea level, landforms and climate. landscapes—portions of Earth’s surface that can be viewed at one time from one location Human characteristic – population

Region The similarities you may find in a place. Can include language, culture and similar historical background.

Movement How people, goods, information and culture got to a particular place.

Human-Environment Interaction How humans have changed a particular place (such as through canals, highways, etc.) How humans adapt to the environment around them (like wearing jackets in cold climates).