The World in Geographers’ Terms Pages 172-177

Robinson Crusoe had to find places by the positions of the sun and the stars. With no tools to use, he had to think like a geographer. A geographer is a person who studies Earth and its people

Finding Locations When you describe where a place is located by comparing it to another place, you are describing its relative location

Compass rose

To describe a relative location, you need a point of reference, or something to which you can compare the location you are interested in. Once you have your reference point, you can ask a question about relative location. For example, from Spain, would Sweden be to the north or to the south? By using a map or a globe, you would see that the location of Sweden is to the northeast of Spain

Both globes and maps can be used to determine a relative location. However, because a globe shows the entire world, it cannot show the small details of a city. If you wanted to know the locations of a city’s museum, you would need to use a street map. Geographers use both maps and globes to help them describe a location.

What part of a map can help you find the relative location of a place?

What part of a map can help you find the relative location of a place? Compass rose

Identifying Regions Once you know the relative location of place, how else might you describe it? You could identify the region it is in A region is an area with at least one feature that make it different from other areas.

Regions They may have the same kinds of landforms, natural resources, and climate. People who live in those regions often earn their living in the same ways and may share a culture

Mapping from Space Satellites help people make maps of Earth’s surface. A satellite is a spacecraft without a crew that orbits Earth. It uses cameras and computers to take pictures of the landforms on Earth. These photographs are used in many ways satelite video