The Geographer’s Craft Geography: Chapter 1, Lesson 2

A Geographic Perspective With a geographic perspective, a geographer tries to understand the world and answer questions about it An important part of the geographic perspective is the spatial perspective A spatial perspective is a way of looking at the world, observing how humans interact with the physical geography around them With this perspective, geographers try to answer why things are located where they are, and what makes certain areas distinct Can you name a place that has a very distinct characteristic? How do the people who live there deal with that characteristic

The Elements of Geography Geographers study the interactions between people, places and environment There are six elements that geographers consider in their work, as they write their reports and consider their research The elements are: The world in spatial terms Places and regions Physical systems Human systems Environment and society Uses of geography

The World in Spatial Terms Geographers depend on placing locations for where things are One way of locating by professionals is by absolute location (latitude/ longitude) But during normal life, most people use relative location. Using relative location allows people to use their mental map To describe location, geographers use the terms site and situation The site is the specific location of a place, including its physical setting The site of this classroom is 34*30’47” N, 117*21’37” W, at an elevation of 3,049 feet above sea level The situation is a more generalized location, including the place’s relation to the general region The situation of this classroom is that it is in Victorville, CA, which is on the southern edge of the California High Desert, and is a common resting place for those traveling from Los Angeles to Las Vegas

Places and Regions Geographers group places with similar characteristics into regions A region may share a similar physical traits (like climate) or similar traits among the humans who live there (like languages or religions) A formal region has a unifying characteristic The High Desert unifies our region, making that a formal region A functional region incorporates a central node and then a surrounding area connected to that node University Prep could be considered a central node, with the functional region the area from where students come to attend A perceptual region is a less formal area, defined by popular feelings and images rather than by objective data Perceptual regions may include “the South,” the American Heartland,” “the Midwest” or “the West”

Physical Systems and Human Systems Geography can be divided into physical geography and human geography Physical geography includes climate, land, water, plants, and animal life and how these things are important to humans Human geography is also called cultural geography, and studies human activities and their relationship to the cultural and physical environments These systems may be further divided into more specific specialties, like climatology or urban development

Environment and Society Geographers are concerned with how humans affect the environment They study pollution, construction, population growth, and conservation of parks They also study how humans deal with natural phenomena, like earthquakes, fires, and hurricanes

The Uses of Geography Geography provides insight into how physical features and living things developed in the past It also can predict some future needs This knowledge helps urban planners as they develop new cities or decide where to build roads or schools