Thinking Geographically

Why is Geography important?

“War forces people to learn geography” -example: Russian invasion of Georgia

Geography and your community: Geography and your community: – Water supply – Pollution – Growth management – Housing Example: Loudoun Water Loudoun Water – Look at environment/ water conservation How does this connect to Brambleton?

What is geography? Coined by Eratosthenes Coined by Eratosthenes Geo= earth Geo= earth Graphy= the study of, to write Graphy= the study of, to write

Key Concepts and skills Space Space Place Place Location Location Scale Scale regions regions interpret maps, graphs, tables, charts, and other spatial data interpret maps, graphs, tables, charts, and other spatial data Understand and interpret the implications of relationships among observable facts in places Understand and interpret the implications of relationships among observable facts in places Recognize and interpret relationships among patterns and processes at different scales Recognize and interpret relationships among patterns and processes at different scales Define regions and evaluate the regionalization process Define regions and evaluate the regionalization process Characterize and analyze changing interconnections among places Characterize and analyze changing interconnections among places

Studying Human Geography Study of Geography Study of Geography Study of the earth as created by natural forces and modified by human action Study of the earth as created by natural forces and modified by human action – Physical Geography Deals with the Earth’s natural processes and their outcomes. Deals with the Earth’s natural processes and their outcomes. – Concerned with climate, weather patterns, landforms, soil formation, and plant and animal ecology – Human Geography Deals with the spatial organization of human activities and with people’s relationships to their environments. – Covers a wide variety of phenomena – Example: agricultural production and food security, population change, ecology of human diseases, resource management, environmental pollution, regional planning, and symbolism of places and landscapes

Studying Human Geography Regional Geography Regional Geography – Combines both physical and human geography – Concerned with the way that unique combinations of environmental and human factors produce territories with distinctive landscapes and cultural attributes – Concept of region used by geographers to apply to larger-sized territories that encompass many places

5 Themes of Geography Location Location Human environment interaction Human environment interaction Region Region Place Place movement movement

Location  Explains where something is on the Earth and the effects that position has on human life – Absolute location  Lines of latitude  Measured in degrees north or south of the equator  Equator serves as the baseline  Lines of longitude  Measured in degrees east or west of the prime meridian  Prime meridian runs through Greenwich, England – Relative location  Is described by something’s relationship to the places around it  Site  Refers to a place’s internal physical and cultural characteristics  Situation  Refers to the location of a place relative to the physical and cultural places around it

Site  The site is the actual location of a settlement on the earth and is composed of the physical characteristics of the landscape specific to the area.  Site factors include things like landforms (i.e. is the area protected by mountains or is there a natural harbor present?), climate, vegetation types, availability of water, soil quality, minerals, and even wildlife.  Historically, these factors led to the development of major cities worldwide.  New York City, for example, is located where it is because of several site factors. As people arrived in North America from Europe, they began to settle in this area because it was a coastal location with a natural harbor.  There was also an abundance of fresh water in the nearby Hudson River and small creeks as well as raw materials for building supplies.  In addition, the nearby Appalachian and Catskill Mountains provided a barrier to movement inland.  The site of an area can also create challenges for its population and the small Himalayan nation of Bhutan is a good example of this.  Located within the world's highest mountain range, the terrain of the country is extremely rugged and hard to get around.  This, combined with the incredibly harsh climate in many areas of the country has made much of the population settle along rivers in the highlands just south of the Himalayas.  In addition, only 2% of the land in the nation is arable (with much of it located in the highlands) making living in the country highly challenging.

Situation  Situation is defined as the location of a place relative to its surroundings and other places.  Factors included in an area's situation include the accessibility of the location, the extent of a place's connections with another, and how close an area may be to raw materials if they are not located specifically on the site. Though its site has made living in the nation challenging, Bhutan's situation has allowed it to maintain its policies of isolation as well as its own highly separated and traditionally religious culture.  Because of its remote location in the Himalayas getting into the country is challenging and historically this has been beneficial because the mountains have been a form of protection. As such, the heartland of the nation has never been invaded. In addition, Bhutan now controls many of the most strategic mountain passes in the Himalayas including the only ones into and out of its territory, leading to its title as the "Mountain Fortress of the Gods." Like an area's site however, its situation can also cause problems. For example Canada's Eastern Provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island are some of that country's most economically downtrodden areas due in large part to their situations. These areas are isolated from the rest of Canada making manufacturing and the little agriculture possible too expensive. In addition, there are very few close natural resources (many are off the coast and due to maritime laws the government of Canada itself controls the resources) and many of the traditional fishing economies they did have are now crashing along with the fish populations.

Human Environment Interaction  Describes how human activities affect their environment and how environmental changes impact human life  Cultural ecology – Studies the aspects and outcomes of human- environment interaction

Region Region  A region is a spatial unit, or group of places, that share similar characteristics  Three types of regions – Formal  Area that has common cultural and physical features  “uniform” region  Examples:  The Sahara  Map displaying where Islam is practiced – Functional  Group of places linked together by some type of movement or function  “nodal” region  Examples:  Map showing a group of places all infected by a type of disease  The node is the place in the functional region where the movement started – Perceptual  Group of places linked together because of perceptions about those places  Example:  “The South” -Boundaries are based on opinions

Place  Place refers to all of the human and physical attributes in a location – Human attributes of place include:  religions, languages, political organizations, clothing, and artwork present in a location – Physical attributes include:  Climate, terrain, and natural resources – Human and physical traits in a location give it a “sense of identity”

Movement  Movement of information, people, goods, and other phenomena – Spatial interaction  Analyzing how places interact with each other  Friction of distance  Degree to which distance interferes or reduces the amount of interaction between two places – Distance decay  occurs when the intensity of some phenomenon decreases as distance increases  Example: sound at a concert decreases as you walk away from the stage – Space-time compression  Increasing sense that the world is becoming “smaller”  Humans in distant places can feel closer together because of improved communication and transportation the technologies, which reduce the friction of distance