Chapter 1 Section 1 Thinking Like a Geographer

Geography –Study of the earth in all its variety –More than just physical parts such as oceans, mountains, and rivers –Includes the study of people and how their environment influences them or human geography –There are also thinks like political geography and how different areas have different politics –5 Major Themes –Location –Place –Human-Environment Interaction –Movement –Region

Thinking Like a Geographer Geographer’s View of Place –Physical Characteristics Look at Where things are located What is the place like What is similar or different compared to other places Identify Landforms –Individual features of the Land Look at Water –Fresh water, or salt water, ocean, river, etc…. –How does the water affect what can be grown Vegetation, soil, temperatures, and Resources –What are the types of vegetation, can crops be grown, minerals in the soil and are there other resources that can be used.

Thinking Like a Geographer Human Characteristics –Is a place highly or sparsely populated, what type of government, religions, work and languages do people have. People and Places –Looks at how people interact with their environment –Today, people are less reliant on the physical place they live Regions –Look at how places relate to other places. What do they have similar, what is different, i.e. common characteristics

Thinking Like a Geographer The Tools of Geography –Collecting Data for Mapping Earth Many different methods –Taking aerial/satellite photographs –GPS (Global Positioning Systems) »Shows location based on Satellite information Geographic Positioning Systems (GIS) –Collects different types of data on the same place then all that is put into a single system

Thinking Like a Geographer Uses of Geography –Why do we even need to study Geography? –Geographic information is used all over. Maps, government agencies for planning –Gives people the ability to make good decisions –Gives people the ability to manage resources

Thinking Like a Geographer Clues to Our Past –Written Records Documents such as newspaper articles, letters, and legal documents give us clues to the past –Artifacts and Fossils Because there was no written record in Pre-Historic times, we rely on artifacts to try to come up with a hypothesis about the past