What is Geography?

A. What is Geography? –Latitude and longitude –Landforms –World and culture –World and how it works –Study of locations –What is on the earth

B. Why Study Geography –Understand why things are the way they are –Why certain things happen on earth –To learn more about the earth –Need to know about other locations –To know where things are on the earth

C. Geography Is The study of the earth and its features and of the distribution of life on the earth, including human life and the effects of human activity.

D. How Do We Study Geography? Five Themes –Location –Place –Region –Movement –Human-Environmental Interaction

1. Location Absolute location –A unique location on the earth –Latitude and longitude Relative location –How a place is related to other locations –Described by landmarks, time, or direction

2. Place How you can describe a location on the earth Human characteristics –Things people build on the earth –Bridges, stadiums, parks, roads, language Physical or natural characteristics –Mountains, rivers, soil, wildlife

3. Region Many places that share the same characteristics Can be described by government, language, or landforms –Formal like government or natural boundaries like the Rocky Mountains –Functional like newspaper service areas, stores –Vernacular the way people think. Delaware Valley

4. Movement How people interact with each other –Travel –Trade –Information trades –Political events –Internet –Ideas

5. Human-Environmental Interaction How people adapt to the environment –Clothing, types of houses, climate How humans modify the environment –Dams, levees, How humans depend on the environment –Food, water, shelter, vegetation