Do Now Make a map of your house and its surrounding area – Including landscape, landmarks, businesses, etc….

The Basics of Geography

Geography- the study of everything on Earth – From rocks and rainfall to people and places Geographers-people who study geography – How natural environment influences people, how people affect the Earth, and how the world changes

Two Main Branches: Human and Physical Human Geography: people study the distribution and characteristics of the world’s people – Where they live, work, and ways of life Physical Geography: focuses on Earth’s natural environment – Landforms, water features, atmosphere, animals, plants, etc….. These two branches link together by how people interact with their environment

Who uses geography?? YOU DO!! How you choose to get to and from school, hear about other countries, watch the news, use your phone… Most jobs require the use of geography: – Restaurant owner? – Politician? – Clerk at gas station?

The Five Themes of Geography Help geographers describe the use of space on Earth. The Five themes of Geography: – Location: Where is it? – Place: What is it like? – Region: How are places similar or different? – Movement: How do people, goods, and ideas from one location to another? – Human-Environment Interaction: How do people relate to the physical world

Location Described in two ways: – Absolute: the exact place on earth where its found – Relative: describes a place in comparison to other places around it Absolute Location: – Geographers use a grid system of imaginary lines for locating places on earth – The earth is then organized!

Organizing the Globe Latitude Longitude Meridians Parallels Hemispheres Continents

Latitude Runs East-West Measures distance North- South of equator Also called parallels

Longitude Runs North- South Measures distance East- West of Prime Meridian Also called Meridians

Measure distances in Degrees and Minutes Latitude= 0-90 N/S Longitude= E/W Globe is also organized into Hemispheres (4) – Equator divides globe into North and South Hemisphere – Prime Meridian divides globe into Eastern and Western Hemispheres

Also organized into Continents

Place Includes the physical features and cultural characteristics of a location – Physical features: climate, landforms, vegetation – Cultural (human) features: highways, houses, buildings, etc…

Region A region is an area of the earth’s surface with similar characteristics Usually have more than one characteristic that unifies them Geographers categorize regions in three ways – Formal – Functional – Perceptual

Types of Regions Formal- Based on any feature or combination of features – Physical, economical, etc…. – Examples: United States, The South, the Rocky Mountains, Europe, South Asia

Functional- Different places that are linked together and function as a unit – Example: City with its suburbs, Shopping Mall

Perceptual-reflect human feelings and attitudes – “Back home” easy to know but hard to define exactly – Dixie: seen in different ways

Human-Environment Interaction The relationship between humans and their environment People may view the environment as recreation: the beach, or they may view the same environment as an opportunity: grow citrus, grapes, olives People may alter the environment to fit their life – May drain swamps or dig ditches or cut down trees

Movement How goods, people, and ideas move from one place to another Linear distance: how far across the earth a person, idea, or product travels Time distance: amount of time it takes for person, idea, or product travels Psychological distance: the way people view distance – As we become familiar with a place we think it is closer than it actually is

A Geographers Tools Maps and Globes Oldest known map is a Babylonian clay tablet created 2,500 years ago Maps function: show locations of places, landforms, and bodies of water Globes: three dimensional representation of earth Maps: two dimensional graphic representation

Types of Maps Reference Maps: topographic map- a representation of natural and man-made features on earth Thematic Maps: Emphasize specific kinds of information such as climate map or population map Navigation Maps: mostly used by sailors and pilots

Understanding Maps Atlas- collection of maps in one book Scale Directional Indicators Legends Other Elements