1. Geography

2. What is Geography?
geography- The study of the earth in all its variety
Physical
Land
Water
Plants
animals
Human
People-
Where and how they live
How they change and are influenced by the world around them

3. Why is Geography Useful?
Geography is seen in every aspect of your life!
History
Economics
Civics and government
War
Entertainment
Sports

4. Where Are We From?
Look at the following pictures and see if you can guess where each person or place is located and explain why you think this.

8. What Are the Five Themes of Geography?
Location
Place
Human/ Environment Interaction
Movement
Regions

9. Location Absolute or Relative
Absolute- Where a place is on a map, using coordinates or a street address
Joe lives on 13 Patriot St. in Rutland, MA.
Relative- A place’s location in relation to another place.
Ex: Rutland is west of Holden

10. Place Human and physical characteristics of a location
Mountains
Desert
Beaches
Animal/plant life
Human Characteristics:
Culture, religion
Architecture
Transportation

11. Human/Environment Interaction
How humans adapt to and modify the environment
What are some positive effects of this?
What are some negative effects of this?

12. Movement The movement and migration across the planet This includes:
People
Goods
Ideas
Resources
Communication

13. Regions Divides the world into units that make it easier to study.
Places in these regions have common characteristics that unify the region.
Ex. Northeastern states in the U.S.A. experience the four seasons while southeastern states have a warm climate year-round.

14. Tools of the Trade:
Globes-model of the earth that shows the earth’s shape, lands, distances, and directions as they truly relate to one another
Maps- 2-dimensional representations of lands
Why are globes a better representation of the earth than maps?
Why do most people use maps instead of globes?

15. How Can We Find What We Want?
First, you can figure out in which hemisphere the place you are looking for is located.
Hemisphere- “half-spheres.” Top half and bottom half of the globe. These are known as the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

16. Longitude and Latitude
When given coordinates, you should be able to quickly and easily find a location.
Latitude is the distance measured in degrees north or south of the Equator, or where the hemispheres meet.
Longitude is the distance measured in degrees east or west of the Prime Meridian.
Latitude and longitude turn the earth into a grid, making it easy to determine absolute location.
(latitude, longitude)
Example: (42 N, -71 W) are the coordinates for Worcester, MA
Always go North or South of the Equator (Latitude) first, then East and West of Prime Meridian (Longitude)

18. The Equator is 0° across the middle of the earth, cutting it in half horizontally
The Prime Meridian is 0° vertically through the middle of the earth, running through Greenwich, England

19. Longitude and Latitude Activity
1. Draw a green line along the equator (0 degrees latitude).
2. Draw an orange line along the Prime Meridian (0 degrees longitude).
3. In which ocean is the location 10 degrees S latitude, 75 degrees E longitude located? Mark it on the map with a blue star and write the name of the ocean.
4. In which ocean is the location 30 degrees N latitude, 60 degrees W longitude located? Mark it on the map with a blue smiley face and write the name of the ocean.
5. Mark the following cities on the map in red:

20. Longitude and Latitude Activity
B. Beijing: 40°N, 116°E C. Cairo: 30°N, 31°E CT. Cape Town: 34°S, 18°E H. Hong Kong: 22°N, 114°E J. Jakarta: 6°S, 106°E LA. Los Angeles: 34°N, 118°W LI. Lima: 12°S, 77°W LO. London: 51°N, 0°W MC. Mexico City: 19°N, 99°W MO. Moscow: 55°N, 37°E MU. Mumbai: 19°N, 72°E NA. Nairobi: 1°S, 37°E NO. New Orleans: 30°N, 90°W NY. New York: 40°N, 74°W R, Rio de Janeiro: 23°S, 43°W SE. Seattle: 47°N, 122°W SY. Sydney: 34°S, 151°E TK. Tokyo: 35°N, 139°E

22. The Great Circle Route
On a flat map, it is difficult to judge a straight line distance because it is altered.
The shortest distance between two points would be the great circle route.
Great circle route- imaginary line between two points that follows the curve of the earth.

24. Types of Map Projections
Mercator Projection-Shows the land shapes fairly and accurately, but not size or distance.

25. Types of Map Projections (cont.)
Goode’s Interrupted Projection-Shows continents close to true size, but distances less accurate.
Pros-good for comparing land area
Cons-distance less accurate

26. Types of Map Projections (cont.)
Robinson Projection- shows size and shape with less distortion than a Mercator projection. Areas distorted towards the poles.

27. Types of Map Projections (cont.)
Winkel Tripel Projection-Much like the Robinson projection, but poles are not as distorted.