1. The Geographer’s Craft
Geography: Chapter 1, Lesson 2

2. A Geographic Perspective
With a geographic perspective, a geographer tries to understand the world and answer questions about it
An important part of the geographic perspective is the spatial perspective
A spatial perspective is a way of looking at the world, observing how humans interact with the physical geography around them
With this perspective, geographers try to answer why things are located where they are, and what makes certain areas distinct
Can you name a place that has a very distinct characteristic?
How do the people who live there deal with that characteristic

3. The Elements of Geography
Geographers study the interactions between people, places and environment
There are six elements that geographers consider in their work, as they write their reports and consider their research
The elements are:
The world in spatial terms
Places and regions
Physical systems
Human systems
Environment and society
Uses of geography

4. The World in Spatial Terms
Geographers depend on placing locations for where things are
One way of locating by professionals is by absolute location (latitude/ longitude)
But during normal life, most people use relative location. Using relative location allows people to use their mental map
To describe location, geographers use the terms site and situation
The site is the specific location of a place, including its physical setting
The site of this classroom is 34*30’47” N, 117*21’37” W, at an elevation of 3,049 feet above sea level
The situation is a more generalized location, including the place’s relation to the general region
The situation of this classroom is that it is in Victorville, CA, which is on the southern edge of the California High Desert, and is a common resting place for those traveling from Los Angeles to Las Vegas

5. Places and Regions
Geographers group places with similar characteristics into regions
A region may share a similar physical traits (like climate) or similar traits among the humans who live there (like languages or religions)
A formal region has a unifying characteristic
The High Desert unifies our region, making that a formal region
A functional region incorporates a central node and then a surrounding area connected to that node
University Prep could be considered a central node, with the functional region the area from where students come to attend
A perceptual region is a less formal area, defined by popular feelings and images rather than by objective data
Perceptual regions may include “the South,” the American Heartland,” “the Midwest” or “the West”

6. Physical Systems and Human Systems
Geography can be divided into physical geography and human geography
Physical geography includes climate, land, water, plants, and animal life and how these things are important to humans
Human geography is also called cultural geography, and studies human activities and their relationship to the cultural and physical environments
These systems may be further divided into more specific specialties, like climatology or urban development

7. Environment and Society
Geographers are concerned with how humans affect the environment
They study pollution, construction, population growth, and conservation of parks
They also study how humans deal with natural phenomena, like earthquakes, fires, and hurricanes

8. The Uses of Geography
Geography provides insight into how physical features and living things developed in the past
It also can predict some future needs
This knowledge helps urban planners as they develop new cities or decide where to build roads or schools