1. Canadian Geography Geography is the study of the earth and everything on it. “…if some countries have too much history, we have too much geography.” – P.M. Mackenzie King, House of Commons 1936

2. 5 Themes of Geography  The 5 Themes of Geography originated by the National Geographic Society to fulfill a need for geographers to categorize everything they learn.  Location - “where are we?”  Place – “How does the landscape affect us?”  Regions – “How can we describe this area?”  Movement – “How are ideas exchanged?”  Interactions – “How have we changed the land?”

3. Location – Absolute and Relative  “Where are we?”  Absolute location – very precise location on globe  Latitude – distance of any point north or south of the equator, measured up to 90 degrees  Longitude – distance of any point east or west of the Prime Meridian, measured up to 180 degrees  Kelowna, B.C. located 49 degrees North (latitude) and 119 degrees west (longitude)  Relative locations - described by time, direction in relation to other places  Kelowna is app. 400km east of Vancouver, 600km west of Calgary, 110km north of U.S. border and 1100km south of Yukon border

4. Latitude and Longitude

5. Place – Physical and Cultural Characteristics  How do the physical characteristics of a place affect how people live?  Example: Prince Rupert, B.C. is in a mountainous area on the coast, has heavy rainfall, but also abundant forests and ocean access.  Cultural landscapes – visible results of human activity  Sustainable – an activity that maintains an ecological balance by avoiding the depletion of a natural resource.

6. Regions – Formal, Functional, Perceptive  How can geographers organize information about different areas?  Regions – areas that have common characteristics eg. Gov’t, landforms or climate  Formal Regions – based on official boundaries eg. Surrey, Greater Vancouver Regional District  Functional Regions – based on connections created by an activity such as communication or trade flow. eg. NAFTA  Perceptual Regions – determined by peoples attitudes and feelings eg. “up north”, “the interior”, “east side”

7. Formal Regions – GVRD formal boundaries

8. Interactions - Human/Environment  What brings about changes in the natural landscape?  Humans depend on the environment and adapt to it, but they also change it dramatically to suit their needs and wants.  How do dams, roads, industry and housing developments change an environment?  Three Gorge Damming Project  world's largest electricity-generating plant of any kind  led to biggest displacement of people in history -- 1.13 million  How have land-use decisions affected our ability to buy locally grown food?  How does urban planning effect the health and safety of communities?

9. Movement  How do people interact in the 21 st century?  Modern technology provides interaction no matter where you are located.  Globalization – process of economic technological, political, and cultural forces creating a single, global society.