1. Geography: Introduction
Previewing the Course

2. Journal Questions
What do you think geography is– what kind of questions does geography answer?
How does geography differ from history and other social sciences?
How could the study of geography be useful in your life?

3. The Earth from Space
Imagine you are traveling in space, and you come upon this planet for the very first time
How would you describe this planet?
How do you think your description as an alien might differ from what you know of the people on this earth and how they would describe where they live?
How do you think this photograph was obtained?

4. The First Chapter of Our Textbook
The first chapter of our textbook is called “How Geographers Look at the World.”
How do you think geographers look at the world?
One chapter deals with physical geography, while another chapter deals with human geography. What do you think is the difference between these two perspectives?
Physical geography deals with physical systems: climate, land, water, plants, animals; human or cultural geography deals with human activities and how they relate to the physical environment

5. What are some questions that a physical geographer might ask and a human geographer might ask?
Physical Geography

6. Different Types of Maps
Chapter 1 of our textbook also has an atlas, which is a collection of maps. You’ll be flipping back to this chapter a lot throughout this course to refer back to these maps
Maps can display all sorts of different kinds of information
Types of maps include physical, political, climate, economic, and population density maps

7. Physical maps show landforms and oceans, but don’t necessarily show borders between countries --How are elevations denoted in this map?

8. Political maps show borders between countries or states, but don’t necessarily show deserts and mountains

9. Political Maps A political entity is a nation, state, town, city, etc.
Some things that political maps tell us are:
boundaries, locations, and relative sizes of countries
the location of capital cities
which countries border each other or are neighbors

10. Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Political Maps are constantly needing revision, as countries seem to just come and go
For example, in a small span of just a few years:
1990: East & West Germany unite to become Germany
1991: Soviet Union dissolved into 15 countries
1992: Yugoslavia broke into 2 countries
1993: Czechoslovakia broke into 2 countries
1993: Eritrea separated itself from Ethiopia

11. Population density maps show where there are crowds of people --Where does it look the most crowded?

12. Population Density
Population Density shows how heavily or sparsely populated an area is
It is often measured by number of people per square mile
What’s an example of a place where there is a high population density?
Would you enjoy living where the population density is high (urban), moderate (suburban), or low (rural)?

13. Urban, Suburban, Rural
Would you consider Victorville to be urban, suburban, or rural?

14. Climate and Vegetation maps show what the plant life generally looks like, with no regard for political borders -- Which climate do we live in?

15. Economic activity maps can display the relative economic health within countries

16. Another economic map, featuring the most famous brand from each state

17. In fact, a lot of information could be displayed just by using a map

18. Here’s a closer look at some of those…

19. Map Compass, also called a Compass Rose
Most maps have a symbol on them that looks something like this.
What does this symbol mean?
Is North up in the sky and South down towards the ground?
Does water always flow from north to south because water flows downward?
NO!
Map Compass, also called a Compass Rose

20. Is there anything wrong with this map?

21. Which continents are in the Northern hemisphere?
Which continents are in the Southern hemisphere?
Which continents are in the Eastern hemisphere?
Which continents are in the Western hemisphere?
Is there more land in the Northern or Southern hemisphere?
“Hemi” means half, while a sphere is a ball. So the globe could be divided into halves, called hemispheres. The dividing lines are the equator and the Prime Meridian.

22. Activity
So far, we have just looked at world maps, but of course, there are more local maps as well, even down to the scale of a city or even a diagram of your room could be considered a map
Draw a map of Victorville, and include information that you think would be helpful for someone visiting the city for the first time (use a whole page for your drawing, so you can put in sufficient detail)
You can include highways and streets, where your house is, where the school is, where the fun parts of town are and where the bad parts of town are