Transcript The Basics of Geography

The Basics of
Geography
geography- the study of the
distribution and interaction
of physical and human
features on the earth
Vocabulary
 absolute
location- exact place on earth where a
place is found using latitude and longitude
 relative location- describes a place in comparison
to other places around it
 latitude- lines that run parallel to the equator
Vocabulary
 longitude-
lines that go over the earth
around the poles
Vocabulary
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prime meridian- imaginary line diving the
earth east and west
map projection- is a way of drawing the
earth’s surface that reduces distortion caused
by presenting a round earth on flat paper
topographic map- a general reference map;
it has natural and man-made features of
earth
Landsat- a series of satellites that orbit more
than 100 miles above Earth and can scan the
Earth in 16 days
Vocabulary
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physical map- shows natural features of Earth;
landforms, bodies of water and other physical
characteristics of a location
political map- show features on the Earth that
humans have created; cities, states, countries
qualitative maps- use colors and patterns to
show a specific idea
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Check the title
Study the legend closely
Determine the theme
Determine the relationships among the data
Vocabulary
 Geographic
Information System (GIS)stores info about Earth in a digital
database; it can combine info from a
variety of sources and keep it in one
place
Five Themes
Location
Where
is it?
Describe location using
absolute location and relative
location
Five themes
 Place
-What is it like?
-includes physical features (climate,
landforms, vegetation)
-includes cultural characteristics of a
location
-human influence (dams, highways,
houses, building, bridges)
Five Themes
Region
How
are places similar or
different?
Area of the earth’s surface
with similar characteristics
Regions
(1)Formal region- a region that has
a limited number of related
characteristics
 The US and Canada
 Latin America
 Europe
 Russia
 Southwest Asia
 South Asia
Regions
 Functional
region- a region organized
around a set of interactions and
connections between places
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a hub or central place and links to that
place
New York city is a functional region
because it is a main hub with many suburbs
surrounding it
Regions
 Perceptual
regions- in region where
people perceive the characteristics of a
region in the same way
*perceptual regions can be different from
person to person because everyone views
how regions are defined differently
ex: everyone knows what the
Southwest region is but they may differ on
what states it contains
Five Themes
 Human-Environment
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Interaction
the relationship between humans and the
environment
people learn what the environment can
give them and uses it to meet their needs
living with aspects of the environment they
can’t control
Altering the environment (irrigation ditches,
bridges)
Five Themes
 Movement-
how do people, goods, and ideas
move from one location to another?
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Geographers analyze movement by looking at three
types of distance
(1) linear- how far across the earth a person, idea,
or product travels
(2) time- the amount of time it takes a person,
idea or product to travel
(3) psychological- the way people view distance
(thinking something is farther away than it really is)
Practice
 Turn
to page 23 and answer questions 1-5
 Turn to page 25 and answer questions 1-3
under the Geographic Skills section
 How
have modern technologies such as
the airplane, television and Internet
affected people’s perceptions of linear
distance, time distance and
psychological distance?