Transcript GEOGRAPHY
GEOGRAPHY A sense of place, people, and their environments. GEOGRAPHY PART ONE: Defining Geography and Determining Regions What is geography? • • • • • • It’s studying the Earth and EVERYTHING on it… Rivers, Lakes, and Oceans, Mountains and Deserts, Plains and Plateaus, Natural Resources, The Earth’s Climate, and The people, too. Let’s begin with… REGIONS Regions are specific geographical areas that share one or more things in common like… •Climate •Population •Landforms •Culture •Economy Regions can be defined by the natural resources found in an area. Here are just a few: • Vegetation and forested areas • Coal, natural gas, and fossil fuels • Fertile soil areas • Wind energy resources • Animal resources On the US mainland, here is one way regions are grouped according to location: • • • • • • New England States Middle Atlantic States Southeastern States Midwestern States Southwestern States Rocky Mountain States • Pacific Coast States Here’s a map that breaks regions up a little differently… What region do you live in? Every region has specific features which help define it. Let’s take a look at a few regions defined by where the states are located… New England • Located on the Northern Atlantic Coast (water is usually cold) • Soil is rocky • Summers are hot and humid, winters are cold and snowy • Some mountains • Large fishing economy • Local people are interested in the outdoors, history, and the arts— especially painting • Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire have smaller populations than Massachusetts and areas located to the south The South • Located on the Southern Atlantic Coast and along the Gulf of Mexico (water is usually warm) • Climate is humid and warm the majority of the year • Fertile soil for farming tobacco, rice, cotton and sugar cane— these used to be the area’s main industries • Today, large cities also are major manufacturing areas as well • Area is also known for its history, tourism, music, and writing • Large cities include Birmingham, AL; Atlanta, GA; and Memphis, TN The Midwest • Mostly flat and located inland • Area is larger than New England, but less populated • Temperate climate (not too hot, not too cold) • Summers are warm, cold winters • Climate and soil are good for growing corn, soybeans, and wheat • The Great Lakes and major rivers provide transportation for crops • Large cities include Chicago, IL; Cleveland, OH; Minneapolis, MN; and St. Louis, MO. Checkpoint Time Write your answers on lined paper. Then we’ll check to see if you were correct. Ready? Here are your questions… 1. What is geography? 2. Name two ways regions can be defined. 3. Which region mentioned in this PowerPoint would most likely bring tourists who wanted to ski? Why? 4. Which region mentioned is larger in area than New England, but smaller in population? ANSWERS – p.1 1. Geography is the study of WHAT? Everything on Earth including water, landforms, climate, people, & resources. 2. Name two ways regions can be defined. Any two– location, climate, population, culture, economy, landforms, resources, etc. ANSWERS p.2 3. Which region mentioned in this PowerPoint would most likely bring tourists who wanted to ski? The New England Region 4. Why? It has mountains and cold, snowy winters 5. Which region mentioned is larger in area than New England, but smaller in population? The Midwest Region Can you make some predictions? Based on the types of things discussed so far, can you choose another region and determine… • • • • What type of landforms are found there? What is the general climate for that region? What type of economy might they have? Is there any special feature of that region that makes it unique? USE THE NEXT SLIDE TO HELP… Compare both maps below. Remember: *Landforms? *Population? *Climate? *Economy? Get a partner and write down your ideas. GEOGRAPHY PART TWO: How Landforms and Vegetation Impact Climate What gives a region its climate? In a moment, turn to your neighbor and brainstorm the answer. (Be prepared to share your thoughts.) You will have one minute after you look at the hint on the next page. Here’s the Hint… (The hour glass on the next slide will keep track of the time.) Get ready… Note -- pictures not done to scale 1 minute sand timer CLICK THE SPACEBAR OR MOUSE TO BEGIN AND END. 1 minute End The Earth is titled on its axis. This means that heat rays from the Sun hit the Earth at different latitudes. In other words, certain parts of the Earth get stronger and more sunlight than other areas. For example, Canada receives a lot of sunlight, however, it is WEAK sunlight. Because of this, its winters are long and harsh. In the summer, while Canada can get up to 15 hours of sunlight, the days still are cool. On the other hand, the country of Honduras in Central America has a very tropical climate because it receives strong sunlight all year. So what about the United States? The United States is located between both Canada and Honduras. Its climate is what we call temperate, it’s not too hot, not too cold. Do LANDFORMS have an impact on climate? YES! For example: • Mountainous regions are usually cooler and get more snow. • Coastal regions – water helps keep temperature in a “middle range.” Summers and winters are usually mild. An area’s VEGETATION (plant life) also affects an area’s climate. Plants need water to survive. They also give off water. • In tropical climates there’s lots of vegetation, like in the rain forest. When the plants give off water, it is returned as rain. • In a tundra climate (flat, treeless land covered by snow most of the year), there aren’t too many plants, so there is less rain. • In a desert climate cactus plants retain their water, which is one reason why a desert climate is so dry. Checkpoint Time Write your answers on lined paper. Then we’ll check to see if you were correct. Ready? Here are your questions… 1. What gives a region its climate? 2. What word would describe the type of climate the United States experiences? 3. Which of the following regions do you think would receive the most amount of snowfall? South Rocky Mountains Midwest Pacific Coast ANSWERS 1. What gives a region its climate? The tilt of the Earth’s axis, which allows different parts of the Earth to receive different strengths of sunlight 2. What word would describe the type of climate the United States experiences? Temperate 3. Which of the following regions do you think would receive the most amount of snowfall? South Midwest Rocky Mountains Pacific Coast GEOGRAPHY PART THREE: People and their environments The ENVIRONMENT of a region also affects how people live in it. What might you see people in a COLD environment do? Ideas: wear coats, stay inside for warmth, chop wood for fireplaces What might you see people in a HOT, SUNNY environment do? Ideas: go swimming, ride bikes, stay inside with air conditioning Let’s move our focus to something in a region that people might change in order to meet the needs of that area. First, let’s look at an area of land that is good for farming. We call that area, ARABLE. People would be able to live off of what they grow, and could sell the extra, the SURPLUS, to earn money. Now let’s say the land is NOT ARABLE. What would need to be CHANGED? Take a moment and brainstorm an answer with your neighbor. ANSWER: The food must come from somewhere else OR changes must be made to the land. • • • POSSIBLE CHANGES… Trucks can use the area’s highways to transport needed resources to a region. Land could be irrigated, bringing water to it, making it possible for crops to grow there. The region’s navigable rivers could be used to bring cargo ships filled with food to an area. Whenever an environment is changed, an impact occurs. This impact can be positive, or it can be negative. The GOOD (positive): PEOPLE’S LIVES ARE MADE EASIER. The BAD (negative): THE ENVIRONMENT IS HARMED IN SOME WAY. For example, building HIGHWAY SYSTEMS… • Positive Effect: This helped the nation’s economy grow and allowed people and goods to get to their destinations faster, easier, and safer. It linked cities together. People could now live in suburbs, making it possible for cities and towns to grow. • Negative Effect: People began to rely on their own automobiles instead of depending on mass transportation (like buses). This increased traffic. More vehicles produce more air pollution and could lead to congested highways and traffic jams. Tearing down trees to build the highway also eliminates an animal’s natural habitat. Animals can lose their homes and/or their food. Using IRRIGATION… • Positive Effect: Dry areas could be turned into farmland by building dams on rivers and digging canals. This allowed people to grow food and it created jobs. • Negative Effect: Taking large amounts of water from rivers and lakes often harms the plants and animals in that environment. In addition, if groundwater is the source of the irrigation, it wouldn’t take long for the water to be used up. Building CANAL SYSTEMS… • Positive Effect: Canals are built to make water transportation more accessible. As a result, shipping in areas such as the Great Lakes increased which helped trade and industry grow. • Negative Effect: Water systems, like the Great Lakes, became threatened with overcrowding and experienced more pollution. While some changes to a region could be tremendously helpful to the population in that area, those same changes often had harmful effects on the environment. Checkpoint Time Write your answer on lined paper. Then we’ll check to see if you were correct. Ready? There is only one question… How can introducing a new species of plant or animal to a region be both beneficial and harmful to the environment? Brainstorm ideas with a partner. Video: Feral Hogs in Texas Possible ANSWER: • Beneficial: A new animal or plant introduced to a region may like the new climate or new type of soil there. This would allow it to thrive in its relocated area. It may help solve an area’s need to provide food. (Example: The pioneers introduced cattle, hogs, and wheat to the Great Plains Region. All three did extremely well in this new area.) ANSWER continued: • Harmful: Introducing a new animal or plant may hurt the wildlife already established in that region. (Example: Hogs that have escaped the farms have become feral and are taking over the area. The population of feral hogs has exploded. The hogs are destroying farmland and causing problems for farmers. Congratulations, you have successfully finished the geography lessons on regions.