Social Studies 11

What is Geography ????

A) What is Geography? Geography is the study of the Earth and its features and of the distribution of life on the earth, including human life and the effects of human activity. –Geography research addresses both the questions of where, as well as why, phenomena occur in particular places. –The word comes from the Greek words Ge or Gaea, both meaning "Earth", and graphein, meaning "to describe" or "to write".

B) History of Geography The Greeks are the first known culture to actively explore geography as a science and philosophy. Mapping by the Romans as they explored new lands added new techniques. During the Middle Ages, Arabs maintained the Greek and Roman techniques and developed new ones.

C) History of Geography Following the journeys of Marco Polo, interest in geography spread throughout Europe during the 13 th &14 th centuries.

D) Types of Geography Physical geography focuses on geography as an Earth science. –It aims to understand the physical features or landforms of the Earth. – What are landforms???

Mountains

Islands

This Island is for sale.

Boston Harbor, Massachusetts

Fjords

Reefs

E) Physical Geography Landforms Slope landforms –cliff –dell –glen –hill –knoll –mountain –ridge –valley –watershed Coastal and oceanic landforms –barrier bar & barrier island –bay & gulf –beach & raised beach –cape –cave –cliff –coast –coral reef –delta –fjord –isthmus –island, archipelago & atoll –lagoon –ocean –peninsula –sea –sound

F) Physical Geography Landforms Fluvial landforms basin island lake levee marsh oasis ox-bow lake river spring stream stream terrace swamp waterfall watershed Mountain and glacial landforms fjord U-shaped valley glacial horn glacier hanging valley mountain & mountain range stream terrace valley

G) Human Geography Human geography is a branch of geography that focuses on the study of patterns and processes that shape human interaction with various environments. It encompasses human, political, cultural, social, and economic aspects of the social sciences.

H) Human Geography Example of human geography = Population Density.

I) 5 Themes of Geography 1. Location 2. Place 3. Human-Environmental Interactions 4. Movement 5. Regions

J) 5 Themes of Geography Location –Location may be absolute or it may be relative. –An absolute location is a latitude and longitude (a global location) or a street address (local location). –Relative locations are described by landmarks, time, direction or distance from one place to another and may associate a particular place with another.

Understanding Location To understand relative and absolute locations think about where you live. How do you describe it? Do you describe it differently to people who aren’t familiar with the area?

K) 5 Themes of Geography Place –What “kind” of place is it? –What do you think of when you imagine China? Japan? Russia? Saudi Arabia? Places have both human and physical characteristics, as well as images.

China

Japan

Russia

Saudi Arabia??

L) 5 Themes of Geography Place Physical characteristics include mountains, rivers, soil, beaches, wildlife, soil. Places have human characteristics also. –These characteristics are derived from the ideas and actions of people that result in changes to the environment, such as buildings, roads, clothing, and food habits.

M) 5 Themes of Geography Place The image people have of a place is based on their experiences, both intellectual and emotional. People's descriptions of a place reveal their values, attitudes, and perceptions. What are the human and physical characteristics of Rushford? How do these shape our lives?

N) 5 Themes of Geography Human/Environmental Interaction How do humans and the environment affect each other? How do we interact in Rushford? We change the environment and then sometime Mother Nature changes it back. For example Hurricane Katrina. Before and after on next slide.

O) 5 Themes of Geography Human/Environment Interaction There are three key concepts to human/environmental interaction: –Humans adapt on the environment. –Humans modify the environment. –Humans depend to the environment.

P) 5 Themes of Geography Human/Environment Interaction All places on Earth have advantages and disadvantages for human settlement. One person's advantage may be another person's disadvantage. Some like the excitement of large cities whereas others prefer remoteness. Example on the next slide.

Q) 5 Themes of Geography Movement The movement of people, the import and export of goods, and mass communication have all played major roles in shaping our world. People interact with each other through movement. We interact with each other through travel, trade, information flows ( ) and political events.

R) 5 Themes of Geography Regions A region is the basic unit of study in geography. Example: North America, Europe, Asia etc.

S) 5 Themes of Geography Regions There are three basic types of regions. –Formal regions are those defined by governmental or administrative boundaries. Example United States, Canada, Wisconsin, Fillmore County etc. –Functional regions are those defined by a function (example: R-P school district). If the function ceases to exists, the region no longer exists. –Vernacular regions are those loosely defined by people's perception (i. e., The South, The Middle East or the Midwest).