Studying Geography

Five Themes of Geography 1. Location- Where something is Absolute Location- a place’s exact position on Earth surface Ex. Tokyo, Japan is located at 37N latitude and 140E longitude Relative Location- where a place is in relation to another place Ex. Belleville is west of Detroit. 2. Place- The physical and human characteristics that make a location unique Ex. Landforms, climate, flora/fauna, language, culture, etc. 3. Region- Areas that share common characteristics Ex. Middle East, North Africa, Latin America, “The South,” etc.

Five Themes of Geography 4. Movement- How and why people and things move and are connected Natural phenomena (weather, earthquakes, etc.) Migration, Trade, Cultural Diffusion, Internet 5. Human-Environment Interaction- the relationship between people and their environment Influence of surroundings Ex. Detroit’s location on the Detroit River Influence on surroundings Ex. Detroit’s pollution of the Detroit River

Globes and Maps Globe- 3-dimensional scale model of the earth Map- 2-dimensional symbolic representation of all or part of the planet Distortion occurs when converting from a globe to a map Ex. Great Circle Routes Map Projections Planar Cylindrical Conic Winkel Triple Robinson Goode’s Interrupted Equal-Area Mercator

Determining Location Latitude- horizontal lines (parallel to the Equator) measure the distance north or south of the Equator Equator= 0 Lines above the Equator are called “north latitude” Lines below the Equator are called “south latitude” North and South Poles= 90 Divide the earth into two hemispheres Northern Hemisphere Southern Hemisphere

Determining Location Longitude- vertical lines (meridians) run from Pole to Pole and measure the distance east and west of the Prime Meridian Prime Meridian= 0 Lines to the right of the PM are called “east latitude” Lines to the left of the PM are called “west latitude” Prime Meridian runs through Europe and Africa Counterpart on the other side of the globe known as “International Date Line” Divide the earth into two hemispheres- Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere

Reading a Map Title Korea and the 38th Parallel Compass Rose Boundary Lines Capitals Cities Scale Bar Key

Reading a Map Small-Scale Maps- shows a large area with little detail Large-Scale Maps- shows small area with great detail

Reading a Map Physical Maps- use shading and texture to show landforms and elevation Political Maps- show mainly human-made features like countries, roads, cities, boundaries, etc.

Reading a Map Thematic Maps Qualitative Maps- use colors, symbols, dots, etc. to show specific information Flow-Line Maps- use arrows to show the movement of people, ideas, or physical systems