The Basics of Geography Unit 1 The Basics of Geography

Bell Ringer Day 1 To understand the issues around the world and how they change your life we first need to understand geography. Write both questions and answer each question with two sentences. What do you think geography is? Why study geography?

Geography is the study of people, their environments, and their resources. A geographer looks at how the natural environment affects the way we live. Perspective - meaning the way a person looks at something is an important part of learning about geography.

Geographers use spatial perspective; they look for patterns of where things are located on Earth and how they are arranged. They try to explain these patterns. Landscape is the scenery of a place, including its physical, human, and cultural features. Geographers explain what they see!

Geography – Two branches human geography – study where people live and work, as well as their ways of life. physical geography – study the Earth’s natural environments. (soil, water, animals)

How do we use geography? A. Cartography – the study of maps and mapmaking. B. Meteorology – the study of weather.

Maps and Globes To locate places, geographers use maps and globes. A map is a drawing of the Earth’s surface. A globe is a scale model of the Earth. It is round object shaped like a ball (sphere) that has a map of the world on it.

A drawing of a map on a flat surface is called a map projection. A person that makes a map is called a cartographer.

A map legend, or key, identifies the symbols on a map and what they represent.

Four Kinds of Maps A collection of maps in one book is called an atlas.

The political map shows the boundaries (or lines) that people use to divide their world into countries and states.

A physical map shows natural features, such as, mountains, deserts, rivers and oceans.

A population map lets you know how many people live at different areas of the Earth.

A natural resource map shows the natural resources in an area A natural resource map shows the natural resources in an area. A natural resource is the raw materials, such as minerals, found in the land areas.

Latitude and Longitude Lines that circle the globe in east-west and north-south direction form a pattern called a grid. These lines on the graph are measured in degrees. Latitude Longitude

We use a compass rose to determine directions on a map We use a compass rose to determine directions on a map. A compass rose shows the directions of North, South, East and West on a map. The lines that run north to south (or up and down) are called longitude lines.

The lines that run east to west (or left to right) are called latitude lines.

We divide the Earth in half with an imaginary line at 0° latitude called the Equator. The Equator divides the Earth into two halves called hemispheres.

An imaginary line that divides the earth into two equal east and west (left and right) halves is called the Prime Meridian (0 °longitude).

We organize the Earth’s land surface into seven large landmasses, called continents. 1. Africa 5. Europe 2. Antarctica 6. North America 3. Asia 7. South America 4. Australia

Landmasses completely surrounded by water are called islands. Four Oceans of the World are 1. Atlantic 3. Indian 2. Artic 4. Pacific