Chapter 1 The World of Geography

The Five Themes of Geography Section 1 The Five Themes of Geography

Geography Is the study of the Earth

Geographers are guided by two basic questions: Where are things located??? Why are they there???

To find the answers, geographers use themes to organize information Location: where a point exists Place: a location’s physical and human features Human Environment interaction: how people affect their environment Movement: How goods, ideas, and people get from one place to another Regions: Large areas that are linked by similar characteristics

Location Absolute location Relative location A places exact position on Earth (geographic address) Uses latitude and longitude Relative location Explains where a place is by describing places near it. “I live in Bismarck, 190 miles west of Fargo”

Location Lines of Latitude: Parallels: Degrees: Equator: East-West circles around the globe Parallels: Another name for lines of latitude, because they are parallel to one another Degrees: Unit used to measure location on maps Equator: A parallel in the middle of the globe

Location Lines of Longitude: Meridians: Prime Meridian: Lines that circle the globe from North-South Meridians: Another name for lines of Longitude All run through the North and South Poles Prime Meridian: Runs though Greenwich, England Is 0 degrees longitude

Latitude and Longitude Measured North and South of Equator Longitude Measured East and West of Prime Meridian (Greenwich, England) Measured in degrees, minutes, seconds Degree - 69.1 miles Minute - 1.15 miles Second - 101 feet

Place Physical features Human features Climate - hot or cold Land is hilly Human features How many people live there What these people do

Human - Environment Interaction How have people learned to survive in the area? How do they deal with the environment? Are they helping or hurting the environment?

Movement Helps people understand cultural changes Goods and people move: bringing their culture with them Immigrants to America

Regions Used to make comparisons Deserts, forests, plains, mountains A region of flat land

The Geographer’s Tools Section 2 The Geographer’s Tools

Maps Globe Scale Flat maps The most accurate description Hard to carry around Scale Size of an area on a map compared to the actual size of an area (1 in= 100 miles) Flat maps Easy to carry around Shows some distortion. (misrepresentation) Change in the accuracy of the shapes and distances

Maps Projection - method of putting a map of the Earth onto a flat piece of paper Mercator Projection Gerardus Mercator Flat map - used by sailors Shows correct shapes of landmasses, but not true distances or sizes Robinson Projection Arthur Robinson Best world map available Distorted around the edges WAS Official projection for National Geographic – now Winkle Tripel

More Maps Interrupted projection map Distortion “Orange Peel” Hard to figure distances correctly Distortion Flat maps distort land masses because the Earth is round. Subject of a Map = Title

Parts of a map Compass rose Key Grid Shows the cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west. Key “legend” explains the symbols for features such as roads and cities. Grid Helps people find things on the map Parallels and meridians Letters and numbers