Geography – Chapter 1  Geography – Greek – geographia – to describe the earth  Geography – the study of the distribution and interaction of physical and human features on the earth  Maps- visual representations of a portion of the earth  Maps can be mental maps, printed or electronic

Geography  Geographers use photographs  They create charts, tables and graphs  Construct models

Five Themes of Geography  1.Location – Where is it?  2.Place – What is it like?  3.Region – How are places similar or different?  4.Movement – How do people, goods and ideas move from one location to another?  5.Human-Environment Interaction – How do people relate to the physical world?

Theme: Location  Absolute location – exact place on earth where a geographic feature is found  Hemispheres – halves of the globe  Equator – imaginary line dividing N & S halves  Prime meridian – imaginary line dividing the earth E & W (Greenwich, England)  Latitude – locates places N and S with equator being 0 degrees  Longitude – locates places E & W

Theme: Location  Relative location – describes a place in comparison to other places around it  Example – library is three blocks E of the park  Example – Tremont is 7 miles N of Pine Grove

Theme: Place  Includes the physical features and cultural characteristics of a location (Sochi)  Climate, landforms, vegetation  Human interaction – dams, bridges, houses, etc.

Theme: Region  Regions have similar characteristics  Can be physical, political, economic or cultural  Formal – limited number of related characteristics  Functional – organized around a set of interactions and connections between places (city and suburbs)  Perceptual – People perceive characteristics in the same way (Skook)

Theme: Human-Environment Interaction  People learn to use what the environment offers them.  People change the environment to meet their needs.  They learn to live with things they cannot control – weather.  People react differently to the same environment

Theme: Human-Environment Interaction  Humans alter their environments.  Examples: pollution, Disney, sandbags & levees

Theme: Movement  How do people, goods and ideas move from one place to another?  Examples: goods, language, migration  Linear and time distance: how far and how long to travel – examples…  Psychological distance: the way people view distance  Tri-Valley and BMT kids  Less familiar places seem further away – CA  Affects decisions

Geographer’s Tools  Eratosthenes – 255 BC – shadow to calculate the earth’s circumference  Maps, globes and data used by geographers  Oldest map 2,500 years ago in Babylonia  Map – show locations of places, landforms, bodies of water and where they are in relation to other places

Geographer’s Tools  Globe – 3 dimensional representation of the earth – not portable  Maps – 2 dimensional graphic representations of parts of the earth  Maps are portable, can be drawn to scale, but may become distorted  Cartographer – map maker  Map projection – drawing a map and reducing distortion (pages 18-19)  Digital maps

Geographer’s Tools  3 types of maps(20-23)  General reference maps  Thematic maps – specific kinds of info.  Navigational maps – sailors and pilots  Topographic map – general reference map showing natural and man made features

Geographer’s Tools  Surveying – observe, measure and record what they see in a specific area  Aerial photography and satellites used today  Google Earth  Geographic Information System (GIS) – digital geographic database  GPS – Global Positioning System