World Cultures Geography Exploring the World Around Us

Geography: the study of the Earth Geography comes from the Greek word geo meaning “earth” and graphy meaning “science of” Study of people, environment, and resources maps, globes, charts, and graphs

5 Themes of Geography

Location Position on the Earth’s surface Two ways to determine location: Absolute and Relative –Absolute Location: A place’s exact location on the Earth Latitude or parallels - are east-west circles around the globe; these lines measure distances north and south of the equator Longitude or meridians - are lines that circle the globe from north to south; these lines measure distances east and west of the Prime Meridian

Location (continued) Relative location: This term explains where a place is by describing places near it –Oakley/Brentwood area is about 60 miles southeast of San Francisco

Place Physical and human characteristics or features –physical features water climate (hot or cold) land (hilly, flat, etc.) –human characteristics reasons why people live in a certain area how many people live in a certain place what kind of work people do

Human-Environment Interaction The theme of interaction stresses how people affect their environment, the physical characteristics of their natural surroundings, and how their environment affects them People change their environment –clear forests –dam rivers –dig tunnels Consequences of people’s actions: –environmental impact such as erosion, pollution, and fertile land

Human-Environment Interaction (continued) People adapt –People change to suit environment Eskimo’s Chinese stir fry –People change environment deserts to fertile land valleys flooded for lakes, dams, etc.

Movement Movement helps explain how people, goods, and ideas get from one place to another Migration: the movement of people from one country or region to another in order to make a home –Why migrate? food, work, trade (imports and exports) –Ideas spread –Cultural changes and Mix of cultures –Interdependence globalization and trade

Regions Area with its own unifying Characteristics –geographical or land –culture or history –political or economic –religion or beliefs Geographers use the theme of regions to make comparisons –On maps, geographers use color and shape or special symbols to show regions –A place can be part of several regions at the same time Houston, Texas is both a plains region and an oil producing region