The Natural Environment

Earth Systems Concepts System- a collection of physical processes that are linked and act together in an organized way. Model- a simplified version (generalization) of reality. A leaf is a natural system

Earth Systems Concepts

Positive feedback loop- meltwater ponds on Greenland ice sheet

Earth

Earth’s shape = Geoid Figure 1.11

The Geographic Grid b) Longitude (Meridians) 1 degree of longitude = 111 km at the equator and 0 at the poles a) Latitude (Parallels) 1 degree latitude = a constant 111 km

Latitude is the angle between a point on a parallel and the center of the Earth and a point on the equator Figure 1.13

Latitude

Longitude is the angle between a point on a meridian and the centre of the Earth and a point on the Prime Meridian Figure 1.15

Longitude

The Earth: Great Circles and Small Circles

The Earth: Time Zones International Date Line- (180°) marks the place where each day officially begins (12:01am) and sweeps westward as the earth rotates. opposite the prime meridian put in a sparsely populated area to avoid confusion

Maps, Scales, and Projections Cartography- the part of geography which embodies map making Map- a generalized view of an area, usually some portion of the Earth’s surface, as seen from above and greatly reduced in size

3 types of map scales Maps, Scales, and Projections

Map Projections- the reduction of the spherical earth to a flat surface Problems: Figure 1.24

Figure 1.25