1. World Geography Chapter 1

2. The Study of Geography Section 1

3. Geographic Tools Geography allows you to examine and understand the constantly changing world in which you life. – The study of geography helps you to see your world from different perspectives – Use of maps, graphs, charts allows you to see global patterns, or changes in your neighborhood. – Develop insights about the earth, its people, and relationships between them.

4. Geographic Tools cont. Geography- comes from a Greek word meaning “writing about” or “describing” the earth. It is the study of where people, places, and things are located and how they relate to each other. – People have always been geographers because they always have be curious about the world.

5. Technology Geography uses scientific approaches to examine and understand where things are located. Sonar- (SOund, NAvigation, and Ranging)- an analyzes sounds to determine distance and direction. – Developed in 1906 to detect icebergs, became a tool in WWI to avoid submarines. – In geography used to study the ocean floor

6. Technology cont. Satellites- remote-sensing technology. – Used since 1972. Landsat 7 launched in 1999 and records images of earth’s surface that are downloaded on computers. – Scientists compare images to identify changes in land use, vegetation, and urban growth GPS- (global positioning system) – Network of 24 satellites orbiting earth, using atomic clocks broadcast extremely accurate time signals to provide information about location here on earth.

7. GIS- (geographic information systems) – Uses computer technology to collect, manipulate, analyze, and display data about the earth’s surface in order to solve geographic problems. Could combine data from satellites, census results, or tax assessors. – Information layered by computers to show relationships among data – Could be used to study topics as different as public health, road construction, and retail market size. Technology cont.

8. Geographic Concepts Geographers use ideas as tools to help organize the way we think about geography. Concepts help us to recognize and understand geographic patterns and processes that we can relate to real-life situations. This concepts will be used to study how people, places, and environments are related. Geography is used to interpret the past and present.

9. Geography’s Five Themes Five important questions can help organize information about places – What is the location of a place? – What is the character of a place? – How are places similar to and different from other places? – How do people, goods, and ideas move between places? – How do people interact with the natural environment of a place.

10. Those questions are related to the 5 themes of: Location, Place, Region, Movement, and (Human-Environment) Interaction Each theme offers its own way of looking at the world and its people. Themes are not mutually exclusive- so one needs to know how they relate to one another. Geography’s Five Themes cont.

11. Location- where it is. It can be described in absolute or relative terms. – Absolute location- its position on the globe Using the hemispheres Using latitude (runs east-west, measures north and south) and longitude (runs north-south, measures east and west) – Relative location- its position compared to other places Place may have many relative locations, compared to one absolute location. Geography’s Five Themes cont.

12. Place- every place on earth has features that distinguish from other places. Challenge of geography is to understand how the character of a place is similar to and distinct from the character of other places. – Character of a place- consists of a place’s physical characteristics and human characteristics Geography’s Five Themes cont.

13. Physical Characteristics- Landforms, ecosystems, climate. – Terrain could be anywhere from mountainous to flat. – Ecosystems range from leafy tropical rain forest to moss-covered tundra – Climate include normal weather patterns, along with dramatic occurrences- flood, hurricanes, blizzards. Human Characteristics- how many people live, work, and visit? Languages, customs, and beliefs? Economy? Government? – When people come back from vacation they rarely talk about absolute location, they talk about different people, sites, and experiences and how their culture is similar or different.

14. Regions- group of places with at least one common characteristic. – Common elements may be physical or human. – Could be determined by people perception- viewpoint that is influenced by one’s own culture and experiences. – Formal regions- areas in which a certain characteristic is found throughout the area Geography’s Five Themes cont.

15. – Functional Region- consist of a central place and the surrounding places affected by it. – Perceptual Regions- defined by people’s feelings and attitudes about areas. – Because various criteria can be used to define regions, the same place may be found in several different regions. Geography’s Five Themes cont.

16. Movement- places do not exist in isolation, because places have different characteristics people, goods, and ideas will move between them (Human-Environment) Interaction- how people use their environment, changing it, consequences of change, how do people respond Geography’s Five Themes cont.