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Understanding Sparsely Populated Regions and Human Settlements

This document covers key issues related to sparsely populated regions, focusing on the factors that hinder human settlement, such as extreme climates (too dry, too wet, too cold, or too mountainous). It discusses the concept of ecumene—areas inhabited by people—and how the world’s distribution of population has changed over time. Covering various environmental challenges associated with deserts, wetlands, cold lands, and highlands, it explains why certain regions remain inhospitable while also addressing adaptation strategies like irrigation and livestock farming.

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Understanding Sparsely Populated Regions and Human Settlements

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  1. Wednesday Oct. 6th • Have your homework Key Issue 1 packet ready • Textbook open to Key Issue 1 • Calculator if you have one 

  2. Sparsely Populated Regions

  3. Few people live in regions that are: • Too dry • Too wet • Too cold • Too mountainous

  4. Ecumene: portion of Earth’s surface occupied by permanent human settlement

  5. Areas considered too harsh to live in has diminished over time as the Earth becomes more populated = ecumene has increased • ¾ of the world’s population live on only 5% of the Earth’s surface

  6. Dry Lands • Areas too dry to farm cover 20% of the Earth’s land surface • 2 largest desert regions in the world: • Northern Hemisphere- 15○ and 50○ north latitude • Southern Hemisphere- 20○ and 50○ south latitude • Largest desert region- N. Africa to Southwest and Central Asia- Sahara, Arabian, Thar, TaklaMakan, Gobi deserts • A smaller desert region comprises much of Australia

  7. Deserts • Usually lack enough water to grow crops to feed a large population • Some people adapt by raising animals (camels) • Constructing irrigation systems, allows people to grow some crops • Deserts have much of the world’s oil reserves= increasing demand for people to live closer (work)

  8. Wet lands

  9. Wet lands • Land that receives high levels of rain may also be inhospitable for human living • Located primarily near the equator 20 north and south latitude in South America, Central Africa, Southeast Asia • Rainfall averages 50 inches/year • Rain and heat takes away nutrients from the soil from the soil = agriculture

  10. Cold Lands • Land near the North and South poles is constantly covered with ice or the ground is permanently frozen (permafrost) • Small annual snowfall accumulates onto thick ice • Few animals can survive the extreme cold

  11. High Lands • High elevation • Example: Half of Switzerland’s land is more than 3,300 feet above sea level & only 5 % of the country live there

  12. Exemptions: some may prefer higher lands if temperatures and weather are uncomfortably high at lower elevations

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