Why Study Geography?

1. Why Study Geography? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDk06h7Abbw&feature=fvw

2. Section 1: Themes and Essential Elements Question What are the two main branches of geography?

3. Section 1: Themes and Essential Elements Human Geography Physical Geography Both • Studies distribution and characteristics of the world’s people (where people live and what they do) • Examines how people make and trade things that they need to survive • Focuses on Earth’s natural environments, including landforms, water features, plants, animals, and other physical features • Studies the processes that shape physical environments • Studies how people interact with their environments

4. Section 1: Themes and Essential Elements We Use Geography: • In Government—For mapmaking and planning • In Business—For marketing and development • In Schools—For education • Every Day—To find our way in town or on trips, when we watch the news and weather, when we read about other countries, when we make decisions about locations for events or businesses

5. Section 1: Themes and Essential Elements By Five Themes • Location—Exact or relative spot of something on Earth • Place—Physical and human features of a location • Human-Environment Interaction—Ways people and environments interrelate with and affect each other • Movement—How people and things change locations and the effects of these changes • Region—Geographic areas with one or more shared characteristics Organizing the Study of Geography Organizing the Study of Geography

6. Location • "Where are we?"   is the question that the theme Location answers. Location may be absolute or it may be relative.  These locations, whether relative or absolute, may be of people or places. • An absolute location is a latitude and longitude (a global location) or a street address (local location).Ex: Paris, France is 48o51' North latitude and 2.20' East longitude

7. Relative locations are described by landmarks, time, direction or distance from one place to another and may associate a particular place with another.Ex: Paris is located along the Seine River.

8. Place • What kind of place is it?  What do you think of when you imagine China?  Japan?  Russia?  Saudi Arabia? • Places have both human and physical characteristics, as well as images. • Physical characteristics include mountains, rivers, soil, beaches, wildlife, soil. 

9. Places have human characteristics also.  These characteristics are derived from the ideas and actions of people that result in changes to the environment, such as buildings, roads, clothing, and food habits. • The image people have of a place is based on their experiences, both intellectual and emotional.  People's descriptions of a place reveal their values, attitudes, and perceptions.

10. Human/Environmental Interaction • There are three key concepts to human/environmental interaction: •  Humans adapt on the environment. Humans modify the environment. Humans depend on the environment. • All places on Earth have advantages and disadvantages for human settlement.  One person's advantage may be another person's disadvantage.

11. Some like the excitement of large cities whereas others prefer remoteness.   Environment is not just trees, spotted owls, and rain forests.  Environment is a feeling.  What is the environment of a big city?  New York?  Los Angeles?  Las Vegas? Dallas? • Given the choice, where would you live?  Why?  What is the environment?

12. Movement • The movement of people, the import and export of goods, and mass communication have all played major roles in shaping our world.  • People everywhere interact.  They travel from place to place and they communicate.  We live in a global village and global economy.

13. People interact with each other through movement.  Humans occupy places unevenly on Earth because of the environment but also because we are social beings.  We interact with each other through travel, trade, information flows (E-Mail) and political events. • Not only do humans move but also ideas move; fashions move; fads move.  What is an example of an idea that moves?  Fashion?  Fad?  How do we depend on people in other places?

14. Section 1: Themes and Essential Elements • Formal—Has one or more common features that make it different from surrounding areas • Functional—Different places that are linked together and function as a unit • Perceptual—Reflects human feelings and attitudes Organizing the World by Regions

15. Region • A region is the basic unit of study in geography.  A region is an area that displays a coherent unity in terms of the government, language, or possibly the landform or situation.  Regions are human constructs that can be mapped and analyzed. • There are three basic types of regions.

16. Formal regions are those defined by governmental or administrative boundaries (i. e., United States, Birmingham, Brazil).  These regional boundaries are not open to dispute, therefore physical regions fall under this category (i. e., The Rockies, the Great Lakes States).

17. Functional regions are those defined by a function (i. e., TVA, United Airlines Service area or a newspaper service area).  If the function ceases to exists, the region no longer exists. • Vernacular regions are those loosely defined by people's perception (i. e., The South, The Middle East).  

18. http://www.popvssoda.com/

19. Section 1: Themes and Essential Elements By Six Essential Elements • The World in Spatial Terms • How to use maps and other tools • How to use mental maps to organize information • How to analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments • Places and Regions • The physical and human characteristics of places • How people create regions to interpret Earth • How culture and experience influence people’s perceptions of places and regions

20. Section 1: Themes and Essential Elements By Six Essential Elements • Physical Systems • Human Systems • Environment and Society • The physical processes that shape Earth’s surface • The distribution of ecosystems on Earth • The characteristics, distribution, and migration of human populations • The complexity of Earth’s cultural mosaics • The patterns and networks of economic interdependence on Earth • The patterns of human settlement

21. Section 1: Themes and Essential Elements By Six Essential Elements • Physical Systems • Human Systems • Environment and Society • The forces of cooperation and conflict • How human actions modify the physical environment • How physical systems affect human systems • The distribution and meaning of resources • The Uses of Geography • Apply geography to interpret the past • Apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future

22. Section 2: Skill Building: Using the Geographer’s Tools Map Projection Disadvantages Advantages Used by navigators because it shows true direction and shape Exaggerates landmasses at high latitudes Cylindrical Not as accurate for areas that extend mostly north to south Conic Accurate for areas with long east-west dimensions Used by pilots and navigators because it shows true direction and area sizes Flat-Plane Distorts shapes

23. Section 2: Skill Building: Using the Geographer’s Tools • Climate and Precipitation Maps—Show weather patterns and atmospheric conditions • Population and Economic Maps—Show the distribution of people, natural resources, and land usage patterns • Elevation Profiles and Topographic Maps—Show physical features of the land Special-Purpose Maps

24. Section 2: Skill Building: Using the Geographer’s Tools Climate graphs show average temperatures and precipitation in a place. Population pyramids show percentages of males and females by age group in a country’s population. They help us understand population trends. Important Geographic Characteristics