Land of Contrasts

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Land of Contrasts

• Understanding Texas Geography

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6 Geographical Questions

• When studying places and events in Texas, ask
  yourself these 6 questions
• Where is the place?
• What is the place like?
• How is the place similar to and different from
  other places?
• How do the people who live there interact with
  their surroundings?
• How are those people in that place linked with
  other people and places?
• How does geography relate to the past, present,
  and future of that place?

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6 essential elements

• Location
• Places and Regions
• Human Environment Interaction
• Human Systems
• Physical Systems
• Use of Geography

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Location - Where is the place?

• Absolute Location exact position of a place on
  the earths surface. (longitude/latitude)
• Relative Location position of a place in
  relation to another. (Texas is south of Oklahoma).

5
Places and Regions - What is the place like?

• Places features that give an area its own
  identity. (landform, climate, language)
• Regions areas united by common characteristics.
  (climate/language)

6
Human-Environment Interaction - How are those
people in that place linked with other people and
places?

• - relationships linking people to their
  surrounding environment. (cut forests,
  earthquake, and flood)

7
Human System - Why people settle in certain
places?

• Movement People bring ideas and culture from
  one place to another (trade and urbanization
  growth of cities)
• Cultural Diffusion wide acceptance of ideas and
  culture to a new location which change a culture

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Physical Systems

• Geographers analyze how physical systems interact
  and shape the earths surface.
• Examples - volcanoes, glaciers and hurricanes.
• Ecosystems communities of plants and animals
  that are dependant upon one another and their
  particular surroundings for survival.

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The Uses of Geography

• Helps prepare you for life in our technological
  society.
• Individuals, businesses and governments depend
  upon geography and maps on a daily basis.
  (military, delivery trucks)

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Sizing up Texas

• 2nd largest state in the U.S. (Alaska is the
  largest)
• Texas makes up about 7 of the total area of the
  United States.
• Larger than many nations including France, Italy,
  Spain, and Germany.