The Basics of Geography

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Chapter 1

• The Basics of Geography

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• What do geographers study?
• Physical features of the earth, (mountains and
  rivers).
• Human features, (religion and ethnicity).

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• How is geography different from history?
• Historians are primarily concerned with
  questions about time, whereas geographers are
  concerned with questions of space.

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Facts about the earth

• The earth is not round but is slightly flattened
  at the poles.
• The total distance from the highest point on the
  earth, Mt. Everest (29,035), to the lowest point
  on earth, Mariana Trench (35,840 ft. below sea
  level), is just over 12 miles.
• How many feet are in a mile?
• 5,280

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Human Geography

• People in different parts of the world have
  special combinations of characteristics that make
  them unique. Cultural geographers often use these
  characteristics to define places and regions.
• Come up with a list of characteristics that may
  separate one group of people from another.

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Most Populated Countries in the World

• 1China1,298,847,624
• 2India1,065,070,607
• 3United States293,027,571
• 4Indonesia238,452,952
• 5Brazil184,101,109
• 6Pakistan159,196,336
• 7Russia143,974,059
• 8Bangladesh141,340,476
• 9Japan127,333,002
• 10Nigeria125,750,356
• 11Mexico104,959,594
• 12Philippines86,241,697

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• In your opinion is the global population too
  large?
• Give reasons for your beliefs?

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Chapter 1 Section 1

• Five Themes of Geography
• 1. Location (Where is it?)
• 2. Place (What is it like?)
• 3. Region (How are places similar or different?)
• 4. Movement (How do people, goods, and ideas
  move from one location to another?)
• 5. Human-Environment Interaction (How do people
  relate to the physical world?)

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• What tools and methods are used by geographers?
• Maps, photographs, scale models, the five themes
  of geography.

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Location is key

• Absolute location- The exact place on earth where
  a geographic feature, such as a city is found.
  (Basically where we use longitude and latitude).
• Relative location- Describes a place in
  comparison to other places around it.

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Place, what is it like?

• A locations culture and its use of space may
  change over time, thus the description of a place
  may also change.
• Place features examples parks, plazas, downtown,
  courthouse and parade grounds.

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Region, Similarities Differences

• Regions are defined by a limited number of
  related characteristics.
• What characteristics do the United States and
  Canada have in common?
• Location, size, landform, culture, history, type
  of government and economy.

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• How do the two countries differ?
• Political power, climate zones, official
  languages and amount of developed land.
• Which characteristics do you think are most
  important in making the United States and Canada
  a formal region?
• Location, culture, economy and standard of
  living.

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Human-Environment Interaction

• How do people relate to the physical world?
• As humans we learn to use what the environment
  offers and to change the environment to meet our
  basic needs.

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• What are some examples of the positive and
  negative effects of people altering their
  environments?
• Positive- Makes places safer and more livable.
• Negative- Pollutes and destroys natural beauty.

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Movement

• How do people, goods and ideas move from one
  location to another?
• Geographers analyze movement by looking at three
  types of distance.
• 1. Linear
• 2. Time
• 3. Psychological

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• Linear distance- how far across the earth a
  person, idea or product travels. (miles)
• Time distance- is the amount of time it takes for
  a person, an idea or product to travel.
• Psychological distance- refers to the way people
  view distance.