Geography

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Geography

• Themes and Essential Elements

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What is Geography?

• Geography is the study of everything on Earth,
  from rocks and rainfall to people and places.
• Geographers study how the natural environment
  influences people, how peoples activities affect
  Earth, and how the world is changing.
• Geographers look at many different things
  including cities, cultures, plants, climate, and
  resources.

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Perspectives from Space

• Satellite images have provided additional
  resources for geographers using a spatial
  perspective in their study of Earth.
• Improvements in satellite technology and imagery
  now allow geographers to analyze climate and
  vegetation patterns over time.

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Analyze the Following Satellite Images Below

• What types of changes related to the effect of
  human actions on the environment might
  geographers observe in satellite images?

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Why use geography?

• Most jobs require the understanding of geography.
  An example is a restaurant owner must find a
  good location. Politicians need to know the
  geography of their districts. They must
  understand the issues that are important to the
  people in the area.

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Subfields of Geography

• Two well known subfields of geography are
  cartography and meteorology.

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Cartography

• Cartography is the study of maps and mapmaking.
  Maps are important because they help geographers
  study locations.
• Although some maps are still drawn by hand,
  computers have the completely changed mapmaking.
  A cartographer then creates a map on a computer.
  
• Cartographers work for companies that publish
  maps, atlases, newspapers, magazines, and books.

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Meteorology

• Another subfield of geography is meteorology.
  This is the study of the weather.
• Meteorologists forecast how the weather will
  develop so that people know what to expect.

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Modern Forecasting

• What information is presented in the following
  photographs?
• Why is accurate and timely information important?
• Who could possibly be effected by the changing
  weather presented? How?

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Regions

• Regions can be any size. Countries, deserts, and
  mountain ranges are examples of large regions.
• Smaller regions include suburbs and
  neighborhoods.
• Regions can also be divided into smaller areas
  called sub-regions.
• For example, the Great Plains is a sub-region
  within North America.

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Types of Regions

• There are three types of regions
• Formal Region
• Functional Region
• Perceptual Region

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Formal Regions

• Formal regions can be based on almost any feature
  or combination of features.
• Those features may include population, income
  levels, crops, temperature, or rainfall.
• Physical features might define a formal region,
  such as the Rocky Mountains in the western United
  States.

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Formal Regions

• For example, an industrial area in the
  northeastern and Midwestern United States is also
  a formal region.
• This region was once called the Rust Belt because
  so many old factories there had shut down.

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Functional Regions

• Functional regions are made up of different
  places that are linked together and function as a
  unit.
• An example of a functional region is a transit
  system.
• The flow of people, trains, subways, and buses
  link those places together.

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Functional Regions

• Many functional regions are organized around a
  central point.
• Surrounding areas are linked to this point.
  Shopping malls are an example.

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Perceptual Regions

• Human perception is the awareness and
  understanding of the environment around us.
• Our views are influenced not only by what is in
  a region but also by what is in us.
• Our ways of life and experiences influence how we
  perceive the world.
• Perceptual regions reflect human feelings and
  attitudes.
• An example is back home.

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Regional Perceptions

• What is your perception of California and Venice
  Beach?

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Regional Perceptions

• What is your perception of New Yorkers and the
  City of New York?
• Quick group/class discussion
• Give three reasons you would like to live in New
  York City.
• Give three reasons you would definitely want to
  live in New York City.

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Regional Perceptions

• What are your perceptions of the Corpus Christi
  area?
• Quick group/class discussion
• How do you think others perceive our city and the
  people from this area?

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Organizing the Globe

• We begin our study of geography by looking at a
  globe.
• A globe is a scale model of Earth.
• One of the first things you will notice on the
  globe is a pattern of lines.

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Map Grid

• These lines circle the globe in east-west and
  north-south directions.
• This pattern is called a grid.
• The grid is made up of lines of latitude and
  longitude.

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Latitude

• Lines of latitude are drawn in an east-west
  direction.
• Lines of latitude measure the degree of distance
  north or south of the equator.

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Longitude

• Lines of longitude are drawn in a north-south
  direction.
• As you see these lines of longitude extend from
  the north pole to the south pole.
• Lines of longitude measure the degree of distance
  east or west of the prime meridian.

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Latitude and Longitude
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Latitude and Longitude

• Lines of latitude measure distance north and
  south of the equator.
• The equator is an imaginary line that circles the
  globe halfway between the Earths North Pole and
  South Pole.

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Parallels

• Lines of latitude are also called parallels.
• This is because they are always parallel to the
  equator and each other.

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Meridians

• Lines of longitude are also called meridians.
• They measure distance east and west of the Prime
  Meridian.
• This is an imaginary line drawn from the North
  Pole to Greenwich, England to the South Pole.

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Parallels and meridians measure distance in
degrees. Degrees are further divided into
minutes. There are 60 minutes in a degree.
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Measures of Longitude

• Lines of longitude range from 0 degrees on the
  Prime Meridian to 180 degrees on the meridian in
  the mid-Pacific Ocean.
• Meridians west of the prime meridian to 180
  degrees are labeled with a W. Those east of the
  prime meridian are labeled with an E.
• Unlike lines of latitude, lines of longitude are
  not parallel to one another.

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Hemispheres

• The globes grid does more than help us locate
  places.
• Geographers also use grid lines to organize the
  way we look at the world.
• For example the equator divides the globe into
  two halves or hemispheres.
• The half lying north of the equator is the
  Northern Hemisphere and the southern half is the
  Southern Hemisphere.
• The United States is located in the northern
  hemisphere. Australia is located in the southern
  hemisphere.

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Northern Hemisphere
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Southern Hemisphere
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• The Prime Meridian and the 180 degree meridian
  divide the world into the Eastern Hemisphere and
  Western Hemisphere
• The Eastern and Western Hemispheres are
  officially divided in the Atlantic Ocean at 20
  degrees W.

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• Due to this division along the Prime Meridian and
  20 W, all of Europe and Africa are located in the
  Eastern Hemisphere.

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Continents

• There are seven continents Africa, Antarctica,
  Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South
  America.
• Asia, the largest continent, is five times the
  size of Australia, the smallest.
• Landmasses smaller than continents and surrounded
  by water are called islands.
• Greenland is the worlds largest island.

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Oceans

• The largest areas of water are the global oceans.
  
• Geographers divide these oceans into four areas
  the Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Indian
  Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean.

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• The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean and the
  worlds largest geographic feature.
• It is more than 12 times the size of the smallest
  ocean, the Arctic.

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Gulf of Mexico

• Smaller bodies of water include seas, gulfs, and
  lakes.
• Gulfs and seas, such as the Gulf of Mexico and
  the Caribbean Sea, are areas of salt water that
  are connected to larger oceans.

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• Geographers use maps to study the Earth.
• Maps are flat representations of all or parts of
  Earths surface.
• A collection of maps in one book is called an
  atlas.

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Distance Scales

• A maps distance scale helps us determine real
  distances between points on a map.
• On large-scale maps objects are relatively large,
  whereas on small-scale maps objects are
  relatively small.
• Some may show just one or two miles while others
  illustrate a few hundred feet.
• Maps showing larger distances, may cover hundreds
  and thousands of miles.

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Compare the following maps. Which map has the
larger scale? What types of information can you
derive from each of the maps?
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Directional Indicators

• A directional indicator shows which direction on
  a map are north, south, east, and west.
• Some mapmakers use a north arrow which points
  toward the North Pole.
• Most maps show direction with a compass rose.

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Compass Rose

• A compass rose has arrows that point to all four
  principal directions.
• What are the other arrows? What use do they
  have?

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Legends

• A maps legend, or key, identifies the symbols on
  a map and what they represent.
• They may show colors, shapes, or symbols to
  represent many different kinds of features on a
  map.
• What types of information can you obtain from the
  legend?

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Inset Map

• An inset map is another special element.
• Inset maps are used to focus in on a smaller part
  of a larger map.
• Some inset maps also show areas that are far away
  from the main areas of the whole map.
• Analyze the inset map which follows. What
  advantages does this type of map present?

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Climate and Precipitation Maps

• Some mapmakers use maps to show weather patterns
  and atmospheric conditions.
• Climate maps use color to show various climate
  regions of the world.
• Where would you want to live?

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Precipitation Maps

• Precipitation maps show average amount
  precipitation that a region gets each year.
• Precipitation refers to condensed droplets of
  water that fall as rain, sleet, hail, or snow.
• Each maps legend uses color to identify those
  amounts.
• By using the legends, you can see which areas
  receive the most precipitation.

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• What predictions could you make regarding
  population growth, trade, and agriculture based
  on the following data?

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What predications could you make about migration,
economic, industrialization patterns?
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Population Maps

• Population maps give you a snapshot of
  distribution of people in a region.
• Each color may represent an average number of
  people living within a square mile.

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Based on the information below, where do you
think the greatest population densities occur?
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Economic Maps

• Economic maps show a regions important natural
  resources and the ways in which land is used.
• Some maps will show where land is used for
  farming or other economic activities.

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Which states export the most based on the data
below?
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Elevation Profiles

• Some maps focus on an areas land features.
• For example, you can see that each physical map
  in this textbook uses color to show land
  elevations.
• Elevation is the height of the land above sea
  level.
• Each color represents a different elevation.

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• An elevation profile shows a side view of a place
  or area.
• Vertical distances are measured top-bottom, while
  horizontal distances are measured left right.

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Elevation Profile

• What information can you get from the profile
  below

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Topographic Maps

• The purpose of some maps is to show just the
  topography, elevation, layout, and shapes of the
  land.

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Topographic Map

• What information can you determine from the
  topographic map?
• Where are the highest areas in South America?

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Contour Map

• A special kind of topographical map is called a
  contour map.
• Contour maps provide a way of looking at the
  shapes of land in an area.
• They use contour lines to connect points of equal
  elevation above or below sea level.
• The closer the lines are to each other, the
  steeper the land.

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Contour Map

• What can you determine about the slope of the
  mountain by the contour information provided?

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Climate Graphs

• Climate graphs show the average temperatures and
  precipitation in a place.