Geography Skills

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Geography Skills

• The Five Themes

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Geography Review Back to the Basics

• Compass Rose

NE
NW
SE
SW
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Geography Skills Back to the Basics

• Cardinal Directions The main directions (North,
  South, East, West)
• Intermediate Directions The directions half way
  between the cardinal directions (NE, SE, SW, NW)

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Hemispheres

• Hemi means half and sphere means circle.
• Each hemisphere shows one half of the earth at a
  time.
• The earth is divided into the Northern, Southern,
  Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

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Northern Southern Hemispheres

• The Equator divides the Earth into Northern and
  Southern Hemispheres.
• The Equator circles the middle of the Earth like
  a belt. It is located between the North and
  South Poles.

Equator
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Northern Southern Hemispheres

• Everything north of the Equator is in the
  Northern Hemisphere.
• Everything south of the Equator is in the
  Southern Hemisphere.

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Name that Hemisphere!!
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Name that Hemisphere!!
Northern
Southern
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Eastern Western Hemispheres

• The Prime Meridian divides the Earth into Eastern
  Western Hemispheres.
• The Prime Meridian (also called the Meridian of
  Greenwich) runs through Greenwich, England. It
  runs from the North Pole to the South Pole.

Prime Meridian
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Eastern Western Hemispheres

• Everything east of the Prime Meridian for 180
  degrees is in the Eastern Hemisphere.
• Everything west of the Prime Meridian for 180
  degrees is in the Western Hemisphere.

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Name that Hemisphere!!
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Name that Hemisphere!!
Eastern
Western
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Exact/Absolute Location

• To locate places on Earth, geographers use a
  system of imaginary lines that crisscross the
  globe.
• These lines are called latitude and longitude.

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Lines of Latitude

• Lines of latitude are imaginary circles that run
  east and west around the globe known as
  parallels.
• These parallels divide the globe into degrees.
• Lines of latitude measure distance north and
  south of the equator.

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Lines of Latitude Equator

• The Equator is 0 degrees latitude.
• The letter N or S that follows the degree
  symbol tells you if the location is north or
  south of the equator.
• Ex North Pole is 90 degrees N latitude and the
  South Pole is 90 degrees S latitude.

30 N
30 S
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Lines of Longitude

• Lines of Longitude, also known as meridians, run
  from the North Pole to the South Pole.
• Longitude measures distance east and west of the
  Prime Meridian.

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Lines of Longitude
East
West

• Prime Meridian is 0 degrees longitude.
• The letter E or W tells you if the location
  is east or west of the Prime Meridian.

Prime Meridian
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Relative Location

• Sometimes you might find it more useful to use
  relative location of a place or where it is
  located in relation to some other place.
• Relative location includes knowing how places are
  connected to one another.
• Ex Is a place located near a lake, river, or
  other source of water and transportation?

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Relative Location

• Answers to these kinds of questions explain why
  cities grew where they did.
• Chicago, Illinois developed at the center of
  water, road, and railroad transportation in the
  Midwest.

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How Are Maps Made Used?

• Interpreting Maps Globes

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How was one of our first maps made?

• In a tiny Native American fishing village in the
  1600s, a small group gathered around Samuel de
  Champlain.
• They watched closely as the French explorer
  pointed to the shore and then drew a sweeping
  line on a deerskin spread out on the ground.
• The line represented the coastline where they
  stood.

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How was one of our first maps made?

• Then the Native American chief drew other lines
  on the informal map.
• A young man added piles of rocks to represent the
  village and nearby settlements.
• The Natives of Cape Ann in MA and Champlain may
  not have understood each others languages but
  they were still able to find a way to communicate.

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How was one of our first maps made?

• Today, people use maps similar to the local map
  created to help them locate places, judge
  distances and follow routes.
• Maps A flat drawing of the Earths surface.
  Cartographers, or mapmakers, use mathematical
  formulas to transfer information from the round
  globe to the map.
• Globe A round model of the Earth that shows its
  shape, lands and direction as they truly relate
  to each other.

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Map vs. Globe Accuracy?

• Which is more accurate? The Map or the Globe?
  Why?

Globe
Map
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GLOBE!
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Globes vs. Maps

• Globes and maps serve different purposes and each
  has advantages and disadvantages.

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Advantages
Disadvantages
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Map Projections

• No one map will ever be as accurate as a globe
  since it presents a model of Earth as it is a
  sphere.
• While certain map projections come pretty close,
  all maps involve some form of distortion either
  to show the correct shapes of a places or their
  correct sizes.

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Why?

• Think of an orange peel
• Once spread outan orange peel can never become a
  perfect rectangle.
• The same is true when we try to make the globe a
  map when we transfer Earths curved surface into
  a flat piece of paper!

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Interrupted Equal-Area Projection

• Accurate size and shape of continents, but
  distorted sizes of oceans

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Mollweide Map

• Accurate sizes of continents and oceans, but
  distorted shapes of continents

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Gerhardus Mercator

• 1568 mathematician cartographer
• Before this time navigation did not correctly
  account for the recently proven fact that the
  world was round.
• Mercators equations allowed cartographers to
  produce charts from which sailors could easily
  navigate.

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Mercator Projection

• Mercators projection preserves exactly what was
  needed
• Shows the true shapes of landmasses and true
  directions, but it distorts their correct sizes.

• Ex Greenland appears much larger than it is

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Robinson Projection

• Has minor distortions
• Continents and oceans are close to their sizes
  and shapes, but the North and South poles appear
  flattened.

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Winkel Tripel Projection
Most Accurate? Probably...

• Sometimes cartographers create general purpose
  world projections (such as this) in which
  distortion of both size and shape is minimized.
• Land areas are not as distorted near the poles as
  in the Robinson projection.

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Political Map

• Shows capital cities, states, countries and other
  political information
• May use lines to indicate borders
• May use colors to show different political areas
• The title will not only describe the maps purpose
  but it can also tell you what kind of map it may
  be
• The map key will sometimes make reference to
  cities and capital cities represented on map.

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Physical Map

• Shows Earths natural features such as landforms
• An elevation map, a type of physical map, uses
  color to show height of land above sea level
• Some use relief or shadowing to show mountains,
  hilly areas, and changes in elevation
• The title will suggest the maps purpose and main
  idea
• The map key will usually make reference to the
  various geographic landforms represented on the
  map.

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Historical Map

• Shows information about the past or where past
  events took place
• The title usually represents a certain event or
  era in history. It may also include specific
  dates
• The map key will often include dates, countries,
  or empires involved in a certain historical event
  or happening

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Historical Map Cont.

• May also use color to show passage of time or
  different nations and empires/dynasties.
• Just like political maps, borders, cities of
  political interest and capital cities may also be
  represented on a historical map. After all,
  cities and their developments are important parts
  of history.

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Distribution Map

• Shows how people, languages, religion, natural
  resources, and/or other information are spread
  out through an area
• The title may discuss a particular historical
  event but it will also discuss how people,
  languages, religion etc. is distributed
  throughout the world

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Distribution Map Cont.

• The map key will be color coded and will show the
  distribution of geographic landforms, natural
  resources and/or ideas
• Borders are usually illustrated
• Like political and historical maps, important
  cities may be found on distribution maps