Title: Geography is the study of the earth and its features (physical environment) and of the distribution of life on the earth, including human life (human environment), and how these environments interact with each other
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2Geography is the study of the earth and its
features (physical environment) and of the
distribution of life on the earth, including
human life (human environment), and how these
environments interact with each other
3- Global geography is a two way interaction between
the human and natural worlds that reveals their
interconnectedness - Mining and harvesting other natural resources are
human activities that affects the natural
environment - Hurricanes are a process of the natural world
that affects human communities
Mining Pollution
Hurricane Katrina Damage
4The geographic method of study has for its
foundation six fundamental concepts
- Location
- Region
- Spatial Pattern
- Spatial Interaction
- Human / Environmental Interaction
- Culture
5- Location
- We often ask Where did it happen?
- Absolute
- Grid references, latitude, longitude, address
- Relative
- The use of landmarks, eg. 400 meters past the
soccer field - Time reference, eg. About 10 minutes down
highway 1 - Compass Direction, eg. Travel SW until you reach
Smith Rd.
Brunswick Street in Halifax after White Juan, the
Blizzard of 2004
6- Region
- A distinctive part of the earth that has
consistent or easily recognizable physical or
cultural features such as - coastal regions
- rainforests
- resource base (corn belt)
- political structure and political boundaries
- ethnic regions
- cultural regions (religion, language)
- income (LLDCs, LDCs, and MDCs)
- The scale or size of a region can vary greatly
i.e. Annapolis Valley or North America could both
be regions used in a geographic study
We live in the region often referred to as
Atlantic Canada
7- Spatial Pattern
- Most of the events that geographers study can be
found in more than one location or region in the
world- this is what is referred to as spatial
distribution - A Spatial pattern is when geographers can find a
pattern of the same event in places that are far
apart - Examples
- Expensive suburbs are usually built far away from
industry or landfill sites is a spatial pattern
occurring in most North American cities
Prevailing winds push sulphur dioxide emissions
from factories in a particular direction causing
forests to be damaged from the effects of acid
rain
8- Spatial Interaction
- An event in one location or region can lead to
change in another location or region impacting
another region either positively or negatively - Examples
- Forest fires in BCs interior caused hazy skies
near Vancouver (500kms) - AIDS and other diseases can travel to other parts
of the World very quickly due to technology
(travel)
Offshore oil spills have profound effects on
marine life
9- Human / Environmental Interaction
- Impact of the environment on human and the impact
of humans on the environment - Dependence - We depend on natural resources
- Adaptation - We adapt to climate (winter coats)
and to landforms (rivers, mountains) - Modification - How we change the environment to
suit our needs (canals for irrigation, dykes to
prevent flooding of farmland) - In contrast to other spatial interactions, this
type has impacts that are local this means they
are not usually noticed thousands of kilometers
away
10- Culture
- Any geographic study must remember the idea of
culture, or the customs and World views of a
group of people - Different cultures view different views on the
environment, the use of natural resources, and
the best ways of living in human communities
11- Culture
- By learning about a peoples culture we can
better understand interactions with others and
with the environment - Culture can vary greatly within a small region
- Example
- The difference of how rural and urban Canadians
view rain
Rain for rural farmers is very welcome while
people living in urban areas view rain as
inconvenient