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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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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• 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
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The geographic method of study has for its
foundation six fundamental concepts

• Location
• Region
• Spatial Pattern
• Spatial Interaction
• Human / Environmental Interaction
• Culture

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• 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
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• 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
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• 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
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• 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
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• 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

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• 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

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• 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