World Cultures Geography

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World CulturesGeography

• Exploring the World Around Us

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Geography the study of the Earth

• Geography comes from the Greek word geo meaning
  earth and graphy meaning science of
• Study of people, environment, and resources
• maps, globes, charts, and graphs

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5 Themes of Geography
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Location

• Position on the Earths surface
• Two ways to determine location Absolute and
  Relative
• Absolute Location A places exact location on
  the Earth
• Latitude or parallels - are east-west circles
  around the globe these lines measure distances
  north and south of the equator
• Longitude or meridians - are lines that circle
  the globe from north to south these lines
  measure distances east and west of the Prime
  Meridian

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Location (continued)

• Relative location This term explains where a
  place is by describing places near it
• Oakley/Brentwood area is about 60 miles southeast
  of San Francisco

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Place

• Physical and human characteristics or features
• physical features
• water
• climate (hot or cold)
• land (hilly, flat, etc.)
• human characteristics
• reasons why people live in a certain area
• how many people live in a certain place
• what kind of work people do

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Human-Environment Interaction

• The theme of interaction stresses how people
  affect their environment, the physical
  characteristics of their natural surroundings,
  and how their environment affects them
• People change their environment
• clear forests
• dam rivers
• dig tunnels
• Consequences of peoples actions
• environmental impact such as erosion, pollution,
  and fertile land

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Human-Environment Interaction (continued)

• People adapt
• People change to suit environment
• Eskimos
• Chinese stir fry
• People change environment
• deserts to fertile land
• valleys flooded for lakes, dams, etc.

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Movement

• Movement helps explain how people, goods, and
  ideas get from one place to another
• Migration the movement of people from one
  country or region to another in order to make a
  home
• Why migrate?
• food, work, trade (imports and exports)
• Ideas spread
• Cultural changes and Mix of cultures
• Interdependence
• globalization and trade

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Regions

• Area with its own unifying Characteristics
• geographical or land
• culture or history
• political or economic
• religion or beliefs
• Geographers use the theme of regions to make
  comparisons
• On maps, geographers use color and shape or
  special symbols to show regions
• A place can be part of several regions at the
  same time
• Houston, Texas is both a plains region and an oil
  producing region