Unit 1: Introduction to Geography

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Unit 1 Introduction to Geography

• Lesson 1 The Five Themes of Geography

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What is Geography?

• Geography
• Literally means description of the earth
• It is a way of thinking about and analyzing the
  earths surface, physical patterns, and human
  occupation.
• Geographers are people who study the earth
• Perspective
• 5 themes of geography
• Methods/tools
• Cartography
• Maps

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The five themes of geography

• Location
• Where is it?
• Place
• What is it like there?
• Movement
• How are people and places connected?
• Human Environmental Interaction
• What is the relationship between people and their
  environment?
• Region
• How do we classify?

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Location

• Three Types
• Nominal
• By name
• Windsor Pointe is a subdivision in Sugar Grove
• Relative location
• By Site and Situation
• Elburn is East of Maple Park
• Absolute location
• By Spatial Coordinates
• Houston, Texas, for example, is located at
  latitude 29 north, longitude 95 west

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Relative Location

• Location of a place in relation to that of other
  places.
• Always use a direction when reporting relative
  location.
• Example
• The KHS football field is North of the school.
• Sugar Grove is West of Aurora
• The United States is North of Mexico

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Location

• Lets try some examples!!
• Nominal
• __________________________________
• Relative
• __________________________________
• Absolute (Use pg RA19)
• Alexandria, Egypt
• Latitude 31 North, Longitude 30 East
• Monrovia, Liberia
• Latitude 7 North, Longitude 11 West

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Site Situation

• Site
• refers to physical characteristics, such as
  climate, soil type or elevation.
• Site Example
• Elburn has rich topsoil
• Winters in Northern Illinois are dry and cold

• Situation
• refers to access to landmarks or transportation,
  such as proximity to the White House or to Main
  Street.
• Situation Example
• Sugar Grove has quick access to major
  transportation arteries

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Check for Understanding
Relative Location Activity

• Give the relative location of the following (use
  pg RA4 5)
• Indian Ocean
• Mexico
• China
• Canada
• Atlantic Ocean

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Absolute Location

• Exact position on the globe
• Grid system
• Network of imaginary lines around the earth
• Two sets of lines encircle the globe
• Latitude
• Longitude

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Latitude (Parallels)

• Parallel lines of latitude are horizontal,
  running from east to west
• Equator is the imaginary line from which latitude
  is measured 0-90
• equidistant from the poles, dividing the globe
  into the northern and southern hemispheres.
• lines of latitude become progressively shorter as
  they near the poles

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Longitude (Meridians)

• Longitudinal lines run from north to south
• The prime meridian is an arbitrarily selected
  line from which all of the others are measured
  0-180
• Each individual vertical line intersects both
  poles
• Lines of Longitude converge as they near the
  poles
• Divide the globe into Eastern Western
  Hemispheres
• All of the lines of longitude are the same
  length.

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Just in Case you wanted to know

• Each degree of latitude and longitude is divided
  into 60 minutes
• Each minute is further divided into 60 seconds.
• Navigators measure distance in nautical miles
• an internationally agreed-on standard equaling
  the average length of one minute of one degree,
  or 1,852 m (6,076 ft).

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How do Geographers express absolute location

• Parallels of latitude north of the equator, which
  lies at 0, are identified as north, and those
  south of the equator are identified as south.
• The North Pole lies at latitude 90 north,
• The South Pole, at latitude 90 south.

• By international agreement, the prime meridian
  lies at 0 longitude.
• Meridians of longitude
• East of the prime meridian are designated as east
• west of the prime meridian are identified as west.

On maps directions are abbreviated as N, S, E,
and W.
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Check for Understanding
Absolute Location Activity
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What continent is located at 1) 50 degrees N,
20 degrees E? 2) 20 degrees S, 60 degrees W? 3)
30 degrees S, 140 degrees E? 4) 0 degrees N, 20
degrees E? 5) 90 degrees S, 0 degrees E?
Equator
Prime Meridian
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Place

• What kind of place is it? 
• Places have both human and physical
  characteristics, as well as images.
• The image people have of a place is based on
  their experiences, both intellectual and
  emotional. 
• People's descriptions of a place reveal their
  values, attitudes, and perceptions.
• How do these characteristics shape our lives?

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Physical Characteristics

• Physical characteristics include mountains,
  rivers, soil, beaches, wildlife.  

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Human Characteristics

• Places have human characteristics also.  These
  characteristics are derived from the ideas and
  actions of people that result in changes to the
  environment, such as buildings, roads, clothing,
  and food habits.

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Movement

• The movement of people, the import and export of
  goods, and mass communication have all played
  major roles in shaping our world. 
• People everywhere interact.
• Interdependence
• Reliance on each other for goods, services, and
  ideas near and far

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Human Environmental Interaction

• Human Environmental Interaction is how mankind
  reacts to its surroundings.
• Humans interact with nature every day.
• Humans react differently to everything they live
  near.
• There are three ways that humans interact with
  nature
• Humans depend on the environment for life
• Humans modify nature
• Humans adapt to nature.

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Poor Farming Techniques
Uncontrolled Air Pollution
Strip mining
Humans must be cautious of overexploitation
Deforestation
Unregulated Waste
Desertification
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Region

• Location and place are tied together by regions.
• Regions are relative locations that are brought
  together by certain unifying (or common)
  characteristics.
• These unifying characteristics often influence
• what kinds of people inhabit these regions
• how humans interact with their environment
• how they build their cities
• how they use the land
• Unifying characteristics can be both physical and
  human.

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Unifying Characteristics

• Physical unifying characteristics include such
  things as mountain ranges, deserts, rivers,
  climates, and landforms.

• Human unifying characteristics include language,
  religious beliefs, and political attitudes.

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Review

• What is Geography?
• What are the reasons for being geographically
  informed?
• Why do we study geography?
• What are the five themes of geography?