What is

Geography?
What is Geography?
Main Idea
1. Geography
Explanation
study of the Earth's
surface and its climate,
countries, peoples, and
natural resources
GEOGRAPHY
PHYSICAL
GEOGRAPHY
CULTURAL
GEOGRAPHY
What is Geography?
Main Idea
2. Physical
Geography
Explanation
study of Earth's landforms,
weather, and plant and
animal patterns
What is Geography?
Main Idea
3. Cultural
Geography
Explanation
study of people and their
ways of life
Earth is a big and complicated place to
study. When geographers (people who
study geography) work, they use
something called the 5 Themes of
Geography to gather information and
learn about the world.
Five Themes of
Geography
Location
Place
Human-
Environment
Interaction
Movement
Regions
Five Themes of Geography
Main Idea
1. Location


2. Place
Explanation
Where something is


What a location looks like
(human and physical
features)

Five Themes of Geography
Main Idea
3. Human /
Environment
Interaction
Explanation
How people adapt to and
change the environment
Five Themes of Geography
Main Idea
4. Movement


5. Regions
Explanation
How people, goods, and
ideas move from one
place to another

Areas united by similar
physical characteristics
(landforms) and common
cultural traits (language,
way of life of the people)

Five Themes of Geography
Main Idea
1. Location

Explanation
Two ways to describe
where something is:
Relative location
explains where a place is
by describing places near
it
Absolute location-
describes the places
exact position on the
Earth



Five Themes of Geography
Main Idea
2. Place

Explanation
Describes features of a
location
What does the land look
like?
What do the people look
like?



Five Themes of Geography
Main Idea
3. Human/
Environment
Interaction

Explanation
How do people adjust to
and change their
environment?





Five Themes of Geography
Main Idea
4. Movement

Explanation
Why do people move from
place to place?

How do products get from
one location to another?

How do ideas spread?



Five Themes of Geography
Main Idea
5. Regions

Explanation
Does the land in this
area look the same?
Does the area have the
same weather?
Do people speak the
same language?


So, how do we find the
location of a place?
Studying the Earth
Main Idea
1. Map




2. Globe
Explanation
A representation, on a flat
surface, of the features of
some area on earth


A sphere on which a map
of world is drawn
Maps and globes are useful tools for
studying the Earth. Globes are only able to
show the world as a whole, but the types
of information maps can show are almost
endless. Maps can show a very large area
like a continent or a very small area like a
park or neighborhood. However, to make
the round earth flat on a globe, maps cut
or stretch the surface, so not all areas are
shown accurately.
MERCATOR PROJECTION
ROBINSON PROJECTION
Parts of a Map
Main Idea
1. Title








Explanation
Tells the type of
information & the area
covered on map








Parts of a Map
Main Idea
2. Compass
rose



Explanation
Shows direction
Cardinal directions
(N, S, E, W)
Intermediate directions
(NW, NE, SW, SE)



Parts of a Map
Main Idea
3. Key/legend






Explanation
Explains the
symbols on a map








Parts of a Map
Main Idea
4. Scale
Explanation
Shows distance
For example 1 inch
on a map might be
equal to 50 miles



Types of Maps
Political Physical
Special
Purpose
climate
Population
density
Economic
resources
Types of Maps
Main Idea
1. Political Map





Explanation
Shows how humans have
divided the earth

Boundaries between
countries

Capital cities and major cities

Major bodies of water

Types of Maps
Main Idea
1. Physical Map





Explanation
Shows many landforms
and bodies of water

Shows elevation (height
about sea level) using
colors

Types of Maps
Main Idea
1. Population
Density Map





Explanation
Shows average number of
people per square mile

Uses darker colors for
more densely populated
areas

Types of Maps
Main Idea
1. Climate Map





Explanation
Shows climate regions
of the world

climate the average
weather of a place
over many years

Types of Maps
Main Idea
1. Economic
Resources
Map





Explanation
Shows useful materials
found in environment
Shows what a place
makes or grows to
earn money
(uses symbols and
colors to indicate
where resources are
located)

As you remember, the only way
to determine the ABSOLUTE,
or EXACT location of a place is
to use imaginary lines called
LATITUDE and LONGITUDE.
So, who came up with the idea
for these imaginary lines, why
did they create the lines, and
how do they work?
Which map gives a more accurate view of the earth?
Latitude and Longitude
Main Idea
1. Latitude
(aka parallels)




Explanation
Imaginary lines that run
across the earth (like the
rungs on a ladder)

Measured in degrees (or
the symbol)

Tell distance North or
South of the Equator

Latitude and Longitude
Main Idea
1. Latitude
(aka parallels)




Explanation
Degrees increase as you
travel north of Equator
toward North Pole
North Pole is 90N

Degrees increase as you
travel south of Equator
toward South Pole
South Pole is 90S
Latitude and Longitude
Main Idea
2. Equator



Explanation
Imaginary line running
around Earth that
divides planet into North
and South

Measured as 0 latitude
Latitude and Longitude
Main Idea
3. Longitude



Explanation
Imaginary lines that run
up and down the earth

Measured in degrees (or
the symbol)

Tell distance East or
West of the Prime
Meridian
Latitude and Longitude
Main Idea
3. Longitude
(aka Meridians)



Explanation
Degrees increase as you
travel east or west of
Prime Meridian toward
International Date Line

International Date Line
is 180 (because its
halfway around globe
from Prime Meridian)
Latitude and Longitude
Main Idea
4. Prime
Meridian




5. International
Date Line



Explanation
Imaginary Line running
down earth that divides
planet into east and
west
Measured as 0
Longitude

Meeting point of lines of
longitude ( 180
Longitude)
You can locate any point on Earth by
identifying its latitude and longitude.
But first you need the coordinates.
Latitude and Longitude
Main Idea
6. Coordinates






Explanation
Measurement of latitude
& longitude

When given, LATITUDE
is stated first, and
LONGITUDE second
Coordinates look like
this: (10N, 35E)
Latitude and Longitude
Main Idea
7. Hemisphere






Explanation
half of the earth
Equator divides Earth into
Northern & Southern
Hemispheres

Prime Meridian & Intl Date
Line divide Earth into
Eastern and Western
Hemispheres
Before time keeping and clocks were
invented, people used to know
approximately what time it was by
watching the sun. If you look out of
the window, at different times of the day,
you will see that the sun is in a different
place each time you look. This is the same
everywhere in the world. Once clocks
were invented, they simply had to look at
a clock to know what time it was.
The time zone that contains the Prime Meridian is the 0 hour
just like the Prime Meridian is 0. If you want to know what
time it is somewhere else in the world, there are many tools
you can use.
Remember that geography is split into two
parts, physical and cultural. Cultural
geography is the study of people and their
way of life. But, what is a culture? Also, how
do peoples ways of life differ from one
another, and how are they the same? Are
there some things that people do the same
no matter where you are on planet Earth?
What is culture?
Main Idea
1. culture

Explanation
Way of life of a group of
people who share similar
beliefs and customs
Eight (8) traits (elements, or
things) that determine
culture
What is culture?
Main Idea
2. Trait #1-
social groups

Explanation
Ethnic grps - a group of
people who share a common
culture, language, or history


What is culture?
Main Idea
3. Trait #2-
Language

Explanation
How people communicate
with each other
Dialect - local form of a
language that differs slightly
from original language

What is culture?
Main Idea
4. Trait #3-
Religion
Explanation
Many cultures use religion to
answer questions about
meaning of life
Major world religions are
Christianity, Islam,
Buddhism, Hinduism, and
Judaism

What is culture?
Main Idea
5. Trait #4-
Daily Life
Explanation
How people live day-to-day
Food, clothes, hairstyles,
building styles and materials
What is culture?
Main Idea
6. Trait #5-
History
Explanation
shared history helps
determine how a group of
people see themselves
Can be shared in writing,
stories and plays, etc.


What is culture?
Main Idea
7. Trait #6-
Arts
Explanation
way for people to express
their culture
Music, dance, song, painting,
literature, etc.

What is culture?
Main Idea
8. Trait #7-
Government
Explanation
how a country is run
Monarchy a king or queen
inherits the right to rule
Dictatorship A person or
persons rule a country by
force
Democracy (The citizens
rule, or choose who rule)



What is culture?
Main Idea
9. Trait #8-
Economy
Explanation
How people in a culture earn
a living