GEOGRAPHY Topic 1 What is Geography Geography is

GEOGRAPHY Topic 1

What is Geography? • Geography is the study of the Earth and its people. • A geographer tries to understand a place- not just where it is, but what it is like, what takes place there, and how the people there live.

LOCATION Where are we? • Absolute Location • A latitude and longitude (global location) or a street address (local location). Paris France is 48 o North Latitude and 2 o East Longitude. • The White House is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. • • Relative Location • Described by landmarks, time, direction or distance. From one place to another. • Go 1 mile west on main street and turn left for 1 block.

PLACE What is it like, what kind of place is it? • Human Characteristics What are the main languages, customs, and beliefs. • How many people live, work, and visit a place. • • Physical Characteristics • Landforms (mountains, rivers, etc. ), climate, vegetation, wildlife, soil, etc.

HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION • How do humans and the environment affect each other? We depend on it. • People depend on the Mississippi River for water, transportation, growing crops. • We modify it. • People modify our environment by heating and cooling buildings or our home. • • We adapt to it. • We adapt to the environment by wearing clothing suitable for summer (shorts) and winter (coats).

MOVEMENT • How are people, goods, and ideas moving from place to place? • Human Movement • • Cars, Trains, Planes, Boats Information Movement • Phones, computer (email), mail

REGIONS • How are Regions similar to and different from other places? Political: Regions defined by governmental or administrative boundaries (States, Cities, Country Border) • Physical: Regions defined by similar characteristics (Rocky Mountain, Great Plains. . . etc). • Cultural: Regions defined by peoples perception (middle east, the south, etc. ) •

Maps and Globes Longitude: the distance of a place north or south of the earth's equator. Latitude: the distance of a place east or west of the meridian.

Prime Meridian and Equator Prime Meridian: Planet's meridian adopted as the zero of longitude. Equator: an imaginary line drawn around the earth equally distant from both poles, dividing the earth into northern and southern hemispheres and constituting the parallel of latitude 0°.

Lesson 1 What is History? History: Study of people and events of the past • History tells the story of the ways cultures change over time. • Historians: Examine the causes or reasons, that something happened in the past Why study history? Helps us understand how we fit into the human story.

History and Science • Archeology is the study of the past by looking at what people left behind. - They dig the earth and often discover artifacts (objects made by people). § Paleontology study fossil to learn what the world was like long ago. - Remains of plant and animal life that have been preserved from an earlier time. human discoveries. • Anthropology is the study of human culture and how it develops over time.