Location location Place unique specific location on Earth

Location, location Place – unique, specific location on Earth distinguished by a particular characteristic Example: Region – an area distinguished by a distinctive combination of cultural and physical features Example: Situation – location of a place relative to another place; can be used in everyday life to compare places that are known to those that are unknown

Place

Region

Situation – Garment District? ? ?

More Vocabulary Scale – relationship between a portion and the whole. Global scale patterns are especially important Scale can refer to the ratio between objects on a map and their actual size It can also refer to relationships and cultural practices Example?

Themes in Geography –National Geographic Society (1986) • 1. Location – how the geographical position of people and things on the Earth’s surface affects what happens and why. – Concern with location can help with current projects. • 2. Human-environment interactions – relationship of humans AND the physical world. – Reciprocal relationships - ex. Effect of human draining of Everglades.

Geog. Themes cont… • 3. Place – Described by both their physical and human characteristics. Students can understand the specific nature of places on Earth. • 4. Movement – interaction of people as they go about their day – interdependence on each other and the influence we have on one another. • 5. Region – basic geographic unit that has certain unifying characteristics.

Regional Studies Approach Championed by French geographers Paul Vidal de la Blanche and Jean Brunnes as well as Americans Carl Sauer and Robert Platt. See culture as an agent of change to the medium of nature. Formal Regions- uniform, homogenous region where at least one feature is shared. Ex. “Red” states, Bible Belt Functional Region – usually tied to business or economy. Ex. Newspaper circulation, TV station reception Vernacular Region – perceptual region that people believe exists as a part of their culture. Ex. ? ?

Theories of development 1. Environmental Determinism – Physical Environment CAUSES social development Offshoot ideas – Climate determines civilization – EXAMPLE? Geography is the study of the effect of the natural environment on the people living there 4 Major Biomes – Forest, Savannah, Grassland, Desert Köppen System of Climactic Divisions: A. Tropical B. Dry C. Warm mid-latitude D. Cold mid-latitude E. Polar

Possibilism Idea that the physical environment can limit some human actions but people can adjust Example, people can learn to grow, and subsequently, live off of a certain crop that is amenable to their climate. Rice in SE/E Asia, Wheat in Europe Think about Asian cuisine. Is it difficult to picture many of your favorite dishes without rice? Pork Fried Bread?

Case Study: Netherlands In the Netherlands, a series of reclamations of land from the sea have increased the size of their territory. Use of dikes to prevent flooding from the North Sea, Delta project that has dammed up 3 major rivers that flow into the North Sea Currently, the Dutch are trying to allow some of the original waterflow to return.

Everglades – reclamation gone wrong • Everglades was a wide, shallow freshwater river that flowed from Lake Okeechobee in Florida. It was once a haven for various plant and animal species. – In the 1950 s, the US Army tried to reclaim some of the land for use for sugarcane fields by building levees and draining parts of the river. – Led to pollution of the water, endangerment of many species, and erosion of the barrier islands, which also endangers the mainland of Florida.