World Cultures Geography Exploring the World Around Us

World Cultures Geography Exploring the World Around Us

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

The 5 Themes of Geography • Location • Place • Interaction between People and their Environment • Movement • Region

Location • Position on the Earth’s surface • Two ways to determine location: Absolute and Relative – Absolute Location: A place’s 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

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

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

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 people’s actions: – environmental impact such as erosion, pollution, and fertile land

Human-Environment Interaction (continued) • People adapt – People change to suit environment • Eskimo’s • Chinese stir fry – People change environment • deserts to fertile land • valleys flooded for lakes, dams, etc.

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

Regions • Area with its own unifying Characteristics – – geographical or land culture or history political or economic religion or beliefs • Geographers use 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