SOME BASICS OF GEOGRAPHIC STUDY

What Does a Geographer Do?

Using the most basic of definitions, a geographer’s job is to ask questions to gain knowledge about the earth, its people, and the

interaction of both.

There Are Two Subsets of Geography Physical Geography

This field focuses on what forms the natural environment

Example: The study of the location and effect of mountains, oceans, rivers, and such

Human Geography This field focuses on what shapes human

interaction with the environment Example: The study of how one culture

develops in one place while another culture develops in another

What is a Geographer?

A geographer is a scientist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's physical environment and human

habitat.

What Sorts of Questions Do Physical Geographer’s Ask? What is it? Where is it? How large is it? Why is it here? How did it get here? How is it changing? What would it be like in the future?

What Sorts of Questions Do Human Geographer’s Ask?

Who are the ancestor’s of these people?

When did these people arrive?

Why did these people come here?

What problems do these people face?

How do these people care for themselves?

Where are these people going?

What causes these people to survive?

What causes these people to fail?

The Most Important Question a Geographer Will Ask Is…

WHY?

What are the Five Key Themes for Geography?

LocationPlace

Human-Environment InteractionMovement

Regions

Location

Location is a position or point that occupies some of the Earth’s surface

Location is defined in two terms: absolute location and relative location

Absolute location refers to the latitude and longitude coordinates of a certain place

Relative location refers to the location of one place in relation to its surroundings

Place

Place refers to both the human and the physical characteristics of a location

Physical characteristics might include mountains, rivers, soil, beaches, wildlife, etc.

Human characteristics result in the ideas and actions of people that change the environment, e.g. roads, buildings, etc.

The images we create about a place are based on experience, both intellectual and emotional

Human-Environment Interaction There are three key concepts to H-E

Interaction: Humans adapt to their environments Humans modify their environments Humans depend on their environment

Humans both shape and are shaped by the physical and human characteristics of their environment

Movement

Movement refers to the transportation of people, goods, and ideas throughout the world As people travel from one location to another

they bring with them and transmit their ideals and understandings with those that they interact

As goods are exported and imported throughout the world’s nations, the world becomes smaller and nations become more dependent on outside sources

As technology improvements increase, so do the dissemination of ideas throughout the world

Regions

There are three types of regions: formal, functional, and vernacular

Formal regions are those regions that are specifically spelled out by government bodies

Functional regions are those regions that exist because they serve a particular function, such as school boundaries

Vernacular regions are those regions that are very loosely defined by people’s understanding, e.g. The South or The Middle East

Assignment

1. Define: absolute location2. Define: relative location3. Using the absolute location

coordinates provided below, name the following countries/places:A. 0° N, 90° WB. 40° N, 140° E

4. Using relative location, describe the location of the following places:A. GermanyB. IndonesiaC. Japan