geog of mi
TRANSCRIPT
geography
The study of places
Example: communities, states, countries
geographer
Someone who studies places
Natural Characteristics
Things that are not made by man
Example: trees, soil, animals
Human characteristics
Parts of a place made by people
Example: bridge, roads
County
A division of a state
Example: Oceana, Newaygo
There are 83 counties in Michigan
State
One of the 50 parts of our country
Example: Michigan
Border
The place where one area ends and another
area begins.
Government
A group of elected citizens who make and carry
out the rules for a community, state or country.
Location
Where a place is found
An address helps describe the location of a
house.
Absolute location
Where the exact location of a place is
Your address shows the absolute location of
your house
Relative location
Where a place is in relation to other places
Michigan is north of Ohio
Direction words
Words that tell the direction
Example: North, south, east, west
Map
An illustration/diagram that shows the location
of something
A map could show a city, river or country
Landforms
The different kinds of land on Earth
Ex) mountains, hills, plains
Peninsula
Land surrounded by water on three sides
Island
Land surrounded by water
Sand dune
Ridges or hills of loose sand piled up by the wind
Bay
A body of water that is partly blocked off by land
A body of water with land on three sides.
Mountain range
A row of connected mountains
Glacier
Giant sheets of slowly moving ice
The Great LakesFive huge lakes located in the northern part of the United States.
Lake Michigan
Lake Huron
Lake Erie
Lake Superior
Lake Onterio
Elevation
How high a place is
A mountain has a higher elevation than a hill
Special Purpose Maps
Maps that show characteristics of an area such
as landforms, climate or forests
Vegetation
The plants of an area.
Michigan has many trees-white pine, apple
Dune grass grows on the dunes
Climate
The weather over a long period of time
Michigan’s climate has four different seasons.
Temperature
How hot or cold the air is.
The Upper Peninsula is usually colder than the
Lower Peninsula
Precipitation
Water that falls to the ground from the sky
Example: rain, sleet, snow, hail
Natural Resources
Things in nature that people find useful
Example: water, fertile soil, oil, trees
Fertile soil
Soil that is good for growing things
Michigan has a lot of fertile soil in the lower
peninsula.
Minerals
Natural resources found in the ground such as
iron ore
Minerals are removed from the ground by mining
Iron ore
A mineral used to make steel
Iron ore is mined in the Upper Peninsula
Copper
A mineral used to make things such as pipes for
plumbing
It is found in the Upper Peninsula
For many, Michigan was world leader in copper
mining
Limestone
A stone used to make steel and cement
It is mined in Rogers City, Michigan
Renewable resources
Natural resources that can be replaced
Example: trees, water
Nonrenewable resources
Natural resources that CANNOT be replaced
Example: oil, iron ore
Human/environment
interaction
Ways in which people use and interact with the
Earth.
Ex) when people build roads they are interacting
with the environment.
Modifying the environment
When people change the environment to fit them
Ex) cutting down trees to clear land for farming
Adapt to the natural
environment
When people change to fit the environment
People wearing coats, hats and mittens
Movement
The theme of geography that explains how and
why people, goods and ideas move
Example: The theme of movement helps us
understand how places are connected to other
places.
Transportation
Ways of moving things and people from one
place to another
Example: Boats, Trains, Cars are methods of
transportation
Hub
A city where many roads and railroads meet
Example: Detroit is a transportation hub in
Michigan
Port
A city on a body of water where ships load and
unload.
Example: Detroit is an important port in Michigan