Unit 1

Chapter 1

Geo means Earth Graph means visual picture Comes for Ancient Greek Geography is the study of patterns on the

Earth’s surface◦ E.g. Climate, Continents, Countries, People,

Industries, and Products

Geographers use five themes to organize their studies

1. Place and Location◦ Identify places using characteristics and the

location2. Movement

◦ Looks at flow of people, product, and animals between places

3. Interaction◦ Focus on connections between people or places

and their surroundings

4. Environment◦ Explores the balance of living systems on Earth

5. Region◦ Identifies the unique physical and human

characteristics of whole areas of the world

The most basic theme – every study in geography includes a sense of place

Focus on unique characteristics that identify a place

Physical characteristics of a place include the shape of the land, weather conditions, natural vegetation, and the animals that live in it. ◦ E.g. Niagara Falls – because of the falls

Location describes where a place is on the Earth’s surface

Location can be given in two ways Relative location – describes a place in

relation to another◦ Next to the library

Absolute location – describes the location of a place independent of any other location◦ 43 degrees North by 82 degrees West

Earth is divided in sections called hemispheres

There are 4 hemispheres – Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western

Latitude – horizontal line Longitude – vertical line Latitude and longitude are imaginary lines

that cross each hemisphere They allow geographers to pinpoint the

exact (absolute) location on the map

Equator is a line of latitude half way between the North Pole and the South Pole

Latitude lines run parallel to the Equator and have a numerical value

Equator has a value of 0 Latitude is used to pinpoint how far north or

south is from the Equator

Longitude lines originate at the North Pole and run North to South

Prime Meridian – line of longitude that passes thorough Greenwich, England, has a value of 0

International Data Line – on the opposite side and has a value of 180

Longitude is used to pinpoint how far east or west a place is from the Prime Meridian

Map is an overhead representation of the Earth’s surface

Alphanumeric grid has letters along one side and numbers along the other

Used for street and road maps◦ Example on pg. 17

Not very accurate Used to give general directions People use landmarks – left at the corner of

Shoppers Geographers describe relative location

more precisely using compass directions and kilometric distance

Compass rose shows four Cardinal directions◦ North◦ South◦ East◦ West

And four ordinal directions Northeast Southeast Northwest Southwest

Map scale compares distances on the map to the actual distance on the Earth’s surface

Given in three different ways◦ Ratio scale – indicates the actual distance on the

Earth’s surface is X times greater than the distance shown on the map

◦ Bar scale – measures the distance on the map against a bar that represents the distance on the Earth’s surface in kilometers

◦ Statement scale – uses words to express the scale of the map

Example of pg. 20

Roads don’t always run straight Road distance between two places is often

greater than straight-line distance