Geography
What is Geography?
• Geography is the study of everything on Earth, from
rocks and rainfall to people and places.
• Geographers study how the natural environment
influences people, how people’s activities affect Earth, and how the world is changing.
• Geographers look at many different things including
Perspectives from Space
• Satellite images have
provided additional
resources for geographers using a spatial perspective in their study of Earth.
• Improvements in satellite technology and imagery now allow geographers to analyze climate and
vegetation patterns over
Analyze the Following Satellite Images Below
• What types of
changes related to the effect of human
actions on the
Why use geography?
•
Many jobs require the understanding of
geography. An example is a restaurant owner
must find a good location. Politicians need to
know the geography of their districts. They
Subfields of Geography
• Two well known
subfields of geography are cartography and
Cartography
• Cartography is the study of maps and mapmaking.
Maps are important because they help geographers study locations.
• Although some maps are still drawn by hand,
computers have the completely changed
mapmaking. A cartographer then creates a map on a computer.
• Cartographers work for companies that publish
Meteorology
• Another subfield of geography is meteorology. This is the study of the weather.
Modern Forecasting
• What information is presented in the
following
photographs?
• Why is accurate and timely information important?
• Who could possibly be effected by the
Regions
•
Regions can be any size. Countries, deserts,
and mountain ranges are examples of large
regions.
•
Smaller regions include suburbs and
neighborhoods.
•
Regions can also be divided into smaller areas
called sub-regions.
Types of Regions
•
There are three types of regions:
– Formal Region
– Functional Region
Formal Regions
•
Formal regions can be based on almost any
feature or combination of features.
•
Those features may include population,
income levels, crops, temperature, or rainfall.
Formal Regions
• For example, an
industrial area in the northeastern and
Midwestern United States is also a formal
region.
• This region was once called the Rust Belt because so many old
Functional Regions
• Functional regions are
made up of different places that are linked together and function as a unit.
• An example of a functional region is a transit system. • The flow of people, trains,
Functional Regions
• Many functional
regions are organized
around a central point. • Surrounding areas are
linked to this point.
Shopping malls are an
Perceptual Regions
• Human perception is the awareness and
understanding of the environment around us.
• Our views are influenced not only by what is in a region but also by what is in us.
• Our ways of life and experiences influence how we
perceive the world.
• Perceptual regions reflect human feelings and attitudes.
Regional Perceptions
Regional Perceptions
• What is your perception of New Yorkers and the City of New York?
Quick group/class discussion:
• Give three reasons you would like to live in New York City.
• Give three reasons you
Regional Perceptions
• What are your
perceptions of the Corpus Christi area?
Quick group/class discussion:
• How do you think
others perceive our city and the people from
Organizing the Globe
• We begin our study of geography by looking at a globe.
• A globe is a scale model of Earth.
• One of the first things you will notice on the globe is a pattern of
Map Grid
• These lines circle the globe in east-west and
north-south directions.
• This pattern is called a
grid.
• The grid is made up of lines of latitude and
Latitude
• Lines of latitude are drawn in an east-west direction.
• Lines of latitude
Longitude
• Lines of longitude are drawn in a north-south direction.
• As you see these lines of
longitude extend from the north pole to the south pole.
• Lines of longitude measure the degree of distance east or west of the prime
Latitude and Longitude
• Lines of latitude
measure distance north and south of the
equator.
• The equator is an imaginary line that circles the globe
halfway between the
Earth’s North Pole and
Parallels
• Lines of latitude are also called parallels.
• This is because they are always parallel to the
equator and each
Meridians
• Lines of longitude are also called meridians.
• They measure distance east and west of the Prime
Meridian.
Parallels and meridians measure distance in degrees. Degrees are further divided into minutes. There are 60
Measures of Longitude
•
Lines of longitude range from 0 degrees on
the Prime Meridian to 180 degrees on the
meridian in the mid-Pacific Ocean.
•
Meridians west of the prime meridian to 180
degrees are labeled with a W. Those east of
the prime meridian are labeled with an E.
Hemispheres
• The globe’s grid does more than help us locate places.
• Geographers also use grid lines to organize the way we look
at the world.
• For example the equator divides the globe into two halves or
hemispheres.
• The half lying north of the equator is the Northern
Hemisphere and the southern half is the Southern Hemisphere.
• The Prime Meridian and the 180 degree
meridian divide the
world into the
Eastern Hemisphere
and Western
Hemisphere
• The Eastern and
• Due to this division along the Prime
Meridian and 20 W, all of Europe and
Africa are located in
the Eastern
Continents
•
There are seven continents: Africa, Antarctica,
Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and
South America.
•
Asia, the largest continent, is five times the
size of Australia, the smallest.
Oceans
• The largest areas of water are the global oceans.
• Geographers divide these oceans into four areas: the Atlantic
Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Indian
• The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean and the world’s
largest geographic feature.
• It is more than 12 times the size of the smallest
Gulf of Mexico
• Smaller bodies of
water include seas,
gulfs, and lakes.
• Gulfs and seas, such as the Gulf of
Mexico and the
Caribbean Sea, are
• Geographers use maps to study the Earth.
• Maps are flat
Distance Scales
• A map’s distance scale helps us determine real distances between points on a map.
• On large-scale maps objects are relatively large, whereas on small-scale maps objects are relatively
small.
• Some may show just one or two miles while others illustrate a few hundred feet.
Compare the following maps. Which map has the larger scale? What types of information can you derive from each of the
Directional Indicators
•
A directional indicator shows which direction
on a map are north, south, east, and west.
•
Some mapmakers use a north arrow which
points toward the North Pole.
•
Most maps show direction with a compass
Compass Rose
• A compass rose has arrows that point to all four
principal directions.
• What are the other arrows?
Legends
• A map’s legend, or key, identifies the symbols on a map and what they represent.
• They may show colors, shapes, or symbols to represent many different kinds of features on a map.
Inset Map
• An inset map is another special element.
• Inset maps are used to focus in on a smaller part of a
larger map.
• Some inset maps also show areas that are far away from the main areas of the whole map.
Climate and Precipitation Maps
• Some mapmakers use maps to show
weather patterns
and atmospheric
conditions.
• Climate maps use
color to show various
climate regions of the world.
Precipitation Maps
• Precipitation maps show average amount
precipitation that a region gets each year.
• Precipitation refers to condensed droplets of water
that fall as rain, sleet, hail, or snow.
• Each map’s legend uses color to identify those amounts.
•
What
predictions
Population Maps
• Population
maps give you a snapshot of distribution of people in a
region.
Economic Maps
• Economic maps
show a region’s important
natural resources and the ways in which land is used.
• Some maps will show where land is used for
farming or other economic
Elevation Profiles
•
Some maps focus on an area’s land features.
•
For example, you can see that each physical
map in this textbook uses color to show land
elevations.
•
Elevation is the height of the land above sea
level.
Elevation Profile
Topographic Maps
• The purpose of some maps is to show just the
topography,
elevation, layout,
