Download Chapter one_two notes - Cherokee County Schools

Warm-Ups
1. Which of the
following states
borders Georgia?
A. Mississippi
B. Virginia
C. Louisiana
D. Florida
2. One reason
people might want
to live in Georgia is
that?
A. The climate is the same
throughout the state.
B. The winters are mild.
C. There is little rain in the Blue
Ridge Mountains.
D. The summers are cold.
Chapter One
Let’s Talk Geography
What is Geography?
• The word geography comes from two Greek
words – “geo” for earth and “graphia” for
write about. So that means the word
geography means to write about the earth.
• But geographers do more than write; they
study the physical and cultural features on or
near the earth’s surface.
The Study of Geography
• Physical Features are
those that occur
naturally, such as
mountains, rivers, and
oceans
• Can you think of
anymore physical
features that appear in
Georgia?
• Cultural Features are
those created by
people, such as
boundaries, towns and
roads
• What cultural features
are created in Georgia?
What you need to know about
Geography
• When Geographers discuss the earth, they
often use the five basic themes of geography
1. Location – Where places are located on earth’s surface
2. Place – physical and human characteristics of place
3. Relationships or Human Environment
Interaction – interaction of people and environment
4. Movement – movement and interaction of people
5. Regions – areas with similar characteristics
A look at Georgia’s Location
• Relative Location refers
• Absolute Location
to the position of one
refers to the exact
place in relation to
spot on the earth’s
another.
surface where a place
• A good way to express
is found.
relative location is by
• To help find absolute
using cardinal and
location, geographers
intermediate directions.
use an imaginary grid
with coordinates
Absolute Location
• Absolute Location is best used for
navigation, military targets, responding to
police and fire calls and boundary lines.
• An easier way to think of absolute location
is an address.
• Our school as an absolute location of
– 10550 Bells Ferry Rd Canton, GA 30114
– There are no other places in this county or
town with that same address
How do we identify absolute
location?
• Latitude – the parallel lines that determine
the location from 0° to 90° north and south
of the equator
• Longitude – the lines that determine
location from 0° to 180° east and west of
the Prime Meridian.
• When the address is written out it is known
as coordinates
Math Terms Geographers Use
• Sphere – while the earth is
round like a circle because it
is a three dimensional object
it is known as a sphere
• Degree – because the earth is
a sphere like a circle it can be
divided into equal divisions
known as degrees. 1° - equals
1/360
• Minutes – degrees are further
divided into smaller units
called minutes. 1° = 60’
• Seconds – minutes are
divided into the smallest parts
of a circle, called seconds. 1’ =
60”
Absolute Location
34°14’12”N
84°29’27”W
Relative Location
South of Pickens,
West of Forsyth and
Dawson, North of
Cobb and Fulton,
and East of Bartow.
What are the Absolute and
Relative Locations of Cherokee
County?
Chapter Two
The Land of Georgia
Physiographic Regions
• Physiographic
provinces – is a region
defined on the basis of
similarities in physical
geography, such as
land formations,
elevation, rocks,
minerals, and soils.
Coastal Plain
• Coastal Plain – Georgia’s largest physiographic
province covering all of Georgia south of the Fall
Line (60%).
– Upper Coastal Plain
– Lower Coastal Plain
– Sediment – settled deposits of earth and rock caused by
water erosion
– Fall Line – the line (zone) that marks the farthest inland
shoreline of the prehistoric ocean.
– Zone – a region several miles wide that separates one
geographic region from another.
Characteristics of Coastal Plain
• Covers all of Georgia south of the Fall Line (60%)
• Fall Line is interior boundary, and the Atlantic
Ocean is the southeastern boundary.
– River travel is possible to Fall Line
• Flat, low relief; no steep hills or rocks; some
wetlands; clay, sand, and limestone soil.
• Pine Barrens and the Okefenokee Swamp found
here
• Peanuts, peaches and pecans – agricultural
products of the Coastal Plain
The Piedmont
• Piedmont - Georgia’s physiographic province
that lies between the Fall Line to the south
and the three mountain provinces of North
Georgia. This hilly region stretches from
central Alabama to southern New York.
• Bedrock – large areas of solid rock found just
below the earth’s surface.
Characteristics of the Piedmont
• Located between Coastal Plain and mountains in
the north (30%)
• Rolling hills and valleys; about 500 feet above
sea level
• Areas of solid rock; red clay soil; many streams
and rivers cross the region (granite, gneiss,
marble)
• Cotton, soybeans, wheat, beef and dairy, cattle,
poultry, and pine trees – agricultural products
Blue Ridge
• Blue Ridge – physiographic
province stretching from
northern Georgia to
southern Pennsylvania that
includes the highest
mountains in the
Appalachian Highlands.
Characteristics of the Blue Ridge
• Located in Northeast Georgia
• Mountainous
• High amounts of rainfall; numerous rivers start
here; high erosion rates; short growing season
• Less than 1% prime farmland
• Brasstown Bald and beginning of the
Appalachian Trail are here.
• Apples, corn, vegetables, hardwood timber
such as oak and hickory.
Ridge and Valley
• Ridge and Valley – the physiographic province
located in northwest Georgia, noted for long,
often parallel ridges, separated by rolling
valleys. This province extends from central
Alabama northward into Canada.
Characteristics of Ridge and Valley
• Located in northwest Georgia between the
Blue Ridge Mountain and the Appalachian
Plateau regions
• Long parallel ridges of sandstone overlooking
valleys; elevation from 700 to 1,600 feet
above sea level
• Corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, hardwoods
and pine – agricultural products.
Plateau
• Appalachian Plateau – physiographic province
of high plateaus separated by valleys,
stretching from northern Alabama to central
New York. About 300 square miles of
northwest Georgia lie in the Plateau region.
Characteristics of the Plateau
• Smallest region in the far northwest corner of
Georgia
• Flat or gently sloping land with high relief over
valleys.
• Sand Mountain and Lookout Mountain are
here.
• Small amounts of corn and soybeans grown
here; hardwoods and pasture land –
agricultural products.
Georgia’s Coast
– Estuaries – the area around a river’s mouth where fresh and
salt water mix.
– Tides – the daily rise and fall of the ocean caused principally by
the gravitational pull
• Coastal Wetlands
– Wetland – Low-lying land covered by water all or party of the
time, in which special types of plant and animal life are found.
Also known as marshes and swamps.
– Ecosystem – short for ecological system, it refers to a distinct,
natural community of living and nonliving things and their
environment
– Food Chain – a feeding pattern for living organisms where by
one organisms serves as food for another, which in turn
becomes food for another, and so on.
Georgia’s Coast
• Barrier Islands
– Barrier Islands – Chain of sea islands off Georgia’s coast that form
a barrier, helping block ocean waves and wind from the mainland.
– Atlantic Intracostal Waterway – the 1,000-mile-long coastal water
highway that stretches from New York to Miami, used for
navigation by smaller boats.
• Continental Shelf
– Continental Shelf – Large flat underwater ledge from the ocean’s
shoreline to a major drop-off, about 70 to 80 miles from the coast
of Georgia.
– Gulf Stream – the current of warm ocean water that flows from
the Gulf of Mexico northward along the east coast of the North
America, then northeastward across the Atlantic Ocean
Georgia’s Natural Resources
• Water Resources
– Reservoirs – an artificial lake built to store and control water for
such purposes as public water supply, hydroelectric production,
flood control, and recreation.
– Ground Water – water that lies underground
– Aquifers – water-saturated layers of the earth below the surface
– Water Table – the upper limit of water-saturated soil
– Artesian Aquifer – a deep aquifer in which water is trapped and
held under great pressure by denser layers of earth above and
below the aquifer
– Surface Water – aboveground water stored in rivers, streams,
and lakes
• Georgia’s Rivers and Streams
– Characteristics of Georgia’s Rivers
• Shoals – shallow river areas where the bottom is made up of sand or
layers of rock
Rocks and Minerals
• What are the three
largest mineral
resources found in
Georgia
• What colors are used to
identify them?
• What region of Georgia
are they found in?
More info on minerals
• Georgia is the world’s leading producer of Kaolin.
• Today it is used to make to make the glossy print on
books and magazines.
• Georgia ranks number one in marble production
• the world’s largest open pit quarry is at Tate in Pickens County
• Marble can be used in many ways – it is crushed to be
used for agricultural lime, as a filler for toothpaste and
gum, cemetery headstones and monuments
– One of the most famous monument is the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington D.C.
Photos of Georgia’s Minerals
Kaolin Mine in Sandersville, GA
Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Georgia’s Weather and Climate
– Weather – conditions in the atmosphere on any given
day.
– Climate – Average weather conditions over a time
period of at least 25 years.
• Climate and Georgia’s Development
– Precipitation
• Water Cycle – the journey of water from ocean to rainfall, its
use and reuse on land, and then its return to sea.
– Hurricanes – why do hurricanes usually spare
Georgia?
– Tornados
• http://climate.engr.uga.edu/tornado/index.html
Georgia’s Average
Annual Temperature
• Georgia’s
monthly
average on precipitation is
4.2 inches. Usually
Georgia gets the most
rainfall in what month?
•Georgia’s annual rainfall
total is on average 50
inches.
Air and Ocean Currents
– Current – the steady flow or movement of a large
body of air or water along a particular path
• Air Currents
– Trade Winds – constant air currents at sea caused by
high and low pressure areas attempting to equalize.
Important for sailing ships across the Atlantic.
– Prevailing Westerlies – A pattern of winds that blow
from the west to northeast. Important for sailing
ships across the Atlantic.
– Jet Stream – A rapid current of air flowing between
30,000 and 40,000 feet above sea level.