Download Chapter 1 Lesson 1- Geography of the World

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Lesson
1
MAIN IDEAS
Geography The geography of Earth consists
of various landforms and bodies of water.
Geography Climate, weather, and vegetation
influence the ways people live.
Geography Geographers use five themes to help
them understand the use of space on Earth.
TAKING NOTES
Reading Skill: Finding Main Ideas
Finding main ideas will help you organize the
information in Lesson 1. A main idea is the
major focus of a section or paragraph. Use a
chart like the one below to list each main idea
and details about it.
▲ NASA Photograph of Earth
Space travel has allowed us
to see Earth in ways that
humans of the past could
only imagine.
Main Idea
detail
detail
detail
Skillbuilder Handbook, page R2
CST 3 Students use a variety of
maps and documents to identify
physical and cultural features
of neighborhoods, cities, states,
and countries and to explain the
historical migration of people,
expansion and disintegration
of empires, and the growth of
economic systems.
8 • Chapter 1
HI 1 Students explain the central
issues and problems from the past,
placing people and events in a
matrix of time and place.
HI 2 Students understand and
distinguish cause, effect, sequence,
and correlation in historical events,
including the long- and short-term
causal relations.
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TERMS & NAMES
Geography of
the World
geography
continent
landform
weather
climate
Build on What You Know Think about where you live. How
does where you live affect what you do? Are there mountains to
snowboard on or an ocean to surf in? Can you walk to school? Do
you have to stay inside because of bad weather, or are you out in
the sun? In other words, how has geography affected your history?
Looking at Earth
ESSENTIAL QUESTION What covers the surface of Earth?
In this lesson, you will learn some of the basics of geography.
You will also learn how geography can help you learn history.
Geography is the study of Earth’s features, such as rivers and
deserts. Geographers study how people and other living things
interact with Earth’s features. That interaction is where history
comes in. Geography has shaped where and how people have
lived, as well as important historical events.
Continents Geographers divide the world into seven
continents, or large landmasses. The seven continents are North
America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and
Antarctica. You might notice that the continents differ in size.
That is because geographers define continents not just by size,
but by landforms and even common cultural characteristics.
ARCTIC OCEAN
Continents of the World
60°N
EUROPE
NORTH
AMERICA
Equator
ASIA
30°N
PACIFIC
OCEAN
PACIFIC
OCEAN
AFRICA
SOUTH
AMERICA
0°
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
INDIAN
OCEAN
N
30°S
E
W
S
150°W 120°W 90°W 60°W 30°W
AUSTRALIA
0°
60°S
ANTARCTICA
30°E
60°E
90°E 120°E 150°E
The Tools of History • 9
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▲ The Alps are a
towering mountain
range in Europe.
▲ The central part of North America is a mostly flat
region that includes the Great Plains.
▲
The Chang
Jiang of China
is the longest
river in Asia.
Landforms and Bodies of Water A landform is a feature of
Earth’s land surface. Earth has many types of landforms, including
mountains, plateaus, hills, valleys, and plains. Understanding
landforms is important for historians. By thinking about landforms,
historians can better understand the peoples they are researching.
For example, the farming methods of people living in mountainous
regions will differ from those of people living in plains regions.
Nearly 75 percent of Earth is covered by water. Bodies of water
include oceans, lakes, and rivers. Some water is fresh, but most is too
salty to drink. Still, most bodies of water can be important sources of
food by providing fish. Since ancient times, waterways have allowed
people to move goods and communicate with other regions. Some
landforms and bodies of water are shown in the images above.
What are some ways in which geography might affect history?
Climate, Weather, and Vegetation
ESSENTIAL QUESTION What is the difference between climate and weather?
Landforms and bodies of water are not the only parts of physical
geography that have affected humans. Climate and vegetation have
also shaped ways of life.
Climate and Weather The condition of the atmosphere at a
particular place and time is called weather. The typical weather conditions
at a particular place over a period of time are the place’s climate.
10 • Chapter 1
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For a dramatic example of the relationship of climate and history, see
the History Makers feature about the “iceman” on this page.
Throughout history, climate has affected the ways people live. For
example, the Arabian peninsula has a very hot, dry climate with very
short rainy seasons. During dry seasons, people would move with their
animal herds to permanent sources of water. During rainy seasons, they
would move their animals to pastures. Over time, people built a way of
life that involved moving along established routes.
Vegetation Vegetation, or plant life, varies from place to place. The
types of plants in a place depend on the place’s temperature, rainfall,
and type of soil. For example, tropical rain forests grow in areas that
always have warm, wet weather. The trees grow so close together that
only a little sunlight reaches the forest floor.
Vegetation also affects ways of life. For instance, a thousand years
ago, Northern Europe had many large forests. People used the forests
as sources of fuel and building materials and hunted the animals
in them. In contrast, parts of Southwest Asia had very few trees.
Southwest Asians used mud bricks for building. Also, they developed
trade relations with India and East Africa to get wood and other goods.
People living in the same climate and vegetation region can
have different ways of life. In ancient Greece, the climate supported
farming. But Greece also borders the Mediterranean Sea, and many
Greeks sailed the sea as fishermen or as traders to other countries.
How have climate and vegetation affected people’s ways of living?
The Iceman
In 1991, a German tourist found a frozen body in the
Ötztal Alps. The body, nicknamed Ötzi, is more than
5,000 years old. It is the oldest mummified human
body ever found intact. A mummy is the body of a
person or animal that has been preserved.
Ötzi was between 25 and 35 when he died.
Recent evidence shows that Ötzi was shot in the back
with an arrow. Some scholars think he was murdered. Others believe he was a
human sacrifice. Whatever the cause of his death, his body can tell scientists a great
deal about climate and vegetation. The fact that his body is so well preserved shows
that the climate when he died was very cold—the ice kept his body from decaying.
Vegetation found with Ötzi came from very far away, indicating that he had traveled
a great distance.
The Tools of History • 11
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Five Themes of Geography
ESSENTIAL QUESTION How do geographers organize the study of geography?
One way to think about geography is in terms of major themes
or ideas. The five themes of geography are location, place, region,
Map note:
human-environment interaction, and movement. The images and
Grids were not labeled since most were covered by the call outs.
descriptions below show you how these themes apply to California.
Keep these themes in mind as you read this book. Understanding the
geography of a region helps you understand the history of the region.
Themes of Geography
OREGON
N
W
E
S
r a
e r
S i
r
l
Ra
Centra
ast
Sacr amento Ri v e
Co
nge
s
NEVADA
Sacramento
a
ad
ev
r
ve
Ri
ey
u in
ll
aq
Va
Jo
San
Francisco
N
Oakland
S an
Location The theme
of location answers the
question, Where is it? For
example, San Francisco
is on the Pacific Ocean,
west of Oakland.
Human-Environment Interaction
This theme involves how people change
or adapt to the physical world. Here,
firefighters try to stop a California forest
fire from spreading.
Fresno
Co
as
t
Ra
ng
es
Place The theme of place
deals with what it is like in a
certain location. For example,
San Francisco is very hilly.
The weather is often foggy.
People of many ethnic
backgrounds live there.
PACIFIC
OCEAN
Channel
Islands
Region A region is an
area of Earth’s surface with
distinctive characteristics.
The Central Valley of
California (labeled on the
map) is a region of good
farmland. Many of the cities
there have economies based
on agriculture.
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Movement This theme deals with the
ways people, goods, and ideas move from
place to place. Movement has grown easier
and faster in modern times, as shown by
this airplane departing from Los Angeles.
Los Angeles
San Diego
MEXICO
0
0
50
50
100 miles
100 kilometers
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Historians and Geography In this lesson, you have read about
geography and some ways in which a knowledge of geography is useful
to historians. Historians study what people did in the past. One basic
influence on what people did was the conditions in which they lived—
their geography. For example, the “iceman” you read about on page 11
was wearing a fur robe because it was cold. But how did he get the robe?
Did he kill the animal himself, or did he trade something for it? If you
knew the geography of where the iceman lived, you might be able to
answer these questions. Understanding geography is an important
part of being a historian.
What are the five themes of geography?
Lesson Summary
• Earth is covered with various landforms and
bodies of water.
• Climate and vegetation have shaped human history.
• The five themes of geography help people describe
and explain the uses of space on Earth.
Why It Matters Now . . .
Understanding the five themes of geography can make us more
aware of the world we live in and our effects on it.
1
Lesson
Review
Homework Helper
ClassZone.com
Terms & Names
1. Explain the importance of
geography
landform
continent
weather
climate
Using Your Notes
Finding Main Ideas Use your completed chart to
answer the following question:
2. List one example of how geography shapes
human lives or history. (HI 2)
Main Idea
detail
Activity
detail
detail
Main Ideas
3. Bodies of water can be sources of food. What else
can they be used for? (HI 1)
4. How does vegetation affect people? (HI 1)
5. Use the map on page 12 to explain the difference
between place and location. (CST 3)
Critical Thinking
6. Comparing and Contrasting How might the
lives of people living in a cold climate differ from
those of people living in a warm climate? How
might they be similar? (HI 2)
7. Making Inferences Why might the theme of
movement be important to a historian? (HI 2)
Internet Activity Pick a landform or body of water to research. Use its name as a keyword to
research it on the Internet. Write a paragraph about what you find. (CST 3)
INTERNET KEYWORDS: Rocky Mountains, Pacific Ocean
The Tools of History • 13