Download Unit One: Natural Texas and Its People

UNIT ONE: NATURAL TEXAS
AND ITS PEOPLE
BELLRINGER
• Complete the questions on a piece of paper. Please sit in same seats as yesterday!
• 1. What states share a border with Texas?
• 2. Texas is about 770 miles east to west and 800 miles north to south. Would it take longer to drive
across the state (east to west) or to drive down the state? (north to south)
• 3. If you were driving 50 miles per hour, how many hours would it take to drive across the state from
east to west?
• 4. Name three rivers in Texas
BELLRINGERS
• 1. What states share a border with Texas?
•
Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico
• 2. Texas is about 770 miles east to west and 800 miles north to south. Would it take longer to drive
across the state (east to west) or to drive down the state? (north to south)
•
It would take longer to drive down the state.
• 3. If you were driving 50 miles per hour, how many hours would it take to drive across the state from
east to west?
•
It would take about 16 hours.
• 4. Name three rivers in Texas
•
Pecos, Red, Rio Grande, Trinity, Brazos, Guadalupe, Colorado, Sabine
BELLRINGER
• 1. How many regions are there in Texas?
• 2. What are they called?
• 3. What is an escarpment?
• 4. what type of geographic feature is the picture?
• 5. What is your favorite thing about Texas?
BELLRINGERS
• 1. How many regions are there in Texas?
•
Four regions
• 2. What are they called?
•
Mountains and Basins, North Central Plains, Great
Plains, Coastal Plains
• 3. What is an escarpment?
•
A long cliff
• 4. What type of geographic feature is the picture?
•
A plateau
• 5. What is your favorite thing about Texas?
GEOGRAPHY
• What is Geography?
•
Study of Earth, its natural features, its people and the ways in which they interact.
• Why is the study of geography important?
•
Shapes our experience of a place
FIVE THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY
• Location
• Place
• Regions
• Movement
• Human-Environment Interaction
LOCATION
• Position of a place on Earth.
• Can be absolute or relative
•
Absolute: El Paso is at 31◦ N (latitude) and 106◦ W (longitude)
•
Relative: Itasca is in-between Fort Worth and Waco
PLACE
• Geographic location, such as a city or a town, and its characteristics
REGIONS
• Areas that share common characteristics
• What are some examples?
•
Mountains, Plains
MOVEMENT
• How and why people, things and ideas move.
•
Language, culture, religion and ideas spread
HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION
• How the natural environment has affected humans.
•
Tornadoes, flooding, etc.
• How people adapt and use their surroundings.
•
Irrigation, ranching instead of farming
BOTH OF THESES ARE IN TEXAS!
SIX ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF GEOGRAPHY
• Elements are the topics that make up a subject
• The world in spatial terms
• Places and regions
• Physical systems
• Human systems
• Environment and society
• The uses of geography
THE WORLD IN SPATIAL TERMS
• Look at where a place is located.
• Similar to location in geography
PLACES AND REGIONS
Places
Regions
• Describes physical characteristics such as
landforms, climate and plant or animal life
• Places united by one or more characteristics
Similar to places and regions in five elements
PHYSICAL SYSTEMS, HUMAN SYSTEMS,
ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY
• Physical Systems- how things like hurricanes, volcanoes, glaciers (ie natural things) shape the surface of
the Earth
• Human Systems- how people shape their environment
• Environment and Society- how does the relationship between people and their natural surrounding
influence the way people live?
• These relate to movement and human-environment interaction
IT ALL MATTERS
• All five themes of geography relate to the final essential element: The uses of Geography!
• Knowledge of geography helps us understand the relationships among people, places, and
environments over time.
• Applying geographic skills helps you understand the past and prepare for the future.
MAPS
• Physical maps show the physical features of an area.
•
Landforms, water systems, elevation
• Political maps show boundaries
•
Country, county, state
WHAT TYPE OF MAP IS IT?
REGIONS OF TEXAS
• Mountains and Basins
•
Mountains in West Texas
• Great plains
•
East of the Rocky mountains, flat, high plain
• North central plains
•
Plains and prairies
• Coastal plains
•
Gulf coast of Texas, hilly and forests in east
• How does geography influence the way people live?
TRIVIA!
• Where is Texas?
• How many Texans are there?
• Who are Texans?
• Where do they live?
• What is the panhandle?
GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES
• Plain
• Barrier Island
• Escarpment
• Fault line
• Plateau
• basin
GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES
•
Plain
•
•
Barrier Island
•
•
Crack in earth caused by two plates
Plateau
•
•
Long cliff
Fault line
•
•
Protects the mainland from ocean waves
Escarpment
•
•
Large area of flat or nearly flat land
High flat land
Basin
•
Dips in land
RESOURCES
• Resources-natural material that can be used by people
• Soil
•
Grow cotton, wheat, corn, rice, soybeans, peanuts, fruits and vegetables
•
Raise animals such as cattle, sheep, or goats
• Oil
• Limestone
• Other mineral resources such as salt, dolomite, and gypsum
WATER
Rivers
• Water for drinking and household uses
• Industry and food production
• Rio Grande is longest river
• Red River is second longest
Gulf of Mexico
• Fishing
WATER
• Lakes and other sources
•
200 lakes
•
All but one were made by human changes to landscape
•
Caddo Lake began as natural lake but then was expanded
•
Aquifers are underground reservoirs
supply cities with water and irrigate crops
MOUNTAINS AND BASINS
• Highest elevations in the state
• Seven mountains over 1 mile in elevation
• Highest mountain in state is Guadalupe Peak at
8749 feet
• Chihuahuan desert covers the regions
•
Hot and Dry!
• Cactus and other desert plants
• Animals include cougars, black bears, mule deer
MOUNTAINS AND BASINS
• Rio Grande provides water for irrigation
• Industries developed along Rio Grande
• Strong cultural and economic ties to Mexico
•
Maquiladoras or factories along border
• Has many natural resources including petroleum and natural gas
COASTAL PLAINS
• Largest geographic region-both is size and population
• Mostly low elevation
• Hot and humid with tropical storms and hurricanes common
• Warm climate and good water supply support agriculture
• Coastal location brings in shipping
• Woods provide forestry
• Petroleum in oilfields
COASTAL PLAINS
• Dallas, San Antonio and Austin are largest cities
• Population is approximately 10 million
• Rivers include Sabine, Colorado and Brazos
• Can be subdivided into five smaller regions: Backland Prairie, Post Oak Belt, Piney Woods, Gulf Coast
Plain and South Texas Plain.
GREAT PLAINS
• “Bread Basket of the World”
• Stretches from Canada to Texas
• Originally grasslands grazed by bison
• European settlers turned it to crop land for corn and wheat
• Oil and gas discovered in the panhandle in 1920s
• Drought, poor farming and erosion led to Dust Bowl
• Dry climate leads to irrigation
GREAT PLAINS
• Major cities include Lubbock, Amarillo, Midland, Llano, Kerrville
• Can be subdivided into 3 smaller sections: High Plains, Edwards Plateau and Llano Basin
• High Plains
•
Characterized by large flat areas
•
Two main rivers: Canadian River and Red River
GREAT PLAINS
• Edwards Plateau
•
High level land raising from an escarpment
•
Thin soil mostly used for livestock instead of crops
• Llano Basin
•
Rolling plains and hills crossed by Llano and Colorado Rivers
•
Relies on tourism and livestock production
NORTH CENTRAL PLAINS
• Hills and valleys covered with grasses, brush and trees
• Mild and dry climate
• Ranching is dominate industry
• Area tends to be rural with low population density
• Brazos and Colorado Rivers are biggest rivers
NORTH CENTRAL PLAINS
• Region houses Fort Hood, one of our countries largest military installations
• Fort Worth is largest city and is an agricultural center
MAPS! MAPS! MAPS!
• Work with a partner to complete the map.
• Label each section and write three things you know about each region
• More info can be found Chapter 3
STAAR WARM-UP
• How many goals were scored?
• How many goals were almost scored?
• Be ready to share a one sentence summary on the video you just watched
STAAR WARMUP
• How many goals were scored?
•
4
• How many goals were almost scored?
•
2
• Summarize the video