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tfii Places may be described as having
absolute and relative locations, and
physical and human characteristics.
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Interactions between people and their
environments have both positive and
negative consequences.
Vocabutary
geography absolute location, Equator,
hemisphere, latitude, longitude, Prime
Meridiann relative location, formal
region, functional region
hat is your world? Is it the small area
where you spendmost of your timeyour home, school, favorite hangout,
stores,and the routesthat connect them?
Or is it those locationsyou have visited, read
about, or seenon television?
Or is it the entire earth-the small biue planet
that provides a Iife-sustainingbalance of
resources
for a wide rangeof living species?
Through the study of geography you will
learn to see your world from many different
perspectives.Whether you are looking at global
patterns or the finer details of neighborhood
patterns, you will develop valuable insights
about the earth, its people, and the many different kinds of relationshipsbetween them.
The Study of Geography
We know about the world around us because
people are-and alwavs have been-curious
about their surroundings. In a sense, people
have alwayswanted to be geographers.
What is geography?Geographycomes from a
Greek word meaning "writing about," or
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"describing," the earth. Geography is the
study of where people, places, and things are
located and of the ways in which things relate
to each other. Geographyprovides a way to discover and organizeinformation regarding many
aspectsof the world. It exploresthe earth's surface and the various processesthat shape it.
Geography also examines the people of the
world, their distinct cultures and economies,
and the complex relationships that develop
between people and their environments.
Does the world seem bigger than it did in
ancient times becauseour understanding of it
has greatly increased?Or does it seem smaller
because it is no longer so mysterious and
unknown? As we learn, our perspective
changes, and so does the focus of geography.
Now that we have explored almost all of the
earth'sland areas,geographersare paying more
attention to the complex relationships and
interactions between humans and natural
forcesaround the globe.
Sateliite images show the whole world
looking like a small and fragile crystal ball, and
in many ways, the earth is fragile. Rapidly
Chapterl.Sectionl
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growing populations, greater demands on
resources, and elevated levels of pollution
threaten global environments. By studying
how peopleand natural phenomena interact at
specific places and by examining movement
between places,geographerscan better understand the ways in which each of us operatesas
part of a greaterwhole.
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34
Chapter 1 Section 1
Ffve TPrermes
G eei.grenpEny's
The study of geography is fueled by human
curiosity.Why are placeson the earth so amazingly different from each other? Five important questionscan help organize information
about piaces:
'
",
What is the location of a Place?
What is the characterof a Place?
Flolv do people interact with the natural
environment of a place?
How cio peopie, goocis,and icieas rrrove
betweenplaces?
How arc placessimilar to and different from
oiiter piaces?
Each of thesequestionsis relatedto one of
five themes that geographersuse to organize
'Ihe
five themes are
their study of the world.
iocation, place, httman-environrncnt interaction, movement, and regiotts. Each theme
offersa way of looking at the world and its peo'fhc
thcmes arc not muttlally exclltsive.To
plc.
thoroughly understanda placeor prtlblem, you
nced to know how the different themes relate
to each other.
For example, the tiny principality of
Monaco occupiessteephillsides on three sides
of a beautiful natural harbor of the
MediterraneanSea.This breathtakingsite is a
popular destination for thousands of tourists
who flock yearly to the Certed'Azur re5;ionof
southern France. However, continued movements of people into the area are causing
steadily increasing pressureson the region's
f r a g i l ee n v i r o n m e n t .
In using the five themes to study places,
geographersiearn from advancesand discoveries made in other natural and social sciences,
such as biologl'and history. Accordingto geographer B. L. Turner Ii:
Geographers
focus on anything and
everything but relatetheir investigations to placeand space.A linkageto
other disciplinesis basicto addressing and answeringthewhy of where,
Location
Geographersstudying a place usually begin by
finding its location. A place's location can be
describedin either absoluteor relative terms.
Where is a place?
Location
Absolrrte
One way to answerthis question is by describing
position on the
its absolute location-its
globe.
The most common way to find a place's
absolute location is by using the imaginary
iines marking positions on the surfaceof the
earth. The Equator is one such line. It circles
the globe halfway between the North and South
poles.The Equator divides the world into two
haives, or hemispheres. All land and water
between the Equator and the North Pole is
located in the Northern Hemisphere.Likewise,
everything that lies between the [,quator and
the South Pole is located in the Southern
Hemisphere.
Imaginary lincs that run parallel to the
Equatorare calledlines of latitude, or parallels.
'fhey
measuredistancesnorth or south of the
Equator.The Equator is designated0", while the
poles are 90" north (N) and 90" south (S).
Becausethe earth is tilted u56s1 /lt/z' as it
revolves around the sun, the Tropic of Cancer at
23tlz"N and the Tiopic of Capricorn ut 23tlz"S
mark the boundariesof the placeson the earth
that receive the most direct sunlight and the
greatest heat energy from the sun. Find the
Equator and the tropics in the diagram on page 5.
Another set of imaginary lines are lines of
longitude, or meridians, which run north and
south between the two poles. The Prime
at 0o, runs through the Royal
Meridian,
Observatoryin Greenwich, England. Other meridians are measuredin degreesfrom 0 to 180 east(E)
or west (IAf from Greenwich. Unlike lines of latitude, meridians are not parallel to each other. As
you can see on the diagram on page 5, the dis-
tance between meridians is greatestat the Equator
but decreasesasyou approach the poles.
Using the grid formed by lines of latitude
and longitude, you can name the precise or
absolute location of any place on earth.
Mogadishu, Somalia, is located at 2"N latitude
and 45'E longitude. Atlanta, Georgia,is at 34'N
and B4'W. Seepage 237 to read more about this
grid system.
A p p E A R EmD / v Ar t o n n t a e o a n n i n t c
GettingAround
Location A map is aflat drawing
representingall or pafi of the earth's
surface.Thetouristsshown hereare usinga city
map to find theirway aroundTrafalgarSquarein
London, England.What is the difference
between absolute and relative location?
Will these fourisfs be
CriticalThinking
using absolute or relative location to find
their way around London?
Chapterl.Section'l
The second way to
F[eEa€lve Location
find where a place is located is by describing its
it is located in reiarelative location-where
Georgia,for examplaces.
Atlanta,
tion to other
ple, can be described as being southwest of
Columbia, South Carolina.
Each place has only one absolute
location and that location
never changes. In contrast,
each place has many relative
rhe av€f?9e Amencan
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locations and these can
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change over time. For exam:::;* r r ' ' or
her lifetime'
ple, while Atlanta once was
l$g
many days'travelaway from
Los Angeles, now-thanks to
is
only a few hours away.
the airplane-it
Place
Every place on the earth has featuresthat distinguish it from other places. One challenge of
geographyis to understand how placesare similar to and distinct from one another.
Placeshave
Gtrraracteristics
Physical
landincluding
unique physical characteristics,
forms, vegetation, and climate. These physical
characteristicsvary around the world. Land may
A Modern Mosaic
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.3.6.
Iluman-Environment
Interaction Color-enhanced
satelliteimagerydemonstrates
the land-usePatternsalong
the Canada-UnitedStates
border.The dark-tintedland
indicatesCanadiangrazing
l a n d ,w h i l et h e l i g h t - c o l o r e d
land indicatesUnited States
wheat fields.The red areasare
land left in its naturalstate.
To what degree have humans
altered the |andscape?
Chapter 1 " Section 1
be mountainous, flat, or an)'where in between.
Vegetationrangesfrom leafy tropical rain forests
to the sparse, moss-covered rundra. Climate
includes not only normal weather patterns but
more dramatic occurrenceslike hurricanes,biizzards,droughts, and floods.
Places can
Characteristics
Ilrrrnan
aisobe describedin terms of their human characteristics.How many people live, work, and
visit a place? What are their languages/customs, and beliefs? How does their economy
work? How are they governed?In answering
questionssuch as these, geographersstudy all
aspects of human activity, such as urban
growth, farming techniques, architectural
styles,and politics.
Each place on the earth has a unique combination of physical and human characteristics.
Returning travelers do not describe the longitude and latitude of a vacation spot' Instead
they tell of the interesting people, sites,and customs that made their visit memorable. But they
may also report having spoken the same language,used the samecredit cards,and watched
the sametelevision shows as at home. This mix
of unique and common featuresis what geographers mean when they talk about place.
Gity at ilight
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Movement This time-lapsed
photograph shows movementof
traffic in and out of Atlanta.The
yellow streakswere made by car
headlights,and the red streaks by
car taillights.What role has
tra n sportati on p Iayed i n Atla nta's
development?
Human-Environrnent
fnteraction
The third geographictheme involves how people use their environment. Have they changed
it? What are the consequences of those
changes? How have people responded to
changesin their environment?
Human beings have made enormous
changes in their environment. Some changes
are intentional and others are accidental; some
changesare favorableand others are destructive.
The American Southwestis one example. Before
the era of swimming pools, air-conditioning,
massive irrigation, and automobiles, this hot,
dry region had few residents.Today it is one of
the fastest-growing regions in the country.
Peoplefrom all over the country have flocked to
this area, looking for a comfortable place to
retire. New buildings and roads have altered the
region'snatural environment. The rapid growth
in the region's popuiation is straining the
already limited supplies of water. This change
may causeproblems in the future.
Movement
Placesdo not exist in isolation. Becausepiaces
have different characteristics,it follor.t'sthat people, goods, and ideas will move betr,veenthem.
The fourth geographic theme explores the
impact geographyhas on this movement.
Atlanta'shistory illustratesthe importance of
movement. The city was establishedin 1837 at
the terminus, or end, of a sectionof railroad and
was even named Terminus at first. During the
Civil War, Atlanta servedas a major Confederate
supply center becauseof its rail connections.
Rebuilt after the Civil War, Atlanta remained an
important transportationhub in the Southeast.
Modern Atlanta still dependson movement.
The city's transpoftation links have attractednot
only manufacturers, but aiso companies that
handle distribution tasks such as warehousing
and trucking. These new jobs, in turn, have
helped the city grow. In addition, Atlanta's
Hartsfield International Airport is one of the
nation's largestand busiest.
Regions
The last of the five geographicthemes dealswith
regions. A region is a group of places with at
least one common characteristic.Geographers
divide the world into many diverseregions.
Formal regions are areasin which a certain characteristicis found throughout the area.
For exampie, states,countries, and cities are all
political regions. Within these formai regions,
Chapter1'Section 1
37
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SouthPacitic
Regions The villageof Luatuanuuis
located in WesternSamoa.This area
is known for its scenic beauty'What
regional characteristics can You
determine from this PhotograPh?
all people are subjectto the samelaws and are
ruled by the same government. Formal regions
can also be defined using other characteristics.
The steppe region in Northern Eurasiaconsists
of temperategrasslandswith rich soils.The Corn
Belt is the part of the United Stateswhere corn is
grown in abundance.Chinatown is a part of San
Francisco,California, containing many ChineseAmerican people, restaurants,and stores.
Functional regions consist of one central
place and the surrounding placesaffectedby it. As
is true of formal regions,functional regionscan be
VocabulanY
L
and
Main
defined using several different criteria. The
Amazon drainage basin in South America is the
region drained by the Amazon River.The Denveq
Colorado, metropolitan rcgion consistsof the city
of Denver plus its surrounding suburbs.
Becausevarious criteria can be used to define
regions,the sameplace rnay be found in several
different regions. From a physical perspective,
Mexico is part of the North Americancontinental
region. Culturaliy, Mexico is linked to the
nations of Central and South
Spanish-speaking
America.
ldeas
Define: a. geography b. absolute location
c. Equator d. hemisphere e' latitude
f. longitude g. Prime Meridian
h. relative location i. formal region
j. functional region
2. Describe the physical and human characteristics of the place where You live.
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6. Which
ocean is
focated
cfosest to
3, Give one example of the effect of movement on
the history of Your communiQt
4. Criticaf Thinking: Making Comparisons How does the study of
a place's human characteristics differ from the study of its
: hysical characteristics?
.3.S.
Chapter 1 ' Section 1
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