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Social Studies Notes
CHAPTER 1 – WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?
LESSON 1 – THINKING LIKE A GEOGRAPHER
1. The World in Spatial Terms
Geography – study of Earth, and its people, places and environments
Spatial – the Earth’s features in terms of shape (size it takes up), location, and their relationship to one another.
Example: Mountain in Washington state
Shape:
how tall the mountain is
how many square miles it takes up
how wide around it is, etc.
Location:
Washington state, United States, North America, Western Hemisphere
with a nearby lake and forest
cooler, moderate climate
snow on top of mountain
Relationship:
People use mountain and area to hike, hunt, fish, mountain climb
Weather effected by mountain
People may pollute the area
Animals live on and around the mountain, depend on environment
People have jobs that depend on the mountain and area
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Places (locations) on Earth made up of a combination of physical and human characteristics.
Physical – climate, landforms, animals, plants (CLAP)
Human – population, buildings, jobs, land use
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Landscapes – portions of the Earth’s surface (PLACE) that can be viewed at one time and from one location.
Can describe physical and human characteristics of the landscape.
Mountain example:
Physical – tall, snow covered, surrounded by trees, lake nearby, flowers,
plants, animal, sunny
Human – power lines, city, some people, hiking, skiing, picnicking, snowboarding, hunting,
fishing
“what you can see outside your window at 10:00 AM on Thursday, September 12, 2013”
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Experience – We all experience geography every day. We learn about it to better appreciate and understand
the world.
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Changing World – landscapes are constantly changing (dynamic – always changing).
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Geographers study how places change over time.
2. Five Themes of Geography
1. Location – Used to tell where something is. Knowing a location MAY also give you more information about
the place.
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Relative location – describes where a place is compared to another place
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Absolute location – exact location (123 Main St, GPS coordinates) (Latitude, Longitude)
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Latitude – imaginary lines that run East to West. They measure how far you are from the Equator.
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Equator – invisible line, zero degrees latitude, same distance from the North and South poles
North Pole = 90 degrees North latitude
South Pole = 90 degrees South degrees
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Longitude (meridians) – imaginary lines that run North to South. They measure how far you are from
the Prime Meridian.
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Prime Meridian – starting point for measuring longitude, zero degrees longitude, meets at 180
degrees which is called the International Date line
2. Place
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The human or physical characteristics of a place
3. Region
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Region – places that are close to each other and share some characteristics (weather, jobs,
entertainment, religion, language, culture, natural resources, etc.)
4. Human-Environment Interaction
The environment (physical characteristics) affect people
Examples – good soil for farming, floods, climate
People affect the environment
Examples – build dams, cut down trees to build things, pollution
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Environment – natural surroundings of a place. It includes:
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o
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Landforms – the shape and nature of the land (mountains, valleys)
Water or no water
Climate – the average weather in a place over a long period of time
Resources – materials that can be used to produce products such as crops, homes, fuel
5. Movement
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Geographers look at how people, products, ideas and information move from one place to another.
Examples:
People – people move where they live
Products – corn, apples, wheat
Ideas – technology
Information – spreads quickly, social media, internet
Six Essential Elements
Another way of thinking about geography in addition to the 5 themes:
1. World in Spatial Terms
2. Places and regions
3. Physical Systems – wind, ocean currents, plate tectonics, water cycle
4. Human Systems – language, religion, government, trade, customs
5. Environment and Society
6. The Uses of Geography
3. Geographer’s Skills
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Interpreting Visuals
Maps
Graphs
Charts
Diagrams
Photographs
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Critical Thinking
Asking questions:
Why
How
What is the effect
LESSON 2 – TOOLS USED BY GEOGRAPHERS
I. Globes and Maps
Making maps is a big and important part of geography
Maps and globes show where things are located
A. Globes
 Are MOST ACCURATE way to show Earth because both globes and Earth are spheres.
 Globes show whole planet
 Show distance and direction more correctly than maps
Sphere – 3D round figure
Divided into 4 parts
Each half of Earth is a
hemisphere.
Northern
Hemisphere
PRIME
MERIDIAN
Western
Hemisp
here
EQUATOR
Southern
Hemisphere
Eastern
Hemisp
here
B. Maps
 Maps are flat picture of a round world and can be specialized.
 Show more information than globes.
 Maps show detail, globes show major features
 Show only part of the Earth
 Because maps are flat, they distort (show incorrectly) the Earth. Makes land wider.
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Keys
Flat
More information
More types of information
More detailed
Portable
Specialized (climate,
population, etc)
Can show smaller areas
Can be drawn or sketched
Show locations
Represent world
Used to find
locations/directions
Can show land and
water
Can show elevation
Have distortion when
mapping 3 dimensional
objects
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Spheres
Show whole world
Show major features of land and
water
More accurate representation of
Earth
Show correct shape of land and water
Show distance and directions
between places more correctly
Show four hemispheres
II. A Closer Look at Maps
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You can find maps in many different places.
Different kinds of maps are used for different purposes.
A. Elements of a Map
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Map Title – tells you what the map will cover
Map Key – Explains symbols, lines, and colors
Scale Bar – tells how a measured space on the map corresponds to actual distances on Earth. For example, it
tells you how many miles on Earth equals one inch on the map.
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Compass Rose – shows cardinal directions – North, West, East, South
Maps may have insets that show more detail of a part of the map
Maps may show latitude and longitude lines
B. Map Projections
 Map projections - are used to convert a round Earth to a flat map.
 A map projection distorts some parts of Earth in order to show other parts as accurately as possible.
 A map maker is called a cartographer
 Some projections show land more accurately and others show water. A cartographer has to choose which
projection to use for each map.
C. Map Scale
 Scale – the relationship between distances on the map and Earth.
 Large scale map – focuses on a smaller area but show it larger.
 Small scale map – focuses on a larger area but shows is smaller.
 The scale you use depends on the purpose of the map. To see more detail, use a large scale map. To see the
entire country, use a small scale map.
D. Two Types of Maps
 General purpose map
o Shows wide range of information about an area
o Usually shows human-made features or natural features but not both
 Political map – shows boundaries of countries, states, etc.
 Physical map – shows natural features like mountains, rivers, etc.
 Many physical maps show elevation – how much above or below sea level a feature is. This is an
absolute number like 1,000 feet above sea level.
 Physical maps also often show relief - difference between the elevation of one feature and the
elevation of another feature near it. This is a relative number like higher or lower than the land
next to it.
 Thematic map
o Shows more specialized information
o Examples:
 The kind of plants in an area
 Where certain businesses take place like farming
 How to drive from one place to another
III. Mapping Technology
 Technology – any ways that scientific discoveries are applied to practical use.
 Geospatial technologies – electronic maps that help us think spatially and give information about a location’s
physical and human features.
 Give information about the features and objects in the world and where they are located
A. Global Positioning System
Network built by US government. Has 3 parts:
1. 30 satellites that circle the Earth and send out radio signals.
2. Control system where workers constantly monitor the satellites.
3. GPS devices on Earth that pick up the signals from the satellites to pinpoint latitude and longitude of the
location.
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The more satellites the GPS picks up, the more accurate the location. Also give an accurate time at that
location.
Lots of uses – track airplanes, give directions, cell phones
B. Geographic Information System
 Another important geospatial technology
 Uses computers to gather, store and analyze geographic data.
 Helps us study and analyze information about physical and human features of a location
C. Satellites and Sensors
 Satellites use remote sensing – getting info from far away.
 Since the 1970s satellites have gathered data about Earth’s surface.
 Most early satellite sensors were used to gather information about weather.
 Satellites gather information in different ways including powerful cameras and can pick up more than just
pictures, such as:
o Amount of moisture in soil
o The heat the soil holds
o Types of vegetation (plants)
 Scientists use the information from satellites to compare changes in locations over years and to help
people make good land use decisions.
D. Limits of Technology
 Geospatial technologies give a lot of information but do not tell why things are located where they are.
 We must use this technology with other information to understand people, places and environments and
how they impact each other.