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Geography
Themes and Essential Elements
What is Geography?
• Geography is the study of everything on Earth, from
rocks and rainfall to people and places.
• Geographers study how the natural environment
influences people, how people’s activities affect
Earth, and how the world is changing.
• Geographers look at many different things including
cities, cultures, plants, climate, and resources.
Perspectives from Space
• Satellite images have
provided additional
resources for geographers
using a spatial perspective
in their study of Earth.
• Improvements in satellite
technology and imagery
now allow geographers to
analyze climate and
vegetation patterns over
time.
Analyze the Following Satellite Images Below
• What types of
changes related to the
effect of human
actions on the
environment might
geographers observe
in satellite images?
Why use geography?
• Most jobs require the understanding of
geography. An example is a restaurant owner
must find a good location. Politicians need to
know the geography of their districts. They
must understand the issues that are important
to the people in the area.
Subfields of Geography
• Two well known
subfields of geography
are cartography and
meteorology.
Cartography
• Cartography is the study of maps and mapmaking.
Maps are important because they help geographers
study locations.
• Although some maps are still drawn by hand,
computers have the completely changed
mapmaking. A cartographer then creates a map on a
computer.
• Cartographers work for companies that publish
maps, atlases, newspapers, magazines, and books.
Meteorology
• Another subfield of geography is meteorology. This
is the study of the weather.
• Meteorologists forecast how the weather will
develop so that people know what to expect.
Modern Forecasting
• What information is
presented in the
following
photographs?
• Why is accurate and
timely information
important?
• Who could possibly be
effected by the
changing weather
presented? How?
Regions
• Regions can be any size. Countries, deserts,
and mountain ranges are examples of large
regions.
• Smaller regions include suburbs and
neighborhoods.
• Regions can also be divided into smaller areas
called sub-regions.
• For example, the Great Plains is a sub-region
within North America.
Types of Regions
• There are three types of regions:
– Formal Region
– Functional Region
– Perceptual Region
Formal Regions
• Formal regions can be based on almost any
feature or combination of features.
• Those features may include population,
income levels, crops, temperature, or rainfall.
• Physical features might define a formal region,
such as the Rocky Mountains in the western
United States.
Formal Regions
• For example, an
industrial area in the
northeastern and
Midwestern United
States is also a formal
region.
• This region was once
called the Rust Belt
because so many old
factories there had shut
down.
Functional Regions
• Functional regions are
made up of different places
that are linked together and
function as a unit.
• An example of a functional
region is a transit system.
• The flow of people, trains,
subways, and buses link
those places together.
Functional Regions
• Many functional
regions are organized
around a central point.
• Surrounding areas are
linked to this point.
Shopping malls are an
example.
Perceptual Regions
• Human perception is the awareness and
understanding of the environment around us.
• Our views are influenced not only by what is in a
region but also by what is in us.
• Our ways of life and experiences influence how we
perceive the world.
• Perceptual regions reflect human feelings and
attitudes.
• An example is “back home.”
Regional Perceptions
• What is your perception
of California and Venice
Beach?
Regional Perceptions
• What is your perception of
New Yorkers and the City of
New York?
Quick group/class discussion:
• Give three reasons you
would like to live in New
York City.
• Give three reasons you
would definitely want to live
in New York City.
Regional Perceptions
• What are your
perceptions of the
Corpus Christi area?
Quick group/class
discussion:
• How do you think
others perceive our city
and the people from
this area?
Organizing the Globe
• We begin our study of
geography by looking at
a globe.
• A globe is a scale model
of Earth.
• One of the first things
you will notice on the
globe is a pattern of
lines.
Map Grid
• These lines circle the
globe in east-west and
north-south directions.
• This pattern is called a
grid.
• The grid is made up of
lines of latitude and
longitude.
Latitude
• Lines of latitude are
drawn in an east-west
direction.
• Lines of latitude
measure the degree of
distance north or south
of the equator.
Longitude
• Lines of longitude are
drawn in a north-south
direction.
• As you see these lines of
longitude extend from the
north pole to the south
pole.
• Lines of longitude measure
the degree of distance east
or west of the prime
meridian.
Latitude and Longitude
Latitude and Longitude
• Lines of latitude
measure distance north
and south of the
equator.
• The equator is an
imaginary line that
circles the globe
halfway between the
Earth’s North Pole and
South Pole.
Parallels
• Lines of latitude are
also called parallels.
• This is because they are
always parallel to the
equator and each
other.
Meridians
• Lines of longitude are also
called meridians.
• They measure distance east
and west of the Prime
Meridian.
• This is an imaginary line
drawn from the North Pole
to Greenwich, England to
the South Pole.
Parallels and meridians measure distance in degrees.
Degrees are further divided into minutes. There are 60
minutes in a degree.
Measures of Longitude
• Lines of longitude range from 0 degrees on
the Prime Meridian to 180 degrees on the
meridian in the mid-Pacific Ocean.
• Meridians west of the prime meridian to 180
degrees are labeled with a W. Those east of
the prime meridian are labeled with an E.
• Unlike lines of latitude, lines of longitude are
not parallel to one another.
Hemispheres
• The globe’s grid does more than help us locate places.
• Geographers also use grid lines to organize the way we look
at the world.
• For example the equator divides the globe into two halves or
hemispheres.
• The half lying north of the equator is the Northern
Hemisphere and the southern half is the Southern
Hemisphere.
• The United States is located in the northern hemisphere.
Australia is located in the southern hemisphere.
Northern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
• The Prime Meridian
and the 180 degree
meridian divide the
world into the
Eastern Hemisphere
and Western
Hemisphere
• The Eastern and
Western Hemispheres
are officially divided
in the Atlantic Ocean
at 20 degrees W.
• Due to this division
along the Prime
Meridian and 20 W,
all of Europe and
Africa are located in
the Eastern
Hemisphere.
Continents
• There are seven continents: Africa, Antarctica,
Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and
South America.
• Asia, the largest continent, is five times the
size of Australia, the smallest.
• Landmasses smaller than continents and
surrounded by water are called islands.
• Greenland is the world’s largest island.
Oceans
• The largest areas of
water are the global
oceans.
• Geographers divide
these oceans into four
areas: the Atlantic
Ocean, the Arctic
Ocean, the Indian
Ocean, and the Pacific
Ocean.
• The Pacific Ocean
is the largest ocean
and the world’s
largest geographic
feature.
• It is more than 12
times the size of
the smallest
ocean, the Arctic.
Gulf of Mexico
• Smaller bodies of
water include seas,
gulfs, and lakes.
• Gulfs and seas, such
as the Gulf of
Mexico and the
Caribbean Sea, are
areas of salt water
that are connected
to larger oceans.
• Geographers use
maps to study
the Earth.
• Maps are flat
representations
of all or parts of
Earth’s surface.
• A collection of
maps in one
book is called an
atlas.
Distance Scales
• A map’s distance scale helps us determine real
distances between points on a map.
• On large-scale maps objects are relatively large,
whereas on small-scale maps objects are relatively
small.
• Some may show just one or two miles while others
illustrate a few hundred feet.
• Maps showing larger distances, may cover hundreds
and thousands of miles.
Compare the following maps. Which map has the larger scale?
What types of information can you derive from each of the
maps?
Directional Indicators
• A directional indicator shows which direction
on a map are north, south, east, and west.
• Some mapmakers use a north arrow which
points toward the North Pole.
• Most maps show direction with a compass
rose.
Compass Rose
• A compass rose
has arrows that
point to all four
principal
directions.
• What are the
other arrows?
What use do they
have?
Legends
• A map’s legend, or key, identifies
the symbols on a map and what
they represent.
• They may show colors, shapes,
or symbols to represent many
different kinds of features on a
map.
• What types of information can
you obtain from the legend?
Inset Map
• An inset map is another special element.
• Inset maps are used to focus in on a smaller part of a
larger map.
• Some inset maps also show areas that are far away
from the main areas of the whole map.
• Analyze the inset map which follows. What
advantages does this type of map present?
Climate and Precipitation Maps
• Some mapmakers
use maps to show
weather patterns
and atmospheric
conditions.
• Climate maps use
color to show various
climate regions of
the world.
• Where would you
want to live?
Precipitation Maps
• Precipitation maps show average amount
precipitation that a region gets each year.
• Precipitation refers to condensed droplets of water
that fall as rain, sleet, hail, or snow.
• Each map’s legend uses color to identify those
amounts.
• By using the legends, you can see which areas
receive the most precipitation.
• What
predictions
could you make
regarding
population
growth, trade,
and agriculture
based on the
following data?
What predications could you make about migration, economic,
industrialization patterns?
• Population
maps give you
a snapshot of
distribution of
people in a
region.
• Each color may
represent an
average
number of
people living
within a square
mile.
Population Maps
Based on the information below, where do you think
the greatest population densities occur?
• Economic maps
show a region’s
important
natural resources
and the ways in
which land is
used.
• Some maps will
show where land
is used for
farming or other
economic
activities.
Economic Maps
Which states export the most based on the data
below?
Elevation Profiles
• Some maps focus on an area’s land features.
• For example, you can see that each physical
map in this textbook uses color to show land
elevations.
• Elevation is the height of the land above sea
level.
• Each color represents a different elevation.
• An elevation
profile shows a
side view of a
place or area.
• Vertical
distances are
measured topbottom, while
horizontal
distances are
measured left –
right.
Elevation Profile
• What information can you get from the profile
below:
• The purpose of
some maps is to
show just the
topography,
elevation, layout,
and shapes of the
land.
Topographic Maps
Topographic Map
• What information
can you determine
from the topographic
map?
• Where are the
highest areas in
South America?
Contour Map
• A special kind of topographical map is called a
contour map.
• Contour maps provide a way of looking at the
shapes of land in an area.
• They use contour lines to connect points of
equal elevation above or below sea level.
• The closer the lines are to each other, the
steeper the land.
• What can you
determine
about the
slope of the
mountain by
the contour
information
provided?
Contour Map
Climate Graphs
• Climate graphs
show the
average
temperatures
and
precipitation in
a place.