Download Map Skills And Geography

Map Skills
And
Geography
I. 5 Themes of Geography
1. Location- Answers the question, “Where is
it?”
2. Regions-Areas that share at least one
common feature
3. Movement-Answers the question, “How
do people, goods, & ideas
move from place to place?”
4. Place-Identifies the natural & human
features that make one place
different from every other place.
5. Interaction-Relationship between
people & environment.
II. How do you read a map?
Latitude and Longitude
a. Ptolemy’s Map:
Wanted to give a picture of known world (Map)
Came up with N, S, W, E, directions.
Grid: network of intersecting lines to locate places.
Latitude: horizontal, means wide, also called Parallels
because run in the same direction as the Equator.
b. Measuring Distances:
Parallels measures distance in degrees from either side of
the equator toward the poles. Equator is 0 Latitude. 90
between North Pole and 90 South Pole. Think of having a
parallel for every degree (do not draw every parallel).
Longitude: vertical lines on map that runs
between North and South Poles (long), also called
Meridians.
360 Meridians – or one for each degree in a circle.
#’S from the Prime Meridian- imaginary line that
splits earth into East and West. Prime Meridian
marked at 0.
½ way around the world 180 Meridian.
International Date Line- point at which day
begins
c. Using a Map Grid:
Knowing Longitude and Latitude and you can find
any place on Earth.
Longitude- measure East and West
Latitude- measure North and South
Lines of Latitude
will NEVER touch.
Latitude
Longitude
lines meet at
the poles.
Longitude
Putting it all together!!!
III. Drawing a round Earth on a Flat
Map: Map Projections
1492, Martin Behaim (Bay hym) of GM made a globe nicknamed
“Behaim’s earth apple”
Can not get globes in a book so need flat maps <old problem for
mapmakers>
Projections- way to show a drawing of the Earth on a flat surface
a.Early Mapmaking- one of the most famous map projectors was Mercator
(Exploration was high interest). Use Math and Geography. Showed N. and S.
America, showed how N. A. was separate from Asia; two continents.
b. A New Projection- drew Longitude and Latitude in straight lines meeting at right
angles. Determined N, S, W, and E: useful for figuring the course of a ship at sea.
But there was some Distortion- error
Showed Longitude in straight lines -lands on either side must be
stretched (Greenland example)
c. A projection that shows true sizes of land areas
Equal area projections- shows the land and water sizes accurately but the shapes
of the land are distorted. Lines of Longitude are curved to show the curve of the
Earth’s surface.
Mercator
Robinson
Equal Area
Projection
IV. Using an Atlas and different types of Maps
Physical and Political Maps and others
a. Political Maps- Nations\ Countries that have separate
government Give the locations of capitals and important cities.
Political maps of individual countries show political divisions w\in
countries
b. Physical Map- Natural features of the land, often labeled.
Can be combined to make one.
c. Weather Maps- why use a map? They are the clearest and
quickest way to present facts about the weather over a country or
region.
Climate- normal or usual pattern of weather for a place over a
period of time. Some show tempts. dryness/dampness Humidity or
Precipitation.
d. Population Density- largest # of people live in the world.
Av. # of people who live on a square mile of land.
Political Maps
Physical Maps
Weather Maps
Population Density
V. Geography of Europe
a. Land of Europe
-Europe and Russia are part of Eurasia, the world’s largest land mass.
The land mass is made up of two continents. The country of Russia
stretches over both continents (1/4 of Russia is in Europe). The Ural
Mountains are the diving line between Europe and Asia.
-Europe is a small continent. Only Australia is smaller. 48 Countries
are located on the continent. Most of them are small and many are
the size of an average us state. Russia is the largest country in the
world (2x the size of Canada or the US).
-The Continent of Europe forms a Peninsula (a body of land nearly
surrounded by water). The European peninsula sticks out into the
Atlantic Ocean. However, Europe has many smaller peninsula w/
bays. These bays include many harbors, sheltered bodies of water,
where ships can dock. These good harbors have enabled W.
European countries to become world leaders in shipping.
Map of Europe
b. Climate of Europe
1. Oceans
-Areas that are near an ocean or a sea have mild weather year
round. Areas that are far from those areas have extreme
weather.
-Winds blowing across the Ocean picks up a great deal of
moisture. When these winds blow over land, they drop moisture
in the form of rain. Winds blowing from the west across the
Atlantic bring a wet climate too much of W. Europe
2. Mountains
-Mountains also affects the amount of rainfall in an
area. In Europe, areas west of the mountains
receive heavy rainfall (GB, France, GM, and
Norway). Areas east of the mountains have a
much lighter rainfall. Why? As winds rise up the
mountain, they cool and drop their moisture. The
air is dry by the time it reaches the other side of
the mountains
c. Natural Resources
Europe is a wealthy region and a world leader in
economic development. Part of that wealth comes from
Europe’s rich supply of natural resources.
1. Fertile Soil
-Needed to grow food
-Combined w/ plentiful rain and long growing
season enables European farmers to produce
abundant crops.
2. Water
-Drink
-Nourishes crops
3. Fuels
-Coal, oil, and natural gas.
-GB—oil, Nat. Gas, and coal, GM----Coal
-Fossil Fuels come from remains of ancient plants and
animal.
VI. Geography of Asia & Africa
a. Land of Asia
Asia is the biggest continent in the world. China
and India have over a billion people. Japan is an
archipelago, chain of many islands. Japan was formed
by volcanoes and earthquakes are common to the region.
b. Climate of Asia
Asia's climate is similar to North America's a same latitudes.
Asia's climate is also varied greatly because Asia is a huge
continent.
The northernmost part of Asia has short summers and long, cold
winters. North Russia has very extreme temperature variation,
winters can drop below -20 Celsius and summers are often above
34 Celsius.
Map of Asia
The next climatic region includes most of Russia, Poland, North
China and all of Japan. This region experiences humid and
warm summers that are short and winters that are moderately
cold.
The tropical region of Asia is very warm and humid with little or
no winter. This region gets a lot of rain from monsoons.
Monsoons are clouds that form during the warmer, more humid
months and then rain when it becomes cooler. This region has
an excellent climate for growing crops, but the people there rely
greatly on the monsoons.
c. Natural Resources of Asia
Oil is the natural resource that is abundant in the
Middle East.
d. Land of Africa
Africa is the second biggest continent in the world. Overall it is a
poor area that suffers from many hardships of the word (hunger,
disease, etc)
Deserts are north and south of Africa. The Sahara, the world
largest, is in the north. Because of the deserts, there is little
farming.
e. Climate of Africa
Africa is a very hot and moist continent as the equator
passes right through it. It has tropical rain forests on
either side of the equator.
Surrounding the tropical rain forests is the savanna,
areas of grasslands w/ scattered trees & bushes. Much
of Africa is Savanna (lions, zebras, and elephants live
there). Cattle is herded on the savanna but they can’t
survive in the Rain forests because of disease.
f. Natural Resources of Africa
Gold
Silver
Diamonds
Rubber
Map of Africa
VII. Timeline and Early Man
a. Historical timeline
Prehistory Ancient History Middle Ages Modern Era
3000BC
500
1500
Today
History begins with writing. Writing begins around
3000BC.
Writing is important because now events can be
recorded.
What are the problems with ancient civilization writings?
-Is it accurate (proper with all tine period writings)
-Dates and time period
-Proper translation or interpretation
b. Early Man
Time Line of the Stone Age (made tools and
weapons out of stone) or Prehistory.
Paleolithic
8000BC
Mesolithic
6000BC
Neolithic
3000BC
c. Pre history is broken into three parts
1. Paleolithic- Old Stone Age
-Crudely made stone (chipped away arrowheads)
-Nomadic- moved with the herds
-Fire was discovered and mastered
+ light, heat, defense, scare animals
2. Mesolithic- Middle stone age
- Moved into agriculture
- Breed animals
- Better tools & weapons
3. Neolithic- New stone age
Wheel was invented
Animals was domesticated
Plows/ Farming emerged
Stopped being nomadic
Growth of communities
Pottery to store food/crops
Polished stone