Chapter 1 The World of Geography

Section 1 The Five Themes of Geography

Geography is the study of the Earth’s surface, the connection between places, and the relationships between people and their environment.

Geographers look at distances between places, but also oceans, plant life, landforms, and people.

What is Geography?

Good Geographers always ask two questions:◦ Where are things located?◦ Why are they there?

To get answers, they use the five themes of Geography. The themes help the geographers to organize information.

Geographer’s Main Two Questions

Location◦ Geograpers being to study a place by finding where it

is, or its location. ◦ There are two types of location.

Absolute location: exact location on Earth (EX. 39.95°N 75.17°W - Philadelphia) Determined by position of longitude and latitude lines and

measured in degrees. Longitude Lines: (AKA meridians) series of imaginary lines

that run north and south through both North and South Poles Latitude Lines: (AKA parallels) series of imaginary lines

that circle the Earth and are parallel to the Equator Degrees: a unit of measure used to determine absolute

location

The 5 Themes of Geography

◦ Prime Meridian: the longitude line at 0 degrees, runs through Greenwich, England.

◦ Equator: the latitude line that circles the globe at its widest point. Measured at 0 degrees.

The 5 Themes of Geography

Location (Cont.) Relative Location: location by describing what is near

EX. I live in Newtown Square. It is 13 miles west of Philadelphia.

Place◦ Studying the physical and human features

Physical features include climate (hot, cold) and land (hilly).

Human features include information like how many people live there, and what kind of work do they do

The 5 Themes of Geography

Human-Environment Interaction◦ Studies three things

How people affect their environment. EX. People take out parts of the land to build roads and highways.

Physical characteristics of their surroundings EX. Turkey receives little rainfall

How their environment affects them EX. People must build irrigation systems in order to grow food in

Turkey

Movement◦ Movement is important because it helps explain how

people, goods, and ideas get from one place to another. Ex. Immigrants bring their traditional food to a new way of

life.

The 5 Themes of Geography

Regions◦ Geographers use regions to make comparisons

between areas.◦ Regions have a unifying characteristic such as

climate, land, population, or history. Example: The Mid-Atlantic Region

◦ Plain: a flat piece of land

The 5 Themes of Geography

Chapter 1 The World of Geography

Section 2The Geographer’s Tools

Globes◦ Early maps only showed where people lived and

traveled. They often left off information.◦ As people explored the Earth, maps became more

accurate.◦ The best way to show a map is a globe.

Globe: a round model of the Earth Map makers can show the shape of an area

according to scale on a globe. Scale: the size or proportion of something on a map

as compared to its actual size.

Globes and Maps

Maps◦ Maps were invented because of two problems

with globes. Tough to transport Can’t make one big enough to show great detail of a

small place.◦ Flat Maps solve those problems, but create their

own. Distortion: in maps, a misrepresentation of the

original shape and size. An area may look bigger or smaller Example on Next Slide

Globes and Maps

In order to deal with distortion, we have to look at projections.

Projection: a representation of the Earth’s rounded surface on a flat piece of paper.

3 of the Best Know Projections◦ Mercator Projection

Correct shapes, but incorrect distances and sizes

Globes and Maps

◦ Peters Projection Correct sizes, incorrect shapes

◦ Robinson Projection Most shapes and sizes correct, most distance

accurate

Globes and Maps

Parts of a Map

Compass Rose: a map feature that usually shows the four cardinal directions

Cardinal Direction: one of the four compass points: north, south, east, and west

Intermediate Direction: one of the four secondary compass points: northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest

Scale: the size or proportion of something on a map as compared to its actual size.

Key: the section of a map that explains the map symbols Title: The name (usually at the top) of a map that

identifies what the map is picturing. Grid: Lines drawn on a map to help identify specific

places on a map

Parts of a Map