Unit 1 Lesson 1

Themes of Geography

• GEOGRAPHY- is the study of the distribution and interaction of physical and human features on the earth.

Five questions can help organize information about places: (5 themes)

Geography’s Five Themes

1. What is the location of a place? (location - absolute/relative)2. What is the character of a place? (place - physical/human

characteristics)3. How are places similar to and different from other places?

(regions - formal / functional / perceptual)4. How do people, goods, and ideas move between places?

(movement - transportation/communication)5. How do people interact with the natural environment of a

place? (human environment interaction)

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Location

• Absolute Location is the exact place

where a geographic feature is found.

• Relative Location describes a place in relation to other places around it.

Hemisphere

• The earth is divided into two equal halves and each half is called a hemisphere.

Location

• The equator is the imaginary line that divides the north and south halves.

• The prime meridian is the imaginary line that divides the east and west halves.

Grid System

• Latitude- this is used to locate places north and south. Latitude lines are imaginary lines that run parallel to the equator. Longitude- are imaginary lines that go around the earth over the poles. They locate places east and west.

PLACE

• Place includes the physical features and cultural landscape of a location. All locations have physical features that set them apart. Examples climate, landforms and vegetations.

© CSCOPE 2008

Physical v. Cultural Geography

Physical Geography is the study of the Natural Landscape of the Earth while Cultural Geography is the study of the Human Landscape of the

Earth.

Physical Geography Cultural Geography

Rocks/Minerals Population/Settlements/Urbanization

Landforms Economic and Political Systems

Animal and Plant Life Transportation

Soils Human Migration

Atmosphere/Climate/Weather Social Systems

Environment Recreation

Rivers/Oceans/Other bodies of Water

Religion/Belief System

• physical (natural) characteristics– landforms, climate, vegetation

• human (cultural) characteristics– language, religion, ethnicity, population

GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS: What defines a region?

Regions are based on Spatial Criteria

Location, Place, and Region• Absolute location describes the position of a place on the globe using the grid of

longitude and latitude lines.• Relative location describes the location of a place compared to other places.• The character of a place consists of the place’s physical and human characteristics.• A region is a group of places with at least one common physical or human

characteristic, and may be determined by people’s perceptions, or viewpoints influenced by one’s own culture and experiences.

• Formal regions are areas in which a certain characteristic is found throughout them.

• Functional regions consist of a central place and the surrounding places affected by it.

• Perceptual regions are defined by people’s attitudes and feelings about areas.

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Perceptual Region

Human-Environment Interaction

• People learn to use what the environment offers to them. They may change that environment to meet their needs. They also learn to live with parts of the environment that they cannot control.

Geographer’s Tools

Globe• Is a three-dimensional

representation of the earth. It provides a way to view the earth as it sits in space. Because a globe is round, we can only see ½ of it at a time. Globes are not always practical because they are not portable.

Maps• Maps are two-

dimensional representation of selected parts of the earth’s surface. Maps are portable and can be drawn to scale.

Cartography• Is map making, a

disadvantage of a map is that distortion occurs when a 3-dimensional image is converted to a 2-dimensional image.

Map Projection• Is a way of drawing

the earth’s surface by presenting a round earth on flat paper.

Types of Maps

• 1. General reference• 2. Thematic• 3. Navigational

General Reference• Is sometimes called a

topographical map. It shows natural and man made features of the earth.

Science of Mapmaking• Today cartographers use

satellites and computers to help make maps.

• Landsat is a series of satellites that can photograph the entire earth in 16 days.

GIS/GPS• Geographic Information system

(GIS) This uses digital map information to produce a specialized map. GIS provides specialized information to solve problems.

• Global Positioning System (GPS)- Uses a series of 24 satellites called navstar. They send the exact latitude, longitude, altitude, and time to a hand held receiver.

Earth

Core

• Is the solid metallic center of the earth and is made up of iron and nickel.

Mantle

• Floating on the core is the mantle, a soft layer of molten rock that is about 1800 miles thick.

Crust

• The crust is the thin layer of rock at the surface of the earth.

Lithosphere

• The solid rock portion of the earth’s surface is the lithosphere. Some of the lithosphere is below water and forms the floor of the ocean.

The 4 Spheres

Atmosphere

• Surrounding the earth is a layer of gases called the atmosphere. It contains the air that we breath. It also protects the earth from radiation and space debris. It is where the weather and climate take place.

Lithosphere

• The solid rock portion of the earth’s surface is the lithosphere. Some of the lithosphere is below water and forms the floor of the ocean.

Hydrosphere• Is made up of the water

elements of the earth, which include oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, and water in the atmosphere.

Biosphere• The part of the

earth where plants and animals live.

Internal and External Forces

Plate Tectonics

• Heated rock rises then cools and circulates downward.

• Riding above this circulation system are tectonic plates, enormous moving pieces of the earth’s lithosphere.

Tectonic Plates.url

Continental Drift

• The continental drift theory maintains that the earth was once a super continent that slowly drifted apart. The super continent was called Pangaea.

Observe an animation of the breakup of Pangaea..url

Plate Movement• Tectonic plates move in one

of four ways. 1. Moving apart 2. Diving under another plate 3. Collision 4. Sliding past each other

• When plates come into contact it forms three types of boundaries. 1. Divergent-plates move apart 2. Convergent –plates collide 3. Transform- plates slide past each other.

Understanding the Past

• According to the theory of plate tectonics, the lithosphere is broken up into a number of moving plates, on which continents and oceans ride.

• The theories of continental drift and seafloor spreading support the theory of plate tectonics, and it is thought that the force of convection drives the movement of tectonic plates.

2

-Japan-South America

-Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Iceland)-North Africa

EarthquakesVolcanoes

EarthquakesVolcanoes

All 3 theorieshave the sameConclusion!

Understanding the Past

• The movement of plates can create rift valleys, mountain ranges, volcanoes, faults, and earthquakes, depending the how the plates are moving.

• The Ring of Fire is a group of volcanoes and volcanic islands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean.

2

-Himalaya Mts-Greece/Italy -California

-Greece/Turkey

Earthquake zones

Earthquake zones

Mechanical Weathering• The process that breaks

rock into smaller pieces but it doesn’t change the composition of the rock.

Weathering

Mechanical WeatheringMechanical weathering occurs when the

rock is physically weakened or broken.

The most common mechanical weathering occurs when water freezes in cracks in rock (frost wedging)

Seeds taking root in cracks

Chemical WeatheringChemical weathering alters the

chemical makeup of rock.Water and carbon dioxide are the

most important factors.(carbonic acid – caves are formed

this way)Acid rain is a type of chemical

weathering caused by air pollution and water.

Observing WeatheringThe wearing effects of weather can be seen in any old stone structure.

Weathering changes natural landforms over millions of years.

Weathering is the breakdown of rock at or near the earth’s surface into smaller and smaller pieces.

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Erosion• Erosion is the movement of weathered material such as gravel,

soil, and sand.• Moving water is the single greatest cause of erosion, especially

when carrying sediment.• Wind, the second major cause of erosion, can strip away exposed

soil, but windblown deposits of loess, mineral-rich dust and silt, can also benefit farmers.

• Glaciers, huge, slow-moving sheets of ice, are also major agents of erosion, as they pick up and drag along dirt, rocks, and boulders.

• During the Ice Ages, glaciers covered up to a third of the earth’s surface.

• In places where glaciers have melted and receded, they have left behind ridgelike piles of rocks and debris called moraines.

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Sediment

• Weathering refers to physical and chemical processes that change the characteristics of rock on or near the earth’s surface. Weathering creates smaller and smaller pieces of rock called sediment. EX: mud, sand, silt.

Chemical Weathering

• Chemical weathering occurs when rock is changed into a new substance as the result of interaction between elements in the air, water, and the minerals in the rock.

Erosion

• Erosion is the moving of weathered material by water, wind, ice, or gravity.

Delta

• Landform created when sediment is deposited as a river enters the ocean.

Glaciation

• A glacier is a large, long lasting mass of ice. Glaciation is the changing landforms by slowly moving glaciers.

Coriolis Effect:

The Coriolis effect is the apparent curvature of global winds, ocean

currents, and everything else that moves freely

across the Earth’s surface.

The Coriolis Effect influences wind direction around the world in this

way: in the Northern Hemisphere it curves winds to the right; in the Southern Hemisphere it curves them

left.

Unit 1

Seasons and Weather

Seasons

• Earths Tilt: As the earth revolves around the sun, it is tilted at a 23.5 degree angle in relation to the sun. Because of the earth’s revolution and tilt, different parts of the earth receive the direct rays of the sun for more hours of the day at certain times of the year. This causes the changing seasons on the earth.

• The Earth’s Revolution is responsible for the different seasons.

Solstice• The day on which the sun is

at its farthest north or farthest south latitude. Two lines of latitude-the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn- mark the points farthest north and south that the sun’s rays shine directly overhead at noon. The day on which this occurs is called solstice. In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice is the longest day of the year (June 21 or 22). Winter solstice is the shortest (Dec. 22 or 23).

Equinox

• Twice a year on the equinox the days and nights all over the world are equal in length. The equinoxes mark the beginning of spring (March 21) and fall (September 23).

Weather & Climate• Weather is the

condition of the atmosphere at a particular location and time.

• Climate is the term for weather conditions at a particular location over a long period of time.

What Causes the Weather?• Water Vapor: This determines whether there will be

precipitation-falling water droplets.• Cloud Cover: Clouds may hold water vapor.• Landforms and bodies of water: Water heats slowly but also

loses heat slowly. Land heats rapidly but loses heat quickly.• Elevation: As elevation above sea level increases, the air

becomes thinner and loses its ability to hold moisture.• Air Movement: Winds move air and the solar energy and

moisture that it holds. As a result, weather can change very rapidly.

Precipitation

• As warm air rises it cools and loses its ability to hold water vapor. The water vapor condenses, and water droplets form into clouds. When the amount of water in the clouds is too heavy for the air to hold it falls as rain.

Convectional• Typical of hot climates,

convection occurs after morning sunshine heats warm moist air. Clouds form in the afternoon and rain falls.

Rain Shadow (Orographic)

• Associated with mountain areas, orographic storms drop more rain on the windward side of a mountain and create a rain shadow on the leeward side.

Frontal• Mid- Latitude frontal

storms feature cold dense air masses that push lighter warm air masses upward, causing precipitation to form.

• Air Pressure most affects global wind patterns.

Desalinization

• desalinization refers to any of several processes that remove some amount of salt and other minerals from water, to provide fresh water.

Human Environment-Interaction

What is the difference between human

adaptation and human

modification of the

environment?

Human adaptation to the environment is a change in

human behavior to cope with environmental

conditions ( i.e. different clothing)

Human modification of the environment means that

humans have actually changed some part of the physical environment (i.e.

building a dam)

Human adaptation or Human modification?

Human adaptation or Human modification?

Human adaptation or Human modification?

destination360.com

Human adaptation or Human modification?

travelblog.org

Human adaptation or Human modification?

bonius.com

Human adaptation or Human modification?

Human adaptation or Human modification?

alaska-in-pictures.com

Green House Effect is a process by which radiative energy leaving a planetary

surface is absorbed by some atmospheric gases, called greenhouse gases.

El Nino• A weather pattern created

by the warming of the waters off the west coast of South America, which pushes warm water and heavy rains toward the Americas and produces drought conditions in Australia and Asia

Global Warming is the increase in the average temperature of Earth's

near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected

continuation.

Deforestation is the clearance of forests by logging and/or burning

(popularly known as slash and burn).

Natural Hazards

What are Natural Hazards?A natural hazard is an uncontrollable natural event of unusual magnitude that threatens the activities of people or people themselves.

A natural disaster is a natural hazard event that actually results in widespread destruction of property or causes injury and/or death.

Why should we be concerned about hazards?

In every person’s lifetime, at least one natural hazard will likely have some impact on their life.

Mount St. Helens eruptionNumerous earth quakes in CaliforniaHelicopter evacuation from wildfire

Trapped by severe flooding for multiple daysLandslides destroying life and property

Why should be concerned about hazards?

On average, about 150,000 people are killed worldwide by natural hazards each year

Globally, losses (both in terms of death and economic costs) are increasing because of the

exponential increase in human population.

More people are living in areas where hazards occur more frequently and often with greater severity.

Costs

In many technologically advanced countries, loss of life is low but

economic costs are extremely high.

In less developed countries, loss of live tends to be very high while economic

costs are usually lower.

Earthquake: An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor) is the

result of a sudden release of energy in the earth’s crust that

creates seismic waves

Volcanoes: is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or crust, which

allows hot magma, ash and gases to escape from

below the surface

Tsuanmis is a wave train, or series of waves,

generated in a body of water by an impulsive

disturbance that vertically displaces the water

column.

Floods are when water spreads over land not normally

covered with water

Tornado is a violently rotating column of air

extending from the base of a thunderstorm down

to the ground.

Forest Fires

Hurricanes are storms that form

over warm, tropical ocean waters

Drought is a long period of time

without rain or with very minimal rainfall

LANDFORMS