Geography Themes, Skills, Landforms, & Earth's Atmosphere

1. Geography Themes, Skills, Landforms, & Earth's Atmosphere Coach McFarland

2. I. Themes of Geography • Location • Place • Human-Environmental Interaction • Movement • Region

3. Location • Where is it? • 2 Types of location • Absolute Location – a precise place. • Relative Location – relation to other places.

4. Place • Physical surroundings.

5. Human-Environment Interaction • How people and the environment interact with each other.

6. Movement • Transportaion of people, goods and ideas.

7. Region • An area with common characteristics.

8. II. The Wide World of Geography • Branches of Geography • Geography as a Profession

9. Branches of Geography • Human Geography • The study of how people and their activities vary from place to place. • Includes political, economic, and cultural factors. • Physical Geography • The study of how the Earth’s natural features vary from place to place. • The study of plains & mountains, weather & climates, & plants, animals, & humans.

10. Geography as a Profession • Cartography • The study of maps and map making. • Because of the movement of people, maps are constantly changing. • For example, in the past 40 years, 41,000 miles of interstate highways have been constructed across the U.S. and therefore, have been added to various road maps. • During WWI, photographs of battle fields were taken from airplanes. After the war, cartographers started using aerial photographs to make detailed maps of the Earth’s surface

11. 5 Features of Every Good Map • Grid – pattern of lines running horizontally (across) and vertically (up and down). • Direction – shows relative location. • Scale – How large the maps territory really is. • Key – Tells what the map’s symbols mean. • Title – Names the map.

12. Geography as a Profession • Meteorology • Specializes in weather and weather forecasting.

13. Geography as a Profession • Applied Geography • Help to research, map, and analyze environmental data. • Investigate land usage.

14. Geography as a Profession • Teaching Geography • Necessary for good citizenship. • Help to develop an informed public.

15. III. Planet EarthThe only planet that supports life as we know it. • The Earth System • 4 Physical Systems

16. The Earth System • The interaction of objects on and around the Earth.

17. 4 Physical Systems • Atmosphere • The layer of gas that surrounds the Earth. • Lithosphere • The rocky surface that forms the continents and the ocean floor. • Hydrosphere • All the planet’s water in the oceans, on the land, and in the atmosphere. • Biosphere • All of the planet’s plant and animal life.

18. IV. Global Energy Systems • Temperature • Air Pressure • Wind • Global Wind Belts • Ocean Circulation

19. TemperatureThe measurement of heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. • The process by which heat energy is trapped by the atmosphere thus keeping Earth warm is called the Greenhouse Effect. • Earth maintains its energy balance because most heat is lost to space at night and during the winter season.

20. Air PressureThe force exerted by air; creates the winds and ocean currents. • When air is warmed, it expands, becomes lighter, and rises, thus creating a low pressure area. • Low-pressure areas tend to bring unstable weather conditions. • Cold air is dense, heavy, and tends to sink causing high-pressure areas. • High-pressure areas generally cause clear, calm weather.

21. Wind • The horizontal motion of air between areas of different pressure.

22. Global Wind Belts • Prevailing winds that usually blow from areas of high-pressure to areas of low pressure • Fronts • Jet Streams

23. Global Wind Belts • Fronts • Occur when two air masses with very different temperatures and amounts of moisture meet. • Fronts usually cause stormy weather.

24. Global Wind Belts • Jet Streams • Prevailing winds that blow in the upper atmosphere. • These winds are not directly felt on Earth’s surface. • The Jet Stream moves energy, storms, and major weather patterns.

25. Ocean Circulation • Currents are set in motion by prevailing winds blowing across the surface of the ocean.

26. V. Atmospheric Effects • Water vapor • Storms • Elevation

27. Water Vapor • An important gas; most is evaporated from the oceans. • The remainder comes from lakes, plants, and the soil. • Without water vapor, there would be no clouds, rain, or storms.

28. Water Vapor • Humidity • The amount of water vapor in the air. • Condensation • The process by which water vapor changes from a gas into liquid droplets. • Condensation can be seen in the formation of clouds, fog, and dew. • If condensation droplets become large enough, they fall as precipitation

29. Water Vapor • 4 types of precipitation • Rain • Sleet • Snow • Hail

30. Storms • Occur when energy stored in the atmospheric water vapor is released

31. Storms • 3 Kinds of Storms • Hurricanes • Form over warm ocean waters and carry violent winds, torrential rain, and dangerously high seas. • Tornadoes • The smallest, but most violent of storms; twisting spirals of air that can destroy anything in their path. • Thunder Storms • The most common type; contains lightning and thunder.

32. Elevation • Affects temperature. • An increase in elevation, or height above sea level, causes lowering of the temperature. • Eventhough the equator passes through Kenya, the country’s tallest mountain, Mt. Kenya, is snowcapped year-round because it is over 17,000 feet above sea level.

33. VI. Global Climates • Factors Affecting Climates • Types of Climates

34. Factors Affecting Climate • Temperature and Precipitation Differences • Continental or Maritime Location • Elevation

35. Types of Climates • Humid-Tropical • Located near the equator with ideal conditions for plant growth. (Heavy rain fall & continuous warm temps.) (Low Latitude) • Tropical-Savanna • Located just to the N and S of the Humid-Tropical climate. Wet and dry climate with more of a season change. (Low Latitude)

36. Types of Climates • Arid Desert • Located 30 degrees N and S of the equator with very little rain and few plants surviving. The largest desert is the Sahara. • Semiarid Steppe • Transition area between arid deserts and more humid climates; an area of short-grass vegetation that generally support grasslands; trees are rare except along riverbanks.

37. Types of Climates • Mediterranean • Located between 30 and 40 degrees latitude; confined to the coastal areas of southern Europe and the west coasts of continents with cool ocean currents. (Middle Latitude) • Humid-Subtropical • Found on the eastern side of continents with warm ocean currents; hot, humid summers and mild winters. (Middle Latitude)

38. Types of Climates • Marine West-Coast • Found on the west coast of continents in the upper-middle latitudes with mild temperatures all year. (Middle Latitude) • Humid-Continental • Found in latitudes subject to both warm and cold air changeable weather and four distinct seasons. (Middle Latitude)

39. Types of Climates • Subarctic • Located in high latitudes with long, dark, and cold winters, with temperatures staying well below freezing for half of the year; short summers that can have very warm temperatures; has the greatest annual temperature ranges in the world and supports vast evergreen forests.

40. Types of Climates • Tundra • Has long winters and temperatures above freezing only during short summers; vegetation is made up of small plants, such as mosses, herbs, and shrubs; water below the surface remains frozen all year., called permafrost. • Polar Ice-Cap • Has cold temperatures and snowfall year-round

41. VII. The Geography of Water • One of Our Most Important Resources • Not Evenly Distributed on Earth • Water Resources

42. Water is one our most important resources for 3 reasons. • Water is essential for agriculture. • Water is necessary for industries to function. • Water is a valuable power source.

43. Water is not evenly distributed on Earth. • The oceans contain 97% of Earth’s water. • More the 2% of Earth’s water is frozen in the polar ice-caps. • Less than 1% of Earth’s water is a available as a freshwater resource, found in lakes, rivers, and streams.

44. Water Resources • Headwaters • The first and smallest streams to form from runoff. • Tributaries • Small streams or rivers that flow into larger streams or rivers • Watershed • An area of land that is drained by a river and its tributaries • Rivers • A valuable water resource, providing water for agriculture, electricity, transportation, and cities

45. Water Resources • Estuary • Where rivers meet an arm of the sea. • Lakes • When water fills a depression on the land surface; mostly freshwater; different from seas in that they are totally surrounded by land, are usually not at sea level, and do not exchange water with oceans. The 5 Great Lakes are actually one body of water, making up the largest body of freshwater on the Earth.

46. Water Resources • Wetlands • Become flooded for at least part of the year. Florida’s Everglades is one of the best-known wetlands in the United States. • Ground Water • A large freshwater resource beneath the surface of the land with the major source being precipitation.

47. Water Resources • Oceans • Cover about 71% of the Earth’s surface; they are actually one continuous global body of water divided into 4 oceans • Pacific – the largest geographic feature on Earth. • Atlantic • Indian • Arctic

48. Water Resources • Oceans (Cont.) • There are smaller bodies of salt water. • Seas • Gulfs • Bays • The depth of the oceans vary greatly. The greatest ocean depth is in the Mariana Trench, located in the N Pacific Ocean. The shallowest part is the continental shelf, which slopes gently downward from the continents.