Geography

1. Geography Why Does It Matter? Don’t Be "Dumb"

2. 5 Themes of Geography • Location—”Where are we?"  • Relative Location • Absolute Location • Place–”What kind of place is it?” • Human Characteristics • Physical Characteristics • Human-Environmental Interactions—”How do humans and the environment affect each other?” • Humans adapt to the environment • Humans modify the environment • Humans depend on the environment • Movement--The movement of people, the import and export of goods, and mass communication have all played major roles in shaping our world. • People • Goods • Ideas • Regions--A region is the basic unit of study in geography.  A region is an area that displays a coherent unity in terms of the government, language, or possibly the landform or situation. • Formal • Functional • Vernacular (perceptual)

3. Geography Terms • Relative Location: point or place in relation to another point or place. • Example: “Canada is North of the United States.” • “The Persian Gulf lies between Saudi Arabia and Iran.”

4. Absolute Location: the exact location of a place using a measurable numeric value—usually latitude and longitude • Example: The absolute location of Boise Idaho is 43º 37' N, 116º12' W

5. Latitude and Longitude • Latitude: angular distance of a point north or south of the equator—runs horizontally • Longitude: angular distance of a point east or west of the Prim Meridian—runs vertically

6. Characteristics • Physical Characteristics: natural elements such as mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans, deserts, etc. • Human Characteristics: man-made elements such as buildings, monuments, roads, etc.