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Understanding Geography: From Maps to Landforms

Dive into the world of geography, exploring landscapes, inhabitants, and phenomena. Discover how maps reveal political boundaries, elevations, populations, climates, and natural resources. Learn about map tools, cardinal directions, legends, scales, grids, and latitudes and longitudes. Uncover the different land formations like mountains, plains, glaciers, deserts, wetlands, rivers, and lakes. Explore how America is divided into states, counties, boroughs, parishes, and more.

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Understanding Geography: From Maps to Landforms

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  1. What is geography? • Geography is a field of science dedicated to the study of the earth • Landscapes and features • Inhabitants—something that lives there • Phenomena—something that happens

  2. What can a map tell us? • Political maps • Locations & boundaries of places

  3. What can a map tell us? • Physical maps • Land formations and water

  4. What can a map tell us? • Elevation maps • Distance above or below sea level

  5. What can a map tell us? • Population maps • How many people live in a certain area • Population density—people in a given area

  6. What can a map tell us? • Climate maps • Weather patterns and temperatures

  7. What can a map tell us? • Natural resource maps • Where and what type of resources are available

  8. How do we read maps? • Map tools • Compasses show direction • Cardinal directions: North, East, South, and West

  9. How do we read maps? • Map tools (cont.) • Map keys (aka legends) use symbols to identify locations of real things

  10. How do we read maps? • Map tools (cont.) • Distance scales help find actual distance between locations on a small map

  11. How do we read maps? • Map tools (cont.) • Map grids use numbers and letters to divide maps into small sections

  12. How do we read maps? • Map tools (cont.) • Latitudes or parallels • Horizontal lines on a world map/globe • Run east/west across the world • Middle point known as the equator

  13. How do we read maps? • Map tools (cont.) • Longitude or meridians • Vertical lines on a world map or glove • Run north/south around the world • Middle point called “prime meridian”

  14. How do we read maps? • Map tools (cont.) • Hemispheres • Equator runs east/west and splits earth into northern and southern hemispheres • Prime meridian runs north/south and divides earth into eastern and western hemispheres

  15. What types of land formations exist? • Landforms are natural features of the earth’s surface • Mountains • High elevation (known as peak) • Usually formed through tectonic plate activity • Plains • Flat, dry area created by glaciers • Good for agriculture—fertile soil • Glaciers • Dense, slowly flowing body of ice • Created Great Plains during Ice Age

  16. What types of land formations exist? • Deserts • Arid (very dry) climate • Lacks vegetation or animal life • Wetlands • Saturated with water and lots of wildlife • Rivers • Flowing body of water • Often floods during wet seasons and deposits nutrients into soil • Good for farming • Lakes • Depression filled with water • Formed through tectonics, landslides, craters, glacial activity

  17. How is America divided up? • United States of America • States • Counties • Not in Alaska (boroughs), Louisiana (parishes), or Connecticut or Rhode Island (too small) • Cities, towns or townships, villages, etc.

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