What is Geography?

1. What is Geography? • The study of the Earth and everything on it. It focuses on the Physical, Biological, and Cultural features of the Earth. • But how do Geographers make this large topic smaller and more usable?

2. FIVE THEMESOF GEOGRAPHY

3. LOCATION • Location asks the question, “Where is it?” • There are two types of location • Absolute location – there is no question where it is. (examples - Address or Latitude and Longitude.) • Relative location – Where is it in relationship to something else or what is it next to. (Lowery is across the street from the High School)

4. PLACE • Place asks the question, “What is it like there?” • Place describes a location. • Example -Dallas is a big, flat city with a lot of traffic and buildings.

5. Human and EnvironmentInteraction • Asks, What is the relationship between people and their environment? • Landforms and resources in a location effect the way people live. This theme explains how people adapt to their environment. • Example – People in San Francisco build houses to withstand earthquakes; we don’t worry about that in Dallas.

6. MOVEMENT • How are people and places connect? • There are forces in life and in the environment that make people migrate or relocate. • Nomadic Indians – following buffalo • Over the last ten years many people have moved to the south in search of jobs. • Water, Highways, Food, and Trade can all effect movement.

7. REGION Definition – An area with one or more common features that make it different from surrounding areas. There are regions of language groups, plant life, city boundaries, agriculture, landforms, and even places that storms are prominent.

8. There three types of Region • Formal Region – Do not have clear boundaries. It is hard to say where it starts and stops. • Examples - deserts, ghettos, language groups, common religions, climate, and population patterns.

9. Region continued • Functional Region – have clear boundaries that usually have some form of a center point. • Examples - towns, cities, states, railroad systems, highways, and shopping malls.

10. Region Continued • Perceptual Region – reflects human feelings and attitudes. • Examples – where a person might call “back home,” the “My World” assignment, or map you make that only includes places that are important to you. • These regions can vary from person to person.