1. Chapter 1
The World of Geography

2. The Five Themes of Geography
Section 1
The Five Themes of Geography

3. Geography
Is the study of the Earth

4. Geographers are guided by two basic questions:
Where are things located???
Why are they there???

5. To find the answers, geographers use themes to organize information
Location: where a point exists
Place: a location’s physical and human features
Human Environment interaction: how people affect their environment
Movement: How goods, ideas, and people get from one place to another
Regions: Large areas that are linked by similar characteristics

6. Location Absolute location Relative location
A places exact position on Earth (geographic address)
Uses latitude and longitude
Relative location
Explains where a place is by describing places near it.
“I live in Bismarck, 190 miles west of Fargo”

7. Location Lines of Latitude: Parallels: Degrees: Equator:
East-West circles around the globe
Parallels:
Another name for lines of latitude, because they are parallel to one another
Degrees:
Unit used to measure location on maps
Equator:
A parallel in the middle of the globe

8. Location Lines of Longitude: Meridians: Prime Meridian:
Lines that circle the globe from North-South
Meridians:
Another name for lines of Longitude
All run through the North and South Poles
Prime Meridian:
Runs though Greenwich, England
Is 0 degrees longitude

9. Latitude and Longitude
Measured North and South of Equator
Longitude
Measured East and West of Prime Meridian
(Greenwich, England)
Measured in degrees, minutes, seconds
Degree miles
Minute miles
Second feet

10. Place Physical features Human features Climate - hot or cold
Land is hilly
Human features
How many people live there
What these people do

11. Human - Environment Interaction
How have people learned to survive in the area?
How do they deal with the environment?
Are they helping or hurting the environment?

12. Movement Helps people understand cultural changes
Goods and people move: bringing their culture with them
Immigrants to America

13. Regions Used to make comparisons Deserts, forests, plains, mountains
A region of flat land

14. The Geographer’s Tools
Section 2
The Geographer’s Tools

15. Maps Globe Scale Flat maps The most accurate description
Hard to carry around
Scale
Size of an area on a map compared to the actual size of an area (1 in= 100 miles)
Flat maps
Easy to carry around
Shows some distortion. (misrepresentation)
Change in the accuracy of the shapes and distances

16. Maps
Projection - method of putting a map of the Earth onto a flat piece of paper
Mercator Projection
Gerardus Mercator
Flat map - used by sailors
Shows correct shapes of landmasses, but not true distances or sizes
Robinson Projection
Arthur Robinson
Best world map available
Distorted around the edges
WAS Official projection for National Geographic – now Winkle Tripel

17. More Maps Interrupted projection map Distortion
“Orange Peel”
Hard to figure distances correctly
Distortion
Flat maps distort land masses because the Earth is round.
Subject of a Map = Title

18. Parts of a map Compass rose Key Grid
Shows the cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west.
Key
“legend” explains the symbols for features such as roads and cities.
Grid
Helps people find things on the map
Parallels and meridians
Letters and numbers