World Geography Pre-AP

Notes:

• Geography- the study of the distribution and interaction of physical human factors of Earth
• Tools of Geography- maps, photographs, scale models, five themes of geography
• Five Themes of Geography- describe patterns & connections in the Earth's space

Five Themes:

• Location (where is it?)
• Place (what's it like?)
• Region (how are places similar/different?)
• Human-Environment Interaction (how do we relate to our world?)
• Movement (how are people, goods, & ideas transported?)

M ovement

R egion

H uman

E nvironment-Interaction

L ocation

P lace

Mr. Help

I. Location

-absolute (identify by longitude & latitude coordinates)

-relative (identify by relation to surroundings)

II. Place

-physical (climate, landforms, & vegetation) made by nature

-cultural characteristics (environmental changes: dams, highways, buildings, interaction between people) made by man

III. Region

-can be physical, political, cultural, or economic

-formal- limited # of characteristics, ex. Sahel Desert Region of Africa (specific climate, vegetation & land use pattern); Great Lake Region of the U.S.A.

-functional- organized around the connections between places: DFW Metroplex

-Perceptual- what people think is a region (ex. the sunbelt: VA to CA or GA to CA?)

IV. HEI

-people change, use & live with environment (for good & bad)

-can make places safer/more livable or pollutes & destroys nature

V. Movement

-geographers think: linear distance, time distance, psychological distance (if you tag along for a 5 hour drive and falls asleep for 3 hours during the ride, when you get there, it wouldn't feel like a 5 hour drive, only two)

-modern inventions have shortened time and increased movement (internet is the most important mode of transportation [for info.])