Geography Part 1

Essential question: Why do we study geography and

how does it help us?

• Geography is the study of the Earth, its physical features, and the people and creatures who live on it.

Just as you affect the environment, the

environment affects where you live, what

you do, where you go, and what you see.

The Five Themes of Geography

Geographers use the Five Themes of

Geography to learn more about how people

use the land.

The Five Themes are:

• Location

• Place

• Human-Environment Relationships

• Movement

• Region

The World in Spatial Terms

• GIS—computer databases that gather, store, and organize geographic information

Example of a GIS created map

Why are we studying this?

People have lived in Texas and influenced it’s environment for

thousands of years. The geography of Texas influences

how people live.

How might your life be different if you lived in the

desert?

Sahara Desert

Location • Relative location is

using landmarks or street names to explain where you are located.

– Example: next door to the bank or Addresses like 301 Pony Drive, Grapevine, Texas

• Absolute location is when geographers use the exact location of a place on the earth’s surface.

– Example latitude and longitude

Places & Regions

Physical Characteristics

Human Characteristics

The World in Spatial Terms

•Culture—a learned system of shared beliefs, traits, and settlement patterns

What are some cultural traits of Mansfield?

What are some cultural traits of Mansfield?

Place

Place is made up of the

Physical Environment or

the surroundings and

conditions in which

something exists.

How do climate,

vegetation, and

landforms combine with

human features in the

environment?

– Example how would you

describe the place or

environment around you?

Human-Environment Relationships How has man changed the environment to meet

his needs and how man has adapted to the environment?

• Examples: leveling forests, damming rivers pollution, people living in igloos or pueblo homes

Movement • How people and products

move around the earth, and

how we communicate with

each other.

Examples- Moving to another country or state, shipping products from one state to another, email

Region • The world is divided

into different

geographic regions

based on what they

have in common and

how they are different.

• Regions can be divided

based on geographic,

physical, political or

cultural features.

- Example include the 4

Natural Regions of Texas

and Texas is a state that

is part of the United

States.

Latitude, Longitude, and Absolute Location

• Latitude

-Runs East and West across the earth

Equator

• Latitude has the Equator- a line that goes

East and West at O degrees. Across the

middle of the earth

• Longitude

-Runs North and South across the earth

Prime Meridian • Longitude has the Prime Meridian- a line

that goes North and South at O degrees.

Hemispheres • The Equator and the Prime Meridian divide the earth into

hemispheres.

• The area north of the Equator is the Northern Hemisphere. The

area south of the Equator is the Southern Hemisphere.

• The area East of the Prime Meridian is the

Eastern Hemisphere. The area West of the

Prime Meridian is the Western Hemisphere