Physical and Human Geography

Earth’s Rotation and Revolution

• 1 revolution = 1 year , 1 rotation = 1 day• Earth has a 23.5 degree tilt• May – Sept. - Northern Hemisphere

receives more direct sunlight making it warmer, Southern Hemisphere less making it cooler

• Nov. – April- Northern Hemisphere receives less direct sunlight making it cooler, Southern Hemisphere more making it warmer

4 Seasons- Solstice- exact moment when summer and winter

start- June 20th or 21st

– Longest day of the year in Northern Hemisphere( summer)

– Shortest day of the year in Southern Hemisphere(winter)

• Dec. 21st or 22nd

– Shortest day of the year in Northern Hemisphere(winter)

– Longest day of the year in Southern Hemisphere(summer)

4 Seasons

• Equinox- day and night are the same length

• September 23rd

- Fall in Northern Hemisphere

- Spring in Southern hemisphere

• March 21st– Spring in Northern hemisphere– Fall in Southern hemisphere

Earth’s Structure

• Crust- landmasses and ocean floor

• Upper and Lower Mantle - consists of magma

• Outer core- made mostly of liquid iron and nickel

• Inner core- hotter than the surface of the sun, made of solid iron

Tectonic Plates

• Sections of crust that float on the mantle• Constant, slow shift of plate and continents is

“continental drift”• Plates move in 4 ways: subduction,

divergence, convergence and transformation• Each movement causes an event( volcanoes

to form, mountains from ocean floor, mountain ranges, earthquakes)

The Ring of Fire

The Ring of Fire

• Large ocean plates slide against each other in Asia, Australia, South America and North America

• Cause:– Earthquakes– Tsunamis– Volcanoes

Waters of the Earth

• Evaporation- sun heats up water and water vapor rise up into the atmosphere

• Condensation- Cool temperatures turn water vapor into droplets that form clouds

• Precipitation- water droplets grow heavier and fall back to the Earth as snow or rain

• Runoff- precipitation soaks into the ground and runs into rivers, lakes and eventually into the ocean