Geography 10% Flashcards
What is Geography?
Geography is the study of the physical features of the earth (physical geography) as well as the study of human interaction with the earth (human geography).
What Are the Five Themes of Geography?
The five themes are:
- Location: The study of the physical position of places on earth.
- Place: Studies the physical and human characteristics of a place.
- Human Environment Interaction: The study of the how humans interact, impact, and adapt to the environment.
- Movement: The study of how humans physically move themselves, as well as information and goods, around the planet.
- Region: The division of the earth into different regions that are easier to focus on and study.
Region
Five Themes of Geography: Region
The study of regions allows the world to be segmented into easily-managed units that can be studied in depth without being overwhelming.
The study of regions is divided into three different types of regions:
a. Formal regions: Formal regions are parts of the world that are separated by human design and include country borders, city limits and property lines. These boundaries are easily measured and defined.
b. Functional regions: Functional regions include less obvious regions and can include things like delivery zones for a local restaurant, neighborhoods served by a certain cable company or local news coverage. These areas are much less defined and can sometimes be negotiable.
c. Vernacular regions: Vernacular regions are physical regions that lack a distinct boundary or physical border. The Southwest region of the United States or the Metropolitan New York area are good examples. They are regions that can be pictured mentally, but are not physically marked on a map and can often look different depending on who is studying them.
Location
Five Themes of Geography: Location
Location covers physical positions on earth and is most often the starting point in learning geography. Location can be either absolute or relative.
a. Absolute location is the exact location on the globe based on longitude and latitude lines, postal addresses or other means of marking a pinpointed position on earth. A persons home address that includes street name, number, town and postal code is an example of absolute location. EX: 100 Anystreet, Anytown, FL 30009 or 100 longditude : 100 latitude
b. Relative location is when a position on earth is explained by referencing its proximity to other known places. Describing an apartment as being three blocks from Central Park is an example of relative location. EX: Disney World is located in Central Florida near Orlando west of Sanford and east of Tampa.
Place
Five Themes of Geography: Place
Place describes a location on the globe based on its physical and human characteristics. Once a location’s place is determined, it can be described in the following two ways:
a. Physical characteristics describe the natural features of a location such as mountains, rivers, climate, and living ecosystems. A topographical map is a map that shows the physical features and contours of a place and is often used when studying physical characteristics.
b. Human characteristics describe a place based on the human activity that takes place there. The characteristics could be anything from cultural practices and religion to the drawing of borders and how the land is used. Political maps are a type of map that shows human characteristics of a place and are helpful when studying the theme.
Human Environment Interaction
Five Themes of Geography: Human Environment Interaction
a. Human environment interaction is the study of how people adapt to the physical environment they live in. It looks in depth at how people adapt to climates, utilize available resources and change the landscape to better their living conditions. An example of this type of interaction is the construction of the Panama Canal that separates South America from Central America. The canal allows ships from the Atlantic Ocean to enter the Pacific Ocean without having to travel all the way around the continent of South America. EX: Investors built a new condo in South Beach.
b. Human environment interaction also studies how human activity negatively affects the environment to include how climate, land, and animals are negatively affected by human interactions with the environment. EX: HOA managers allowed a condo on South Beach to fall apart and it crumbled and negatively affected the land and animals in South Beach.
Movement
Five Themes of Geography: Movement
Movement is the study of how humans move around the world. Not only do humans physically move themselves around the planet, they move goods and information as well.
a. Human movement is the physical movement of people around the globe, such as emigration and immigration. People change where they live on the earth based on many factors such as climate, employment or political reasons. The study of human movement is important in understanding why people change locations and the factors that play into where they move.
b. The movement of information and goods is another part of movement in geography. How people transport goods across the planet and barriers to transporting those goods are a large part of the movement theme. The development of the Interstate system of roads in the United States is an example of how humans improved the transporting of goods across the continent. Humans sending and receiving information across the planet by wire, satellite, and cellular technology, to name a few, is part of the movement theme as well.
What are the six essential elements of Geography?
- The World in Spatial Terms (map location-absolute/relative, map characteristics distributions/trends)
- Physical Systems (natural phenomena)
- Characteristics of Places and Regions (climate, culture, population, religion, language, etc)
- Human Systems - (cooperation and conflict among populations of humans)
- Society and the Natural Environment
- The Uses of Geography (solve problems, identify opportunities, document existing natural and human phenomena)
The World in Spatial Terms
- Spatial analysis - observe trends - relative/absolute location
- Systems analysis - solve problems
Characteristics of Places and Regions
Unique characteristics that make up a specific area (place or region) - culture, climate, landmarks, languages, religion, population, government, etc.
Physical Systems
Characteristics, evolution, explanation, and effects of physical systems (natural phenomena like volcanoes, glaciers, etc and how they create landforms and affect the landscape - on Earth and its atmosphere).
Human Systems
Human cooperation and conflict in on Earth
Environment and Society
Study of how humans (society) directly affect the natural geography (environment) of the world
Uses of Geography
Use geography lessons from the past to solve problems and make better decisions about the future
Major Water Forms
Isthmus, Peninsula, Island, Archipelago, Strait, Channel, Gulf, Bay, Cove, Ocean, Seas, Lagoon, Estuary,
