WORLD GEOGRAPHY
THE GRID SYSTEM System of imaginary lines that give the exact position of a place on Earth
LATITUDE Imaginary lines that travel horizontally around the earth measuring North and South Latitude lines measure the same all the way around Equator- imaginary line (0 Latitude) that divides the Earth into Northern and Southern hemispheres (half an Earth) 90 North Latitude is the North Pole
LONGITUDE Imaginary lines that run vertically from pole to pole Divide the Earth into Eastern and Western Hemispheres Also called Meridians Prime Meridian- 0 Longitude International dateline- 180 Longitude- divides the days
FIVE THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY
THEME ONE: LOCATION Refers to the position of people and places on the Earth s surface Two types of location: Absolute location Relative Location
THEME ONE: LOCATION Absolute Location- Exact position on Earth using a grid system of longitude and latitude Examples: Mt St Helen s in Washington State is at 46 N, 122 W Mesa High is at 33.396323 N, 111.794642 W
THEME ONE: LOCATION Relative Location- The relationship of one place to other places Examples: Deciding where to live Where to work Where to put a landfill Where to put a military base North of, South of, West of, West of RELATIVE LOCATION CAN CHANGE
THEME ONE: LOCATION Changes in relative location: Relative location between two places can increase or decrease Example: Decreased relative location- information getting from New York to San Francisco Stage coach- 27 days Pony Express- 15 days Railroad- 4.5 days Air mail- 3 days Next day delivery Fax- minutes Email- seconds Increased relative location Email doesn t work when you are trying to mail information Bus breaks down and you have to walk
THEME TWO: PLACE Three characteristics of place Physical Human Image
THEME TWO: PLACE Physical characteristics Geological, hydrological, atmospheric, biological, natural environment Examples: Venice, Italy- island and canalsboats instead of cars Burma- houses built on stilts to protect from flooding
THEME TWO: PLACE Human Characteristics Human ideas and actions that result in changes in environment Examples Buildings and farms Long farms next to rivers for access Rivers as original means of transportation Image Different ways of looking at land; land rich for mining vs. sacred land The image that people have of a particular place Ex- ghetto, Beverly Hills
THEME TWO: PLACE- ACTIVITY Group of four Select a place in the world that s easily described- try to pick unique descriptions Take five minutes to describe at least 5-10 things that would help identify that place Be prepared to share with the class to have them guess the location
THEME THREE: HUMAN/ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS What is the relationship between humans and the environment? Three key concepts: Humans DEPEND on the environment Natural environment made up of all living and non living things Living things- people, animals, plants Non living things- air, land, water Depend on natural environment for basic needs Congo River Basin: people new to Congo starve Native people can find food
THEME THREE: HUMAN/ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS Humans MODIFY the environment Ex- agriculture- turning deserts into agricultural areas Humans ADAPT to the environment Settling- adapting to where they decide to live Adaptation may be affected by the culture s economy, politics, technology Discussion question- How do students depend, modify, and adapt to Mesa High?
THEME FOUR: MOVEMENT Relationships between people in different areas How and Why are places related to one another? Three types of movement Movement of PEOPLE Migration: Move to a new location for settlement- forced or voluntary Movement of GOODS Goods being moved from one place to another- what is this called? Movement of IDEAS Ideas borrowed from other groups and adapted for our ow purpose
THEME FIVE: REGIONS Areas that have unifying characteristics Region types: Human regions- corn belt, Rocky Mountain region Physical regions- Topography (what surrounding areas look like), Climate Political Boundaries- Borders Cultural regions- Bible belt, Latin America, Little Italy Global Regions- Similarities, language, climate Local regions- schools, zip codes Locations can be in more than one region!
FIVE TRAITS OF CIVILIZATION
TRAIT ONE: ADVANCED CITIES Cities with larger populations arise, become centers of trade Examples: Uruk- population originally 50,000- became 100,000 within 20o years Lagash & Umma- 10,000 to 50,000 About the same amount of people living in Casa Grande
TRAIT TWO: SPECIALIZED WORKERS Labor becomes specializedworkers develop special skills to survive Examples: Teachers Merchants Soldiers Priests Government Workers Farmers Scribes Potters
TRAIT THREE: COMPLEX INSTITUTIONS Institutions- governments, religion, the economy are established Governments establish laws, maintain order Temples are centers created for religion, government, and trade
TRAIT FOUR: RECORD KEEPING Professional record keepers, scribes, write down taxes and laws Scribes invent cuneiform- a system of writing around 3000 BC People begin to write down city events- HISTORY!
TRAIT FIVE: IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY New tools and techniques make work easier and faster The Bronze Age starts in Sumer around 3000 BC People replace copper and stone with bronze for tools and weapons Wheel, plow, and sailboat are also already in use at this time