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Geography is the study of the distribution
and interaction of:
◦ physical features on Earth
◦ human features on Earth
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Geographers use a variety of tools:
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maps
photographs
charts, graphs, tables
scale models
five themes of geography
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Absolute location—exact place where a
geographic feature is found
Relative location—location of a place
compared to places around it
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Earth is divided into two equal halves,
vertically and horizontally
Each vertical and horizontal half is called a
hemisphere
An imaginary line, the Equator, divides north
and south halves
Another imaginary line, the Prime Meridian,
divides east and west
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Geographers use latitude lines to locate
places north and south
Latitude—imaginary lines that run parallel to
the equator
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Geographers use longitude lines to mark
positions east and west
Longitude—imaginary lines that go over the
poles
Where latitude and longitude lines cross is
the absolute location
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How a place is related to its surrounding
environment
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Place includes physical features and cultural
characteristics:
◦ physical features include climate, landforms,
vegetation
◦ cultural characteristic include dams, highways,
houses
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How Are Places Similar or Different?
A region is an area united by similar
characteristics
Unifying characteristics—physical, political,
economic, cultural
Three types of regions:
◦ formal
◦ functional
◦ perceptual
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Defined by a limited number of related
characteristics
Formal regions of the world:
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The United States and Canada
Latin America
Europe
Russia and the Republics
Africa
Southwest Asia
South Asia
East Asia
Southeast Asia, Oceania, and Antarctica
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Organized around interactions and
connections between places
Example: a city and its suburbs are connected
through human movement
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Region with characteristics people perceive in
much the same way
Example: the American Midwest
Sometimes perceptions differ: Does Midwest
begin in Ohio or Illinois?
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How Do People Relate to the Physical World?
A relationship exists between people and
their environment
People use and change the environment to
meet their needs
People adapt to environmental conditions
they cannot change
Often, people in similar environments adapt
in different ways
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How Do People, Goods, and Ideas Get from
One Place to Another?
Geographers use three types of distance to
analyze movement:
◦ linear distance
◦ time distance
◦ psychological distance
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Linear distance—how far a person, product,
or idea travels
Time distance—how long it takes for person,
product, idea to travel
Psychological Distance- Refers to the way
people perceive distance
◦ Example: unfamiliar places may seem farther away
than familiar ones
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Three types of maps: general reference,
thematic, navigational
A topographic map is one kind of general
reference map
Topographic map—shows natural and manmade features of earth
Thematic map—shows specific data such as
climate, population density
A navigation map is used by sailors, pilots
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Continental Drift—1912 hypothesis of Alfred
Wegener:
◦ Earth once one supercontinent; Wegener calls it
Pangaea, “all earth”
◦ Pangaea splits into many plates that slowly drift
apart
Lakes, Rivers, and Streams
 Rivers and streams carry water to and from
larger bodies of water
 Tributaries are smaller rivers, streams that
feed into larger ones
 Drainage basin—area drained by river and its
tributaries
Ground Water
 Ground water—water held in the pores of
rock
 Water table—level at which the rock is
saturated
Landforms
 Landforms are naturally formed features on
Earth’s surface
Oceanic Landforms
 Continental shelf—sea floor from continent’s
edge to deep ocean
 Sea floor has ridges, valleys, canyons, plains,
mountain ranges
 Islands are formed by volcanoes, sand, or
coral deposits
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Internal forces reshape the earth’s surface.
Internal forces shaping the earth often
radically alter the lives of people as well.
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Relief—difference in landform elevation from
lowest to highest point
Four categories of relief—mountains, hills,
plains, plateaus
Topography—the configurations and
distribution of landforms
Topographic map shows vertical dimensions,
relationship of landforms
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Tectonic plates are massive, moving pieces of
Earth’s lithosphere
Plates ride above circulating, heated rock
Geographers study plate movements to
understand:
◦ how the earth is reshaped
◦ how earthquakes and volcanoes are formed
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Plates move in one of four ways:
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by spreading, or moving apart
subduction, or diving under another plate
collision, or crashing together
sliding past each other in a shearing motion
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Movement of plates effects surface of the
earth
Saudi Arabia–Egypt’s plates are spreading
apart, widening Red Sea
India’s plate is crashing into Asian continent,
building up Himalayas
Three types of boundaries mark plate
movement:
◦ divergent boundary
◦ convergent boundary
◦ transform boundary
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Two plates meeting can cause folding,
cracking of rock
Fault occurs when pressure causes rock to
fracture, or crack
Fault line is place where plates move past
each other
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An earthquake occurs when plates grind or
slip at a fault line
A seismograph detects earthquakes and
measures the waves they create
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Location in the earth where an earthquake
begins is called the focus
Epicenter—the point directly above focus on
the earth’s surface
Nearly 95% of earthquakes occur at tectonic
plate boundaries
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Earthquakes release energy in the form of
motion, causing:
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landslides
land displacement
fires (broken gas lines)
collapsed buildings
Richter Scale—numeric scale showing relative
strength of earthquake
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Tsunami, a giant ocean wave, begins at
epicenter of an earthquake:
◦ travels at up to 450 mph
◦ waves of 50–100 ft. or higher
The Explosive Earth
 Volcano—underground materials pour from
crack in the earth’s surface
 Most volcanoes occur at tectonic plate
boundaries
Volcanic Action
 Eruption—lava, gases, ash, dust, explode
from vent in Earth’s crust
 Lava—magma that has reached the earth’s
surface; may create landform
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Ring of Fire—zone around rim of Pacific
Ocean:
◦ meeting point of eight tectonic plates
◦ vast majority of the earth’s active volcanoes located
here
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“Hot spots” are where magma rises to surface
from mantle
Hot springs, geysers indicate high
temperatures in earth’s crust
Some volcanic action is useful:
◦ volcanic ash produces fertile soil
◦ hot springs are tapped for heat, energy
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Wind, heat, cold, glaciers, rivers, and floods
alter the surface of the earth.
The results of weathering and erosion change
the way humans interact with the
environment.
Weathering—processes that alter rock on or near
the earth’s surface
 Can change landscapes over time and create soil
for plant life
 Sediment—mud, sand, silt created by weathering
processes
Mechnical Weathering
 Mechanical weathering—processes that break
rock into smaller pieces
 Does not change rock’s composition, only size
 Examples: frost, plant roots, road construction,
mining
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Chemical weathering—interaction of elements
creates new substance
Example: when iron rusts it reacts to oxygen
in air and crumbles
Warm, moist climates produce more chemical
weathering than cool, dry
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Erosion—when weathered material moves by
winds, water, ice, gravity
◦ movement grinds rock into smaller pieces, carries
to new location
Example: water carries topsoil from hill to
river, river narrows
Water Erosion
 Most streams erode vertically and
horizontally
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◦ a valley cut by a stream gets deeper, wider; forms
v-shaped valley
◦ a river deposits sediment at ocean, creates delta—
fan-like landform
Wind Erosion
 Wind transports sediment from one place to
another
 Loess—wind-blown silt and clay sediment;
produces fertile soil
Glacial Erosion
 Glacier—large, long-lasting mass of ice;
forms in mountainous areas
 Glaciation—changing of landforms by slowly
moving glaciers
 Example: cutting u-shaped valleys in land
 Moraine—hill or ridge formed by rocks
deposited by glacier
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Soil—loose mix of weathered rock, organic
matter, air, water
Soil supports plant growth; fertility is
dependent on three factors:
◦ texture
◦ amount of humus, which is organic material in soil
◦ amount of air and water
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When geographers study soil, they look at
five factors:
◦ parent material—the chemical composition of the
original rock
◦ relief—the steeper the slope, the greater erosion;
less soil made
◦ organisms—plants, worms, ants, bacteria loosen
soil; supply nutrients
◦ climate—hot, cold, wet, dry climates produce
different soils
◦ time—about 2.5 cubic cm. of soil produced each
century
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Climate is created by the sun’s solar energy
interacting with the earth’s land, water, and
air. In turn, climate and soil shape the earth’s
vegetation.
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Seasons and weather occur because of the
changing position of the earth in relation to
the sun.
Weather extremes are related to location on
earth.
Earth’s Tilt
 Earth is tilted at a 23.5˚ angle relative to the sun
 Areas of Earth get more, less direct sun at
different times of year
 The seasons are related to the earth’s tilt and
revolution
 The solstice marks beginning of summer, winter
◦ sun’s rays directly overhead at noon at furthest points
north and south
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The equinox marks the beginning of spring and
autumn
◦ day and night are equal in length
Weather—atmospheric conditions at a particular
location and time
 Climate—weather conditions at one location over
long a period
 Example: Northern Russia has a cold climate
What Causes the Weather?
 Sun: amount of solar energy received
 Water vapor: determines whether there will be
precipitation
 Precipitation—water droplets falling as rain,
snow, sleet, hail
 Cloud cover: clouds may hold water vapor
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Landforms and bodies of water
◦ water heats slowly, loses heat slowly
◦ land heats rapidly, loses heat rapidly
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Elevation: as elevation increases, air becomes
thinner
◦ thin air cannot hold moisture
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Air movement: distributes moisture and solar
energy
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Precipitation comes about when:
◦ warm air rises, cools, loses ability to hold water
vapor
◦ water vapor condenses into droplets
◦ water droplets form clouds
◦ heavy clouds release droplets as rain, snow
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Three types of precipitation
◦ convectional
◦ orthographic
◦ frontal
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Rain shadow—land on leeward side of hills,
mountains
◦ little precipitation in rain shadow
Hurricanes
 Huge storms called hurricanes, or typhoons
in Asia:
◦ form over warm, tropical ocean waters
◦ hit land with heavy rain, high winds, storm surge
Tornadoes
 Tornado—a powerful, funnel-shaped column
of spiraling air:
◦ born from strong thunderstorms
◦ capable of immense damage
Blizzards
 Blizzard—heavy snowstorm with strong
winds, reduced visibility
Droughts
 Drought: long period of time with either no or
minimal rainfall
Floods
 Water spreads out over normally dry land
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Climate reflects the seasonal patterns of
weather for a location over a long period of
time.
Global climatic changes may be natural or
human-made.
Wind Currents
 Wind, ocean currents help distribute sun’s
heat worldwide
 Convection—upward motion of air that
transfers heat in atmosphere
 Coriolis effect is the bending of winds due to
Earth’s rotation
Ocean Currents
 Resemble rivers flowing in the ocean
 Warm water flows away from equator toward
poles
 Cold, polar water flows back toward equator
Zones of Latitude
 Low, or tropical latitude
◦ hot all year round
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Middle, or temperate latitude
◦ warm summers and cold winters
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High, or polar latitude
◦ cold all year round
Elevation
 Elevation is the distance above sea level
 As elevation increases, climate gets colder
Topography
 Topography: landforms and their distribution
in an area
 Landforms, especially mountains, affect
climate
El Niño
 El Niño—winds push warm Pacific Ocean
waters toward the Americas
 La Niña—winds push warm waters toward
Australia and Asia
 Both cause natural, worldwide changes in
climate
Global Warming
 Gradual warming of the earth’s atmosphere
 Greenhouse effect—the earth warms due to
trapped solar energy
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Temperature and precipitation define climate
regions.
Broad climate definitions help to identify
variations in weather at a location over the
course of a year.
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Temperature and precipitation define climate
Location, topography, elevation may impact
climate
Five general climate regions:
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tropical (low-latitude)
dry
mid-latitude
high latitude
highland
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Tropical Wet- Always hot; daily rainfall adds
up to more than 80” annually
Tropical Wet and Dry- Warm, wet summer
season; cooler, dry winter season
Semiarid- Hot summers; mild to cold winters;
little precipitation
Desert- Two kinds of desert—hot, cool/cold;
less than 10” rain per year
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Mediterranean- Summers dry and hot;
winters cool and rainy
Marine West Coast- Moderate temperatures;
frequently cloudy, foggy, damp
Humid Subtropical- Long periods of summer
heat and humidity; winters mild to cool
Humid Continental- Great variety of
temperature, precipitation; four distinct
seasons
• Tundra—flat, treeless ring of lands around the
Arctic Ocean, very little precipitation; summer
temperatures around 40˚ F.
Permafrost is the constantly frozen subsoil
found in this region
Ice Cap
 Snow, ice, permanently freezing temperatures
Highlands
 • Climate varies with latitude, elevation,
topography, location
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Soil is a thin layer of weathered rock, humus,
air, water
Topsoil refers to the top 6” of soil
Soil characteristics vary with climate
Type of soil determines type of vegetation
that can be supported
Type of vegetation determines type of
possible human activity
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Ecosystem—interdependent community of
plants and animals
Biome—the ecosystem of a region
Biomes are further divided into:
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forest
grassland
desert
tundra
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Forest regions categorized by trees they
support—broadleaf or needle
Deciduous—broadleaf trees: maple, oak,
birch, cottonwood
◦ mostly in Northern Hemisphere
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Rain forest—tropical forest covered with
broadleaf trees
Coniferous—needle leaf trees; cone bearing:
pine, fir, cedar
◦ mostly in Northern Hemisphere
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Deciduous and coniferous trees together
form mixed forest
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Flat regions with few trees
A savanna is a tropical grassland
Steppe, or prairie, are temperate grasslands
of Northern Hemisphere
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Plants in these regions have adapted to
climate extremes:
◦ tundra plants (mosses, lichen) hug the ground
◦ desert plants (cacti, sagebrush) conserve water,
withstand heat
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Humans either adapt to land, or alter it to
meet their needs
Some human activities that affect the
environment:
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building dams
installing irrigation systems
planting crops
slashing and burning vegetation
Human Geography
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Human beings are members of social groups
with shared and unique sets of behaviors and
attitudes.
Language and religion are two very important
aspects of culture.
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Knowledge, attitudes, behaviors shared over
generations is culture
Society is a group that shares geographic
region, identity, culture
An ethnic group shares language, customs,
common heritage
Innovation
 Innovation is creating something new with
existing resources
◦ Example: weaving baskets from reeds to solve storage
problem
Diffusion
 Spread of ideas, inventions, patterns of behavior
called diffusion
 Cultural hearth—site of innovation; origin of
cultural diffusion
◦ Example: Nile River civilizations in Africa
Acculturation
Acculturation—society changes because it accepts
innovation
Importance of Language
 Enables people within a culture to communicate
 Reflects all aspects of culture
Language and Identity
 Language helps establish cultural identity, unity
 Language can also divide people, cause conflict
Language Families
 Between 3,000 and 6,500 languages spoken
worldwide
 Similar languages belong to same language family
 Dialect—a version of a language, like Southern drawl
Language Diffusion
 Language can spread via trade routes, migration
Belief Systems
 Religion—belief in supernatural power that made,
maintains universe
 Monotheistic faiths believe in one god
 Belief in many gods called polytheistic
 Animistic, or traditional, faiths believe in divine
forces of nature
Spread of Religion
 Religion spreads through diffusion and
conversion
 Conversion—some religions try to recruit others
to their faith
Judaism
 Monotheistic; evolved 3,200 years ago; holy book
called the Torah
Christianity
 Evolved from Judaism; based on teachings of
Jesus Christ
 Largest religion—2 billion followers worldwide
Islam
 Monotheistic; based on teachings of Prophet
Muhammad
 Followers, called Muslims, worship God, called
Allah
 Holy book called the Qur’an
Hinduism
 Polytheistic; evolved in India around 5,000 years
ago
 Hindu caste system has fixed social classes,
specific rites/duties
Buddhism
 Offshoot of Hinduism; evolved around 563 B.C.
in India
 Founder Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha,
or Enlightened One
 Rejects Hindu castes; seeks enlightened spiritual
state, or nirvana
Other Asian Practices
 Include Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto
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All cultures express themselves creatively
Performing arts include music, dance,
theater, film
Architecture, painting, sculpture, textiles are
forms of visual arts
Oral and written literature include poems,
folk tales, stories
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People are not distributed equally on the
earth’s surface.
The world’s population continues to grow,
but at different rates in different regions.
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Number of live births per thousand
population is the birthrate
Fertility rate—average, lifetime number of
children born to a woman
Number of deaths per thousand people is the
mortality rate
Infant mortality rate—deaths under age 1 per
1,000 live births
Population growth rate, or rate of natural
increase, figured by:
◦ subtracting the mortality rate from the birthrate
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A population pyramid shows a population’s
sex, age distribution
Enables the study of how events (wars,
famines) affect population
Habitable Lands
 2/3 of world’s population lives between 20˚N
and 60˚N latitude
 Human habitation in this zone:
◦ dense where temperature and precipitation allow
agriculture
◦ also dense along coastal areas and in river valleys
◦ more sparse in polar, mountain, desert regions
Urban–Rural Mix
 More than half of world’s population rural;
rapidly becoming urban
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Reasons for migrating sometimes called
push-pull factors
Push factors (drought, war) cause migration
from an area
Pull factors (favorable economy, climate) spur
migration to an area
Estimating Population
 Population density is the average number of
people living in an area
Carrying Capacity
 Carrying capacity is the number of organisms
an area can support
◦ affected by fertile land, level of technology,
economic prosperity
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The world is divided into many political
regions.
Local, national, and regional governments
control aspects of life within the boundaries
of the unit.
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An independent political unit, a state, or
country:
◦ occupies specific territory
◦ controls its internal, external affairs
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Nation—unified group with common culture
living in a territory
A nation and state occupying same territory is
a nation-state
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In a democracy, citizens hold political power
Political power held by a king or queen is a
monarchy
In a dictatorship, a group or individual holds
all political power
Communism is a governmental and economic
system
◦ political, economic power held by government in
people’s name
Size
 Physical size does not accurately reflect political,
economic power
Shape
 Shape affects governance, transportation,
relations with neighbors
Location
 A landlocked country has no direct outlet to the
sea
◦ may limit prosperity, as shipping and trade bring wealth
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Hostile neighbors necessitate increased security
Natural Boundaries
 Formed by rivers, lakes, mountain chains
Artificial Boundaries
 Fixed line, generally following latitude,
longitude:
◦ Example: 49 degrees N latitude separates U.S. from
Canada
◦ often formally defined in treaties
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Countries divide into smaller political units
like cities, towns
Smaller units combine regionally into
counties, states, etc.
Countries may join together to form
international units:
◦ examples: United Nations, European Union
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Nearly half the world’s population lives in
urban areas.
Cities fulfill economic, residential, and
cultural functions in different ways.
Cities
 Urban geography is the study of how people
use space in cities
 Cities are populous centers of business,
culture, innovation, change
Urban Areas
 Urban area develops around a central city;
may be surrounded by:
◦ suburbs—border central city, other suburbs
◦ exurbs—have open land between them and central
city
Central city plus its suburbs and exurbs
called a metropolitan area
Urbanization
 Urbanization—rise in number of cities,
resulting lifestyle changes
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Location and Function
 Cities are often located near:
◦ good transportation—lakes, rivers, coastline
◦ plentiful natural resources
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As a result, cities tend to:
◦ become transportation hubs
◦ specialize in certain economic activities
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Basic land use patterns found in all cities:
◦ residential (housing)
◦ industrial (manufacturing)
◦ commercial (retail)
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Central business district (CBD)—core area of
commercial activity
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Shopping, entertainment, government
services
Educational, recreational, and cultural
activities
Transportation is essential to accomplish
functions
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Economic activities depend on the resources
of the land and how people use them.
The level of economic development can be
measured in different ways.
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Economy—the production and exchange of
goods and services
Economies are local, regional, national,
international
Geographers study economic geography by
looking at:
◦ how people in a region support themselves
◦ how economic activity is linked regionally
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Economic system: way people produce and
exchange goods, services
Four types of economic systems:
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traditional, or barter, economy
command, or planned, economy
market economy, also called capitalism
mixed economy, a combination of command and
market
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In subsistence agriculture, food is raised for
personal consumption
Raising food to sell to others is called
market-oriented agriculture
Cottage industries involve small, home-based
industrial production
Large industrial production comes from
commercial industries
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Four levels of economic activities:
◦ primary involves gathering raw materials for
immediate use
◦ secondary adds value to material by changing its
form
◦ tertiary involves business or professional services
◦ quaternary provides information, management,
research services
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Natural Resources—Earth’s materials that
have economic value
Materials become resources when they can be
turned into goods
Geographers divide natural resources into
three types:
◦ renewable resources (trees, seafood) can be
replaced naturally
◦ nonrenewable resources (metals, oil, coal) cannot
be replaced
◦ inexhaustible resources (sun, wind) are unlimited
resources
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Natural resources are a major part of world
trade
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Infrastructure—basic support systems to
sustain economic growth
◦ power, communications, transportation systems
◦ water, sanitation, and education systems
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Communications systems and technology
both critical to development
Comparing Economies
 Per capita income: average earnings per
person in a political unit
GNP and GDP
 Gross national product (GNP)—statistic to
measure:
◦ total value of goods, services produced by a
country, globally
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Gross domestic product (GDP)—statistic to
measure:
◦ total value of goods and services produced within a
country
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Developing nations have low GDP, per capita
income
Developed nations have high GDP, per capita
income