EXPLORING OUR

GEOGRAHIC WORLD

PREPAID BY: Valery Ann G. Cutaran SOURCE: RHS-ANDERSON

All graphics are clip art or from www.google.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

UNDERTANDING THE TOOLS OF GEOGRAPHY

APPLYING THE FIVE THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY

LEARNING TO MAKE ,READ,USE MAPS

What is GEOGRAPHY?

GEOGRAPHY is the study of the world's environment and man's interaction within the environment.

Geography has two “strands” or parts: PHYSICAL: The study of the earth's

natural features, such as mountains, rivers, soil, vegetation, and weather

and HUMAN: (Cultural) The study of human

cultures and man made features.

The contribution of geography to society is multifold:

It provides people with a better understanding of the places, regions and countries in which they live, as well as of other countries

UNDERTANDING THE TOOLS

OF GEOGRAPHY

MAPS A map is a 2 dimensional graphic of the

earth or part of the earth. A person who makes maps is called a

cartographer. Maps are important as a tool for

geography because we can show so much information about the earth on one document.

There are parts to maps, types of maps, and even map projections that are very important as a basis for all of geography.

TYPES OF MAPS

1. Political Map- this is a map that shows political boundaries, borders, area of political entities (countries, states, territories, districts, zones, counties, provinces, etc)

2. Physical Map- This type of map uses colors to show elevation and other land/water features of the earth.

3. Thematic Map- This type of map shows “themes” or subjects on a map- basically any information.

ATLAS

Any collection of maps, graphs, and charts is called an atlas.

We use atlases as a geographic resource for looking up all kinds of information=

From where places are located To population and economic

information To topographic information about the

surface of the earth.

MAP PERSPECTIVE

Map Perspective is to look at a map with a DIFFERENT point of view.

Think, for example, how people from Africa would look at a map versus someone from Far East Asia….or someone from Australia versus someone from Europe.

Everyone has a different point of view when it comes to maps….it’s not that they're wrong, it’s just different.

LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE

Reading coordinates is very important in finding location in geography

Remember that you read the “x-axis” (latitude) first and then read the “y-axis” (longitude) second. (x,y) X- AXIS

Y- A

XIS

THE GLOBAL GRIDThe Earth is divided by latitude and longitude lines. There are several important lines to know on the earth's surface:

#1 is the ARCTIC CIRCLE found at 66 ½ o NORTH of the Equator

#2 is the TROPIC OF CANCER found at 23 ½ o NORTH of the Equator

#3 is the EQUATOR which splits the earth into two hemispheres at 0o Latitude

#4 is the TROPIC OF CAPRICORN found 23 ½ o SOUTH of the Equator.

#5 is the ANTARCTIC CIRCLE found at 66 ½ o SOUTH of the Equator

#6 is the PRIME MERIDIAN which runs north to south at 0o LONGITUDE

READING COORDINATES

• Read the coordinates for LATITUDE first…. 33o NORTH latitude

• Read LONGITUDE next….97o WEST longitude

• Which means that coordinates for Dallas, Texas would look like this:

33oN, 97oW

GRID MAPSGrid maps are another way to look at finding location. Instead of latitude and longitude lines, use grid squares to find a specific place on a small area of the earth.

Cheddar, England is found in grid square A-9

MAP PROJECTIONS

To find just the right map to use, ask yourself “What am I trying to show on my map?”

You don’t want to use a map that has too much distortion (being mis-shapen on a map)

Usually you ask the question for one of the following four map topics:

AREA DIRECTION DISTANCE SHAPE

TYPES OF MAP PROJECTIONS

MAP

MERCATOR

Mercator Map Projection: Shows accurate direction, but area & shapes are severely distorted at the poles. Mercator projections are based on cylinders.

***Sailors would use these for true direction

ROBINSON

Robinson Map Projection: Shows accurate shape & size of continents, but water areas are expanded to fill in area. Robinson projections are based on ovals. ***These maps are good for data collections like in a classroom or lab.

APPLYING THE FIVE THEMES

OF GEOGRAPHY

LOCATION

Most geographic study begins with learning the location of places. Location can be absolute or relative.

Absolute location provides a definite reference to locate a place. The reference can be latitude and longitude, a street address, or even the Township and Range system.

Relative location describes a place with respect to its environment and its connection to other places.

PLACE Place describes the human and physical

characteristics of a location. Physical characteristics include a

description such things as the mountains, rivers, beaches, topography, and animal and plant life of a place.

Human characteristics include the human-designed cultural features of a place, from land use and architecture to forms of livelihood and religion to food and folk ways to transportation and communication networks.

ativeHUMAN ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION

This themes considers how humans adapt to and modify the environment. Humans shape the landscape through their interaction with the land; this has both positive and negative effects on the environment.

MOVEMENT

Humans move, a lot! In addition, ideas, fads, goods, resources, and communication all travel distances. This theme studies movement and migration across the planet.

REGION

Region divides the world into manageable units for geographic study. Regions have some sort of characteristic that unifies the area. Regions can be formal, functional, or vernacular.

Formal regions are those that are designated by official boundaries, such as cities, states, counties, and countries. For the most part, they are clearly indicated and publicly known.

Functional regions are defined by their connections. For example, the circulation area for a major city area is the functional region of that paper.

Vernacular regions are perceived regions, such as "The South," "The Midwest," or the "Middle East;" they have no formal boundaries but are understood in our mental maps of the world.

LEARNING TO MAKE,

READ,USE MAPS

WHAT IS MAPS?

the basic tools of geography

is a representation of a larger portion of the earth

a flat representation of the curved surface of the earth

Conventions used in cartography which allow a map to be read efficiently and quickly:

* Choose the right map. A wide variety of maps are available for a wide variety of uses.

* Check the map's orientation. Most maps are drawn with north located at the top.

* Understand the scale of the map. The map scale shows you a ratio of map distance to real distance

* Note the latitude and longitude. If you're traveling to the next town, this isn't so important. But if you are sailing, flying, or touring long distances, this might be useful.

* Learn to read contour lines. How high or flat the land is represented on the map with contour lines. Each line represents a standard height above sea level.

* Examine the legend. Most maps have a legend or key of symbols on the map itself. Get familiar with how your map represents data

* Figure out where you are. You have your map and you're ready to use it. Now you need to figure out where you are before you can plot where you're going.

* Find your destination. Now it's time to figure out where you want to go

* Use the map's index. Some maps, such as a Thomas Guide, have indexes stating the location of certain places on a map. This location could be grid numbers or pages.

Plot the route out. Now that you have figured out where you want to go, plot the route for your first leg of your journey.

MY OVER VIEW ABOUT

THIS CHAPTER

I have chosen this topic because as a student in this course I want to learn about people and their societies, economies, cultures and the environment. Besides I want to enhance the wide range understanding of each and everyone on their geography and to appreciate the world they are living in whether it's a city, a village, a mountain, a border, a people. We all know that learning geography can provide people with a holistic understanding of our planet and its systems.

Studying geography is it acquires a better understanding appreciation of environment meaning it helps us to figure out the relationships between countries to countries and through this statement as a student in this course I want to enhance my learning capabilities in studying our world. I can say that nothing is better in this world but to learn, to explore, to be aware and to be informing in our geography. Knowing geography will make your life more interesting, more exciting, and more fun

REFLECTION:

Through this portfolio I have learned a lot of things I learned how to understand the tools of geography, to apply the five themes of geography, and to use, make and read maps. I also learned how to apply all those things in a real life situation and to become more responsible in caring of the entire natural gift that God has given to us.

Studying geography is not just focusing on its physical aspects but we study this in order for us to value the entire natural gift that God bestowed upon us. All the things that we are having right know is a part of geography

All the things that I have learned within this course help me to become responsible teacher someday and to teach my pupils with the real value of studying our geography. I will apply all the things that I have learned through this chapter to my future pupils to assess their wide range learning and to become a well rounded global citizen in their generations