Static routing has advantages of simplicity and security but lacks flexibility. It is primarily used when network traffic is predictable and stable. The four types of static routes are default, summary, standard, and fully specified routes. A default static route defines the default gateway and is used when there is no specific route. Recursive lookup occurs when a router queries other routers for routing information to reach unknown networks. The document provides questions and tasks about configuring different static route types on routers R1 and R2 based on the given network topology.