This document provides an overview of key concepts in geography. It discusses how geographers study the distribution and interaction of physical and human features on Earth. They examine places, locations, characteristics, and how humans use and move through spaces. Geographers use tools like maps, photographs, and the five themes of geography to analyze location, place, region, movement, and human-environment interaction. The document also describes how geographers define and classify regions and explain absolute and relative location using latitude and longitude.

1. A Geographers Best Friend

2.  Geography is the study of the distribution
and interaction of physical and human
features on the earth.

3.  Geography involves the study of places:
their locations, their characteristics, and
how humans use and move around them.

4.  Geographers
view the world in
terms of space.
 They use the 5
Themes of
Geography to
study the world.

5.  Historians look at events over time.
 Geographers look at:
- use of space on Earth
- interactions that take place
there
- patterns and connections
between people and land

6.  Geographers use a variety of tools to
study the earth, including:
- maps
- photographs
- charts, graphs, tables
- scale models
- five themes of geography

7.  Geographers study the world by
looking at location, place,
region, movement, and human-
environment interaction.

8.  Discuss the question, “How do
People, Goods, and Ideas get
from one place to another?”
 Geographers study 3 types of
movement:
-Linear Distance
-Time Distance
-Psychological Distance

9.  Refers to how far a person, idea, or product
travels.
 Measured in inches, feet, miles, etc.
 Jacksonville to Beverly Hills is 2,502 miles!

10.  Amount of time it
takes a for a person,
idea, or product to
travel.
 Measured in seconds,
minutes, hours, etc.
 It takes 14 hrs. and 45
minutes from NYC to
JAX.

11.  Refers to the
way people
view travel.
 The more
familiar we are
w/ an area, the
distance seems
to shrink.

13.  Discusses question, “How are places similar
or different?”
 Geographers create regions to make
comparisons
 A region is an area of the earth’s surface
with similar characteristics.
 Characteristics include: physical, political,
economic, or cultural things.
 3 types of regions: formal, functional, and
perceptual.

14.  Defined by a limited # of related
characteristics.
 Regions we will study this year:
-The U.S. and Canada
-Europe
-Asia
-Africa
-Latin America
What do these regions have in common?

15.  Organized around a
set of interactions
and connections
between places.
 Usually characterized
by a hub, or central
place, the various
things that link to the
hub.

16.  Regions in which
people see the
region the same
way.
 People can
always have
differences in
their perceptual
regions.

17.  Discusses question, “How do people
relate to the physical world?”
 Geographers study this to understand
the relationships between humans and
the environment in which they live.
 People:
-Change the environment to meet
their needs and,
-Learn to live with aspects of the
environment they cannot control.
Can you think of any examples of these?

20.  Discusses the question, “What is
it like?”
 Contains physical, cultural, and
human interaction characteristics
of a location including: climate,
landforms, vegetation, buildings,
roads, housing, etc.

23.  Discusses the question, “Where
is it?”
 Absolute location is the exact
place on earth where a
geographic feature is found.
 Relative location describes a
place in comparison to the
places around it.

24.  The earth is divided into 2 equal halves
called hemispheres.
 There are 4 hemispheres: North, South,
East, and West.
 The equator divides the north and south
hemispheres.
 The prime meridian divides the east and
west hemispheres.
 The prime meridian runs through
Greenwich, England.

27.  Latitude is used to locate things
north and south.
 Latitude lines run parallel to the
equator and are called parallels.
 The equator is 0 degrees
latitude.
 Lines north of the equator are
north latitude and lines south of
the equator are south latitude.

28.  Longitude lines run through the north and
south poles and are called meridians.
 They mark positions east and west of the
prime meridian.
 The prime meridian is 0 degrees
longitude.
 To find the absolute location of a place,
you must find where the latitude and
longitude lines intersect.