1 Geography Themes, Skills, Landforms, & Earth's Atmosphere Coach McFarland.

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Geography Themes, Skills, Landforms, & Earth's Atmosphere

Coach McFarland

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I. Themes of Geography

Location Place Human-Environmental Interaction Movement Region

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Location

Where is it? 2 Types of location

Absolute Location – a precise place.

Relative Location – relation to other places.

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Place

Physical surroundings.

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Human-Environment Interaction How people and the environment

interact with each other.

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Movement

Transportaion of people, goods and ideas.

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Region

An area with common characteristics.

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II. The Wide World of Geography Branches of Geography Geography as a Profession

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Branches of Geography

Human Geography The study of how people and their activities

vary from place to place. Includes political, economic, and cultural

factors.

Physical Geography The study of how the Earth’s natural features

vary from place to place. The study of plains & mountains, weather &

climates, & plants, animals, & humans.

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Geography as a Profession Cartography

The study of maps and map making.

Because of the movement of people, maps are constantly changing.

For example, in the past 40 years, 41,000 miles of interstate highways have been constructed across the U.S. and therefore, have been added to various road maps.

During WWI, photographs of battle fields were taken from airplanes. After the war, cartographers started using aerial photographs to make detailed maps of the Earth’s surface

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5 Features of Every Good Map

Grid – pattern of lines running horizontally (across) and vertically (up and down).

Direction – shows relative location. Scale – How large the maps

territory really is. Key – Tells what the map’s

symbols mean. Title – Names the map.

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Geography as a Profession Meteorology

Specializes in weather and weather forecasting.

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Geography as a Profession Applied Geography

Help to research, map, and analyze environmental data.

Investigate land usage.

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Geography as a Profession Teaching Geography

Necessary for good citizenship. Help to develop an informed

public.

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III. Planet EarthThe only planet that supports life as we know it.

The Earth System 4 Physical Systems

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The Earth System

The interaction of objects on and around the Earth.

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4 Physical Systems

Atmosphere The layer of gas that surrounds the Earth.

Lithosphere The rocky surface that forms the

continents and the ocean floor. Hydrosphere

All the planet’s water in the oceans, on the land, and in the atmosphere.

Biosphere All of the planet’s plant and animal life.

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IV. Global Energy Systems Temperature Air Pressure Wind Global Wind Belts Ocean Circulation

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TemperatureThe measurement of heat in the Earth’s atmosphere.

The process by which heat energy is trapped by the atmosphere thus keeping Earth warm is called the Greenhouse Effect.

Earth maintains its energy balance because most heat is lost to space at night and during the winter season.

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Air PressureThe force exerted by air; creates the winds and ocean currents.

When air is warmed, it expands, becomes lighter, and rises, thus creating a low pressure area. Low-pressure areas tend to bring

unstable weather conditions. Cold air is dense, heavy, and tends

to sink causing high-pressure areas. High-pressure areas generally

cause clear, calm weather.

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Wind

The horizontal motion of air between areas of different pressure.

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Global Wind Belts

Prevailing winds that usually blow from areas of high-pressure to areas of low pressure

Fronts Jet Streams

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Global Wind Belts

Fronts Occur when two air masses with

very different temperatures and amounts of moisture meet.

Fronts usually cause stormy weather.

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Global Wind Belts

Jet Streams Prevailing winds that blow in the

upper atmosphere. These winds are not directly felt on

Earth’s surface. The Jet Stream moves energy,

storms, and major weather patterns.

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Ocean Circulation

Currents are set in motion by prevailing winds blowing across the surface of the ocean.

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V. Atmospheric Effects

Water vapor Storms Elevation

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Water Vapor

An important gas; most is evaporated from the oceans.

The remainder comes from lakes, plants, and the soil.

Without water vapor, there would be no clouds, rain, or storms.

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Water Vapor

Humidity The amount of water vapor in the air.

Condensation The process by which water vapor

changes from a gas into liquid droplets.

Condensation can be seen in the formation of clouds, fog, and dew.

If condensation droplets become large enough, they fall as precipitation

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Water Vapor

4 types of precipitation Rain Sleet Snow Hail

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Storms

Occur when energy stored in the atmospheric water vapor is released

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Storms

3 Kinds of Storms Hurricanes

Form over warm ocean waters and carry violent winds, torrential rain, and dangerously high seas.

Tornadoes The smallest, but most violent of storms;

twisting spirals of air that can destroy anything in their path.

Thunder Storms The most common type; contains lightning

and thunder.

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Elevation

Affects temperature. An increase in elevation, or height

above sea level, causes lowering of the temperature.

Eventhough the equator passes through Kenya, the country’s tallest mountain, Mt. Kenya, is snowcapped year-round because it is over 17,000 feet above sea level.

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VI. Global Climates

Factors Affecting Climates Types of Climates

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Factors Affecting Climate Temperature and Precipitation

Differences Continental or Maritime Location Elevation

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Types of Climates

Humid-Tropical Located near the equator with

ideal conditions for plant growth. (Heavy rain fall & continuous warm temps.) (Low Latitude)

Tropical-Savanna Located just to the N and S of the

Humid-Tropical climate. Wet and dry climate with more of a season change. (Low Latitude)

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Types of Climates

Arid Desert Located 30 degrees N and S of the

equator with very little rain and few plants surviving. The largest desert is the Sahara.

Semiarid Steppe Transition area between arid deserts and

more humid climates; an area of short-grass vegetation that generally support grasslands; trees are rare except along riverbanks.

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Types of Climates

Mediterranean Located between 30 and 40 degrees

latitude; confined to the coastal areas of southern Europe and the west coasts of continents with cool ocean currents. (Middle Latitude)

Humid-Subtropical Found on the eastern side of continents

with warm ocean currents; hot, humid summers and mild winters. (Middle Latitude)

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Types of Climates

Marine West-Coast Found on the west coast of

continents in the upper-middle latitudes with mild temperatures all year. (Middle Latitude)

Humid-Continental Found in latitudes subject to both

warm and cold air changeable weather and four distinct seasons. (Middle Latitude)

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Types of Climates

Subarctic Located in high latitudes with long,

dark, and cold winters, with temperatures staying well below freezing for half of the year; short summers that can have very warm temperatures; has the greatest annual temperature ranges in the world and supports vast evergreen forests.

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Types of Climates

Tundra Has long winters and temperatures

above freezing only during short summers; vegetation is made up of small plants, such as mosses, herbs, and shrubs; water below the surface remains frozen all year., called permafrost.

Polar Ice-Cap Has cold temperatures and snowfall year-

round

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VII. The Geography of Water One of Our Most Important

Resources Not Evenly Distributed on Earth Water Resources

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Water is one our most important resources for 3 reasons. Water is essential for agriculture. Water is necessary for industries to

function. Water is a valuable power source.

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Water is not evenly distributed on Earth. The oceans contain 97% of Earth’s

water. More the 2% of Earth’s water is

frozen in the polar ice-caps. Less than 1% of Earth’s water is a

available as a freshwater resource, found in lakes, rivers, and streams.

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Water Resources Headwaters

The first and smallest streams to form from runoff.

Tributaries Small streams or rivers that flow into larger

streams or rivers Watershed

An area of land that is drained by a river and its tributaries

Rivers A valuable water resource, providing water

for agriculture, electricity, transportation, and cities

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Water Resources

Estuary Where rivers meet an arm of the sea.

Lakes When water fills a depression on the land

surface; mostly freshwater; different from seas in that they are totally surrounded by land, are usually not at sea level, and do not exchange water with oceans. The 5 Great Lakes are actually one body of water, making up the largest body of freshwater on the Earth.

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Water Resources

Wetlands Become flooded for at least part of

the year. Florida’s Everglades is one of the best-known wetlands in the United States.

Ground Water A large freshwater resource

beneath the surface of the land with the major source being precipitation.

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Water Resources

Oceans Cover about 71% of the Earth’s

surface; they are actually one continuous global body of water divided into 4 oceans

Pacific – the largest geographic feature on Earth.

Atlantic Indian Arctic

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Water Resources

Oceans (Cont.) There are smaller bodies of salt water.

Seas Gulfs Bays

The depth of the oceans vary greatly. The greatest ocean depth is in the Mariana Trench, located in the N Pacific Ocean. The shallowest part is the continental shelf, which slopes gently downward from the continents.