Geography

What is geography?

• Geography is the study of the world, its people, and the landscapes they create.– Geographers use geographic tools to look at the

world in different ways.

Physical vs. Human

• Physical geography is the study of the world’s features – its landforms, bodies of water, climates, soils, and plants.

• Reasons to study physical geography:– Learn how the world works/better understand it– To help us learn of the Earth’s changes and

dangers to be prepared for them*THE EARTH’S CHARACTERISTICS*

Physical vs. Human

• Human geography is the study of the world’s people, communities, and landscapes.

• Human geographers – Study the world’s people, past and present– Look at where people live and why– Study what people do*THE STUDY OF HOW HUMAN LIFE SHAPES

LANDSCAPES AND REGIONS*

Five Themes of Geography

• The five themes of geography help us organize our studies of the world.

• Geographers use themes that can be applied to nearly everything that they study.– Location– Place– Human – Environment Interaction– Movement– Regions

Location

• Every point on Earth has a location.• *Describes where something is.*• ABSOLUTE LOCATION is a specific description

of where a place is, such as an address (or a place’s Latitude and Longitude).

• RELATIVE LOCATION is a general description of where a place is (in relation to another place).

• The Simpson County Courthouse is located downtown Franklin, KY.

Place

• Place refers to an area’s landscape, the features that define the areas and make it different from other places.

• Physical: landforms, climate, wildlife• Human: population, ethnicity, religion

• *Place describes the features that make a site unique.*

• Bowling Green, KY, the town bordering Simpson County to the north, has many tourist attractions that are significant to this area.

Human – Environment Interaction

• An area’s environment includes its land, water, climate, plants, and animals.

• Geographers study how people interact with their environment . Examples:– Farming– Fishing– Coal mining

• People interact with their environments in many ways. Some use the land to grow crops.

• . . . Crops like this baby watermelon in my garden

Movement

• Study of why and how people move, including roads and routes that make movement common.

• This theme looks at how and why people and things move. Examples:- Shipping- Social media- People, ideas, goods, information

Regions

• Geographers divide the world into regions. • Regions are areas that share common

characteristics (unity) that set them apart from areas around them.Examples:– Culture– Plant life– Agriculture

“South Central Kentucky”Karst System

• Karst is a landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks including limestone, dolomite and gypsum. It is characterized by sinkholes, caves, and underground drainage systems.

“The South”, y’all!!!