Geography 101
Hey everyone! Today I am going to be talking about Geography. Do you know what Geography is? If you don’t then no worries. Today I am gonna be going over the basics of Geography. Before we get started I want you to think about what is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word Geography. Let’s begin!
What is Geography?
Geography is the study of Earth, its physical features, climates, countries, peoples, and certain places’ history. The people who study the Earth are called Geologists. Geologists work hard to study certain places of the world. Anyways, the word Geography comes from two Greek words
Geo: meaning Earth
Graphia: to write or learn about
So technically the word Geography means to write or study about the Earth. Furthermore, there are 5 themes in Geography.
Why is learning about the Earth Important?
Learning about the Earth is important because when people know how the Earth’s system works they can make informed decisions about where to buy or build a home out of harm’s way. On top of that, by learning about the Earth we can also learn how Earth’s climate has changed in the past, and use the knowledge to understand both natural and human — caused climate change. Furthermore, we can use our knowledge of Earth to understand other planets in our solar system.
These are all the reasons learning about the Earth is important.
What are the 5 themes of Geography?
As I mentioned before that there are 5 themes of Geography and those are:
- Location
- Place
- HEI — Human Environment Interaction
- Movement
- Region
What is Location?
Location means where a place is located. There are 2 types of locations. Absolute and Relative location. First, let’s learn about the absolute location.
The absolute location is very specific, it uses the longitude and the latitude lines. Ex:
USA
- 38 degree North
- 97 degree West
As you can see, the location is very specific. Anyhow, let’s talk about the Relative location. Well, a relative location uses North, South, East, and West. It also uses descriptions of the surrounding areas. Ex:
USA
- North: Canada South: Mexico East: Atlantic Ocean West: Pacific Ocean
What is Place?
The second theme of Geography is Place. Place means what it’s like in a certain area. There are 2 types of places, physical features, and human features. Physical features are the things that occur naturally, for example, mountains, rivers, wildlife, and climate.
Human features are things that have changed due to people, culture, and government. For example, Mount Rushmore, malls, the White House, immigration, and democracy.
What is HEI (Human Environment Interaction)?
HEI is the 3rd theme of Geography. HEI is how people and the environment affect each other. Or how people relate to the physical world. Here are some questions that you can think about.
- How do we help the environment?
- How do we destroy the environment?
- How does the climate affect us?
What is Movement?
Movement is the 4th theme of Geography. Movement is all about how people, goods, and ideas move from one location to another. Some examples of how we can transport people, goods, and ideas are by boat, train, radio, and internet.
What is Region?
The Region is the final theme of Geography. The Region is how places are similar and different and also features of a specific place. The features can be physical or cultural. Some examples are:
- Corn belt
- Wheat belt
- Middle Atlantic States
Some physical features: climate, vegetation, landforms
Ex: Rocky Mountains, Mississippi River
Cultural features: language, religion, beliefs
Ex: Italy = Italian, India = Hinduism
Conclusion
Today we learned a lot about what Geography is and about its themes. We also learned what physical, human, and cultural features are. I hope you learned something new about geography and had fun.
