Objective: to Identify and Explain the Impact of Geography on Human Activity

The Importance of Geography E. Napp Objective: To identify and explain the impact of geography on human activity

Mountain River Island Desert

Savanna Tropical Rain Forest Steppes

So, what is geography? Geography is the study of the diverse environments, places, and spaces of the Earth’s surface…The modern academic discipline of geography is rooted in ancient practice, concerned with the characteristics of places, in particular their natural environments and peoples, as well as the interrelations between the two.” ~ Encyclopedia Britannica

The Five Themes of Geography: Theme 1: Location  Every point on Earth has a specific location that is determined by an imaginary grid of lines denoting latitude and longitude. Theme 2: Place  All places have characteristics that give them meaning and character and distinguish them from other places on earth. Theme 3: Human/Environment Interaction  In studying human/environment interaction, geographers look at all the effects— positive and negative—that occur when people interact with their surroundings. Theme 4: Movement  People interact with other people, places, and things almost every day of their lives. They travel from one place to another; they communicate with each other; and they rely upon products, information, and ideas that come from beyond their immediate environment. Theme 5: Regions  A basic unit of geographic study is the region, an area on the earth’s surface that is defined by certain unifying characteristics. The unifying characteristics may be physical, human, or cultural.

Questions: Identify the Geography Theme (From MrKersey.org) 1. Emma visited the Outer Banks in North Carolina this summer. She noticed the climate was warm and sunny, with pleasant ocean breezes. The sand was white and soft. Emma also thought it was interesting that all of the houses were built on stilts in case of flooding caused by a hurricane. The Theme is: ______2. Jacob, a super rich and powerful business man, decides to build a mall surrounded by luxury apartments and offices in a large field that was once a forest with a stream running through it. To build his mall Jacob's company has to cut down hundreds of trees, but he decides to leave a small park at the center of the mall, and to protect the stream from harm by building bridges over it for traffic and pedestrians. The Theme is ______3. Paulina takes a trip through the area of the U.S. known as the Deep South. On her trip she notices that most people who live there speak with a Southern accent, like interesting foods that most people up North don't eat, and everyone seems to call her a Yankee. The Theme is ______4. Patrick is visiting his friend Bubba at his secret hideout which is hidden deep underground at 40°N 84°W. The Theme is ______5. Avery is an internationally recognized expert in the area of chewing gum. She flies all over the world sharing her knowledge with chewing gum manufacturers so that they might produce better chewing gum with longer lasting flavors. She often takes trains, planes, and hovercraft to get to her destinations. The Theme is ______

Using the above map, determine the latitude and longitude of the following points: Point A: ______Point B: ______Point C: ______Point D: ______Point E: ______Point F: ______Point G: ______Geographic Features:  Geographic features are physical features of a place – mountains, rivers, islands, savannas, steppes, rain forests, and deserts are examples of geographic features  Geographic features have positive and negative effects on people  Read the descriptions of the geographic features in the chart below and match the features with their correct positive and/or negative effects on people

A. This landmass that projects above its surrounding is difficult to farm because it is not flat. However, people can farm by building terraces ______Savannas (terrace farming). This landmass also separated people in the past and made transportation and communication difficult. B. This arid or dry land is difficult to ______River farm. People living in this land are nomads, moving from place to place in search of water. C. These tropical grasslands are found in Africa. Sometimes people farm in ______Monsoon these grasslands and sometimes they raise animals and are herders. Typically, there are two seasons in these grasslands: a dry season and a rainy season. D. This stream of water provides water ______Island for farming. Early civilization developed near these streams of water. E. It is surrounded by water on three ______Mountain sides. Given its proximity to water, people can often use the seas for trade. F. It is completely surrounded by water. The waters can be used for fishing or ______Desert trade but the waters can also isolate the people or provide some protection from outsiders. G. It is a series of islands. Countries like ______Peninsula Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia are series of islands. H. It is a seasonal wind. Sometimes this ______Archipelago wind brings rain and the rain can help farmers. The wind can also help traders as the wind can move a ship. Excerpt from Time Magazine: Under a Broken Sky (2003)

“…For former herders like Bayarsakhan, the transition to city living has been wrenching. He grew up in Gobi-Altai province to the south, where his family had raised livestock for generations. Four summers ago, however, a severe drought was followed by an early frost, then a brutal winter with high winds. Mongolians have a name for this: the dzud. The historical norm has been roughly one dzud every half-decade, making for a tough season before more-manageable weather returns. But it's now happening for a fourth consecutive year. The dzud means less grass grows and animals can't fatten up before the winter snow buries the meager feed. Livestock starves, freezes or wanders off to perish in the blizzards. Officials warn that 2.5 million animals could die this winter alone.

Stranded in a roadless region of Gobi-Altai that had been rendered inaccessible by snowdrifts, Bayarsakhan's family herd of 500 dwindled to 10. After a while, the family even stopped disposing of the corpses, instead piling them around their ger – a felt-covered Mongolian dwelling – for extra insulation. They burned furniture to keep warm. "If you don't have animals," says Bayarsakhan, "you have nothing." To survive, he left everything he'd ever known for a place where people dressed oddly, behaved differently and used paper money instead of bartering. His wife and infant son came with him (he and his wife have since had a second son), as did his two brothers, one of whom also brought a wife and child. They rented 500 square meters in Chingeltei for $90 a month, and then set up their ger. One brother found work selling coal. But with so many other former herders vying for jobs, Bayarsakhan can't find anything steady, so he sporadically joins his brother at a nearby coal market, where they buy bags for resale to locals. They make about $2 a day. ‘I don't know what would be better, being here or in the countryside,’ he says. ‘They're both hard.’…” Questions: 1. For centuries, the Mongols lived on the steppes. The steppes are dry, treeless grasslands in Central Asia. In 2003, the time of this article, what was the steppe experiencing? ______2. What is the Mongolian name for the answer in question #1? ______3. Before this happened every half-decade but now how frequently is it occurring? ______4. What are the effects of it? ______5. What happened to Bayarsakhan’s family herd? ______6. What did the family do with the corpses? ______7. What is a ger? ______8. Describe the family’s experience in the city? ______