Geography Themes,
Skills, Landforms, &
Earth's Atmosphere
Coach McFarland
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I. Themes of Geography
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Location
Place
Human-Environmental Interaction
Movement
Region
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Location
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Where is it?
2 Types of location
Absolute Location – a precise
place.
 Relative Location – relation to
other places.
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3
Place

Physical surroundings.
4
Human-Environment
Interaction

How people and the environment
interact with each other.
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Movement
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Transportaion of people, goods
and ideas.
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Region
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An area with common
characteristics.
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II. The Wide World of
Geography
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Branches of Geography
Geography as a Profession
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Branches of Geography
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Human Geography
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The study of how people and their activities
vary from place to place.
Includes political, economic, and cultural
factors.
Physical Geography

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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
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Cartography
The study of maps and map
making.
 Because of the movement of
people, maps are constantly
changing.
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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
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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
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Meteorology

Specializes in weather and
weather forecasting.
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Geography as a
Profession
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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 Earth
The only planet that supports life
as we know it.
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The Earth System
4 Physical Systems
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The Earth System
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The interaction of objects on and
around the Earth.
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4 Physical Systems
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Atmosphere
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Lithosphere
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The rocky surface that forms the
continents and the ocean floor.
Hydrosphere
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The layer of gas that surrounds the Earth.
All the planet’s water in the oceans, on
the land, and in the atmosphere.
Biosphere
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All of the planet’s plant and animal life.
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IV. Global Energy
Systems
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Temperature
Air Pressure
Wind
Global Wind Belts
Ocean Circulation
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Temperature
The measurement of heat in the Earth’s
atmosphere.
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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 Pressure
The force exerted by air; creates the winds and
ocean currents.
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When air is warmed, it expands,
becomes lighter, and rises, thus
creating a low pressure area.
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Low-pressure areas tend to bring
unstable weather conditions.
Cold air is dense, heavy, and tends
to sink causing high-pressure
areas.
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High-pressure areas generally
cause clear, calm weather.
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Wind
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The horizontal motion of air
between areas of different
pressure.
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Global Wind Belts
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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
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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
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Jet Streams
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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
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Currents are set in motion by
prevailing winds blowing across
the surface of the ocean.
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V. Atmospheric Effects
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Water vapor
Storms
Elevation
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Water Vapor
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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
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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
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4 types of precipitation
Rain
 Sleet
 Snow
 Hail
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Storms
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Occur when energy stored in the
atmospheric water vapor is
released
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Storms
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3 Kinds of Storms
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Hurricanes
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Tornadoes
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Form over warm ocean waters and carry
violent winds, torrential rain, and dangerously
high seas.
The smallest, but most violent of storms;
twisting spirals of air that can destroy anything
in their path.
Thunder Storms
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The most common type; contains lightning
and thunder.
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Elevation
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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
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Factors Affecting Climates
Types of Climates
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Factors Affecting
Climate
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Temperature and Precipitation
Differences
Continental or Maritime Location
Elevation
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Types of Climates
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Humid-Tropical
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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
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Arid Desert
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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
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Transition area between arid deserts and
more humid climates; an area of shortgrass vegetation that generally support
grasslands; trees are rare except along
riverbanks.
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Types of Climates
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Mediterranean
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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
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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
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Marine West-Coast
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Found on the west coast of
continents in the upper-middle
latitudes with mild temperatures all
year. (Middle Latitude)
Humid-Continental
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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
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Subarctic
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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
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Tundra
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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
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Has cold temperatures and snowfall yearround
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VII. The Geography of
Water
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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Estuary
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Where rivers meet an arm of the sea.
Lakes
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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
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Wetlands
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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
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A large freshwater resource
beneath the surface of the land
with the major source being
precipitation.
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Water Resources
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Oceans
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Cover about 71% of the Earth’s
surface; they are actually one
continuous global body of water
divided into 4 oceans
– the largest geographic
feature on Earth.
 Atlantic
 Indian
 Arctic
 Pacific
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Water Resources
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Oceans (Cont.)
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There are smaller bodies of salt water.
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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.
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