Texas Geography- Chapter 1 Notes
I. GEOGRAPHY- study of the Earth (land, water, plants, and animals) and how
they interact with each other.
II. THE 6 ELEMENTS OF GEOGRAPHY:
A. Location- answers question, “_________________?”
1. Absolute location-
2. Relative location-
B. Place and Regions- answers question, “____________________?”
1. Place- features and characteristics that give an area its own identity or
personality
a. Physical characteristics- natural features (landforms, climate,
plants/vegetation, animals, bodies of water, etc.) Ex. Colorado Riverriver, Guadalupe Peak- highest mountain peak in Texas, pecan/live
oak tree- native vegetation, Horned Lizard- native reptile.
b. Human characteristics2. Region –
a. Physical- regions that share common _________ characteristics- Ex.
b. Cultural- regions that share common __________ characteristics- Ex. Chinatown (in all of the larger cities), Bible Belt, Dixieland
(Southern U.S.), etc.)
c. Economic- regions that share common __________ characteristics
- Ex.
d. Political- regions that share common ____________ characteristics
- Ex.
C. Physical Systems
1. How ____________ systems (volcanoes, hurricanes, glaciers, etc.) shape
the Earth’s surface.
- Ex. (ex. Rio Grande carving out the Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend,
reason area near the Gulf Coast is flat and fertile is because it used to be
a sea bed, Cactus exist in the arid/dry regions of West Texas because of
lack of rainfall, etc.)
2. How communities of ___________and ____________ (ecosystems)
depend on each other and their environment to survive
- Ex.
D. Human systems- how people have shaped our world.
1. Movement- the travel ________, ________, and ________ from one
location to another.
- Ex. Migration (people and companies moving to Austin for the dot
com/tech boom), immigration (legal/illegal immigrants coming from Mexico
and other places, trade (free trade of goods with Mexico under NAFTA,
urbanization (growth of large cities like Houston), emigration (Tejanos
leaving Texas after the Mexican-American war because of racism), etc.
2. Cultural diffusion- spread of __________ items — such as _______, styles,
___________, technologies, ______________ , etc. — between
individuals from one culture to another.
- Ex.
E. Environment and Society
1. How people affect, adapt to, or modify (change) the environment
- Ex.
2. How the environment affects/influences human activities
- Ex.
F. Uses of Geography:
1. To help us understand the relationships between people, places, and
environments over time—in the past, present, and future.
2. Geographic Information System (GIS)III. TEXAS GEOGRAPHY
A. Land
1. 801 miles long x 773 miles wide (267,277 square miles total)
2. 2nd largest state (___% of U.S. is Texas)
3. Four Regions:
a.
b.
c.
d.
4. Minerals:

Petroleum, natural gas, coal- used for ______________

Sand, gravel- used for______________

Limestone, granite, gypsum- ______________
B. Water
1. Coast/Gulf:
a. provides industry/economyb. home to important wildlifec. climatic effects 2. Rivers:
a. flow NW-SE because of elevation
b. Rio Grande 2,000 miles long and one of longest in U.S.
c. irrigation, water control/flood prevention, electricity, etc.
3. Lakes:
a.
b.
4. Aquifers:
a.
b.
C. People
1. Population

Current- _______ million

2000-
21 million

1990-
17 million

1980-
14 million

1970-
11 million
2. Population density- average number of people who live within a given
space.

Current-
3. Largest cities:
a.
- 2,145,146
b. San Antonio - 1,359,758
c.
- 1,223,229
d.
- 820,611
e. Fort Worth
- 758,738
f.
- 665,569