Welcome to
Textbook?
World Geography Pre-AP
World Geography
Unit 1
Chapter 1
Section 1: What is Geography?
A. 2 Definitions
1. The study of the physical, biological,
and cultural features of the earth’s
surface (Holt)
2. The study of where people, places,
and things are located and how they
relate to each other (PH)
B. Two Branches of Geography
Themes and Essential Elements
1. Physical Geography
2. Human Geography
Human
Geography
• study of distribution
and characteristics of
the world’s people
(where people live and
what they do)
• examines how people
make and trade things
that they need to
survive
Physical
Geography
Both
• interaction of
people with their
environments
• focuses on Earth’s
natural environments
including landforms,
water features, plants,
animals, and other
physical features
• studies the processes
that shape physical
environment
C. Geographic Tools
1. Technology
a. Sonar: analyzes sounds to determine
distance & location.
Geographic use of sonar: study
ocean floor
b. Satellites: ex Landsat 7 - records
images of earth's surface.
Geographic use of satellites: compare
older/recent images to identify changes
in land use, vegetation, urban growth
Satellite images show the shrinking
ARAL SEA
c. GPS (global positioning system:
uses 24 orbiting satellites; Use
atomic clocks to send back
extremely accurate time
measurements to provide info about
location
d. GIS (geographic information
system): a computer system that
stores, displays, and maps locations
and their features – information is
layered to show relationships
among data – layers can be placed together in a
multitude of combos to create many different maps, unique
and suitable to individual queries
GIS “layering”
2. Maps!
a. Organizing the Globe
A globe is a scale model of the earth
- useful for looking at the whole
planet or large areas of
land/water
b. Grid – pattern of lines on the globe
in E-W/N-S directions
Latitude: lines running E-W
Longitude: lines running N-S
- intersection of these imaginary lines
help us fine ABSOLUTE location of
places
c. Measuring Latitude & Longitude
1) Latitude (also called parallels): E-W
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Imaginary lines that run parallel to equator
Lines run E-W, but measure distance north or south of equator
Equator = 0º
North pole = 90ºN
South pole = 90ºS
Tropic of Cancer = 23 ½ ºN
Tropic of Capricorn = 23 ½ ºS
(tropics receive most direct sunlight/greatest heat energy from the sun)
Lines of latitude, or parallels are parallel to e/o
Think of latitude like the rungs of
a ladder (ladder sounds a lot like
latitude). Latitude lines run east
and west, but they tell how far
up (north) you can go or how far
down (south) you can go.
2) Longitude (also called meridians):
» Imaginary lines which run North & South btwn poles
» Lines run N-S, but measures distance east or west of Prime
Meridian
» Prime Meridian = 0º (through Greenwich, England)
» All other meridians are measured in degrees from 0 to 180 E or W
from Greenwich
» Lines of longitude, or meridians, are not parallel to e/o
When you think of longitude, think of
long, tall telephone poles (because
longitude lines run from pole to pole).
Longitude lines run north and south, but
they tell how far east you can go or how
far west you can go.
Practice
–
Latitude,
Longitude
Example: 60ºS, 110ºE
f
a
d
b
g
h
e
c
Ex
Practice
–
Latitude,
Longitude
Example: 60ºS, 110ºE
a. 50ºN, 100ºW c. 40ºS, 30ºE
b. 10ºN, 30ºW d. 30ºN, 100ºE
e. 40ºS, 130ºW g. 0º, 0º
f. 70ºN, 5ºE
h. 25ºS, 135ºE
f
a
d
b
g
h
e
c
Ex
d. The Earth is divided into 4 hemispheres
In which hemisphere(s) do you live?
e. Map projections
- b/c our planet is round, ALL flat maps have
some distortion
1) Conic projection
-advantages/disadvantages of
map projections
Map
Projection
Advantages
Disadvantages
cylindrical
used by navigators because it
show true direction and shape
exaggerates land masses at high
altitudes
conic
accurate for area with long eastwest dimensions
not as accurate for areas that
extend mostly north to south
flat-plane
used by pilots and navigators
because it shows true direction,
area, and sizes
distorts shapes
f. Map Elements
1) Distance Scales: used to determine REAL
distances btwn points on a map
- maps of small areas can show more detail
than maps of large areas
2) Directional indicators
- shows which directions on a map are N, S, E,
or W
- most maps have north at the top
North Arrow
Compass Rose
3) Legends (aka key)
- identifies symbols on a map and what
they represent
4) Inset Map
- used to focus in on a small part of a
larger map
D. Five Themes of Geography
1. Location
– Where is it?
a. Absolute location is given in degrees of
latitude and longitude
b. Relative location depends upon point of
reference (near, far, south, north etc.)
- Montgomery High School is east of
Dobbin
2. Place
- What is it like there? What are the characteristics?
a. Physical Characteristics
–
–
–
–
landforms (mountains, plains, etc.),
bodies of water (oceans, lakes, bay, etc.)
ecosystems (soil, plants, animals etc.)
climate (tropical, arctic etc.)
b. Human Characteristics
– bridges, roads, buildings
– Language, customs, culture
– Economy – where/how do they work?
- All places have features that distinguish them from
other places.
3. Regions
- How are places similar to other places? What
are their unifying features?
- a region is an area with one or more common
features
a. Formal Region: a characteristic found
throughout an area
- political: areas same laws/gov’t
- climate: areas with similar climate
b. Functional Region
- central place + surrounding places
affected by it
- ex: city + suburbs; river basin
c. Perceptual Region
- defined by people’s feelings or attitudes
about an area (don’t have precise borders)
- ex: south = Dixie; the boonies
4. Movement
- How do people, goods and ideas move between
places?
a. Transportation/communication/trade
b. Migration (temporary or permanent)
c. Linkage/connection
5. Human-Environment Interaction
- How do people interact with the
environment of a place?
a. How do they adapt to it?
b. How do they modify it? Consequences?
c. How do they depend on it?
• Human beings have made enormous changes in
their environment, both intentional and
accidental.
- Changes to the environment can be favorable,
making some places more habitable.
- Changes can also be destructive, altering an
area’s ecosystem and straining local resources.
Section 2: Changes within the Earth
A. Physical Characteristics
- using Geology (study of earth’s physical
structure & history), scientists try to
identify changes in/on the earth, explain
causes & effects & predict future changes.
1. The Earth’s Layers
a. Core: center of the earth; consists mostly of
iron + some nickel
1) inner core: dense & solid
2) outer core: liquid
b. Mantle: layer of thick, dense rock
c. Crust: thin, rocky surface layer
1) thinnest below oceans (~4mi.)
2) thicker (avg 22 mi.) beneath continents
3) natural forces act on crust creating
landforms etc
2. Land, Air & Water
a. Lithosphere: land that makes up the earth’s
crust
1) ~30% of earth’s surface is land
2) continents (7 lrg land masses), islands,
ocean floor
3) landforms (classified according to relief –
diff. in elevation btwn high/low points),
soil, rocks
- see landform chart (mts, hills,
plateaus, plains, valleys, canyons,
basins, peninsulas, etc
b. Atmosphere: air, water, etc. above earth’s
surface
1) extends about 1000 mi. above earth’s
surface
2) 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, + carbon
dioxide & other gasses
3) sustain life on earth
4) protect planet from Sun’s harmful
radiation
c. Hydrosphere: all of earth’s water
1) covers ~ 70% earth’s surface
2) not found on other planets in the solar
system
d. Biosphere: part of earth where life is found
- all people, plants & animals
- all sphere’s are interconnected – what happens
in one, affects the other(s)
B. Physical Processes
- landforms are shaped by internal forces that
originate in earth’s interior
1. Volcanoes
a. Form when magma breaks through the
earth’s crust. Molten rock is called lava when
it reaches the surface
b. The shape of volcano depends on type of
eruption
1) shield: even flow of lava
2) cone: caused by sequence of explosive
eruptions
2. Movement in the Crust
a. Fold: result when rock layers bend & buckle
b. Fault: a break in earth’s crust caused by
stress on rocks
c. Earthquakes: caused by large sudden
movement along a fault
C. Understanding the Past
- common belief that the earth’s landmasses
have broken apart, rejoined & moved to other
parts of the globe
1. Plate Tectonics
a. Earth’s crust + brittle, upper layer of mantle is
broken into a # of moving plates. These plates
slide over a hot & flexible layer of the mantle
b. Earth’s oceans & continents ride over atop
plates as they move in different directions
c. Most eqs, volcanoes & other geologic events
occur along plate boundaries
Plate Tectonics
2. Continental Drift
a. once a “supercontinent” (Pangea) which
broke apart 180 m yrs ago
b. Theory supported by fossil evidence &
“puzzle pieces”
3. Seafloor spreading
a. Ocean floor not flat. Landforms like earth’s
surface. Ocean rocks younger than
continental rocks
b. Theory: molten rock from mantle rises beneath
underwater ridge & breaks through a split,
called a rift valley. Rock spreads out in both
directions. As seafloor moves away from
ridge, it carries older rocks away
Speed of Spreading

Atlantic Ocean –
2-3 cm/year

South Pacific
Ocean – 15-18
cm/year
4. Plate Movement
a. Plates move via convection: a circular mvmt
caused when a material is heated, expands &
rises, then cools & falls
b. Heat energy probably comes from slow decay
of material under the crust
5. When Plates Meet -plates can spread apart,
crash into e/o, slide past e/o
a. Divergent plate boundary – plates pull
away from e/o
b. Convergent plate boundary – dense ocean
crust slides beneath continental crust
c. Transform plate boundary – slide past e/o
6. Ring of Fire – circle of volcanoes surrounding
Pacific Ocean – plate boundaries
7. Other Geologic Processes
a. Volcanic hot spots – formed by “hot spots”
deep w/in earth’s surface. When molten rock
flows out of a crack in earth’s surface,
volcanic island chain produced as plate drifts
over stationary hot spot
b. Geysers – formed when molten rock rises
from a hot spot heating underground water
Sec. 3:Changes on the Earth’s Surface
A. Weathering - the breakdown of rock at or near
the earth’s surface into smaller & smaller pieces
called sediment (mud, sand, silt)
1. Mechanical Weathering
a. Occurs when rock is broken or weakened
b. Changes size – NOT composition
1) Frost Wedging most common – when
ice crystals build up/expand in cracks
of rock & create enough pressure to
fracture rock into smaller pieces
2) organic activity: root pry, burrowing
animals, human activity
3) Gravity: rocks falling and
colliding w/ others
2. Chemical Weathering
a. occurs when rock is changed into a new
substance as a result of interaction btwn
elements in the air or water & the minerals in
a rock
b. Can change one type of rock into a diff. kind
c. Agents of Chemical Weathering
1) water – dissolves minerals out of
rocks making them weaker
2) acid - dissolves minerals in rocks
(examples: carbonic acid, acid rain,
and plant acid)
3) oxidation- Oxygen combines with iron
minerals and sulfur minerals changing
the composition of the rock
d. Acid Rain – chemicals in polluted water
combine w/ water vapor – falls back to earth
as acid rain
Acid Rain in Action
3000 year old Egyptian
Obelisk
3000 year old Egyptian
Obelisk after 100 years in
NY
Acid Rain in Action
B. Erosion - the mvmt of weathered material such
as sand, soil, gravel to be moved by action of
wind, water, ice or gravity
** significant agent in mechanical weathering
and soil building!
1. Water
a. Greatest cause of erosion = moving water
such as rain, rivers, streams, & oceans
b. New landforms created as sediment settles
with slowing water
Alluvial fan
Water Erosion in Action
2. Wind
a. Vulnerable in areas w/ little water, few plants
to hold soil in place
Dust storm
approaching
Stafford, TX 1930s
b. Benefits? Deposits loess – wind-blown
mineral rich silt & clay deposits that produce
very fertile soil
c. Can be major form of erosion – windblown
sand carves or smoothes surface of rock
formations & man-made objects
Wind Erosion in Action
3. Glaciers – huge slow-moving sheets of ice
formed over many yrs that move b/c of great
weight + gravity
a. Glacial landscape diff. from water shaped
landscape
1) Rivers = V shaped valleys
2) Glaciers = U shaped valleys
b. Carved out Great Lakes & more
c. Today, fewer glaciers. 80% of Greenland,
most of Antarctica – chunks break off to
produce floating icebergs
d. Degree of glacial erosion depends on size &
speed of glacier + terrain & texture of
bedrock being covered
e. Alpine Glaciers – found all over on high mts