Geographic Factors and

Natural ResourcesChapter 2 Section 2

pg.31

Natural Resources• Is anything from the Earth that people

use in meeting their needs for food, clothing, and shelter.

• Examples of these resources include soil, water, minerals, and vegetation.

Raw Materials• People use some resources just the way they come

from nature. Water is one example.

• But most resouces must be changed in some way to make something useful. These resources are called raw materials.

• They must be processed to make them into useful materials such as paper and lumber.

Three Kinds of Resources

•Geographers divide the Earth’s natural resources into three groups.

1.- Recycable Resources• Water, nitrogen, and carbon are examples of

recycable resources.– These resources recycle through our

environment naturally. The water cycle, for instance, naturally recycles our fresh water supply.

2.- Renewable Resources• Trees and other living things on the Earth. – These resources are different from recycable

resources because they can be replaced.

Example: A timber company may harvest all the trees in an area. If the company plants new trees to replace them, however, they are renewing the resource.

Interesting FactDid you know

treescould get this big?

This is a giantsequoia.

3.- Nonrenewable Resources• When these resources are used up, they

cannot be replaced. -Most non living things, such as minerals, coal, natural gas, and petroleum, are non renewable resources.

Ancient Energy: Fossil Fuels

• Fossil fuels were created over millions of years from the remains of prehistoric plants and animals.

• These fuels are no longer being created. As a result, fossil fuels are non renewable resources.

Energy Resources• Everyone in the world needs energy. Certain areas are

rich in some energy resources, while others have very few.

• Countries like Saudi Arabia and Mexico have huge amounts of oil.

• Others like the U.S.A. and China, have coal and natural gas.

• Countries with many rivers like northwestern Europe, can use water energy to create electricity. Others such as Japan, have very few energy sources.

Section 2 Assessment

1.- Define the following words:natural resources, raw materials, recycable resources, renewable resource, nonrenewable resource, fossil fuels

2.- What are the different types of natural resource?

3.- Investigate: What factors have made energy scarce?