What is Geography?

The word geography is derived from Greek and literally means

"to write about the earth".

Geography is a spatial discipline (Pertaining to distribution, distance, direction, area and other aspects of space on the Earth's surface) concerned with the spatial behavior of people, spatial relationships between places and spatial processes that create or maintain those behaviors and relationships.

spatial behavior e.g. Population Distribution

spatial relationships e.g. Trade Patterns

spatial processes e.g. Commuting

Therefore the discipline of Geography is much more than simply describing "foreign" places or memorizing the names of capitals and countries.

It is actually a discipline in which students seek to better understand the world or a specific part of the world.

Geographers try to better understand the world by seeking answers to these sort of questions:

• Where are things?• How did they get there?• What are the human and physical features?• Why do things differ from place to place?• How did spatial patterns evolve through time?

They do this by studying the 5 Themes Of Geography

1. Location2. Place3. Human/Environment Interaction4. Movement5. Region

Theme 1. LocationEvery point on Earth has a specific location that is

determined by an imaginary grid of lines denoting latitude and longitude. Geographers use latitude and longitude to pinpoint a place’s absolute location.

To know the absolute location of a place is only part of the story. It is also important to know how that place is related to other places—in other words, to know that place’s relative location. Relative location deals with the interaction that occurs between and among places. It refers to the many ways—by land, by water, even by technology—that places are connected.

Theme 1. Location

Key Questions for this theme:

Where is ____? Where is ____ relative to where I am? What is close to _____? What direction is _____ from here?

Theme 2. PlaceAll places have characteristics that give them meaning

and character and distinguish them from other places on earth.

Physical characteristics include such elements as environments, animal life and landforms.

Human characteristics of the landscape can be noted in architecture, patterns of livelihood, land use and ownership, town planning, and communication and transportation networks. Languages, as well as religious and political ideologies, can also help to shape the character of a place.

Studied together, the physical and human characteristics of places provide clues to help geographers understand the nature of places on the earth.

Theme 2. Place

Key Questions for this theme:

What does ____ look like? Why does ____ look like this? What is at ____? How is it different from _____? What is it like being in _____?

Theme 3. Human/Environment InteractionGeographers look at all the effects—positive and

negative—that occur when people interact with their surroundings. The environment may impact humans by influencing the design of their shelters or their diet. Humans may impact the environment by changing the way ecosystems and landforms exist.

Studying the consequences of human/environment interaction can help explain differences in the way people live their lives and also helps people plan and manage the environment responsibly.

Theme 3. Human/Environment Interaction

Key Questions for this theme:

• How did the environment shape the way people live?

• What have people done to change the environment?

• What human-environment relationships are occurring now?

• What future human-environment relationships are planned?

• How do they affect the place?• How do the affect the inhabitants?

Theme 4. MovementPeople 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.

Geographers need to recognize where resources are located, who needs them, and how they are transported over the earth’s surface. Studying the theme of movement helps develop an understanding of how people are connected with, and dependent upon, other regions, cultures, and people in the world.

Theme 4. Movement

Key Questions for this theme:

• What ideas or people or goods have come into this place?

• How did they get here?• What is different because of that inflow?• What ideas or people or goods are moved out

of this place?• How are they moved?• What does it mean for the places receiving

them?

Theme 5. RegionA 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. In addition to studying the unifying characteristics of a region, geographers study how a region changes over times. Using the theme of regions, geographers divide the world into manageable units for study.

Theme 5. Region

Key Questions for this theme:

• What does this place have in common with other places close by?

• How did these similarities develop?• What is different between the two places?• What impact does that have on combining

them into a single unit?• How are the places changing over time?• What does it mean for the idea of this area as

a region?