Mika Sesler
January 28, 2015 World Regional Geography
Assignment #1
1. MAJOR CONCEPTS IN GEOGRAPHY
Geography is unique in connecting human geography with physical geography. Human geography deals with the understanding of the dynamics of cultures, societies and economies, and physical geography concerns the understanding of the dynamics of physical landscapes and the environment. Geography puts this understanding of social and physical processes within the context of places and regions, which identifies the big differences in cultures, political systems, economies, landscapes and environments across the world, and also the links between them. Geographers study where and how features and surfaces are dispersed. They study the distribution and location of natural and human descriptions on the Earth’s surface.
The five themes of geography are location, place, interaction, region, and movement. Location is "Where are we?" Location may be absolute or it may be relative. These locations, whether relative or absolute, May be of people or places. Relative locations are described by landmarks, time, direction or distance from one place to another and may associate a certain place with another. Place is what kind of place is it? What do you think of when you think of the Bahamas, Italy, Jamaica, Hawaii, Russia, or China? Places have both human and physical characteristics, as well as images. Physical characteristics include mountains, rivers, soil, beaches, and wild life. Places have human characteristics as well. These characteristics are from the ideas and actions of people that result in changes to the environment, such as buildings, roads, clothing, and food traditions. People's descriptions of a place reveal their beliefs and outlooks. Interaction is how humans and the environment affect each other? People change our environment by heating and cooling buildings for comfort, by cutting down trees to build a house, or by throwing out trash. There are many different ways in which people shape the world that we live in. People adjust to the environment by wearing clothing that is suitable for summer and winter: rain or shine. All places on Earth have advantages and disadvantages for human settlement. One person's advantage may be another person's disadvantage. Some like the excitement of large cities whereas others prefer a place in the country. Environment is not just trees, pretty flowers, or beautiful waterfalls. A region is the basic unit of study in geography. A region is an area that shows a clear agreement in terms of the government, language, or situation. Regions are human builds that can be mapped and studied. There are three basic types of regions: formal, functional, and vernacular. Functional regions are defied by a function. Government or administrative boundaries define formal regions. Last but not least vernacular regions are defined by peoples perception. The last theme is movement. The movement of food, people, and communication all shape and play a major role in shaping our world.
We do not realize how every little thing makes up the world we live in. Without geography everything or everyone would just be placed on this world without any direction. Think about it.
2. GEOGRAPHY
Geography is basically the Earth’s surface and how it is characterized. There are three major fields in geography that I am going to discuss today. Those three major fields are Geographic techniques, physical geography, and human geography.
Human Geography consists of understanding the human world and its interaction with different landscapes, whether it is physical or built. Physical geography is the division of geography that is concerned with natural features and facts of the earth's surface, as landforms, drainage features, climates, soils, and vegetation. Technical geography also known as GIS is
