WORLD GEOGRAPHY

Six Elements of Geography

1) The World in Spatial Terms (Location)

Question: Where is it located?
Location is the position on Earth's surface.
Geographers use maps to study: people, places,
and environments

The World in Spatial Terms (Location)

Two Types of Location

Absolute Location:
Describes a specific position on the Earths surface.
-Latitude (Parallels)
-Longitude (Meridians)
Examples:
BHSs address: 405 Pleasant Hill Rd.
Lake Victoria is at 2S, 33E

The World in Spatial Terms (Location)

Two Types of Location

Relative Location:
Describes the location in relation to another
- Direction
- Time
- Surrounding area

Examples:
Chicago is northwest of Atlanta.
Six Flags is 45 minutes away from Berkmar.

2) Places and Regions

Question: What is special about this place?
How does it compare to other places?

Human Features:

Physical Features:

Peoples activities,
history/government,
culture.

Land, Water, Climate,

Soil, etc

Examples:
Religion
Language
Ethnic Diversity

Examples:
The Rocky Mountains
Lake Lanier
The Great Rift Valley

Places and Regions

What makes a region?
Regions can be based on political boundaries,
physical criteria such as landforms, climate and
natural vegetation, or on social-cultural criteria such
as religion languages, political divisions and cultural
realms.

Places and Regions

Three Types of Regions

Formal: Based on some visible common

characteristic

Examples: Latin America, the Sahel in Africa

Functional: Based on a central point and the

surrounding area (linked together)

Examples: Metro Atlanta, city transit system

Perceptual: Regions that reflect human

feelings and attitudes

Examples: Hometown, U.S. Midwest

3) Physical Systems
Question: What physical processes shape the
features and patterns of the place?

Geographers study earthquakes,

mountains, rivers, volcanoes, weather
patterns/climate to evaluate how they shape
the Earths physical features.

Physical Systems
Examples:
1)Tectonic Forces: earthquakes, tsunamis
2) Mountains: isolates culture, erosion, altitude
3) Rivers: run-off, flooding, freezing
4) Volcanoes: eruptions affect air, life, water
5) Weather Patterns: affects vegetation grown

4) Human Systems
Question: How do people, goods, and ideas
travel into and out of this place?
WHAT moves?
Natural Phenomena: Wind, rivers, continents
Human Phenomena: Goods, ideas, people

HOW do these things move?

Cars, Jet Streams, U.S. Postal Service, Internet

WHY move?
Better land, religious freedom, commerce

Examples?

5) Environment and Society

Question: What is the relationship between
people and their environment?
Human actions: How people interact with their
physical environment
- Clothes we wear: warm clothing in cold places
- The food we grow

Earths actions: The by-products of peoples

interaction with the environment
-Air & water pollution, waste material, etc

6) The Uses of Geography

Question: How do physical and human
features influence events?
Geography helps us understand the relationships
among people, places, and environments over
time.
Geography can help us interpret the past and
present, or plan for the future

6 Elements Foldable
Divide your paper into 6 sections
You will write the element in the LEFT box
with key words
You will draw an illustration in the RIGHT box
YOU MUST COLOR!!!!

Do-Now
1. Create a mnemonic (memory aid)
to help you remember the Six
Elements of Geography.
2. For example:

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn , Uranus, Neptune

The Six Elements of Geography

Poster Project EXAMPLE
Location

Places & Regions

Physical Systems