Chapter 2                                                                                            Lesson 1

 

Interacting With the World

 

I.                   Living in the World

a.     Geographers study the relationship between people and their world. They study the factors that influence where people settle and how they live.

                                                              i.      Topography: refers to the surface, or physical, feature of an area.  Example: mountains, and valleys, rivers and lakes, sandy shores and grassy plains.

                                                            ii.      Climate:  the average weather conditions of an area, especially temperature, precipitation, and wind.

1.     Precipitation:  water or ice that falls to the earth, such as rain, snow, or sleet.

                                                          iii.      The first human settlements, farms, and cities developed in places where the climate and topography made farming possible.

II.                Moving Through the World

a.     People move to other areas for a variety of reasons.

                                                              i.      Temporary:  travel to and from school everyday.  Going to work.  This type of movement happens over and over in a cycle.  It is also called a cyclic movement.

                                                            ii.      Periodic:  move to a new place and stay for a period of time.  Example-spending summer vacation at camp.  Eventually you return home.

                                                          iii.      Migration:  leave homeland to live permanently in another place. 

b.    People move from place to place, they discover new ideas, language and invention.  Sometimes they adopt things from a new culture, like religion or a custom and change it to fit their own needs.

c.     Diffusion:  the spread of ideas and inventions from one culture to another.

III.             Looking at the World

a.     Geographers divide the world into regions

                                                              i.      Regions:  areas that have similar characteristics, but are different from other surrounding areas.

b.    Boundary is a dividing line between regions, countries or other areas of the world.

c.     There are two kinds of boundaries.

                                                              i.      Natural:  geographical features of the earth such as mountains or rivers that separate one country or region from another.

                                                            ii.      Artificial:  created by humans.  Example-borders between countries.

d.    The main purpose of boundaries is to show the extend of a state, country, or region.

e.     Another purpose is to prevent passage.

f.  Boundaries serve a purpose but they can also cause problems.  People don’t agree on artificial boundaries.  Example-1846-the U.S. and Mexico went to war because of a dispute over boundaries.