Geography Terminology continent: any of the seven large land masses on Earth North America South America Europe Asia Africa Australia Antarctica **Eurasia (Europe and Asia are separated by the Ural Mountains) oceans: large bodies of salt water Atlantic Indian *** Southern Arctic Pacific Latitude and Longitude: Lines that appear together on a map and allow you to pinpoint the absolute locations of cities and other geographic features. Latitude lines: (parallels) lines that run east to west around the globe (“BELT”) Equator divides the earth into the northern and southern hemispheres. The Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn are lines of latitude that mark the boundaries of the tropical zone, a region that stays warm all year. Longitude lines: (meridians) imaginary lines that run north and south. They show distances in degrees east or west of the prime meridian. The prime meridian is a longitude line that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole. It marks 0 degrees longitude. Hemispheres: a term for half of the globe Equator: divides the earth into the northern and southern hemispheres Prime Meridian divides the earth into the eastern and western hemispheres Northwestern hemisphere Southwestern hemisphere Northeastern hemisphere Southeastern Hemisphere Physical map: shows landforms and bodies of water and usually shows elevation Political map: man-made boundaries; lines that show states, cities, countries, etc. Peninsula: land that extends out into water and is nearly surrounded by water (Florida) island: land that is completely surrounded by water (Puerto Rico; Hawaii; Australia; Japan; Greenland, Haiti) The Five Themes of Geography 1). Location: Answers the question: Where are we? Absolute location: exact location on the surface of the Earth where something can be found. It is like an address; uses longitude and latitude lines to locate the precise place that something is located Relative location: describes where something or someone is based on things that can be found nearby. (Like I live at the end of the Mt. Tabor High School football field.) 2). Place: This includes the physical and human features of a location. Every place on Earth has a distinct group of physical features, such as climate, landforms and bodies of water, and plant and animal life. It also has human features, like buildings, clothing, and foods that help to distinguish one place from another. 3). Human-Environment Interaction: Answers three main questions: a). How do humans adapt to their environment? (How do people change based on where they live?) People wear clothing that is appropriate for the weather in a particular environment; houses are built to meet the needs people and with the available resources in a certain area; people eat the kinds of food that are available in a certain place. b). How do humans affect or modify (change) their environment? (How is the environment changed by the people who live there?) People might use heat or air conditioning in their homes for their comfort; farmers might build dams to water their crops; pollution causes changes to the environment c). How do humans depend on their environment? People depend on waterways for transportation of both people and goods; people depend on the rainy season to water their crops. 4). Region: This is an area that has many things in common: such as government, language, religion, landforms, history, traditions, cultures, climate 5). Movement: This explains how people, goods, and ideas move from one place to another. Today, we live in a global community where information travels much more freely than in the past. Television, email, twitter, skype, telephones, internet, facebook, cars, trucks, boats, airplanes, etc all carry people, ideas, and goods from one place to another. Primarily, Climate varies because of latitude (distance from the equator), which has to do with how much sunlight a place gets; elevation or altitude (distance from the ocean), which means that the higher the elevation, the greater affect on the climate; type and location of landforms, and distance of a region from oceans or large lakes; and the prevailing winds in that area. Polar Climate Zone: areas located near either the North Pole or the South Pole. These areas receive no direct sunlight and are therefore extreme climates in their cold temperatures and frequent precipitation in the form of ice or snow. Temperate Climate Zone: areas located below the polar climate zone, between the polar and tropical zones. There is a greater variety of weather here, and all four seasons are usually experienced. The summers are warm/hot and the winters are cold/cool. This area receives more direct sunlight. Tropical Climate Zone: the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, a band around the middle of the earth. This area receives the most direct sunlight. It is usually warm/hot and very precipitation.