INTRODUCTION

TO GEOGRAPHY
 WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?
• Geography is the study of everything on Earth, from rocks and rainfall to
people and places.
• Geographers study how the natural environment influences people, how
people’s activities affect Earth, and how the world is changing.
• Geographers look at many different things including cities, cultures, plants,
climate, and resources.
 WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?
• The study of spatial variation
• How – and why – things differ from place to place on the
surface of the earth
• The study of how observable spatial patterns evolved
through time
 WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?
• Geography is a spatial science
• Spatial behavior of people
• Spatial relationships between places
• Spatial processes that create or
maintain those behaviors and
relationships
 GEOGRAPHY IS ALSO;
• The science that studies the relationships among
• natural systems,
• geographic areas,
• society,
• cultural activities,
• and the interdependence of all of these over space.
 WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?
• Geography – from geo “Earth” and graphein “to write”
• Geography is
• A method, not a body of knowledge
• Holistic (relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with
the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts).
• Eclectic (composed of elements drawn from various sources).
• Geographers use spatial analysis (the examination of spatial interactions,
patterns, and variations over area/or space. Geography is a spatial
science; spatial analysis its essential approach).
• Spatial- The nature or character of physical space, as in an area; occupying
or operating within space.
 WHAT IS THE SCIENCE OF
GEOGRAPHY?
•Geography is the science that studies the
interdependence of geographic areas, places, and
locations; natural systems; processes; and societal and
cultural activities over Earth's surface
 WHY USE GEOGRAPHY?
• Most jobs require the understanding of geography. An
example is a restaurant owner must find a good location.
Politicians need to know the geography of their districts.
They must understand the issues that are important to the
people in the area.
 GEOGRAPHIC THEMES
•The Association of American Geographers
(AAG) and the National Council for
Geographic Education (NCGE), set forth five
key themes for modern geographic
education: location, place, human-Earth
relationships, movement, and region.
 BRANCHES OF GEOGRAPHY
• Physical Geography – the study of Earth’s physical features, it focuses on the
study of Geography as an Earth Science
• It aims to understand the physical problems and the issues of the lithosphere,
hydrosphere, atmosphere and the global pattern of flora and fauna
(biosphere)
• CATEGORIES; Biogeography, Climatology & Meteorology, Coastal
Geography, Environmental Management, Geomorphology, Hydrology,
Oceanography, Paleogeography
 BRANCHES OF GEOGRAPHY
• Human (Cultural) Geography – the study of human activities and their
relationship to the cultural and physical environments
• It encompasses the human, political, cultural, social, and economic aspects
• CATEGORIES; Cultural Geography, Development Geography, Economic
Geography, Health Geography, Geopolitics, Demography, Urban Geography

• Geographers specialize on the interaction between humans and the Earth

 GEOGRAPHIC THEMES
PLACE
Place: the distinctive and distinguishing
physical and human characteristics of
locales

Sample terms: Physical and cultural

landscapes, sense of place
Place – a particular space with physical and human
meaning

Every place has its own unique characteristics, determined

by the surrounding environment and the people who live
there

What is the most important place to you in the world

and why?
Sample terms:
Physical and
cultural
landscapes,
sense of place
Skills: Description, compare and
contrast

Questions: What does ____

look like? Why? How is it
different from ____?
Physical characteristics: Includes a
description of such things as the
mountains, rivers, beaches,
topography, climate, and animal
and plant life of a place. If a place
is described as hot, sandy, fertile, or
forested, these terms all paint a
picture of the physical characteristics
of the location. A topographical
map is one tool used to illustrate the
physical characteristics of a location.
.Human characteristics: Includes
the human-designed cultural
features of a place. These features
include land use, architectural
styles, forms of livelihood, religious
practices, political systems, common
foods, local folklore, means of
transportation, and methods of
communication. For example, a
location could be described as a
technologically advanced French-
speaking democracy with a
Catholic majority.
 GEOGRAPHIC THEMES
HUMAN-
ENVIRONMENT
INTERACTION
Human-Environment Interaction
This theme considers how humans adapt to and
modify the environment. Humans shape the
landscape through their interaction with the land;
this has both positive and negative effects on the
environment. As an example of the human-
environment interaction, think about how people
living in cold climates have often mined coal or
drilled for natural gas in order to heat their homes.
Sample terms:
Ecosystems,
natural
resources,
environmental
pollution
Skills: Evaluation, analysis

Questions: What human-

environment relationships are
occurring? How do they affect
the place and its inhabitants?
 GEOGRAPHIC THEMES
MOVEMENT
Movement
Humans move — a lot! In addition, ideas, fads, goods,
resources, and communication all travel distances. This
theme studies movement and migration across the planet.
The emigration of Syrians during war, the flow of water in
the Gulf Stream, and the expansion of cell phone
reception around the planet are all examples of
movement.
Sample terms:
Migration,
diffusion,
globalization
Skills: Explanation, prediction

Questions: How has this spatial

pattern developed? Will it
continue to change? What does it
mean for the places involved?
 GEOGRAPHIC THEMES
REGIONS
Region – a group of places united by
similar characteristics
May be physical such as soil type,
vegetation and climate
Or by human factors such as
language, religion, forms of
government, etc
REGIONS
• Regions can be any size. Countries, deserts, and
mountain ranges are examples of large regions.
• Smaller regions include suburbs and
neighborhoods.
• Regions can also be divided into smaller areas
called sub-regions.
• For example, the ILOCANDIA is a sub-region
within North LUZON.
TYPES OF REGIONS
•There are three types of regions:
•Formal Region
•Functional Region
•Perceptual Region
Formal regions are those that are
designated by official boundaries,
such as cities, states, counties, and
countries. For the most part, they are
clearly indicated and publicly known.
FORMAL REGIONS
• Formal regions can be based on almost any
feature or combination of features.
• Those features may include population, income
levels, crops, temperature, or rainfall.
• Physical features might define a formal region, such
as the CORDILLERA
Functional regions are defined by their
connections. For example, the circulation area for a
major city area is the functional region of that paper.

Functional regions are made up of a central

place and surrounding areas affected by it.
Often, this is a metropolitan area that consists of
a major city and lots of smaller towns or cities
that surround it
Cities can be considered functional
regions because highways, railroads,
subways, and buses move people from
the suburbs to the central areas of the
city. Other examples of functional
regions are television signal areas, Wi-
Fi hotspots, or pizza delivery areas.
Perceptual - defined by popular
feelings and images rather than
by objective data
“Heartland”
Its what YOU think an area is
“The Big Apple”
PERCEPTUAL REGIONS
• Human perception is the awareness and understanding of
the environment around us.
• Our views are influenced not only by what is in a region
but also by what is in us.
• Our ways of life and experiences influence how we
perceive the world.
• Perceptual regions reflect human feelings and attitudes.
• An example is “back home.”
Skills: Synthesis, application

Questions: How has this spatial

pattern developed? Will it
continue to change? What does
it mean for the places involved?
 GEOGRAPHIC THEMES
LOCATION
 LOCATION
Is defined as a particular place or position
It answers the question – WHERE?
 LOCATION
Absolute location - The exact
spot at which the place is found
on the globe
To determine absolute location,
geographers use imaginary
lines around the earth
Relative location - location of
a place in relation to other
places
This is usually how we
determine location
 ABSOLUTE VS. RELATIVE LOCATION

ABSOLUTE LOCATION RELATIVE LOCATION

• Is calculated using latitude and • Is the location of a place in relation to

longitude other places

• For example: • For example:

Manila is surrounded by Quezon City, San
MANILA’s absolute location would be
Juan City, Mandaluyong City, Caloocan
14.6 degrees North and 120.9 degrees
City, Makati City, Pasay City and Manila
East
Bay
RELATIVE LOCATION
DIRECTIONAL INDICATORS

• A directional indicator shows which direction on a

map are north, south, east, and west.
• Some mapmakers use a north arrow which points
toward the North Pole.
• Most maps show direction with a compass rose.
•Cardinal Directions •Intermediate
•NORTH Directions
•South •Northeast
•East •Southeast
•West •Northwest
•Southwest
COMPASS ROSE

• A compass rose has arrows

that point to all four
principal directions.

• What are the other arrows?

What use do they have?
Think about this;
1. What cities or municipalities border Valenzuela
City?

2. What baranggays surround Maysan?

3. Metro Manila is;

North of _____
South of _____
East of ______
West of ______
Your Task;

Use the map and answer the following five

questions:
1. China is ________________of Thailand.
2. Libya is _________________ of Egypt.
3. Peru is _______________ of Brazil.
4. Spain is _________________ of France.
5. Yemen is ______________ of Saudi Arabia
Your Task
Name the countries that border;
1. Honduras
2. Botswana
3. Syria
4. Tajikistan
5. Vanuatu
ABSOLUTE LOCATION
LATITUDE

• Lines of latitude are

drawn in an east-west
direction.
• Lines of latitude measure
the degree of distance
north or south of the
equator.
LONGITUDE

• Lines of longitude are drawn in a

north-south direction.
• As you see these lines of longitude
extend from the north pole to the
south pole.
• Lines of longitude measure the
degree of distance east or west
of the prime meridian.
LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE
LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE

• Lines of latitude measure

distance north and south of
the equator.
• The equator is an imaginary
line that circles the globe
halfway between the Earth’s
North Pole and South Pole.
PARALLELS

• Lines of latitude are also

called parallels.
• This is because they are
always parallel to the equator
and each other.
MERIDIANS

• Lines of longitude are also called

meridians.
• They measure distance east and
west of the Prime Meridian.
• This is an imaginary line drawn
from the North Pole to
Greenwich, England to the South
Pole.
SPECIAL PARALLELS AND MERIDIANS
1. EQUATOR- 0 degrees, divides the globe into two equal parts,
northern and southern hemisphere
2. TROPIC OF CANCER- 23 ½ degrees north
3. TROPIC OF CAPRICORN- 23 ½ degrees south
4. ARCTIC CIRCLE- 66 ½ degrees north
5. ANTARCTIC CIRCLE- 66 ½ degrees south
6. PRIME MERIDIAN- 0 degrees, divides the globe into two equal
parts, eastern and western hemisphere
7. INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE (IDL)- 180 degrees East, it is
where the day officially starts and begins
PARALLELS AND MERIDIANS MEASURE DISTANCE IN DEGREES. DEGREES ARE
FURTHER DIVIDED INTO MINUTES. THERE ARE 60 MINUTES IN A DEGREE.
MEASURES OF LONGITUDE

• Lines of longitude range from 0 degrees on the

Prime Meridian to 180 degrees on the meridian in
the mid-Pacific Ocean.
• Meridians west of the prime meridian to 180
degrees are labeled with a W. Those east of the
prime meridian are labeled with an E.
• Unlike lines of latitude, lines of longitude are not
parallel to one another.
PRACTICE TEST: Find the absolute location of;

1. BELIZE
2. BAHAMAS
3. CHAD
4. BANGLADESH
5. LATVIA
HEMISPHERES
• The globe’s grid does more than help us locate places.
• Geographers also use grid lines to organize the way we look at
the world.
• For example the equator divides the globe into two halves or
hemispheres.
• The half lying north of the equator is the Northern Hemisphere
and the southern half is the Southern Hemisphere.
• The United States is located in the northern hemisphere. Australia
is located in the southern hemisphere.
PICK YOUR BRAIN…
1. List 5 countries located in the Southern
Hemisphere
2. List 5 countries located in the Western
Hemisphere
3. List 8 countries that belong to both the Northern
and Eastern Hemisphere
4. List 8 countries that belong to both the Southern
and Western Hemisphere
 ANY REGION OF THE GLOBE THROUGHOUT WHICH THE
SAME STANDARD TIME IS USED, IS CALLED TIME ZONE.
 Before 1972, all time zones were specified as an offset from
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which was the mean solar time at
the meridian passing through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich,
London.
 In January 1972, however, the length of the second in both
Greenwich Mean Time and atomic time was equalized.
 Today, many countries operate on variations of the time zones
proposed by Sir Fleming.
 All of China (which should span five time zones) uses a single time
zone.
 Australia uses three time zones - its central time zone is a half-hour
ahead of its designated time zone.
 BEFORE THE INVENTION OF CLOCKS, PEOPLE
MARKED THE TIME OF DAY WITH APPARENT SOLAR TIME


For Example, the time on a sundial – which was typically different for
every settlement.
The concept of standard time was adopted in the late 19th century .

Sir Sandford Fleming outlined a plan for worldwide standard time in

the late 1870s.
He recommended that the world be divided into twenty-four time
 zones, each spaced 15 degrees of longitude apart.
 The present system employs 24 standard meridians of longitude (lines
running from the North Pole to the South, at right angles to the
Equator) 15º apart, starting with the prime meridian through
Greenwich, England.
GMT IS AN ABSOLUTE TIME REFERENCE AND DOES NOT CHANGE WITH
THE

SEASONS.

LONDON TIME IS THE SAME AS GREENWICH MEAN TIME LESS THAN
HALF

OF THE YEAR.
GMT WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1884 AT THE INTERNATIONAL MERIDIAN
CONFERENCE, WHEN IT WAS DECIDED TO THE PLACE THE PRIME
MERIDIAN AT GREENWICH, ENGLAND.
 THE INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE IS AN IMAGINARY LINE WHICH RUNS FROM THE
NORTH POLE TO THE SOUTH POLE AND IS 180° AWAY FROM THE GREENWICH
MERIDIAN.
 While the world is divided into 24 time zones

 There has to be a place where there is a difference in days

 There should be a place where the day truly "starts" on the planet.

 Thus, the 180° line of longitude, exactly one-half way around

 the planet from Greenwich, England and 0° longitude is approximately
where the International Date Line is located.
•Over the years, the position of the International Date Line has changed several times. Until 1845, the
Philippines were on the eastern side of it. When the United States bought Alaska in 1867 the line was
moved to the west of it.

•The most recent change in the line was in 1995 when Kiribati moved a large segment of it to the east, so
that the entire nation would be on the same side of the International Date Line.
IF IT IS 9 PM IN THE PHILIPPINES, WHAT TIME IS IT IN;

1. BANGLADESH
2. NORWAY
3. TUVALU
4. URUGUAY
5. SIERRA LEONE
LET'S SAY YOU FLY FROM THE UNITED STATES TO JAPAN. LET'S SUPPOSE
YOU
 LEAVE THE UNITED STATES ON TUESDAY MORNING. SINCE YOU'RE
TRAVELING WEST THE TIME ADVANCES SLOWLY THANKS TO TIME ZONES
AND THE SPEED AT WHICH YOUR AIRPLANE FLIES, BUT ONCE YOU CROSS
THE INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE, IT'S SUDDENLY WEDNESDAY.

ON THE REVERSE TRIP HOME YOU FLY FROM JAPAN TO THE UNITED
STATES. YOU LEAVE JAPAN ON MONDAY MORNING BUT AS YOU CROSS
THE PACIFIC OCEAN, THE DAY GETS LATER QUICKLY AS YOU CROSS TIME
ZONES MOVING EASTWARD IN AN AIRPLACE. HOWEVER, ONCE YOU
CROSS THE INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE, THE DAY CHANGES TO SUNDAY.
 PRIME MERIDIAN AND STANDARD TIME
• Prime Meridian: the meridian of 0 degrees longitude which runs
through the original site of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich,
England, and from which other longitudes are measured east or west.
Greenwich, England was selected by international agreement in an
1884 treaty. – Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) became the world
standard time.
• International Date Line: An important corollary of the prime meridian
is the 180 degrees meridian on the opposite side of the planet. The
meridian is called the International Date Line (IDL) and marks the
place where each day officially begins (at 12:01 A.M.). From this
“line” the new day sweeps westward. The westward movement is
created by the Earth turning eastward on its axis. The IDL deviates
from the 180 degrees meridian, this deviation is due to local
administrative and political preferences.
 PRIME MERIDIAN AND STANDARD TIME

Figure 1.17
GEOGRAPHIC
WARFARE
RELATIVE LOCATION

IF YOU ARE IN;

1. MONGOLIA, YOU ARE _________ OF CHINA

2. NAMIBIA, YOU ARE SOUTH OF __________
3. PARAGUAY, YOU ARE _________ OF BRAZIL
4. SPAIN, YOU ARE WEST OF ________
5. EGYPT, YOU ARE _______ OF LIBYA
RELATIVE LOCATION- WHAT COUNTRIES BORDER;

1. BOLIVIA
2. KAZAKHSTAN
3. MOZAMBIQUE
4. LAOS
5. GERMANY
ABSOLUTE LOCATION- Give the coordinates of the ff;

1. Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

2. Male, Maldives
3. Quito, Ecuador
4. Lusaka, Zambia
5. Kiev, Ukraine
Determine the time in the ff. places;

1. 8PM in Chile ------------French Guyana

2. 2 AM in Mexico City ---------Oklahoma City
3. 12 NN in Manila -------Timor Leste
4. 6 Pm in Madagascar ---------Rio de Janeiro
5. 12 MN in Madrid -------- Mogadishu
 BAAAAAAAATLE SHIIIIIIIIIP!!!
1. Fold your game board in half, hamburger-style.
2. The top half is your opponent’s board, the bottom half is your board.
3. On your board, you need to place FOUR ships.
• One ship should cover THREE blocks
• Two ships should cover FOUR blocks
• One ship should cover FIVE blocks
• Your ships should be the blocks right next to each other, no diagonals!
4. Take turns guessing the location of your opponent’s ships by using the coordinates on the
board.
• If they get a spot right, say HIT
• If they get a spot wrong, say MISS
5. First person to sink all of the ships wins!