Name Date Period Principles of Geography Geography is both science and art. — H.C. Darby Everything has to do with geography. — Judy Martz Principle: Geography changes over time as a result of natural, political, social, or economic forces. Geographic characteristics ofa region include both physical and human features. Physical features are the things that are apart of the natural world — mountains, soil, water, climate. Human features are the things that people have added to a region —cities, roads, farms, factories. Both physical and human features change all the time. Some may change very slowly, such as mountains eroding. Others may change rapidly, such as extending electrical power lines across an open plain. There are four main forces that may change the ‘geography of a region: + natural c.g., Glaciers cut deep valleys into the Rocky Mountains.) + political (e.g., The U.S. buys the Louisiana Purchase from France.) + social (e.g,, People move to western Maryland to escape traffic congestion.) + economic (c.g., Logging companies cut down forests in Washington state.) Principle: Geography influences the way cultures develop. Look around you. Notice the people, buildings, and landscapes that are part of your environment. All ofthese things are part of your geography. All of these things contribute to the culture of where you live. For example, if you livenear the ocean, your culture will probably include many jobs related to fishing and houses that are built to withstand strong ocean storms. You will probably know a lot of words related to boating, fishing, and ocean ‘geography. The ocean has had a strong influence on your culture. Geography includes human characteristics as well as physical characteristics. How do fnuman characteristics of geography influence aculture? Heres one example. In the past, the government of Portugal controlled Brazil. Many Portuguese from Europe came to Brazil tolive. Today, even though Brazil is in South America, its main language is Portuguese. The past human geography of Brazil influenced the culture ithas today. (Continued on next page.) (©2007 MCPS Social StudiesName Date Period Principle: Humans modify their environment to respond to geographic challenges. Fromprehistoric times to today, humans have faced geographic challenges. Geographic challenges include floods, finding enough water, locating good farmland, overcrowded cities, and global warming. Can youtthink of any other challenges? ‘What do humans do when faced with challenges? We try to solve them, ofcourse! When wwe change the environment to solve challenges, we are modifying the environment. Ancient Egyptians and Sumerians solved the problem of watering their crops by inventing waysto irrigate their crops, such as building canals. In modem times we invented many new technologies to solve geographic challenges as well. The challenge of traveling over difficult land was solved by first building roads, then railroads, then cars, and finally planes. ‘Wemodify the environment in order to gain something, such as food or quicker ‘transportation. However, when we modify the environment, we also give up something as well, Wemight give up trees in a forest when we build a road, or we might give up ‘unpoliuted air when we build new factories outside of acity, When we give something up in order to gain something else, itis called a trade-off. Governments must carefully evaluate the consequences of modifying the environment. They must examine both what is gained and ‘what are trade-offs. For instance, Argentina has major mining operations in the Pampas region, a large grassy plain with many farms, The trade-off for Argentina is that it gains jobs and a stronger economy, but it also gains pollution and soil erosion caused by the mines, Principle: Conflict occurs when people fight to protect or gain resources. Historians believe that the earliest conflicts between humans were fights over resources such, as water and food. Most modern day conflicts are still based on resources. The resources today, however, are often more complex. Nations may fight over access to markets, protecting their resources, promoting their own economies, or acquiring new resources. During the 1930s, one of Japan’s goals was to gain access to resources that would enable it to expand its economy. Japan, an island, did not have large supplies of resources such as oil, coal, natural gas, or timber. It hoped to conquer other nations to get the resources it needed. Part of World War II was fought to stop Japan’s aggressive search for new resources.Name _~ Date 29) Period Understanding The Principles of Geography PRINCIPLE MAIN IDEAS EXAMPLES Geography changes over time as a result of natural, political, social, or economic forces. 2 Geography influences the way cultures develop, 3 Humans modify their environment to respond to geographic challenges. 4 Conflict occurs when people fight to protect or gain resources. (©2007 MCPS Social Studies awenn +nain * dense rain forests covered much of the land and made farming difficult + climate was hot and humid + depended on seasonal rainfall for water ‘bedrock, leaving linle surface water soaked through limestone Slide 2.1A: Building a Civilization in the Rain Forest * built mumense ‘ceremonial centers! city-states at different sites + at Tikal, built Temple I, 2130-foorhigh step pyramid ee SSTa Ee Ces ein * successfully farmed in rain forest by using slash-and-burn techniques and a system of raised) fields and irrigated gardens * created imrigation networks to support concentrated urban centers, like Tikal ie KX + structures not as massive as in other cultures * noted for its decorative stonework, graceful statues, intricate facades, and ornamental roofs * distinctive feature was Slide 2.1C: Noteworthy Achievements of the Maya legends were recorded O + splendid courts still siand at many FE om sla, ums, murals, ‘Maya sites (Tikal, for example) 2° and codices + game played both for recreation and «no Classic Maya, religious purposes literature survives, but ie nPop the corbeled arci| 7 Ss ferries + only Native American people to develop a complete writing system + represented ideas and objects with block-like symbols, or glyphs + sophisticated number system based on units {C5} ~ religious obsession with time led to “w#" development of calendars * calendars were complex systems using several interlocking cycles of time + had exact knowledge of moon phases + able wo predict eclipses of the ‘sun and moon eeu of twenty, written with bars for Ss, dots for 1s, and sign for 0