The Geographic Grid

Latitude Lines (Parallels) Theme: Location is it?" refers to location.

North Pole question "Where
900N The geographic in two ways.
Geographers describe location where a geographic fea-
earth
location is the exact place on RetatiyeJogation describes a
ture, such as a city, is found.
300

places around it.

quat0F— place in comparison to other
location,
LOCATION To describe absolute
ABSOLUTE pre-
a grid system of imaginary lines for
geographers use dia-
earth's surface. (See the
cisely locating places on the Each
into two equal halves.
600

gram at left.) Earth is divided

hemisphere. Because the earth
900S
South Pole
half of the globe is called a
and south, or east and
Longitude Lines (Meridians)
is round, a hemisphere can be north
line that divides the
west. The equator is the imaginary
North Pole
1800
1500W 1500E
meridianis the imagi-
1200W 1200E
north and south halves.The prime Sometimes this GeograpR
nary line dividing the earth east and west. (GREHN•ich
line is called the Greenwich meridian through
Making
muh•RlHD•ee•uhn)line because the line runs
900W 900E
Comparisons
How is the
Greenwich, England.
equator different
LINES To locate places north or south, geogra-
LATITUDE from the prime
600E
phers use a set of imaginarylines that run parallel to the meridian?
30ew 300E
equator. These lines are called latitude lines. The equator
North Pole Northern is designatedas the zerodegree line for latitude. Lines
Hemisphere
north of the equator are called north latitude lines, and
lines south of the equator are called south latitude lines.
LONGITUDE LINESTo complete the grid system, geogra-
E uator
phers use a set of imaginary lines that go around the earth
over the poles. These lines, called longitude lines, mark
positions in the east and west hemispheres. The prime
meridian is the zero-degree line for longitude.
Southern Each site on the earth can have only one absolute loca-
Hemisphere south Pole
Eastern tion. To find an absolute location using the grid system, you
Hemisphere need to find the point where the latitude and longitude
lines cross. For example, the absolute location of
Melbourne, Australia, is 370 South latitude, 1450
East lon-
gitude. To see how latitude and longitude
lines cross and to
learn more about absolute location, see
page 17 in the
Geography Skills Handbook.
Westem RELATIVE LOCATIONRelative location
Hemisphere place is related to its surrounding describes how a
example,you may tell a person environment. For
SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting that the library is three
blocks west of the park. This helps
Graphics library—ifhe or she knows where the person find the
O LOCATION In which two Using relative location may the park is located.
hemispheres is the United States help you become familiar
located?
with the specific characteristics
of
LOCATION How many degrees of Cairo, Egypt, is located near the a place. Learning that
in Africa, for example, tells mouth of the Nile River
latitude are there? you something
the Nile River, and even Africa about Cairo,
itself.

6 CHAPTER 1
 Place:Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Overlooking the
entrance to Guanabara Leisure boats rest in
Bay, Sugarloaf Mountain the harbor of Botafogo
is a prominentlandform Bay. There is a large
in the skyline of Rio. commercial shipyayd
industry in Rio.

Headquarters of corp-
orations and expensive
housing compete for
space in the scenic part
of the city

Theme: Place PLACE Rio de

Janeiro, once the
The question "What is it like?"refers to place. Place includes the physi-
capital of Brazil, lies
cal features and cultural characteristicsof a location. All locations on on the western shore
earth have physical features that set them apart, such as climate, land- of Guanabara Bay.
forms, and vegetation. Other features are the product of humans inter How would location
acting with the environment, such as by building dams, highways, or on a bay affect the
economy of a city?
houses. Still others are the result of humans interacting with animals or
with each other. In the photograph above, you can see place features of
Rio de Janeiro. Since a location's culture and its use of space may
change over time, the description of a place may also change.

Theme: Region
The question "How are places similar or different?"refers to region. A
region is an area of the earth's surface with similar characteristics.
Regions usually have more than one characteristic that unifies them.
Geographic These may include physical, political,economic,or cultural characteris-
Thinking tics. For example, the Sunbelt in the southern United States is a physical
Usingthe Atlas region. Geographers categorize regions in three ways: formal, functional,
Refer to the
US. map on
and perceptual regions.<ä
pages
A18-A19. What FORMALREGIONS A formal region is defined by a limited number of
states might be
includedin the
related characteristics. For example, the Sahel region of Africa is a
Sunbelt? desert area characterized by specific climate, vegetation, and land use
patterns. In this textbook, the regions you'll explore generally are
defined by continental area and by similar cultural styles. The follow-
ing are considered formal regions:
• The United States and Canada • Southwest Asia
• Latin America • South Asia
• Europe • East Asia
• Russia and the Republics • Southeast Asia, Oceania,
• Africa and Antarctica

The Five Themes of Geography 7

 organized around a set
FUNCTIONAL REGIONSA functional region is
Usually a functional
of interactions and connections between places.
links to that cen-
region is characterized by a hub, or central place, and
a functional
tral place. For example, a city and its suburbs may form
lines move
region. Highways, commuter railroads,subways, and bus Geograpl
people from the suburbs to the city for jobs and other activities. Because Thinking.-
back Seeing Patter
the city and its suburbs are connected by a great deal of movement
How might
and forth, they form a functional region.y areas within a (

PERCEPTUALREGIONS A perceptual region is a region in which peo- form a function

region?
ple perceive, or see, the characteristicsof the region in the same way.
However, the set of characteristics may not be precisely the same for all
people. For example, although many people are familiar with the region
called the American Midwest, they sometimes differ on how that region
is defined. Some people believe the Midwest begins in Ohio. Others
believe the region begins in the middle of Illinois.

Theme: Human-Environment Interaction

The question "How do people relate to the physical world?" refers to the
relationship between humans and their environment. People learn
to
use what the environment offers them and to change that
HUMAN- environment
ENVIRONMENT to meet their needs. They also learn to live with aspects
of the environ-
INTERACTION ment that they cannot control, such as climate.
Neighbors and friends People living in similar environments do not
use sandbags to hold same way. For example, some people view respond to them in the
back floodwaters a hot, sunny climate near a
body of water as ideal for recreational
during the Great activities. Others may see
Mississippi Flood an opportunity for raising citrus, olives, this as
to alter their environments to or grapes. Human beings work
of 1993.
In what ways do makethem better places or
needed goods. Peoplernay drain to provide
floods alter the
grow crops in a particular swamps or dig irrigation ditches
landscape? environment. to
ate new problems, such as Sometimes the alterations
pollution. As you cre-
learn about many ways study geography,
humans interact with you will
their environment.
 Theme: Movement
The question "How CIOpeople, goods, and ideas move from one location
to another?" refers to movement. Geographersare interested in the
ways people, goods, and ideas move from place to place. Think about
the clothing you wear, the music you listen to, or the places you go for
entertainment. All of these things involve movement from one place to
another. Geographers analyze movement by looking at three types of
distance: linear distance, time distance, and psychological distance.
LINEAR DISTANCE AND TIME DISTANCE Linear distance simply
means how far across the earth a person, an idea, or a product travels.
Physical geography can affect linear distance by forcing a shift in a
route to avoid impassable land or water.
Time distance is the amount of time it takes for a person, an idea, or
a product to travel. Modern inventions have shortened time distances.
Geographic
For example, in the 1800s,pioneers traveled up to six months to reach
Thinking California. Today you can get there by airplane from almost any U.S.
ideas can trav-
Seeing Pattems location in under six hours. With the use of the Internet,
Howdo inter- el around the world in seconds.€
statehighways
distance refers to the way
affectlinear dis- PSYCHOLOGICALDISTANCEPsychological
were younger, some locations seemed
tance and time people view distance. When you
older, the distance to these locations proba-
very far away. As you grew
distance?
show that, as we become familiar with a
bly seerned to shrink. Studies
than it actually is. Less familiar places seem
place, we think it is closer
Psychological distance may influence decisions
to be further away. activities.
about many different human dis-
make important choices based on linear
Across the world, people choices make up
psychological distance. These
tance, time distance, and section,you'll read
can study. In the next
patterns that geographersstudy these patterns.
use to
about the tools they

Assessment
O Main Ideas O Geographic Thinking
Notes
O Places & Terms @Taking a. Whatarethefivethemes Making
Generalizations
notes you How is the study of geography
Explainthe meaning of REGION Review the of geography?
section. different from the study of
each of the following took for this b. How is place different history?Think about:
terms. 5 Tug.s: fromlocation?
• use of space on earth
• geography c. Whydo geographers
• relationships between
• hemisphere study human-environment
people and the
interaction?
environment
• equator • What is a region?
types of regions? See Skillbuilder
• prime meridian • What are three
• latitude Handbook, page R6.