GEOGRAPHY

Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their environments.
Geography is the science of the Earth’s surface, its atmosphere, and its features.
• Greek word “Geographia”
• “geo” = earth + “graphein” = to write
• Means Description of the earth
Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and their
environments. Geographers explore both the physical properties of Earth's surface and the
human societies spread across it.

PEOPLE TO KNOW…….
Ptolemy - placed the Earth at the center of his geocentric model. Using the data he had,
Ptolemy thought that the universe was a set of nested spheres surrounding the Earth.
Copernicus - developed his heliocentric model to explain that the Earth revolved around the
Sun and, for the first time, described the idea in full geometric equations.
Eratosthenes - Father of Geography.
He was the first one to use the word geography and he also had a small-scale notion of the
planet that helped him to determine the circumference of the earth.
He invented a system of longitude and latitude and made a map of the known world.

GEOGRAPHIC GRID SYSTEM

Grid system is basically a set of imaginary and horizontal and vertical lines drawn on a map.
The grid system is used to find the exact location of a place.
a. Meridian - an imaginary line between the North Pole and the South Pole, drawn on maps to
help to show the position of a place.
b. Longitude – the measurement distance east or west of the prime meridian.
c. Lines of longitude, also called meridians, are imaginary lines that divide the Earth. They
run north to south from pole to pole, but they measure the distance east or west. The prime
meridian, which runs through Greenwich, England, has a longitude of 0 degrees.
Longitude is measured by imaginary lines that run around Earth vertically (up and down) and
meet at the North and South Poles. These lines are known as meridians. Each meridian
measures one arc degree of longitude.
The term meridian comes from the Latin meridies, meaning "midday"; the subsolar point passes
through a given meridian at solar noon, midway between the times of sunrise and sunset on that
meridian.
d. Prime Meridian - the line of 0° longitude, the starting point for measuring distance both east
and west around Earth.
Any line of longitude (a meridian) can serve as the 0° longitude line. However, there is an
international agreement that the meridian that runs through Greenwich, England, is considered
the official prime meridian.
e. Parallel - imaginary lines that divide the Earth. They run east to west, but measure your
distance north or south.
Lines of latitude, also called parallels, the equator is the most well-known parallel. At 0 degrees
latitude, it equally divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
f. Latitude - the measurement of distance north or south of the Equator. It is measured with 180
imaginary lines that form circles around Earth east-west, parallel to the Equator.
g. Equator - imaginary line around the middle of a planet or other celestial body. It is halfway
between the north pole and the south pole, at 0 degrees latitude. An equator divides the planet
into a northern hemisphere and a southern hemisphere.
The tropics are regions of Earth that lie roughly in the middle of the globe. The tropics between
the latitude lines of the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The tropics include the
Equator and parts of North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
The countries near the equator include Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Gabon, Republic of the
Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Maldives, and Indonesia.

CLIMATE ZONE
Climate is the long-term pattern of weather in a particular area.
Weather refers to short-term changes, is the state of the atmosphere, including temperature,
atmospheric pressure, wind, humidity, precipitation, and cloud cover. It can change from hour-
to-hour, day-to-day, month-to-month or even year-to-year.

Today, climate scientists split the Earth into approximately five main types of climates.
They are:

A: Tropical. In this hot and humid zone, the average temperatures are greater than
64°F (18°C) year-round and there is more than 59 inches of precipitation each year.

The tropics are regions of the Earth that lie roughly in the middle of the globe. The
tropics between the latitude lines of the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
The tropics include the Equator and parts of North America, South America, Africa,
Asia, and Australia.

B: Dry. These climate zones are so dry because moisture is rapidly evaporated from
the air and there is very little precipitation.

Regions lying within the dry climate group occur where precipitation is low. There are
two dry climate types: arid and semiarid. Most arid climates receive 10 to 30
centimeters (four to 12 inches) of rain each year, and semiarid climates receive enough
to support extensive grasslands.

C: Temperate. In this zone, there are typically warm and humid summers with
thunderstorms and mild winters.

Temperate climates are generally defined as environments with moderate rainfall

spread across the year or portion of the year with sporadic drought, mild to warm
summers and cool to cold winters (Simmons, 2015).

D. Continental. These regions have warm to cool summers and very cold winters. In
the winter, this zone can experience snowstorms, strong winds, and very cold
temperatures—sometimes falling below -22°F (-30°C)!

Areas with continental climates have colder winters, longer-lasting snow, and
shorter growing seasons. They are the transition zones between mild and polar
climates. Continental climates experience extreme seasonal changes.

E: Polar. In the polar climate zones, it’s extremely cold. Even in summer, the
temperatures here never go higher than 50°F (10°C)!

A polar climate consists of cool summers and very cold winters, which results in
treeless tundra, glaciers, or a permanent or semi-permanent layer of ice.
MAJOR TYPES OF VEGETATION IN THE WORLD
1. Forest - the plants of an area that grow in disturbed or undisturbed conditions in wooded
plant communities in any combination of trees, saplings, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous plants,
including mature and successional forests and cutover stands.

a. Tropical Forest - High rainfall throughout the year. Hence, the fall of leaves and
regeneration of leaves can happen throughout the year. (Evergreen Forests)

b. Temperate Forest - These have moderate and that too seasonal. Here leaf fall is in the
dry season. With seasonal leaf fall, reduced transpiration helps the trees conserve
water. The temperate forests are also called Deciduous Forests. Here rainfall is about
50-200 cms annually happens seasonally. (Deciduous Forests)

c. Mediterranean Forests - These are on the west coast of continents in Warm Temperate
Regions. The summers are dry and winters are characterized by rainfall which is due to
on-shore Westerlies. Our. Chestnut, cork, olive & Eucalyptus are important trees whose
banks & leaves are thick which prevents evapotranspiration & subsequent loss of water.

d. Equatorial Rainforest - These cover permanently hot and humid equatorial regions.
These are evergreen forests with the greatest forest density with maximum biodiversity.
These forests are called the ecological lifeline of the earth (or) Lungs of the earth. These
forests cover Amazon Basin (Brazil), Congo Basin (Africa), and Southern European Asia
& Borneo (Asia).

e. Taiga Forests - These cover the cool temperate continental climate of Eurasia & North
America. These are also called Coniferous Forests.

Russia has the longest cover of Taiga Forest and also the largest forest cover in the world.

Amazon is the largest equatorial rainforest in the world with the greatest concentration of
biodiversity and greatest forest density. On these grounds, these are locally known as the
Selvas.

Total forest in Russia is 12 million square kilometers, housing 25% of the world's forests. The
Amazon is 5.5 square kilometers by comparison.

2. Grassland - area in which the vegetation is dominated by a nearly continuous cover of

grasses.

a. Tropical Grasslands - associated with tropical regions that are semi-dry. If the annual
rainfall is between 30cm – 70cm, the area is classified as Semi-Dry. Tropical grassland
is a transitional zone between the deciduous forests region and dry regions. The
Tropical grasslands are characterized by tall grasses and scattered trees. This
landscape is known as Parkland.

b. Steppes - is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees except near

rivers and lakes.

c. Prairies - enormous stretches of flat grassland with moderate temperatures, moderate

rainfall, and few trees.

Savanna is the largest grassland in the world.

3. Desert - Most desert plants are drought- or salt-tolerant. Some store water in their leaves,
roots, and stems. Other desert plants have long tap roots that penetrate the water table, anchor
the soil, and control erosion.

Tropical Deserts - These are hot & dry regions dominated by Xerophytes or tropical thorn
vegetation like Cactus, Acacia (Babul). The forest density & bio-diversity in tropical deserts are
extremely low.
Sahara Desert is the largest hot desert in the world and the third largest overall.
Antarctic Desert is the largest dessert in the world, second from it is Arctic Desert.

4. Tundra - tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. Tundra
ecosystems are treeless regions found in the Arctic and on the tops of mountains, where the
climate is cold and windy, and rainfall is scant. Tundra lands are covered with snow for much of
the year, but summer brings bursts of wildflowers.

5. Ice Sheets - is a mass of glacial ice more than 50,000 square kilometers (19,000 square
miles). Ice sheets contain about 99% of the freshwater on Earth, and are sometimes called
continental glaciers. As ice sheets extend to the coast and over the ocean, they become ice
shelves.

A mass of glacial ice covering less area than an ice sheet is called an ice cap. A series of
connected ice caps is called an ice field. Making up ice fields, ice caps, and eventually ice
sheets are individual glaciers.

Today, there are only two ice sheets in the world: the Antarctic ice sheet and the Greenland ice
sheet. During the last glacial period, however, much of Earth was covered by ice sheets.

MAIN DIVISIONS OF LAND

Panthalassa - a universal sea or single ocean. Panthalassa Ocean once surrounded the
supercontinent Pangaea.
Pangaea – a supercontinent that incorporated almost all the landmasses on Earth in early
geologic time.
Laurasia – a large supercontinent that existed in the northern hemisphere before it began to
break up - 200 million years ago, consisting of the modern day continents of North America,
Europe and Asia.
Gondwanaland – one of the two ancient supercontinents produced by the first split of the even
larger supercontinent Pangaea about 200 million years ago, comprising chiefly what is now
Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, and the Indian subcontinent.
Continental Drift - a revolutionary theory explaining that continents shift position on Earth's
surface. The theory was proposed by geophysicist and meteorologist Alfred Wegener in 1912.
Continents - is a large continuous mass of land conventionally regarded as a collective region.

7 CONTINENTS OF THE WORLD

1. Asia
2. Africa
3. North America
4. South America
5. Antarctica
6. Europe
7. Australia

ASIA

 Largest continent in the world, covering one-third of the Earth’s surface and it has 49
countries.
 Timor-Leste is the youngest country in Asia, having gained independence in 2002.
 Russia and Turkey have both land in Europe and land in Asia.
 Russia is the largest country by size, followed by Canada, China, and the USA.
 Tokyo is the most populated city in the world. More than 38 million people live in the
metropolitan area of Japan's capital city.
  There are 12 landlocked countries in Asia: Armenia, Bhutan, Laos, Nepal, Mongolia,
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan.
 Asia is the birthplace of all the world’s major religions—Buddhism, Christianity,
Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism
 Mt. Everest, the highest mountain in the world is part of the Himalaya mountain range.
The Himalayas are spread across five Asian countries; Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and
Pakistan.
 Tibetan Plateau in Central Asia is the world's highest and largest plateau and is called
"the roof of the world"
 Lake Baikal of Russia is the deepest lake on planet and it is located in Asia.
 Taal Volcano in the Philippines is the world’s smallest volcano.
 The tiny country Qatar on the Arabian Peninsula is one of the richest nations in the world
due to its income from oil exploration and the petroleum industry. Saudi-Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are also among richest countries in the world due to
their oil reserves.

AFRICA

 The continent with the most countries. There are 54 countries on the African continent.
 By the records of the fossil remains Africa seems to be the first continent where
humans were found. The fossil remains have suggested that humans had inhabited the
African continent around 7 million years ago. Therefore, it is believed to be the birthplace
of humanity.
 Africa is home to some 30 percent of the world's mineral reserves, eight per cent of the
world's natural Gas and 12 per cent of the world's oil reserves. The massive deposits of
the Witwatersrand mines in South Africa have produced more than 40 percent of the
world's total production of gold.
 Nile River, the longest river in the world is flowing northward through 11 countries of
Africa: Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sudan, and Egypt.
 Sahara, the world’s largest hot desert and one of the harshest environments on the
planet is in Africa.
 Serengeti (Tanzania) hosts the world’s largest wildlife migration on Earth.

NORTH AMERICA

 It is named after Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci.

 Greenland, the largest island in the world is located on the North American continent.
Greenland, however, belongs to Denmark, a country in Europe. Greenland is also known
for the northernmost place in the world!
 Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark. Although
Greenland is geographically a part of the North American continent, it has been
geopolitically and culturally associated with Europe for about a millennium.
 All major biomes can be found in North America: aquatic, grassland, forest, desert, and
tundra covering all of North America.
 North America reigns supreme in corn production.
 North America is home to the largest Christian population in the world. Almost 80% of
the people in Canada, the USA and Mexico consider themselves as Christians.
 The Maya civilization of Central America and Mexico is considered one of the oldest
civilizations of this planet.
SOUTH AMERICA

 The name America is derived from that of the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci, one
of the earliest European explorers of the New World. The term America originally was
applied only to South America.
 Indigenous tribes which have had little or no contact at all with modern civilization have
been discovered in the past years, deep into the Amazon rainforest - the world’s most
biodiverse place.
 About 22% of the continent is covered by forests, and it is estimated that 20% of all the
planet’s oxygen is created in these forests. More than 40% of the world’s plants and
animal species can be found here.
 La Paz, the Bolivian capital, is the highest capital in the world.
 Atamaca Desert is the driest place on Earth.
 Angel falls in Venezuela is the tallest waterfall in the world.
 Mauna Loa in Hawaii is the largest ACTIVE volcano on Earth.
 Lake Titicaca is the largest freshwater lake in South America and the highest of the
world's large lakes.
 The Andes are the world's longest continental mountain range, about 9,000 km in all.
They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America,
along that route, they cross through Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia .

ANTARCTICA

 The largest dessert on Earth.

 The smallest continent by population numbers.
 The highest, driest, coldest and windiest continent on Earth.
 The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest ice store on earth. An incredible 60-90% of the
world’s fresh water is locked in Antarctica’s vast ice sheet.
 Most of Antarctica experiences 6 months of constant daylight in summer and 6 months
of darkness in winter.
 There are no trees or shrubs in Antarctica, and there are only two flowering plants:
Antarctic hair grass (Deschampsia antarctica) and Antarctic pearlwort (Colobanthus
quitensis).
 Auroras seen in the Northern Hemisphere are called the aurora borealis, or northern
lights, while displays around the Southern Hemisphere are called the aurora australis,
or southern lights. Auroras aren't visible while the sun is shining, but our stormy star is
the source of these nighttime shows.

EUROPE

 It is centrally located between the two other “Old World” continents, Africa and Asia.
 Europa was a princess in Greek Mythology. Homer also wrote of a Queen named
Europe. Later, in 6 BC, Greek geographers used Europe as a geographic name.
 It has the world’s smallest country, the Vatican City. The Vatican City is in Italy
surrounded by the city of Rome. It is where the headquarters of the Roman Catholic
Church is and is where the Pope lives.
 Three Quarters of world’s potatoes comes from Europe.
 Europe is home to the world’s largest Church, St. Peter’s Basilica.
 Luxembourg – one of the most smallest country, and it is located in Europe. Owes its
wealth to the discovery of iron ore in the southern area of the country called the Minett.

AUSTRALIA
  The smallest continent of the planet. Oceania is a geographic region that includes
Australasia, Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia.
 Australia is the largest landmass on the continent of Australia. Oceania is a region made
up of thousands of islands throughout the Central and South Pacific Ocean. It includes
Australia, the smallest continent in terms of total land area.
 The name Oceania is used, rather than Australia, because unlike the other continental
groupings, it is the ocean rather than the continent that links the nations together.
 Although cities like Sydney and Melbourne may be better known, the capital of Australia
is Canberra.
 Australia is the only place in the world where Kangaroos exist in the wild.
 The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the biggest coral reef system in the world.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 The earth rotates from west to east that’s why the sun rise in the east and set in the
west.
 In summer, we see the sun rise early and set late because the tilt of the axis is towards
the sun.
 The prevailing wind system experienced in the Philippines is Northeast and Southwest
monsoon.
 The tilting of the Earth on its axis causes the seasons.
 Satellites project information to receivers on the earth's surface, then calculate latitude
and longitude positioning and offer directions. That’s how GPS (Global Positioning
System) work.