Course Overview
EdSc 143- Elements of Geography(3 hours lecture/week)
Deals with man and his habitat. This includes the use of the world atlas, map reading and interpretation, study of the physical elements of geography and the cultural
aspects of geography.
Jun Karren V. CaparosoDepartment of Science and Mathematics
EducationCollege of Education
MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology
Geography is a very diverse subject that includes studies of human behaviour and the physical environment.
It is also a discipline that embraces a very diverse range of philosophical approaches to knowledge.
What is Geography?
The study of spatial variationHow – 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 scienceSpatial behavior of peopleSpatial relationships between
placesSpatial processes that create or
maintain those behaviors and relationships
What is Geography?
Spatial variation: predominant religion
Why spatial variation exists: earthquakes
Changes over time: deforestation
Five fundamental themes of geography
1) Location: the meaning of relative and absolute position on the earth's surface
Sample terms: Latitude and longitude, site and situation, direction, distance, scale
Skills: Map reading, identification Questions: Where is ____? Where is ____
relative to where I am?
2) Place: the distinctive and distinguishing physical and human characteristics of locales
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 ____?
Five fundamental themes of geography
3) Relationships within places: the development and consequences of human-environment relationships
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?
Five fundamental themes of geography
4) Movement: patterns and change in human spatial interaction on the earth
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?
Five fundamental themes of geography
5) Regions: how they form and change Sample terms: Formal vs. functional
regions Skills: Synthesis, application Questions: How has this spatial pattern
developed? Will it continue to change? What does it mean for the places involved?
Five fundamental themes of geography
• Where were you born?• Where do you live?• Where’s the most beautiful place
you’ve ever been?
Sharing
1.Physical Geography explains the spatial characteristics of the various
natural phenomena associated with the Earth's hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and lithosphere.
2. Human Geography/Cultural Geography combines economic and cultural geography to
explore the relationships between humans and their natural environment, and to track the broad social patterns that shape human societies.
Divisions of Geography
study of Earth's atmosphere (meteorology and climatology),
animal and plant life (biogeography),physical landscape (geomorphology), soils (pedology), and waters (hydrology).
Physical geography's primary subdisplines
Human society and culture (social and cultural geography),
behavior (behavioural geography),economics (economic geography),politics (political geography), andurban systems (urban geography).
Human geography's primary subdisplines
Major subdisciplines of physical and human geography.
Physical Geography Human Geography
Rocks and Minerals Population
Landforms Settlements
Soils Economic Activities
Animals Transportation
Plants Recreational Activities
Water Religion
Atmosphere Political Systems
Rivers and Other Water Bodies Social Traditions
Environment Human Migration
Climate and Weather Agricultural Systems
Oceans Urban Systems
Some Elements of Geography
