| In this modern age, haven't all earth's | | | | |
| locations been found, named, and mapped? Just | | | | Physical Systems |
| about. | | | | |
| | | | 1. The physical actions that create the |
| So, why geography? | | | | patterns of earth's surface |
| | | | |
| The citizens of many of the world's countries | | | | 2. The features and spatial distribution of |
| still don't realize that ignorance of | | | | ecosystems on earth's surface |
| geography can affect their political | | | | |
| stability, economic success, and | | | | Places and Regions |
| environmental health. Sure, it's important to | | | | |
| know where things are located. But even more | | | | 3. The material and human attributes of |
| important is learning in what ways those | | | | places |
| places are affected by their environments and | | | | |
| their population. That, too, is geography. | | | | 4. That people form regions to decode earth's |
| | | | complexity |
| Our survival is dependent on our awareness of | | | | |
| things like where the greatest amount of | | | | 5. How culture and experience influence |
| carbon dioxide is being produced and where | | | | people's understanding of places and regions |
| the rain forests are being destroyed. It | | | | |
| would help us to know why terrorists want to | | | | The World in Spatial Terms |
| attack. To help tsunami survivors we need to | | | | |
| know something about the places affected. | | | | 6. How to use maps and other geographic tools |
| Geography is fundamental to all these things. | | | | and techniques to obtain, process, and |
| | | | describe information from a spatial viewpoint |
| It's easy to see why people believe the myth | | | | |
| that geography is only mapmaking, map | | | | 7. How to use mental maps to organize data |
| reading, and knowing where everything is. For | | | | about people, places, and environments in a |
| instance, TV game show contestants will be | | | | spatial context |
| asked questions such as "what is the river | | | | |
| that flows through Zambezi, Zambia?" In cases | | | | 8. How to study the spatial arrangement of |
| like this, the answer can be known by having | | | | people, places, and environments on earth's |
| studied a map. Knowledge of where places and | | | | surface |
| events are located is important and useful. | | | | |
| Knowing where something happened gives the | | | | Human Systems |
| event more significance. | | | | |
| | | | 9. The features, dispersion, and migration of |
| Perhaps you've heard this story: A high | | | | human populations on earth's surface |
| school student in the United States applied | | | | |
| to a domestic university. The admissions | | | | 10. The features, dispersion, and intricacy |
| employee that reviewed and denied the | | | | of earth's cultural mosaics |
| application noted that the applicant needed | | | | |
| to go through the foreign admissions office. | | | | 11. The patterns and networks of economic |
| The student was from New Mexico. | | | | interdependence on earth's surface |
| | | | |
| Geography is so much more than knowing where | | | | 12. The processes, patterns, and functions of |
| something is or happened. Do you know the | | | | human settlement |
| capital of Bolivia? The answer is La Paz and | | | | |
| Sucre -- two different places. Here's why: In | | | | 13. How the forces of cooperation and |
| 1899 Bolivia's Conservative Party was | | | | conflict among people influence the division |
| overthrown by the Liberal Party during the | | | | and control of earth's surface |
| Federal Revolution. Tin mining, which was in | | | | |
| the area of La Paz, had become an important | | | | The Uses of Geography |
| industry for the country, and tin | | | | |
| entrepreneurs supported the Liberals. So, the | | | | 14. How to apply geography to interpret the |
| Liberals wanted to move the capital from | | | | past |
| Sucre to La Paz. They only partially | | | | |
| succeeded. The constitutional capital is now | | | | 15. How to apply geography to interpret the |
| Sucre and the administrative capital is La | | | | present and plan for the future |
| Paz. | | | | |
| | | | Environment and Society |
| Now that you know the "why," you are much | | | | |
| more likely to remember the "where." | | | | 16. How human actions change the physical |
| | | | environment |
| A set of eighteen learning standards has been | | | | |
| created for the science of geography. These | | | | 17. How physical systems affect human systems |
| eighteen standards are separated into six | | | | |
| essential elements: | | | | 18. |