Exploring Geography

• What is where?- Location is given in absolute terms (for example latitude and longitude) and in relation to other places (for example west of Toronto)
• Absolute location: where something is located in terms of latitude or longitude
• Relative location: Where something is located in relation to other geographic features
• Ecosystem: a community of living things and the physical environment in which they live
• 4 Geographic Concepts: Interrelationships, spatial significance, Patterns and trends, and geographic perspective.
• Geographic Inquiry: An active, questioning approach to learning about the world from a geographic perspective
• Five steps to solving geographic problems or questions:

  • Formulate a big question
  • Gather Information
  • Analyze the information
  • Draw conclusions
  • Communicate your conclusions to others
• Field Studies: studies in local neighbourhoods, school grounds, and various sites
• Primary Sources: Census data, letters, photographs, speeches, and works of art
• Secondary Sources: Documentaries and other films, news and articles, reference books, and most websites
• Visuals: Satellite images, maps, globes, models, graphs, and diagrams
• Community Resources: Local conservative areas, resources from community groups and associations, government resources and local plans
• Geotechnologies: the use of advanced technology in the study of geography and in everyday use.
• Role of geotechnologies in geographic thinking:

  • Geotechnologies are readily available on computers and smartphones, e.g., Google Maps and Google Earth
  • GPS, GIS, and georeferencing technologies are all interconnected, based on precise locations from orbiting satellites
  • GIS and remote sensing allow geographers to see information about Earth from above; however, GIS information “layers” can be combined in many different ways, while remote sensing data cannot
• Absolute location: The location of a place can be described by its position on the earth's surface, such as latitude and longitude.
•  interrelationships: Geographers aim to make connections between the natural environment and human activity
• Spatial Significance: Geographers are interested in the importance of where things are found.
• Pattern and Trends: Patterns found across the area while trends occur over a period of time.
• Geographic perspective: Geography connects with many subjects, but its central perspective is our planet or some part of it.
• • GPS (global positioning system): a satellite-based system that provides location data.
• GIS (geographic information systems): Computer systems that manage and analyze geographic information
• Georeferencing: linking geographic data to a particular location
• • Remote Sensing: Seeing or measuring something from a considerable distance, often from a satellite
• Telematics: a technology that involves long-distance transmission
• Relative location: Where something is located in relation to other geographic features.