 An academic discipline – a body of knowledge given to
or received by that an individual has chosen to
specialized in.
 A field of science – widely recognized category of
specialized expertise within science. Such a field will
usually be represented by one or more scientific
journals, where peer reviewed research is published.

 An interdisciplinary field- a field that crosses
traditional boundaries between academic disciplines
or schools of thought, as new needs and professions
have emerged.

A Greek word “geographia” “Earth describe-write”
Geo – a prefix taken from Greek word meaning “earth”
usually in the sense of “ground or land” . Geo is a prefix
for many words dealing in some way with the earth.
Graphein – an English suffix. “to write” or “to
draw”.Words that includes this suffix usually are about
a work, an art or a field of study.

 Geography is the study of the aerial differentiation of
the Earth’s surface.
 Geography is the study of the natural relationships
between people and their environment
 Geography is the study of the physical features of the
Earth’s surface and the various human activities that
take place on it.

1)Geography helps us understand the world.
 Geography teaches students important skills.
 Geography helps students learn about the world.
 Geography contributes to international
understanding.
2)Geography helps us understand our own country.
 Geography and citizenship.

 Reading and interpreting maps.
 Interpreting and understanding
photographs
 Analyzing data such as graphs and
statistics
 Conducting research and fieldwork.

 One of the most important tools that a geographer
uses is a map. There are many different types of maps
and each contains different information. Various maps
show physical features, political boundaries, patterns,
migration flow, weather, to name a few.
 A map must contain the key elements with which it
interprets the given information. Every map should
include all or most of the following elements: a title,
cardinal (compass) directions, lines of longitude and
latitude, scale and a legend or key.

•A person who makes maps is
called a cartographer
•Maps are important as a tool for geography
because we can show so much information about
the earth on one document.
•There are parts to maps, types of maps, and even
map projections that are very important as a basis
for all of geography.

 Cartographers today use many sources of data
collected for their maps.
1) GIS (Geographic Information Systems) is the most
accurate to date: GIS is using computers to plot points and
other information on maps.

2)Images can help gather information to then be
placed on Air Photography and Satellite maps.
Cartographers can interpret what they see and plot
it on a map.
3)GPS (Global Positioning Systems) use satellites
around the world to plot the exact point of
location from an electronic receiver.

Political Map-this is a map that shows political
boundaries, borders, area of political entities
(countries, states, territories, districts, zones,
counties, provinces, etc) These types of maps may
a.lso show capitals/ other cities

Physical Map- This type of map uses colors to
show elevation and other land/water features of
the earth. This map may also show any physical
feature such as mountains, oceans, rivers, valleys,
etc

Thematic Map- This type of map shows
“themes” or subjects on a map- basically any
information. Anything can be shown on a map
using symbols, colors, pictures, numbers, contour
lines, etc. ALL THEMATIC MAPS MUST HAVE A
KEY- this tells the reader what each
picture/symbols/color/etc represents on the map
i.e. + represents a hospital

 Any collection of maps, graphs, and charts is called
an atlas.
 We use atlases as a geographic resource for looking
up all kinds of information
 From where places are located
 To population and economic information
 To topographic information about the surface of
the earth.

 Remember to use the INDEX to help locate
the location of cities, states, and countries
around the world.
 Use the KEY on the maps to read
information
 Use the SCALE of the map to find distances
 Use the COMPASS ROSE to locate and
pinpoint orientation or direction.

 Reading coordinates is very important in
finding location in geography.
 Remember that you read the “x-axis”
(latitude) first and then read the “y-axis”
(longitude) second X,Y.

 The Earth is divided by latitude and longitude
lines. There are several important lines to know on
the earth's surface:
 #1 is the ARCTIC CIRCLE found at 66 ½ o NORTH
of the Equator
 #2 is the TROPIC OF CANCER found at 23 ½ o
NORTH of the Equator

 #3is the EQUATOR which splits the earth into two
hemispheres at 0o Latitude
 #4 is the TROPIC OF CAPRICORN found 23 ½ o
SOUTH of the Equator.
 #5 is the ANTARCTIC CIRCLE found at 66 ½ o
SOUTH of the Equator

LOCATION
 “Where are we” is the question that the theme location
answers. Location may be absolute or it may be
relative.
 An Absolute location is a latitude and longitude (a
global location) or a street address (local location)
 Relative locations are describe by landmarks , time,
direction or distance from one place to another and
may associate a particular place with another.

 What kind of place is it? What do you think of when
you imagine China? Japan? India? Russia?
 Places have both human and characteristics, as well as
images.
 Physical characteristics includes mountains, rivers,
soil, beaches, wildlife. Places have human
characteristics also. These are derived from the ideas
and actions of people that result in changes to the
environment such as buildings, roads, clothing and
food habits.

 The image people have of a place is based on their
experiences both intellectual and emotional. People’s
description of a place reveal their values, attitudes and
perceptions.

 How do humans and the environment affect each
other? We change the environment and then
sometimes Mother Nature changes it back.
 There are three key concepts to human/environmental
interaction
 Humans adopt on the environment.
 Humans depend to the environment.

 The movement of people, the import and export of
goods and mass communication have all played major
roles in shaping our world. People everywhere interact.
They travel from place to place and they communicate.
 People interact with each other through movement.
Humans occupy places unevenly on Earth because of
the environment but also because we are social beings.

 A region is the basic unit of study in Geography. A
region is an area that displays a coherent unity in
terms of the government, language, or possibly the
landform or situation.
 Regions are human constructs that can be mapped and
analyzed
 There are three basic types of regions.

 FORMAL REGIONS are those defined by
governmental or administrative boundaries.
 FUNCTIONAL REGIONS are those defined by a
function.
 VERNACULAR REGIONS are those loosely defined by
people’s perception.

1)Draw the outline of your world. Using a pencil,
lightly draw the primary features of your map. For
this article, we'll look at a large-scale map of a
fantasy world.
 If you're making a continental-scale map,
differentiate between land and sea.
 If you're making a local-scale map, pencil in
geographic or political boundaries.
 Consider using a high quality paper for your map.

2) Fill it in. Fine tune your pencil outline, and then with
ink, draw over it
 If this is to be a color map, fill in the land and sea areas
with appropriate basic colors.
 Add a compass rose to denote orientation of the map.

3) Fill in features. This adds life to the map, helping the
map reader get a better sense of place.
 On large-scale maps, this would include mountains,
rivers, ocean depth, and other large features.
 On maps of a smaller scale, those might include
streams, fences, and recognizable landmarks.

4)Notate the scale. This is an indicator of how many
units on the map (inches/centimeters) are in a unit in
the actual place (miles/kilometers).
 This allows distances to be determined from the map.
Find a location on the map that won't be used for
landmarks. That may be on the map itself, or you
might need to locate it in the surrounding frame,
depending on your map's detail.

5)Add latitude and longitude lines.
 Make them evenly spaced, and use a ruler to
keep them straight.

6)Add place names. Include locations that help the
map reader identify what they're looking at.
 Include key geographic features such as mountains,
rivers, and landmarks.
 If your map is a visual aid for a story or novel, also
include places that are key plot points in the novel.
 If your map is a memento, include places that have
meaning to you.

7)Create the legend. This will help the reader make
sense of colors, symbols, and lines.
 Consider doing a gradation for land heights and sea
depths.
 If you use icons for features, use them consistently.

Choose the right map. A wide variety of maps are
available for a wide variety of uses
 For example, there are road maps for drivers with
highways and byways.
 Tourist maps for sightseeing, with famous landmarks
or conspicuous celebrities.
 Topo maps for hikers maps for hikers or back country,
featuring paths and campgrounds.

•Sectionals, or maps for pilots that feature
air routes, terminal areas, plus landmarks
and tall things that planes would be wise to
avoid.
•A good general free online map for certain
parts of the world is Google Maps.
However, this may not be available to you
when needed, so it's important to learn
how to read printed maps too.

1
Check the map's orientation. Most maps
are drawn with north located at the top.
•Sometimes this may be depicted using
a compass rose. Or, it might simply be
stated to be the assumption of the map. If
there is no indication to the contrary,
presume it is north at the top.

Understand the scale of the map.
The map scale shows you a ratio of map distance
to real distance. These differ in size from map to
map. Look for the scale, generally located on the
side or bottom of the map. It will look
something like 1:100,000, which denotes that 1
unit on the map is the equivalent of 100,000
units in real life

Note the latitude and longitude. If you're traveling to
the next town, this isn't so important. But if you are
sailing, flying, or touring long distances, this might be
useful. The latitude refers to the distance in degrees
north or south of the equator.
 The longitude refers to the distance in degrees east or
west of the Greenwich Meridian Line.
 Each degree is divided into 60 minutes, with each
minute representing a nautical mile (or 1.15 land
miles/1.85km). This means that one degree is the
equivalent of 60 nautical miles or 69 land miles/111km.

Learn to read contour lines. How high or flat the land
is represented on the map with contour lines. Each
line represents a standard height above sea level.
 When contour lines are close together, this means that
the gradient is steep (the closer together, the steeper
the gradient becomes).
 When the contour lines are further apart, the gradient
is flatter, so the further apart they are located, the
flatter the ground on the map.

Examine the legend. Most maps have a legend or key
of symbols on the map itself. Get familiar with how
your map represents data—that is key to
understanding the rest of the map. In general, maps do
the following:
 Lines in varying sizes, colors, and unbroken or broken
lines depict roads, from lanes to freeways and all in
between.
 Mountains tend to be shown as brown or green, and
are height-dependent: darker at the bottom, lighter or
white at the top.

 Rivers, lakes, the ocean and other water bodies are
generally shown in blue.
 Forests, woods, parks, golf courses, or other large
bodies of trees or green space are usually depicted in
green.
 Towns and city limits are often shown in a pastel pink
or yellow, and the size and boldness of their names
indicate relative population size or importance.
 Buildings tend to be shown in gray or black colors.

Figure out where you are. You have your map and
you're ready to use it. Now you need to figure out
where you are before you can plot where you're going.
 You can do so by matching what you can see in real life
with what is on the map. Common features that help
identify your location on a map includes road names,
landmarks and prominent natural features, like rivers.
 If you have a compass, align the map with the direction
shown on the compass. Or, use the sun or markers to
help you do this.

 A good way to find your location if you are unsure is to
find two landmarks. For example, if you can see a
prominent tower in front of you, and a city at 45
degrees to your left. Find those two landmarks on the
map. Align the map so that the point in front of you is
at the top of your map, and draw a straight line from
that point down. Then draw a line from the diagonal
landmark, till it intersects the first landmark. The
point that they intersect is roughly your location. Look
for closer landmarks to zero in on your position.

Find your destination. Now it's time to figure out
where you want to go
 .If you just want to go from one place to another, all
you need to do is to plot that single route out.
 If there are several places you intend to go to, you may
want to plan your route in such a way that you visit all
the places in the shortest possible manner. You can do
so by going to the nearest places first after which you
will go to the further places.

Use the map's index. Some maps, such as a Thomas
Guide, have indexes stating the location of certain
places on a map. This location could be grid numbers
or pages.
 Take note of a map's scale so that you can estimate
your travel time, and if you are taking longer then you
expected, you can stop to recheck your map.
 Don't forget to check the map's legend so will know
what you are looking at.

 If we had fully understand what geography is, at the
same time we can also tell that we had also fully
understand our history because for me, Geography is
some what related to History.
 It is very important to study really Geography because
as future responsible citizens of this country there are
lots of careers and jobs out there waiting for us which
really needs our knowledge with regards and prior to
geography.

 By merely studying our own geography we can fully
understand the reasons behind as well as the causes of
the extreme changing of climate that we are
experiencing right now.
 If we already know and understand our own geography
then I can tell that we could also fully understand and
learn the different geographies of the different
countries.

I have learned that:
Geography enable us to know where we are.
Geography enable us to differentiate one place to the
other.
Geography helps us to know what kind of map we are
going to use . What causes the formation of typhoons
and the like.
GEOGRAPHY IS INDEED VERY SUBSTANCIAL IN
OUR LIFE . To those who cannot appreciate
Geography. well its your lost . 

Geography has made us neighbors.
History has made us friends.
Economics has made us partners, and
necessity has made us allies. Those
whom God has so joined together, let
no man put asunder.
John F. Kennedy

 www.wikiow.com/Make-a-Map
 www.wikihow.com/Read-a-Map
 www.powershow.com/view/1ad08-
OWExM/UNIT_1_TOOLS_OF_GEOGRAPH
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