Five Themes of Geography - Individuals and Societies -...

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Five Themes of Geography Studying the geography of the entire world is a huge task. You can make that task easier by using the five themes of geography: location, regions, place, movement, and human-environment interaction. The themes are tools you can use to organize information and to answer the where, why, and how of geography. Five Themes of Geography Understanding Movements of Earth Understanding Globes Map Projections CONTENTS How to Use a Map Political and Physical Maps Special-Purpose Maps Human Migration World Land Use SKILLS HANDBOOK M1 M2 M4 M6 M8 M10 M12 M14 M16 1 Location answers the question, “Where is it?” You can think of the location of a continent or a country as its address. You might give an absolute location such as 40° N and 80° W.You might also use a relative address, telling where one place is by referring to another place. Between school and the mall and eight miles east of Pleasant City are examples of relative locations. LOCATION Location This museum in England has a line running through it. The line marks its location at 0 o longitude. Use Web Code lap-0000 for all of the maps in this handbook. MapMaster Skills Handbook

Transcript of Five Themes of Geography - Individuals and Societies -...

Five Themes of GeographyStudying the geography of the entire world is a huge task. You can make that task easier by using the five themes of geography: location, regions, place,movement, and human-environment interaction. Thethemes are tools you can use to organize informationand to answer the where, why, and how of geography.

Five Themes of GeographyUnderstanding Movements

of EarthUnderstanding GlobesMap Projections

C O N T E N T S

How to Use a Map Political and Physical Maps Special-Purpose Maps Human Migration World Land Use

S K I L L S H A N D B O O K

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M2

M4

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M8

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M12

M14

M16

1 Location answers the question, “Where is it?”You can think of the location of a continent

or a country as its address. You might give anabsolute location such as 40° N and 80° W. Youmight also use a relative address, telling whereone place is by referring to another place.Between school and the mall and eight miles east of Pleasant City are examples ofrelative locations.

LOCATION� LocationThis museum in England has aline running through it. The linemarks its location at 0o longitude.

Use Web Code lap-0000 for all of the maps in this handbook.

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REGIONS

3 Place identifies the natural and humanfeatures that make one place different

from every other place. You can identifya specific place by its landforms, climate,plants, animals, people, language, or culture. You might even think of place as a geographic signature. Use the signature tohelp you understand the natural and humanfeatures that make one place different fromevery other place.

PLACE

4 Movement answers the question, “Howdo people, goods, and ideas move from

place to place?” Remember that what hap-pens in one place often affects what happensin another. Use the theme of movement tohelp you trace the spread of goods, people,and ideas from one location to another.

MOVEMENT 5 Human-environment interaction focuses on the relationship between

people and the environment. As people livein an area, they often begin to make changesto it, usually to make their lives easier. Forexample, they might build a dam to controlflooding during rainy seasons. Also, the environment can affect how people live,work, dress, travel, and communicate.

INTERACTION

2 Regions are areas that share at least onecommon feature. Geographers divide

the world into many types of regions. Forexample, countries, states, and cities arepolitical regions. The people in any one ofthese places live under the same government.Other features, such as climate and culture,can be used to define regions. Therefore thesame place can be found in more than oneregion. For example, the state of Hawaii is inthe political region of the United States.Because it has a tropical climate, Hawaii isalso part of a tropical climate region.

� InteractionThese Congolese women interact with their environmentby gathering wood for cooking.

PRACTICE YOURGEOGRAPHY SKILLS

1 Describe your town or city,using each of the five themesof geography.

2 Name at least one thing thatcomes into your town or cityand one that goes out. How iseach moved? Where does itcome from? Where does it go?

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UnderstandingMovements of EarthThe planet Earth is part of our solar system. Earthrevolves around the sun in a nearly circular path calledan orbit. A revolution, or one complete orbit around thesun, takes 365 1⁄4 days, or one year. As Earth orbits thesun, it also spins on its axis, an invisible line through thecenter of Earth from the North Pole to the South Pole.This movement is called a rotation.

� Spring beginsOn March 20 or 21, the sun isdirectly overhead at theEquator. The Northern andSouthern Hemispheresreceive almost equal hoursof sunlight anddarkness.

Earth takes about 24 hours to make one fullrotation on its axis. As Earth rotates, it is daytimeon the side facing the sun. It is night on the sideaway from the sun.

� Summer beginsOn June 21 or 22, the sun is directlyoverhead at the Tropic of Cancer. TheNorthern Hemisphere receives the greatest number of sunlight hours.

July

August

September

June

MayApril

REGIONS PLACE MOVEMENT INTERACTIONLOCATION

M2 MapMaster Skills Handbook

How Night Changes Into Day

Equator

23.5o

The line of Earth’s axis

Tropic of Cancer

Earth tilts at anangle of 23.5o.

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� Autumn beginsOn September 22 or 23, the sun isdirectly overhead at the Equator.Again, the hemispheres receivealmost equal hours of sunlightand darkness.

The SeasonsEarth’s axis is tilted at an angle. Because ofthis tilt, sunlight strikes different parts ofEarth at different times in the year, creatingseasons. The illustration below shows howthe seasons are created in the NorthernHemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere,the seasons are reversed.

Equator

� Winter beginsAround December 21, thesun is directly overhead atthe Tropic of Capricorn inthe Southern Hemisphere.The Northern Hemisphereis tilted away from the sun.

October

Nove

mbe

r

Dec

emb

er

MarchFebruary

January

Arctic Circle

Tropic of Cancer

Tropic of Capricorn

Tropic of Capricorn

What causes the seasons in theNorthern Hemisphere to be theopposite of those in theSouthern Hemisphere?

During which two days of theyear do the NorthernHemisphere and SouthernHemisphere have equal hoursof daylight and darkness?

PRACTICE YOURGEOGRAPHY SKILLS

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Earth orbits the sun at66,600 miles per hour(107,244 kilometers perhour).

Diagram not to scale

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Equator

60° N

40° N

20° N

20° S

40° S

60° S

SOUTH LATITUDE

NORTH LATITUDE

M4 MapMaster Skills Handbook

Understanding GlobesA globe is a scale model of Earth. It shows theactual shapes, sizes, and locations of all Earth’slandmasses and bodies of water. Features on thesurface of Earth are drawn to scale on a globe. Thismeans that a small unit of measure on the globestands for a large unit of measure on Earth.

REGIONS PLACE MOVEMENT INTERACTIONLOCATION

Parallels of LatitudeGeographers divide the globe along imaginaryhorizontal lines called parallels of latitude.One of these latitude lines is theEquator, located halfway betweenthe North and South Poles.Parallels of latitude aremeasured in degrees (°). Onedegree of latitude representsa distance of about 69 miles (111 kilometers).

Equator ( 0o latitude)

The Equator marks 0o latitude and

divides Earth into the Southern and NorthernHemispheres.

SouthernHemisphere

NorthernHemisphere

All the latitudes, land, and watersouth of the Equator are in the

Southern Hemisphere.

All the latitudes, land, and water north of

the Equator are in theNorthern Hemisphere.

The South Pole is 90o

south of the Equator.

0o

60o

70o

80o

40o

50o

90o

50o

40o

30o

20o

10o

30o

20o

0o

10o

The North Pole is 90o

north of the Equator.

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Pri

me

Mer

idia

n

60° W 40° W 20° W 0° 20° E 40° E 60° E

WEST LONGITUDE EAST LONGITUDE

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PRACTICE YOURGEOGRAPHY SKILLS

1 Which continents lie completelyin the Northern Hemisphere? In the Western Hemisphere?

2 Is there land or water at 20O Slatitude and the PrimeMeridian? At the Equator and60O W longitude?

Together, the pattern of parallels oflatitude and meridians of longitude iscalled the global grid. Using the linesof latitude and longitude, you canlocate any place on Earth. For example,the location of 30o north latitude and90o west longitude is usually written as30o N, 90o W. Only one place on Earthhas these coordinates—the city of NewOrleans, in the state of Louisiana.

Meridians of Longitude Geographers also divide the globe along imaginaryvertical lines called meridians of longitude, which aremeasured in degrees (°). The longitude line called the Prime Meridian runs from pole to pole throughGreenwich, England. All meridians of longitude come together at the North and South Poles.

The Global Grid

40o 30o 20o 10o

0o

0o

50o60o70o80o90o100o

110o

120o

10o

20o

The Prime Meridian marks 0o

longitude and divides theglobe into the Eastern andWestern Hemispheres.

All the longitudes, land, andwater west of the PrimeMeridian are in the WesternHemisphere.

All the longitudes, land, and water east of the PrimeMeridian are in the EasternHemisphere.

Prime Meridian( 0o longitude)

EasternHemisphere

WesternHemisphere

� CompassWherever you are onEarth, a compass canbe used to showdirection.

Equator

60° N

30° N

30° S

60° S

60° W90° W120° W150° W 30° W

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REGIONS PLACE MOVEMENTLOCATION

Mercator projection �One of the most common same-shape maps is the

Mercator projection, named for the mapmakerwho invented it. The Mercator projection

accurately shows shape and direction, but itdistorts distance and size. Because the projectionshows true directions, ships’ navigators use it tochart a straight-line course between two ports.

Same-Shape MapsMap projections that accurately showthe shapes of landmasses are calledsame-shape maps. However, theseprojections often greatly distort, ormake less accurate, the size oflandmasses as well as the distancebetween them. In the projectionbelow, the northern and southernareas of the globe appear morestretched than the areas near theEquator.

To turn Earth into a same-shapemap, mapmakers must stretchthe gores into rectangles.

Stretching the gores makesparts of Earth larger. Thisenlargement becomesgreater toward the Northand South Poles.

Map ProjectionsMaps are drawings that show regions on flatsurfaces. Maps are easier to use and carrythan globes, but they cannot show thecorrect size and shape of every feature onEarth’s curved surface. They must shrinksome places and stretch others. To makeup for this distortion, mapmakers usedifferent map projections. No oneprojection can accurately show thecorrect area, shape, distance, and directionfor all of Earth’s surface. Mapmakers use theprojection that has the least distortion for theinformation they are presenting.

INTERACTION

� Global goresFlattening a globecreates a string ofshapes called gores.

Equator

Equator

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PRACTICE YOURGEOGRAPHY SKILLS

1 What feature is distorted on anequal-area map?

2 Would you use a Mercatorprojection to find the exactdistance between two locations?Tell why or why not.

Equal-Area MapsMap projections that show the correct sizeof landmasses are called equal-area maps.In order to show the correct size oflandmasses, these maps usually distortshapes. The distortion is usually greater atthe edges of the map and less at the center.

To turn Earth’s surfaceinto an equal-areamap, mapmakers haveto squeeze each goreinto an oval. The tips of all the gores are then joined

together. The points at which they joinform the North and South Poles. The lineof the Equator stays the same.

The entire topedge of the mapis the North Pole.

North Pole

Equator

South Pole

The entire bottomedge of the map isthe South Pole.

The map is leastdistorted at theEquator.

Robinson MapsMany of the maps in this book use the Robinsonprojection, which is a compromise between theMercator and equal-area projections. The Robinsonprojection gives a useful overall picture of theworld. It keeps the size and shape relationships ofmost continents and oceans, but distorts the size of the polar regions.

Equator

Equator

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REGIONS PLACE MOVEMENT INTERACTIONLOCATION

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Western Europe

N

S

EW

Key

National border

National capital

Other city

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Scale barA scale bar helps youfind the actual distancesbetween points shownon the map. Most scalebars show distances inboth miles andkilometers.

KeyOften a map has a key, orlegend. The key shows thesymbols and colors usedon the map, and whateach one means.

Locator globeMany maps are shown withlocator globes. They showwhere on the globe the areaof the map is located.

Compass roseMany maps show direction bydisplaying a compass rose withthe directions north, east,south, and west. The letters N,E, S, and W are placed toindicate these directions.

TitleAll maps have a title. Thetitle tells you the subjectof the map.

How to Use a MapMapmakers provide several clues to help youunderstand the information on a map. Mapsprovide different clues, depending on their purpose or scale. However,most maps have several clues in common.

0 kilometers 300

0 miles 300

Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area

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Key

0 kilometers 20

0 miles 10 20

Lambert Conformal Conic

City or countyborder

Built-up area Airport

National capital

Town or neighborhood

y

PRACTICE YOURGEOGRAPHY SKILLS

� Greater LondonFind the gray square on the main map of WesternEurope (left). This square represents the area shownon the map above. It shows London’s boundaries,the general shape of the city, and the featuresaround the city. This map can help you find yourway from the airport to the center of town.

� Central LondonFind the gray square on themap of Greater London. Thissquare represents the areashown on the map above. Thismap moves you closer into thecenter of London. Like thezoom on a computer or acamera, this map shows asmaller area but in greaterdetail. It has the largest scale(1 inch represents about 0.9mile). You can use this map toexplore downtown London.

1 What part of a map explainsthe colors used on the map?

2 How does the scale bar changedepending on the scale of themap?

3 Which map would be best forfinding the location of theBritish Museum? Explain why.

Maps of Different ScalesMaps are drawn to different scales, dependingon their purpose. Here are three maps drawn to very different scales. Keep in mind that maps showing large areas have smaller scales. Maps showing small areas have larger scales.

Key

0 kilometers 1

0 miles 0.5 1

Park

Point of interest

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REGIONS PLACE MOVEMENT INTERACTIONLOCATION

PRACTICE YOUR GEOGRAPHY SKILLS

Equator

Tropic of Capricorn Tropic of Capricorn

10° E

30° S 30° S

10° N

20° N

10° W

10° S

10° E

20° E

20° S20° S

10° N

20° N

30° N

40° N 40° N

30° N

10° S

10° W

20° W

Tropic of Cancer

30° E

Equator0˚

Tropic of Cancer

20° E

30° E

40° E

50° E

50° E

50° E

50° E

40° E

ANGOLA

GABONSÃO TOMÉ &PRÍNCIPE

GHANAGUINEA NIGERIA

GUINEA-BISSAU

SENEGALN I G E R

MALIMAURITANIA

ALGERIA

TUNISIA

TO

GO

CON

GO

IVORYCOAST

MOROCCO

EQUATORIAL GUINEA

CAMEROONSIERRA LEONE

BENIN

GAMBIA

LIBERIA

LIBYA EGYPT

SUDAN

CHAD

CENTRALAFRICAN REPUBLIC

DEMOCRATICREPUBLIC

OF THE CONGO

ZAMBIA

TANZANIA

KENYA

ETHIOPIASOMALIA

DJIBOUTI

ERITREA

UGANDA

BURUNDI

BOTSWANA

RWANDA

MALAWICOMOROS

ZIMBABWENAMIBIA

SOUTH AFRICA

LESOTHO

SWAZILAND

MADAGASCAR

MO

ZAM

BIQUE

MADEIRA(Portugal)

CANARY ISLANDS(Spain)

CABINDA(Angola)

WESTERN SAHARA(Morocco)

BURKINAFASO

CAPEVERDE

MAURITIUS

RÉUNION(France)

Cairo

Khartoum

Djibouti

Addis Ababa

Mogadishu

Kampala

NairobiKigali

Bujumbura

Dodoma

MoroniLilongwe

Lusaka

Kinshasa

Bangui

N'Djamena

Malabo

Banjul

Libreville

Abuja

Yamoussoukro

Freetown

Bissau

Nouakchott

BamakoOuagadougou

Lomé

Porto-Novo

Niamey

Tunis

Tripoli

Rabat

Algiers

Monrovia

Conakry

Dakar

Accra

Brazzaville

Luanda

Yaoundé

Harare

Gaborone

Windhoek

Pretoria

Bloemfontein

MaputoMbabane

Maseru

Antananarivo

Asmara

São Tomé

Praia

Cape Town

Port Louis

Dar es Salaam

Alexandria

Casablanca

Lagos

Kano

Kisangani

Mombasa

Durban

Johannesburg

Lubumbashi

Tombouctou

Cape AgulhasCape of Good Hope

Zanzibar

Niger R.

Congo R.

Zambezi R.

Nile

R.

Orange

R.

Limpopo R.

Lake Chad

Lake Turkana

LakeVictoria

Lake TanganyikaLake

Nyasa

ATLANTICOCEAN

INDIANOCEAN

M e d i t e r r a n e a n S e a

Strait of Gibraltar

Gulf of Guinea

Red

Sea

Gulf of Aden

0 kilometers

1,0000 miles

1,000Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area

Political AfricaKey

National border

Disputed border

National capital

Other city

N

S

EW

� Dakar, Senegal Dakar is the capital of Senegal, inWest Africa. Its Presidential Palaceoverlooks the Atlantic Ocean.

1 What symbols show a nationalborder, a national capital, and a city?

2 What is Angola’s capital city?

Political MapsPolitical maps show political borders: continents,countries, and divisions within countries, such asstates or provinces. The colors on political maps donot have any special meaning, but they make themap easier to read. Political maps also includesymbols and labels for capitals, cities, and towns.

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EquatorEquator

Tropic of CapricornTropic of Capricorn

10° E

10° E

20° E

30° E

40° E 50° E

50° E

50° E

50° E

20° E

20° S

30° S 30° S

20° S

10° N 10° N

20° N20° N 20° N

30° N

40° N 40° N

30° N

10° S 10° S

10° W

10° W

20° W

20° W40° E

30° E

Tropic of Cancer

Atlas Mountains

Ahaggar

Mountains

QattaraDepression

LibyanD

esert

CongoBasin

Sudd

S A H A R A

S A H E L

EthiopianHighlands

SerengetiPlain

KalahariDesert

Namib

Desert

FoutaDjallon

Arabian

Desert

Ada

maw

a

Hig

hlan

ds

Gre

atR

ift

Val

ley

Kilimanjaro19,341 ft(5,895 m)

TibestiMountains

Drakensberg

OkavangoBasin

Madagascar

Réunion

Mauritius

Cape AgulhasCape of Good Hope

Comoros

Zanzibar

Cape VerdeIslands

Canary Islands

Bioko

São Tomé

Senegal R.

Niger R.

B enue R.

Uba

ngi R

.

Congo R.

Orange R.

Zambezi R.

SuezCanal

Vol

taR

.

Blue Nile

R.

Whi

teN

ileR.

Limpopo R.

N ile

R

LakeChad

Lake Turkana

LakeVictoria

Lake Tanganyika

Lake Nyasa

LakeAlbert

Lake Tana

ATLANTIC OCEAN

INDIANOCEAN

M e d i t e r r a n e a n S e a

Strait of Gibraltar

Gulf ofGuinea

Moz

ambi

que

Chan

nel

Red

Sea

Gulf of Aden

N

S

EW

ELEVATIONFeet Meters

Physical Africa

Key

National border

Disputed border

More than13,000

6,500–13,000

1,600–6,500

650–1,600

0–650

More than3,960

1,980–3,960

480–1,980

200–480

0–200

Below sea level Below sea level

0 kilometers

1,0000 miles

1,000Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area

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Physical MapsPhysical maps represent what a region looks like byshowing its major physical features, such as hillsand plains. Physical maps also often show elevationand relief. Elevation, indicated by colors, is theheight of the land above sea level. Relief, indicatedby shading, shows how sharply the land rises or falls.

� The Congo BasinThe Congo Basin is a majorphysical feature of Africa. The keyshows that its elevation is withinthe range of 650–1,600 feet.

PRACTICE YOUR GEOGRAPHY SKILLS

1 Which areas of Africa have thehighest elevation?

2 How can you use relief to plan a hiking trip?

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REGIONS PLACE MOVEMENT INTERACTIONLOCATION

65° E

70° E75° E

80° E

35° N

85° E90° E

95° E 100° E

100° ETropic of Cancer

95° E90° E

85° E

25° N

20° N

80° E

75° E

70° E

65° E

30° N

25° N

35° N

20° N

15° N

10° N10° N

15° N

5° N5° N

Tropic of Cancer

85° E 90° E 95° E 30° N

Mumbai(Bombay)

Chennai(Madras)

Calcutta(Kolkata)

Delhi

PA

K

I ST

AN

CH I N A

MYANMAR

I N D I A

BANGLADESH

BHUTAN

N E P A L

SRILANKA

N

S

EW

WS for

India: Climate RegionsKey

Tropical wet

Tropical wet and dry

Semiarid

Arid

National border

City

Humid subtropical

Highland

0 kilometers

5000 miles

500Lambert Conformal Conic

PRACTICE YOUR GEOGRAPHY SKILLS

� Rain in DelhiOne of Delhi’s features as a place is itshumid subtropical climate. During itsrainy season, Delhi receives heavy rainfall.

1 What part of a special-purposemap tells you what the colorson the map mean?

2 Where are arid regions locatedin India? Are there major citiesin those regions?

Special-Purpose Maps:ClimateUnlike the boundary lines on a political map, theboundary lines on climate maps do not separate the land into exact divisions. For example, in thisclimate map of India, a tropical wet climate graduallychanges to a tropical wet and dry climate.

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65° E

70° E75° E

80° E

35° N

85° E90° E

100° ETropic of Cancer

95° E90° E

85° E

25° N

20° N

80° E

75° E

70° E

65° E

30° N

25° N

35° N

20° N

15° N

10° N10° N

15° N

5° N5° N

Tropic of Cancer

Mumbai(Bombay)

Chennai(Madras)

Calcutta(Kolkata)

Delhi

N

S

EW

0 kilometers

5000 miles

500Lambert Conformal Conic

India: Official LanguagesKey

Hindi

Bengali

Telugu

Marathi

Tamil

Urdu

Gujarati

Kannada

Malayalam

Oriya

Punjabi

Other

National borderState borderCity

Man

ipur

Miz

ora

m

Trip

ura

Uttar PradeshRajasthan

Madhya Pradesh

Bihar

Jharkhand

Chha

ttisg

arh

WestBengal

Orissa

Meghalaya

Assam

Jammu & Kashmír

Punjab

Haryana

Himachal Pradesh

Gujarat

Daman & Diu

Maharashtra

Karnataka

Goa

AndhraPradesh

KeralaTamilNadu

ArunachalPradesh

Sikkim

Nagaland

PA

K

I ST

AN

CH I N A

MYANMAR

I N D I A

BANGLADESH

BHUTAN

N E P A L

SRI LANKA

PRACTICE YOUR GEOGRAPHY SKILLS

Special-Purpose Maps:LanguageThis map shows the official languages of India. Anofficial language is the language used by the govern-ment. Even though a region has an official language,the people there may speak other languages as well.As in other special-purpose maps, the key explainshow the different languages appear on the map.

The Hindi language �Hindi is the most widely

spoken language in India. Itis also the most popular

language in Delhi.

1 What color represents theMalayalam language on this map?

2 Where in India is Tamil the official language?

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Caribbean Sea

A T L A N T I CO C E A N

Amazon R.

Buenos AiresConcepción

Potosí

CuzcoLima

Panama City

Mexico City

FRENCHGUIANA(France)

DUTCHGUIANA(Netherlands)

NEWGRENADA

(Spain)

PERU(Spain)

NEW SPAIN(Spain)

RIO DELA PLATA

(Spain)

BRAZIL(Portugal)

0 miles

1,0000 kilometers

1,000

Wagner VII

� Native American pyramidWhen Europeans arrived in the Americas, the lands they found were not empty. Diverse groups of people with distinct cultures already lived there. Thetemple-topped pyramid shown above was built byMayan Indians in Mexico, long before Columbus sailed.

Migration to the Americas, 1500–1800A huge wave of migration from the Eastern Hemisphere began in the 1500s. European explorersin the Americas paved the way for hundreds of yearsof European settlement there. Forced migration fromAfrica started soon afterward, as Europeans began toimport enslaved Africans to work in the Americas.The map to the right shows these migrations.

INTERACTIONLOCATION REGIONS PLACE MOVEMENT

Human MigrationMigration is an important part of the study of geography. Since the beginning of history, people have been on the move. As peoplemove, they both shape and areshaped by their environments.Wherever people go, the culture they bring with them mixes with the cultures of the place in whichthey have settled.

Explorers arrive �In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain for the Americas with three ships. The ships shown here are replicas of those ships.

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Congo R.

Niger R.

CongoBasin

Saint-Louis

Fort JamesCacheu

Axim Accra

Luanda

Benguela

Elmina

AKANSTATES

WALO

BENIN

KONGO

ENGLAND

NETHERLANDSFRANCE

SPAINPORTUGAL

MOROCCO

IRELAND

SCOTLAND

A F R I C A

E U R O P E

European migration

African migration

National or colonial border

Traditional African border

African State

Spain and possessions

Portugal and possessions

Netherlands and possessions

France and possessions

England and possessions

Migration to Latin America, 1500–1800

Key

N

S

EW

� Elmina, Ghana Elmina, in Ghana, is one of the many ports fromwhich enslaved Africans were transported fromAfrica. Because slaves and gold were traded here,stretches of the western African coast wereknown as the Slave Coast and the Gold Coast.

“Push” and “Pull” FactorsGeographers describe a people’s choiceto migrate in terms of “push” factorsand “pull” factors. Push factors arethings in people’s lives that push themto leave, such as poverty and politicalunrest. Pull factors are things inanother country that pull people tomove there, including better livingconditions and hopes of better jobs.

PRACTICE YOURGEOGRAPHY SKILLS

1 Where did the Portuguesesettle in the Americas?

2 Would you describe Africanmigration at this time as aresult of both push factors andpull factors? Explain why or why not.

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M16 MapMaster Skills Handbook

REGIONS PLACE MOVEMENT INTERACTIONLOCATION

NORTH

AMERICA

SOUTH

AMERICA

Nomadic herding

Hunting and gathering

Forestry

Livestock raising

Commercial farming

Subsistence farming

Manufacturing and trade

Little or no activityNational borderDisputed border

World Land UseKey

0 kilometers

2,0000 miles

2,000Robinson

� Wheat farming in the United StatesDeveloped countries practice commercial farming rather than subsistence farming.Commercial farming is the production offood mainly for sale, either within thecountry or for export to other countries.Commercial farmers like these in Oregonoften use heavy equipment to farm.

� Growing barley in EcuadorThese farmers in Ecuador use handtools to harvest barley. They will usemost of the crop they grow to feedthemselves or their farm animals.

Levels of DevelopmentNotice on the map key the termsubsistence farming. This termmeans the production of foodmainly for use by the farmer’s ownfamily. In less-developed countries,subsistence farming is often one ofthe main economic activities. Incontrast, in developed countriesthere is little subsistence farming.

World Land UsePeople around the world have many differenteconomic structures, or ways of making a living.Land-use maps are one way to learn about thesestructures. The ways that people use the land ineach region tell us about the main ways thatpeople in that region make a living.

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A F R I C A

EUROPE A S I A

AUSTRALIA

N

S

EW

PRACTICE YOURGEOGRAPHY SKILLS

� Growing rice in VietnamWomen in Vietnam plant rice in wet rice paddies, using thesame planting methods their ancestors did.

� Herding cattle in KenyaBesides subsistence farming,nomadic herding is anothereconomic activity in Africa.This man drives his cattleacross the Kenyan grasslands.

1 In what parts of the world issubsistence farming the mainland use?

2 Locate where manufacturingand trade are the main landuse. Are they found more oftennear areas of subsistencefarming or areas of commercialfarming? Why might this be so?

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