Physical Geog 102 - Ch 1

Atmosphere

Gravity makes it possible

• Takes air molecules and forces them closer to earth’s surface

• Moon has no atmosphere

  • Air molecules go into space

Moves heat and moisture (clouds & weather)

• Responsible for weather

• Protects us from Space debris

  • Solar flares, northern lights

• Unequal heating = weather (air coming down during winter)

Hydrosphere - water

The “Blue Planet”

• Covered in water 76% of earth is covered in water, 10% is ice

Stores heat

Lithosphere - rock

Earth’s crust and upper mantle

Terrain sculpting

Biosphere

Needs the other 3 spheres

Located near the Earth’s surface

Latitude & Longitude

Earth’s address system

Grid pattern

Latitude (0 degrees- 90 degrees)

Parallels

Distance north or south of the equator

• Splits world into two hemiphere

• North pole is 90 degrees north latitude

• South pole is 90 degrees south latitude

69 miles between each degrees of latitude

• California is 69 × 33 degrees = 2,300 miles from the equator

Seven Parallels

Longitude (0 degrees- 180 degrees)

• Meridians

  • Longitude lines

• Measures east & west

• Meridians are only parallel at the equator (69 miles apart)

• Meridians converge toward the poles

• Prime Meridian

  • Distance east or west

  • Like the equator for longitutde

International Date Line

• Located 180 degrees longitude

• The time does not change, only the day

• You lose a day when you go from east to west (Sunday becomes Monday)

• You gain a day when you go from west to east (Sunday becomes Saturday)

Geometric Boundaries

Latitude and longitude lines are often times used as political boundaries

49th Parallel

• The boundary between US and Canada

Four Corners region

• Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico

Township & Range

Earth-Sun Relations

Key to Climate/Seasons

Earth Movements

Rotation on Axis (24 hours)

Revolution around Sun (365 Days)

December Solstices (Dec 22)

• Direct rays of the sun reach the tropic of capricorn

• 24 hours of daylight in the antartic circle

• 24 hours of darkness in the arctic circle

• longest day of the year in the southern hemisphere

• shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere

Equinoxes (September 22nd and March 22nd)

• Equal days and equal nights

• Direct rays of the sun on the equator

• Neautral Tilt

June Solstices (June 22nd)

• Direct rays of the sun reach the tropic of cancer

• 24 hours of daylight in the arctic circle

• 24 hours of darkness in the antarctic circle

• Shortest day of the year in the southern hemisphere

• longest day of the year in th enorthern hemisphere

The Basics

• There is 24 different time zones in the world

• There is a new time zone every 15 degrees of longitude

• Extends 7.5 degrees west and 7.5 degrees east of each time zone meridian

• it take 4 minutes for the earth to rotate 1 degree of longittude

• The time increases as you move from west to east

• Time is set close to a location’s solar noon

Daylight Savings Time

• Designed to save electricity

• Spring forward an hour in Spring

• Fall back an hour in Fall

Geo - Graphy

Geography is a greek discipline

Geo: Earth

Graphy: Describe

Oblate Spheroid

Earth is a squished sphere