Its field of study is the flora
and fauna distribution and
their relationship with the
environment
Botany and
Zoology
Human Geograohy
Studies societies
and how the
occupation of
territory affects
them and the
environment.
Anthropology and
Etnography
Physical
Geography
Deals with the
studies of natural
phenomena
hurricanes,
earthquakes, tsunamis,
storms or tornados.
Cultural
Landscape
Natural Landscape
the one that has not
been modified by
human action.
the one that has been
created or changed by
the people, in order to
adapt it to their needs.
The Earth, a Body of the Solar
System
The Solar
System
Theories
The Nebular
theory was
revealed by the
German
philosopher
Immanuel Kant
(1775) and by the
French astronomer
Pierre Simon,
marquis of Laplace
(1796), and
suggests that the
Sun, the planets
and satellites
(including the
moon) of the Solar
System were
formed from a gas
cloud slowly
rotating until it
contracted by the
gravitational
force. This theory
was very famous
during almost the
whole 19th
century, until the
end of it and
beginning of the
20th century new
hypothesis came
out: the
catastrophic ones.
The Catastrophic theory proposes that the Solar System was formed from the Sun when a nearby star
approached to it attracted by gravitational forces. Thus, large amount of matter was drawn in the
form of drops and condensed as to form planets. However, this theory proposed by the American
scientists Thomas Chamberlain and Forest Moulton, was abandoned in 1940 because it turned out to
be naive, and the nebular theory was again generally accepted.
The Alastair G. W. Cameron theory supposes that the Solar System was formed from the evolution
of a nebula that contracted because of the gravitational attraction between its own particles, and
was caused by the explosion of a nearby supernova (a very old star).
Weizsäcker theory assumes that an original nebula was formed by a disk of hydrogen, dust and
helium in rotational movement. The powerful centrifugal force caused by rotation, expelled a big
portion of gases and dust, which by gravity stuck together and started to form bigger rock masses,
which later would generate planets and satellites.
Components of the solar
system
Planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth,
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and
Neptune.
Asteroids This
term refers to
rocky bodies, of
different shapes
and sizes that
orbit around the
Sun, especially in
the inner Solar
System.
Satellites They are small
rocky bodies that move
around bigger objects,
especially planets
Meteoroids / meteorites / meteors
Meteoroids are little chunks of rock or
debris in space. They are solid bodies that
origin from the destruction of comets or
asteroids, and that cross the space with
big velocity.
Comets The word
comet means
“hairy body” and
they are low
density bodies,
basically cosmic
snowballs of frozen
gases, rock and
dust roughly the
size of a small
town.
Sun It is a yellow star (i.e. middle-aged) that even located
150 million kilometers away from Earth; it still is its source
of energy.
Earth’s
Structure
Earth’s Structure
Nucleus
Internal:
Internal Nucleus:
Despite its very
high
temperature
(around 5000°C),
it is solid
because of the
great pressures
that the
superior layers
exert on it. It is
composed
mainly of nickel
and iron.
External:
External
Nucleus: It is
liquid and
presents
ascendant and
descendant
convective
movements
that produce
electric
currents, what
in turn is the
basis of the
Earth’s
magnetic field.
It is composed
mainly of
molten iron,
nickel, sulfur
and silicon.
Mantle
Lower mantle.
Also called
interior mantle,
is mainly
composed of
iron silicates and
is solid. Upper
mantle. Also
called exterior
mantle, it is
located just
below the Earth’s
crust and is
separated from
it by the
Mohorovicic
discontinuity.
Crust
Oceanic crust:
Basaltic rocks
predominate.
The oceanic
crust covers the
upper mantle
and is the seat
of the
continental
cortex.
Continental
crust: It is the
outermost layer
of Earth. Its
thickness has
barely 35
kilometers, but
it is greater in
the
mountainous
zones.
Lithosphere
It is Earth’s
outermost layer
and is formed
by the crust and
the upper
mantle. It is
formed also by
16 tectonic
plates that
move above one
of the mantle’s
most fluent
zone, called
asthenosphere.
It supports the
lithosphere,
including the
continents.
Geologicall eras
Earth crust dynamics
Bigger plates: North
American, South
American, Eurasian,
African, Indian,
Australian,
Antarctic and
Pacific. Smaller
plates:
Smaller plates:
Cocos, Nazca,
Caribbean,
Arabic and
Filipino.
Volcanism and seismicity
Volcanism is a
consequence of the
multiple
movements of the
tectonic plates.
Seismicity An earthquake is the result of
the collision between two tectonic plates,
their displacement or rearrangement.
These movements release energy in the
form of seismic waves.
The
Atmosphere
The Layers of the
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is composed of gases, mainly
nitrogen (78%), and oxygen (21%).
The Climate and the climate zones
To comprehend this
phenomenon, it is
necessary to
distinguish between
the terms weather
and climate because,
although one may
think that they are
the same, they are
very different things.
Climate
classification
Geographical
Science
Methodological
Principles
Location
Latitude
Longitude
Altitude
Causalty
It identifies
the causes or
the events
that trigger a
determined
phenomenon
or event and
their
consequences
Relation
It refers to
the existing
coordination
between the
geographical
phenomena
and the
social and
biological
events that
happen in a
place.
Generality
It establishes
the
identification
and
comparison
of the events
and
phenomenon
development
in space and
time
Evolution
It studies the
transformation
that the
geographical
events and
phenomena
undergo
Earth Lines, Spots and
Circles
Earth’s
Representations
Historical maps: they
represent human events; for
example, the reach of the
German troops during World
War Human maps: they are
useful to represent the
infrastructure built up by
humans such as highways,
dams, railroads, etc. Physical
maps: they represent physical
phenomena, for example, the
distribution of different kinds
of soil, climate zones, etc.
Topographical maps:
they are used to
locate rivers, towns,
cities, and
communication
means. Land use
maps: they represent
the intended use,
such as agricultural,
farm land, residential
or industrial areas.
Geological maps: they
represent mine
location and rock
distribution.
Edaphological maps:
they represent the
different kinds of soil.
Climatological maps:
they represent the
different climates
occurring in the
regions of Earth.
Urban map: they
indicate the
distribution of
streets, suburbs,
schools, banks,
hospitals, etc.