GEOGRAPHY

What is Geography?
 WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?
Geography is about Earths landscapes, peoples, places and
environments. It is about the world in which we live.
The word Geography comes from the Greek words geo, meaning
the earth, and graphy, meaning to draw, write, represent, record or
describe.
A geographer is a person who studies or writes about geography.
Geography is about the past, the present and the future; it helps you
make a choice and understand the impact of these choices.
 SPICESS

Space
Place
Interconnections
Change
Environment
Sustainability
Scale
 SPACE

Where places are located and how features

are spread out across the Earths surface, This is
the concept that the majority of people would
relate to Geography. Where are the different
countries and places in the world? How are
features on the Earths surface spread out?
Ask your parents what they studied in
Geography this is probably the only one of
the SPICESS that they can remember studying
in detail.
 PLACE
How an area is identified and what it means to the people
who live there. A good example of place is to think about
school.

What makes it special?

What makes it part of the community?
Who are the people who go to your school and how do you
recognise them?
 INTERCONNECTIONS
How things are connected with each other and the consequences of
this. Possibly the hardest of all the concepts of Geography to
understand. Think about a surfer or skier. How do they use the wave or
the slope to get from the sea to the beach or from the top of the
mountain to the bottom?

What happens if the wave is too small of the slope of the hill is too
steep?
 CHANGE
What does
this sound
like?

How a situation has changed over time (change over time)or where things
have moved from and to(change over space).

Of all the concepts in Geography this is probably the easiest to see and
understand. We can see change and we can describe it.

How have you changed since you started school?

 ENVIRONMENT
The physical and biological world around us that supports and makes
our lives better. An example of human environment might be your
house. Go to Google and search where children live to see the very
different environments of children around the world
 SUSTAINABILITY
How we can use and manage out world around us so that future
generations have the same resources available to them. Children's picture
story books that discuss the environment ad how we use it can provide good
examples of sustainability and what it means in simple terms.

Dr Suess The Lorax or Graeme Bases Unos Garden are good examples.

If you are struggling with this concept through out the term; read one of
these books.
 SCALE
The level at which we look at issues. For example, do these
issues only affect people in one area or people all over the
world?

Two examples of issues of different scale would be the

introduction of bike paths in your local area (local scale)
and the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in
December 2015 (global scale).
 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
So far we have discussed the different concepts of Geography but not the
physical aspects that we could study. All of the physical aspects of
geography fit into one of the following spheres;
Atmosphere: The layer
of air around the
Earth that drives our
Biosphere: All the plants weather
and animals
Atmosphere

Lithosphere: The outer Lithosphere Hydrosphere

Hydrosphere: All
layer of hard rock and
forms of water in the
mineral on the Earth
Earths environment
 TASK 1: SCALE
Below are four different issues, state whether they are local, national,
international or global scale

1. Asylum seekers
2. Salinity in the Murray-Darling Basin
3. New School uniforms
4. Climate change

HINT: There is one of each

answer.

Salinity: the amount of salt in water

 TASK 2: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Biosphere Lithosphere Atmosphere Hydrosphere

Put each item on the following list in the correct box in the table:

earthquake, rain, tornado, flood, Mount Bartle Frere, crocodile, ozone layers, gold, drought,
Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Harbour,
 USING SPICESS
Many of the topics and concepts that are covered in Geography ask you to
think about the current situation in a location and then to propose changes
to improve the situation in the future. You will then need to consider what
further problems or issues could be raised by your suggestions.
 TASK 3: CASE STUDY
Examples:
Problems of transport and congestion in urban areas
Impact of population growth has on rainforest ecosystems
Changes that are made to our water systems and how we protect them

Instructions
In small groups pick one of the examples above and discuss how your would
solve this problem. If you can think of examples this will help you with your
discussion. I will be asking you for an answer
 TASK FOUR:
THREE GORGES DAM
CHINA

Take a very close look at these pictures, and answer the

following questions. See board
DROUGHT
AUSTRALIAS CLIMATE

Australias climate means that

drought is a regular hazard for the
country.
PHYSICAL CAUSES OF DROUGHT

Lower than average rainfall

Higher temperatures high evaporation

Probability of future rain being lower than average

Case study the Millennium Drought
Australia has had many incidences of
drought, some of which have been long
lasting and quite damaging. The Federation
Drought at the beginning of the 20th
century was one of Australias worst
droughts, but the most recent severe and
extensive drought has been the Millennium
Drought, regarded as Australias worst
drought.
There are differences of opinion on when
exactly this drought began, but drought
conditions were already being recorded as
early as 1996. The drought did not end until
mid-2010. The emergence of drought
conditions in central Queensland in 2014
and the ongoing decline in rainfall in
Australias southeast have raised concerns
about whether drought is becoming more
the norm.
 N
This map shows the extent
of above average
temperatures across the
country during the 1996 to
2006 period.

Scale not given

 The Millennium Drought

These maps illustrate the rainfall deficiencies in Australia in 2002 and 2006. Conditions
became worse in central and southern Australia as the drought continued.
Environmental effects of the drought
Drought conditions:

increased incidence of bushfires increased disease

increased incidence of erosion destroyed habitats caused
and dust storms migration of wildlife
 Economic effects of the drought

Livestock numbers were decimated

Agricultural productivity was severely affected
More money spent on irrigation, and on feed and water for animals
Cotton crops were reduced
Businesses that depended on farming lost business
People had to pay more for food
 Social effects of the drought

Water storage dropped, which led to enforcement of household water

restrictions
Health problems related to poor water quality and dust
Loss of employment and reduced incomes
Anxiety and depression about economic losses
Some people had to move from farms
Fewer recreational activities
 Changes brought about by drought

An increased awareness of the need for better water management

practices led to improved water management policies.

These included:

a wide range of water restrictions for households and for agriculture

government subsidies to households for water management practices
such as rainwater tanks
major projects to improve water availability in the future, such as
desalination plants.
 PEOPLE CAN WORSEN DROUGHTS
WITH NEGATIVE BEHAVIOURS

Water conservation: Water waste:

shade over water exposed water surfaces
sources increase evaporation
People can
worsen the effects watering when use of water when
of droughts. When evaporation rate is low evaporation rates are
negative high
conserving native
behaviours such vegetation use of plants for stock
as the ones foods that are not
outlined in this recycling water drought tolerant
diagram outweigh
positive water inefficient water use
conservation
strategies, drought
effects can be
increased.

Short-term management
Governments give financial
assistance to help farmers.
Use of supplementary
feeds and agistment for
stock.
Responses
Long-term management
Changing water management practices, for
example:
o increased use of grey water and recycled
water
o more water-efficient household appliances
o improved industrial processes.
Drought proofing land and communities, for
example:
o planting drought-resistant vegetation,
irrigation storage and reducing livestock
numbers
o extending water infrastructure such as
dams and pipelines
o desalination plants.
WATER
Water has economic value in a range of activities.

agriculture energy manufacturing

recreation

mining
Each of these economic activities places different demands on water.

Some economic
activities in Australia,
like agriculture, use a
lot of water, and other
activities, like the
generation of
electricity, use a
smaller amount of
water.
 Water consumption by water management area in Australia
N

Different areas of Australia have

different demands on water.
Scale not given
 Thirsty animals

Animal Daily consumption

Sheep 210 litres

Beef cattle 3580 litres
Dairy cattle 70250 litres
Horses 4050 litres
Pigs 1220 litres
Poultry (100 birds) 33 litres

Cattle, sheep and other domesticated animals also

place demands on water resources.
 Thirsty crops

Crop (1 kilogram) Typical water requirement

Cotton 7 00029 000 litres

Rice 3 0005 000 litres
Sugarcane 1 5003 000 litres
Soya 2 000 litres
Wheat 900 litres
Potatoes 500 litres

Various agricultural crops place demands on water.

In comparison to cotton, food crops like wheat and
potatoes place less demand on water resources.
 World rice production
N

Rice is considered quite

a thirsty crop and it is
not coincidental that
rice is grown in greater
quantities in areas
where there is either
abundant rainfall or river
systems that can be
used for irrigation.

Scale not given

 Rice paddy fields
In many Asian countries a
lot of land is taken up
with rice production.
Because many species of
rice need to be grown in
flooded fields, these fields
need to be flat. Enormous
effort goes into preparing
hill sides and even
mountain slopes for rice
production so that slopes
are evened out and flat
fields are created.
 Water consumption by water management area in Australia

The Riverina district along the Murray and

Murrumbidgee rivers is the major rice growing
area of Australia. It is not coincidental that this is
the area with the highest level of water use.
Rice landscapes

A rice landscape in Australia is quite

similar to a rice landscape in other parts
of the world - flat fields that are
covered with water during part of the
growing phase.

There is significant difference, however,

in the use of water in Australian rice
fields compared to Asian rice fields.
Australian rice production uses 50 per
cent less water than in other parts of
the world, mainly because more water
efficient varieties of rice grown.
 Harvesting rice

In 2015 in Australia, 11 tons of rice per

hectare was harvested, compared to
the world average of 4.8 tons per
hectare. Australian rice, however, is not
grown in tropical regions as it is in Asia,
where there is plenty of rainfall.
Australian rice depends heavily on
irrigation. Production methods are also
different in Australia compared to Asian
countries. Production in Australia is
more mechanised and this and other
factors allows for higher yields per
hectare.
 Water affects the places it connects
These effects can be positive or negative.

Water is an essential of life. It not only connects

environments, people and places, it also has a
significant environmental, economic and social
effect on people and places.

Wind, which brings clouds and life-giving rain, can

become the destructive force of a cyclone. The
gentle lap of the ocean on a shore, can become
the devastation of a tsunami.
 Water affects the places it connects
These are all positive effects.

The availability of water can alter

places. Places can become
farmland because water is
available for crops or to produce
livestock. Water can also be
harnessed to produce power.
Dams store water to be used to
turn the turbines for hydroelectric
power. These are all positive
effects.
 Water affects the places it connects
These are all negative effects.

Water can also have negative effects. Damage from

water can come in different forms - heavy fog can
disrupt air travel, snowstorms can shut down cities,
and heavy rainfall can cause widespread flooding.
 Water affects the places it connects

Oceans have positive economic

and social effects, such as fishing
for livelihoods and for recreation.
They are the worlds highways
and they have the important social
effect of connecting communities
Coastal Japan swamped by the 2011 tsunami
throughout the world. However,
these same oceans can have
enormous negative environmental,
economic and social effects.
Energy concentration of 2011 tsunami after an earthquake off
A tsunami, such as the one that the coast of Japan. The darker the colour, the more force is
contained in the wave.
swamped parts of Japan in 2011,
can have devastating effects on
the environment and economy of
a region and on its social
infrastructure.
 Case study: Rivers
Rivers can demonstrate the varied environmental,
economic and social effects of water as it connects
communities. Rivers shape the environment, as they
carve out canyons through layers of bedrock or
spread out over a vast distance and create
channels and streams.

Colorado River in Arizona Ganges River delta, Bangladesh

 Danube River

The Danube drainage N The Danube River is the second

basin longest river in Europe. It begins its
course in the Black Forest of Germany
and flows through nine other countries
until it reaches the Black Sea. It acts as
part of the border between several of
these countries.
 Danube River
The Danube connects hundreds of towns throughout
Europe and four capital cities: Vienna, Bratislava,
Budapest and Belgrade. This is more capital cities
than any other river in the world. It has important
positive economic and social effects, because it
provides a livelihood for millions of people through
activities like fishing and farming. It is a major
recreation and transport network as well.
Vineyards along the Danube

Fishing in the Danube delta Cruise ships along the Danube

 Danube River

The Danube with icy shores in Bulgaria The Danube frozen over, Vienna in Austria

Like many of the worlds rivers, the Danube can also have negative
environmental, economic and social effects on the communities it
connects. In winter, rivers can be affected by the cold to such an
extent that they freeze over. The Danube does not often freeze, but
when it does, it hinders transport, which affects the shipment of
goods and the tourism industry.
 Danube River
Flooding is a major negative environmental,
economic and social effect of the Danube as it
connects places and people. Floods not only wash
away infrastructure and cause huge economic
losses to communities, they also have social
consequences, because they affect peoples
livelihoods and their sense of community. Floods
carry debris along the river and they often affect the
sewage facilities, which can cause environmental
damage.
Flood waters swamp Budapest

Floods at Sandbag Park along the Danube

Potential water
(water vapour)

Potential water
Water can be described
(snow, glaciers) as potential water or
available water.
Potential water is water
that is not immediately
Potential water available for humans to
Available water
Surface water
(desalination and evaporation)
use because it is in an
(lakes, rivers, dams) inaccessible state or has
to have some kind of
treatment to release it as
available water.
Available water is,
therefore, water that
needs no special
treatment and can be
used immediately.
Available water
Groundwater
(soil moisture)
 FRESH WATER RESOURCES

Available resources Potential resources

lakes rivers ice glaciers

dams groundwater water vapour salt water

(to be desalinated)
 ACCESS TO WATER We often take water for
granted, because we
can simply turn on a tap
In some countries clean water is available to all. to get what we want.
But in many countries
there is no tap water
and people, usually
women, often have to
travel long distances
every day to access
According to water. Here a woman
UN Water, has had to drop a
783 million people container down a deep
did not have well to bring it to the
access to clean surface. She is going to
water in 2013. have to carry the tub of
water on her head
back to her village. The
water is brown and
In other countries water is unsafe and clean water is
unappealing but many
often difficult to access.
people do not have
access to clean water.
Over 600 million people have no access to clean water.
That is more than 25 times the Australian population!
The need to improve
peoples access to clean
drinking water is highlighted
by these images showing the
various sources of water for
people in less developed Water
countries. Whether it is from around
an underground source in the the
desert, or from a river like the world
Ganges in India, where
people bathe and wash their
clothes, water is not the clean
and safe resource people in
countries like Australia are
used to.
 Safe drinking water is a top priority for furthering the The total hours a day spent by
wellbeing of millions of people around the world. the worlds women collecting
Disease from contaminated water is one of the water? 200 million hours.
biggest killers of children.
http://water.org/water-crisis/water-facts/water/

Safe drinking water

In a 2010 resolution, the UN and adequate
The water crisis General Assembly recognised sanitation are crucial
claims more lives safe drinking water and for poverty reduction
through disease sanitation as a human right. and crucial for
Water for Life 2005-2015
than any war claims sustainable
through guns. development.
UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Approximately 3.4 million people die each

More people have a
year from a water-related disease. Nearly
mobile phone than a
all deaths occur in the less developed world
toilet.
and most are children. Estimated with data from WHO/UNICEF Joint
World Health Organisation Monitoring Program
 PROPORTION OF POPULATION USING IMPROVED DRINKING
WATER, 2015

While large areas of the

world have access to
safe drinking water,
there are places, many
with large populations,
that are struggling to
improve their access to
clean drinking water.

Data sourced from World Health Organisation http://gamapserver.who.int/mapLibrary/Files/Maps/Global_water_2015.png

 THE WATER CYCLE

What goes up, must come down!

 WATER PROCESSES
Water moves through the environment using different processes.
Key terms Processes of the water cycle
The heating of bodies of water (e.g. ocean, rivers, lakes) causes water
evaporation
to change into water vapour.
When cooled high in the atmosphere, water vapour changes into liquid
condensation
form and becomes water droplets, forming clouds.
When the atmosphere is unable to hold the condensed water (becomes
precipitation saturated), water droplets (in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow) fall
back down to earth from the clouds.
When water runs along the ground surface it may collect in bodies of
run-off
water such as rivers, lakes, streams or the ocean.
infiltration Some water soaks into the ground and becomes groundwater.
Water is drawn up from the ground through the root systems of trees
transpiration and plants. The water moves through the tree or plant and evaporates
through the leaves.
 CLIMATE GRAPHS
You will need a red and blue pen/pencil/highlighter for this lesson.
 CLIMATE GRAPHS
Climate graphs are used to illustrate the average temperature and rainfall
experienced at a particular place over the course of a year. The graphs
usually consist of a red line graph showing average monthly temperature,
and a simple column graph showing average monthly rainfall figures.

Sometimes these graphs include the maximum and the minimum

temperature, in this case you will use two line graphs.

Traditionally the line graphs are displayed in red to indicate temperature and
the column graphs are blue to indicate rainfall.
 DATA DEPENDANT

This is an example of climate date for New York City. Please copy this down
into the table at the bottom of the handout.
 EXEMPLAR
Here is an example of a climate
graph. This is an example of what
you will be producing today

Use the information you have just

copied down to create your
climate graph.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
This is a completed version of the climate graph. Yours
should looks very close to this.
 HOMEWORK
For homework;

You must create a climate graph for Babinda, QLD.

You can find rain and temperature data from the Bureau of Meteorology
(BoM)
AUSTRALIAS WATER
 Australias water resources
Seasonal rainfall
1 2

Surface water
Great Artesian Basin
N N
3 4

Scale not given

Population density for Australia, 2012

Australias population is
concentrated around the coast, and
is highest where there is access to
water.

Scale not given

 Location of the Ord River Scheme
The Ord River region is
located in the east
Kimberley region of
Case study: Australia. The region
The Ord River overlaps the border
Irrigation Scheme between Western
Australia and the Northern
Territory. The region
contains several urban
centres, remote stations
and Aboriginal
settlements. The largest
urban centres in the
region are Kununurra
(approximately 6000
people), Halls Creek
(approximately 1300
people) and Wyndham
(approximately 800
people).
 Ord River Scheme area

Huge amounts of water flow along the Ord

River and into Cambridge Gulf (Click)
during summer, but it practically dries up
and becomes just a series of pools in winter.
After one of the most severe droughts in
northern Australia (19351940), decisions
were made to do something to capture the
massive summer waterflows of the river. The
Ord River Irrigation Scheme was born, with
plans to dam the river and provide year-
round water for agriculture.
 AGRICULTURE IN THE AREA

Before dams were built on the

Ord River the area was used by
European settlers for cattle. It
was not a productive farming
area. Traditional owners of the
land used and managed the
area to obtain food, water and
other resources.

Top dam Lake Argyle

 CONTROLLING THE RIVER FLOW
How dam regulation changed flows
in the Ord River
The construction of the
dam brought significant
6000 changes to the flow of
the river. This graph
Much less seasonal variation
5000
in flows with dam regulation
shows how significant
Volume of water flows the dam has been in
in gigalitres (GL) 4000 changing the flow
pattern of the river.
3000

2000

1000

0
Pre regulation (before the dams) Post regulation (after the dams)

Wet Season GL Dry Season GL

LAKE ARGYLE AS SEEN FROM SPACE
Lake Argyle formed by damming the Ord River
 The lake covers almost 1000 square kilometres and is
the second largest man-made freshwater storage
facility in Australia by volume of water.

Lake Argyle
The perceived abundance of water in the rivers of northern Australia led to
ideas about turning the northern parts of Australia into Australias food bowl.

The plan was to turn northern Australia into a food bowl and to use the
abundant water supply of the northern rivers to develop extensive food
resources.

However, it was not as easy a solution as initially thought. The problems include
northern Australian soils being thin and unproductive. Poor soils need costly
fertilisers. Pests in the north destroy crops, so costly insecticides are needed.

It is also very hot throughout the year and particularly humid in summer so
crops that are labour-intensive are unattractive in this climate.
 The great northern food bowl:
myth or reality?
The plan
to turn northern Australia into a food bowl
to use the abundant water supply of the northern rivers to
develop extensive food resources.
The problems
northern Australian soils are thin and unproductive
poor soils need costly fertilisers
pests destroy crops so costly insecticides are needed
it is very hot throughout the year and particularly humid in
summer
crops that are labour-intensive are unattractive in this climate.
 KUNUNURRA CLIMATE
Constantly high
Climate graph for Kununurra, Australia temperatures
250 40
Temperature (C)
35
200
30

25
150

Rainfall (mm) 20
High evaporation
100
rates even in 15
winter
10
50
5

0 0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Months

Average rainfall Average temp

 The Ord River and the
The Ord River project has illustrated how difficult
great northern food bowl
it might be to turn northern Australia into a food
bowl.
Today 60 per cent of the land under
cultivation in the Ord River irrigation area is
given over to sandalwood. This is not a food
crop. A sandalwood tree takes up to 20 years
to reach full maturity.
Cotton faced problems because insect pests
are so abundant in the north that it required
very expensive insecticides.
Rice became the victim of attacks by hordes
of magpie geese and a disease called rice
blast.
Sugar has some merit but soils are not
nutrient rich and its market is largely export.
Transport costs to other regions of Australia
are expensive.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
OF THE DAMS

The regular supply of water Environmental problems such

combats variation in seasonal as soil erosion, salinity,
flows and lack of water pollution and loss of habitats
availability in the dry season
Loss of land and cultural
Irrigation for farming impacts on the traditional
owners of the land
Generation of hydroelectricity
Creation of permanent
wetlands
 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
ARE THE DAMS GOOD OR BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT?

Loss of habitat? Pollution? Salinity?

() less natural Fish kills and other Irrigation can cause
scouring of lower damage caused by raised water tables
river = build up of silt pollution and this can cause
(+) more regular salination of soils in
water for waterbirds the area.
and vegetation
 Cultural issues
The Ord River area includes the traditional lands of the Gidja, Malngin,
Miriuwung, Wadainybung, Dulbung and Kuluwaring language groups. This
region is not just a place to live for Aboriginal peoples. It has geographic,
historic, cultural and spiritual significance. Aboriginal peoples have grave
concerns about the changes to their Country and the effects of planned
future expansion of agricultural land on their sacred sites and their
Dreaming tracks, which link their land to the lands of other Aboriginal
peoples to the south. They have a responsibility to maintain these tracks for
Construction of the Ord River Diversion Dam, 1963
all Aboriginal peoples.

Aboriginal peoples view the land as part of the history of the Dreaming.
Once water covered all the land of the Ord region and when the waters
receded, the Dreamings, who were the ancestors of the current traditional
owners, travelled throughout the land creating the natural features such
as creeks, hills and billabongs. Particular geographical features have
special meaning linked to the Dreamings.
The rocky outcrops of Bandicoot Bar were believed to originally be rolls of
spinifex, which women during the Dreaming used to trap barramundi. The
barramundi leapt over the rolls that then turned into rock. Bandicoot Bar, before construction of the first
Diversion Dam
MAPS
 RAIN SHADOW
An area having relatively little rainfall due to the effect of a mountain range.

The range cause the prevailing winds to lose most of their moisture on the
windward side of the range.

Windward

Leeward Windward
 WHICH POINT GETS THE MOST
RAIN?

C B A
 WHERE WOULD THE RAIN BE
HEAVIEST?

C B A
 Rainfall on a map is shown with the
RAINFALL
following symbols. Can anyone guess what
each symbol means?
 Diagonal Lines: Indicate heavy rainfall
Straight Lines: indicate medium rainfall RAINFALL
Dots/Small Lines: indicate low rainfall

Why are the symbols arranged in this way? Use

geological terms in your answer.