The Big Ideas Why might historians need to describe different places on Earth? How have humans altered the landscape of the United States? How does geography impact history? How do the physical and human features of an area impact the events that happen there?

1. Why might historians need to describe different places on Earth?

Places are constantly changing if historians don't keep track of what it was like, the history of many different places would be lost. Many of the biggest deserts used to be lush, but how would we know that without historians?

2. How have humans altered the landscape of the United States?

over time buildings started being built, trees were demolished, and industrial factories also started being built which basically started destroying the environment.

2. How does geography impact history?

Geography influences history greatly. People who live on a river have different customs & will develop different lifestyles from those who live in the woods.

3. How do the physical and human features of an area impact the events that happen there?

Cash Crops

a crop that is grown for profit rather than for use by the grower

Ecosystem

a community of plants, animals, and smaller organisms that live, feed, reproduce, and interact in the same area or environment Globes

three-dimensional spheres representing Earth

Historians

a person who studies history

Human Systems

the human characteristics of a region and how those characteristics work together to form spatial patterns

Manifest Destiny

a 19th Century belief that the United States was destined to expand its territory across the continent to the Pacific Ocean

Maps

two-dimensional illustrations showing geographical features and information

Place

the physical and human characteristics of a geographical location

Region

an area that shares physical or human spatial characteristics, such as language, culture, or climate

Relative Location

the location of a place in relation to another place; an example of relative location is describing England as east of the United States

Scale

map feature showing the difference between actual distance and illustrated distance

Spatial Patterns

the ways in which people, places, and characteristics are organized on the Earth's surface.