Geography For Dummies

by Charles A. Heatwole, Ruth I. Shirey (Foreword by)

Overview

Geography is more than just trivia, it can help you understand why we import or export certain products, predict climate change, and even show you where to place fire and police stations when planning a city.

If you’re curious about the world and want to know more about this fascinating place, Geography For Dummies is a great place to start. Whether you’re sixteen or sixty, this fun and easy guide will help you make more sense of the world you live in.

Geography For Dummies gives you the tools to interpret the Earth’s grid, read and interpret maps, and to appreciate the importance and implications of geographical features such as volcanoes and fault lines. Plus, you’ll see how erosion and weathering have and will change the earth’s surface and how it impacts people. You’ll get a firm hold of everything from the physical features of the world to political divisions, population, culture, and economics. You’ll also discover:

• How you can have a rainforest on one side of a mountain range and a desert on the other
• How ocean currents help to determine the geography of climates
• How to choose a good location for a shopping mall
• How you can properly put the plant to good use in everything you do
• How climate affects humans and how humans have affected the climate
• How human population has spread and the impact it has had on our world

If you’re mixed up by map symbols or mystified by Mercator projections Geography For Dummies can help you find your bearings. Filled with key insights, easy-to-read maps, and cool facts, this book will expand your understanding of geography and today’s world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780764516221
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	03/15/2002
Series:	For Dummies Books
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	7.46(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.84(d)

About the Author

Charles A. Heatwole, PhD, is Chairperson of the Department of Geography at Hunter College of CUNY and has taught Geography for 25 years.

Date of Birth:

July 20, 1895

Date of Death:

November 24, 1946

Table of Contents

Introduction.

Part I: Getting Grounded: The Geographic Basics.

Chapter 1: Geography: Understanding a World of Difference.

Chapter 2: Thinking Like a Geographer.

Chapter 3: Grid and Bear It.

Chapter 4: Maps That Lie Flat Lie!

Chapter 5: Getting the Message of Maps.

Part II: Getting Physical: Land, Water, and Air.

Chapter 6: Taking Shape: The Land We Live On.

Chapter 7: Giving Earth a Facelift.

Chapter 8: Water, Water Everywhere.

Chapter 9: Warming Up and Chilling Out: Why Climates Happen.Chapter 10: From Rainforests to Ice Caps: The Geography of Climates.

Part III: Peopling the Planet.

Chapter 11: Nobody Here but Us Six Billion.

Chapter 12: Shift Happens: Migration.

Chapter 13: Culture: The Spice of Life and Place.

Chapter 14: Where Do You Draw the Line?

Part IV: Putting the Planet to Use.

Chapter 15: Getting Down to Business.

Chapter 16: An Appetite for Resources.

Chapter 17: CBD to Suburbia: Urban Geography.

Chapter 18: Impacts on the Environment.

Part V: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 19: Ten Organizations for Geographic Information.

Chapter 20: Ten Interesting Geographical Occupations.

Chapter 21: Ten Things You Can Forget.

Chapter 22: Ten Great Geographical Web Sites.

Index.

Book Registration Information.