Geography of North and South America

• Geography studies Earth's landscape, people, place, and environment and is suited for studying the global tourism industry.
• Tourism involves movement of people, services, goods, ideas, and money changing the environment and how the world is viewed.
• Tourism is a geographical phenomenon about people and services moving through space and time

Geography Essentials: Maps

• A map is a representation of the world with information about a particular area.
• Road maps show main roads and access to points of interest
• Political maps focus on the boundary of a particular nation.
• Physical maps show terrain and bodies of water in a place.
• Climate maps show information about an area's climate.
• Economic maps show available economic resources, such as corn, tobacco, copper, and iron.
• Tourist maps are used by travelers showing points of interest and attractions, found in airports, tourist information, and accommodations

Time Zones

• Universal Time (UT), Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and Zulu Time (Z) are the local time at 0 degrees longitude (prime meridian of Greenwich, England)
• UTC uses a zero- to twenty-four-hour period, unlike the twelve-hour periods (a.m. and p.m.)
• A.m. refers to ante meridiem ("before noon"), and p.m. refers to post meridiem ("afternoon")
• UT, UTC, GMT, and Z use the same twenty-four-hour time system for global operations like military, broadcasts, and air traffic
• Air flights use the twenty-four-hour system to coordinate flights across time zones.

Land Divisions / Continents

• A continent is one of Earth's seven land divisions
• The seven continents in order from largest to smallest, are Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia
• North America:
  • Third-largest continent, from the Aleutian Islands to the Isthmus of Panama, including Greenland
  • Stretches halfway around the world and contains varied natural wonders
  • Has all types of vegetation and landforms
  • Includes the Copper Canyon in Chihuahua, Mexico, with deep canyons
  • Includes Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, featuring active geysers
  • Includes Canada's Bay of Fundy with high tide variation
  • Includes the Great Lakes, the planet's largest freshwater area
  • Includes giant sequoias in California, the world's most massive trees
  • Greenland is the world's largest island off Canada's east coast and is mostly covered with ice
  • Has more climate variation than any continent, from arctic to tropical jungles
  • Has nearly every ecosystem, from the Great Plains to Greenland's ice sheet to Caribbean coral reefs
  • Home to Canada, the United States, Greenland, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Caribbean islands
• South America:
  • Fourth-largest continent, connected to North America by Panama's isthmus
  • Extends from the Caribbean Sea to Antarctic waters; its southernmost islands, Tierra del Fuego, are less than 1,120 kilometers from Antarctica
  • Includes the Andes, the Earth's longest mountain range, with active volcanoes
  • Has pampas/plains in the central-southern area, ideal for agriculture and grazing
  • The Amazon River flows through the world's largest tropical rainforest
  • Angel Falls in Venezuela is the world's highest waterfall at 979 meters, where water becomes mist before reaching the ground
  • Rainforests have diverse plant and animal life; 15,000+ species are found in the Amazon Basin
  • Includes Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and the Falkland Islands
• Europe:
  • Sixth-largest continent, 7% of the world's land, slightly larger than Canada
  • Has more than twice South America's population
  • Has 46 countries and major cities like London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, and Moscow
  • Most countries have access to the ocean, with the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Caspian Sea to the southeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Mediterranean/Black Seas to the south
  • The Ural Mountains divide Europe from Asia, connecting Russia and Kazakhstan
  • The Kjølen Mountains Range separate Norway and Sweden
  • The Alps curve from Albania to Austria through Switzerland, northern Italy and into France, similar to North America's Rockies
  • A large area of plains stretches from northern France to the Urals
  • Has warm summers, cold winters, and rain, making it agriculturally productive
  • Western Europe's climate, especially around the Mediterranean Sea, makes it a leading tourist destination
• Africa:
  • Second-largest continent, more than three times the size of the United States
  • Stretches 8,000 kilometers from north to south and is connected to Asia by Egypt's Isthmus of Suez.
  • The Sahara is North Africa's largest hot desert
  • The Nile, the world's longest river, flows 6,560 kilometers from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea and was important to early Egyptian civilization for food, water, and transportation
  • The top half of Africa is mostly dry, hot desert
  • The middle has savannas (transitional zones) with animals like lions and giraffes
  • Rainforests dominate central and southern Africa, flourishing around the Congo, Zambezi, and Niger rivers, but are being cut down
  • Much of Africa is a high plateau with coastal lowlands and Glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania are near tropical jungles
  • Home to 54 countries but only 16% of the world's population
  • Central-eastern Africa is important for scientists studying human evolution and origins
• Asia:
  • Largest continent, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Western Pacific Ocean, is about a third of the world's land
  • Home to over 40 countries, including China, Indonesia, and India
  • 60% percent of the world's population lives here
  • Has islands that are countries: the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Japan
  • Most people live in cities or farming areas near river valleys, plains, and coasts
  • Features climates from tropical in Indonesia to polar in the Siberian Arctic
  • The Gobi Desert is dry year-round
  • Southeast Asia depends on monsoons for rain and agriculture
  • Monsoon rains and snowmelt feed rivers such as the Ganges, Yellow, Mekong, Indus, and Yangtze
  • The Tigris and Euphrates valley is called the "Fertile Crescent" for its role in agriculture and civilization
  • Most mountainous continent with over 50 of the highest peaks
  • Mount Everest in the Himalayas is the highest point on Earth (over 8,700 meters high) and has become a major travel destination
  • Contains the Dead Sea, the lowest place on land (390 meters below sea level) in Israel and Jordan
• Australia:
  • Smallest and flattest continent, called Oceania with tiny South Pacific islands: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia
  • Continent includes Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea
  • Covers less than 8.5 million square kilometers with a population of about 31 million
  • Most people live in eastern and southern coastal cities like Perth, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide.
  • A plateau in mainland Australia makes up most of the continent's total area and has light rainfall with few people
  • The Great Dividing Range rises near the east coast and extends through Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria
  • Mainland Australia includes the Outback, a desert area in the interior, that is dry, hot, and barren
  • Has tropical beaches, equatorial rainforests on New Guinea, and mountain peaks and glaciers in New Zealand -Unique animals include the koala, platypus, and Tasmanian devil
  • The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef ecosystem off Australia's northeast coast with thousands of fish, sponges, marine mammals, corals, and crustaceans
  • The reef is 1,920 kilometers of living coral communities and is the world's largest living organism
• Antarctica:
  • The windiest, driest, and iciest place on Earth, larger than Europe or Australia
  • No permanent human population
  • Researchers and support staff live there
  • The climate does not support agriculture or civilization
  • Temperatures are lower than -73 degrees Celsius
  • Almost completely covered with ice, sometimes 3.2 kilometers thick with a surface area doubling in winter as pack ice builds up
  • Has volcanic activity; Mount Erebus is the most active volcano -Has no countries, but scientific bases for geology, oceanography, and meteorology studies inhabit the research stations
  • A treaty states that research is only used for peaceful purposes
  • McMurdo Station is the largest community and operated by the United States
  • Vostok Station, where the coldest temperature was recorded, is operated by Russia
• All continents add up to 148 million square kilometers of land, making up most of Earth's land surface with a small portion of islands
• The ocean covers almost three-fourths of Earth

Climates

• Climate describes the average weather conditions for a location over time
• The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) studies climate variations and change and supports the study of climate impacts on socio-economic and tourism sectors
• Wladimir Köppen divided the world's climates into classifications
  • Based on temperature, precipitation, and when rain occurs known as the Köppen Classification System
• Type A: Tropical Climate has warm temperatures year-round with high precipitation levels
  • Some have dry and wet seasons (monsoon), others have consistent rainfall -Exist in Central America and Southeast Asia
• Type B: Dry Climate has extreme temperatures with little precipitation -Low rainfall, high daytime temperatures, and cooler nighttime temperatures
  • Terrains range from sand deserts to grasslands, such as deserts in Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Australia
• Type C: Temperate Climate has moderate temperatures and precipitation with warm, humid summers, thunderstorms, and mild winters -Found in midlatitudes bordering the tropics, such as North America, South America, Africa, and Australia
• Type D: Continental Climate has cold climates found in continental interiors away from large bodies of water -Farther north than Type C regions
  • Precipitation is usually rain in summer and snow in winter -Including the Great Lakes region of the United States, much of Canada, and a large portion of Russia
• Type E: Polar Climate has extreme climates and is found in polar regions -Regions are cold, with permanent ice or permafrost year-round
  • Temperatures may warm slightly during the summer, but rarely over rise above 50 degrees
• Climate is essential for tourism, especially outdoor and weather-related activities and an important priority when choosing a destination
• Environment and weather affect tourism destinations are climate-sensitive

Languages

• Language represents the diversity of human culture used for all forms of communication
• A language has structurally used words and sounds communication
• The United Nations (UN) has six official languages like Chinese, Arabic, English, French, Russian, and Spanish
• Dominant language families: Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, Niger-Congo, Afro-Asiatic, Austronesian, Dravidian, Altaic, Austro-Asiatic, and Japonic
• Languages within a family share a common ancestry
• The Indo-European family has branches from Proto-Indo-European, spoken six thousand years ago
• Three biggest language groups of the Indo-European family: Romance, Germanic, and Slavic
• Hindi (India) and Persian (Iran) are other Indo-European languages
• Almost half of the world's population claims one of only 10 languages as their mother tongues like Chinese, Spanish, English, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, and Lahnda

Religions

• Religious geography studies distribution of religions and relationship to place of origin
• Three main types of religions:
  • Universal religions: Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism
  • Ethnic religions: Shintoism, Judaism, Hinduism, and Chinese religions
  • Traditional religions: Belief in supernatural power that people can use for help

World's Primary Religions

• Christianity and Islam originated from Judaism in the eastern Mediterranean and the Arabian Peninsula
  • Shared patriarch Abraham
  • Christianity spread through the Roman Empire and is based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ -Islam is based on the teachings of Muhammad, spread across North Africa, southern Asia, and Europe -Buddhism is based on Siddhartha Gautama's life and teachings
  • Has three main branches like Theravada Buddhism, Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism, and Mahayana Buddhism
• Hinduism: is a religious tradition from the Indian subcontinent and has no single founder
  • Includes the Vedas, Upanishads, and epic tales
• Sikhism - A monotheistic religion founded in the Punjab region of southern Asia centered on justice and faith
• Judaism - The religion of the Jewish, whose ethics and traditions are expressed in the Tanakh and Talmud and commenced with the treaty between God and Abraham
• Shintoism - A Japanese ethnic religion focused on worshipping kami (Shinto gods).
• Confucianism and Taoism – Chinese religions based on the teachings of religious scholars
• Religion impacts tourism and religious sites become key tourist attractions

Political Systems

• The state is the political unit within which power and authority reside and can be a whole nation or a subdivision
• Government refers to those directing a nation's political affairs
• Types of governments:
  • Democracy: "rule of the people" with equal rights to vote, direct or representative
  • Monarchy: power resides in a single family that rules from generation to generation with absolute or constitutional monarchies
  • Oligarchy: a small, elite group holds power
  • Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism: restricts or forbids popular participation in governance and suppresses opposition

Explore the diverse geographical features of North and South America identifying key characteristics such as climate variations, natural wonders, and significant geographical landmarks. This includes understanding the unique aspects of regions like the Great Lakes, the Amazon rainforest, and the connection between Greenland and Denmark.