How geographers describe where things are.
Geographers describe locations by site, site being the physical characteristics that make a location unique, such as latitude, elevation, soil, vegetation, climate, and water sources.
In class we discussed that despite the obvious political differences, North Korea and Maryland have similar climate due to the similar latitude. We also talked about how humans can modify the characteristics of a site enough to change it entirely, like how NYC's Manhattan Island nearly doubled in size because of people filling in rivers.
This brought the discussion to the impact of putting buildings on land that previously didn't exist. People have to take into account electricity, sewage systems, roads, education, and medical buildings for the people living and working in this newly developed area. All of this also costs money, takes time, and can have a serious negative impact on the surrounding environment. The environmental impact isn't as important though, as people tend to prefer money to a healthy planet and water that isn't polluted.
All in all, the ability humans have to modify a location's site is appalling, and speaks volumes about the potential we have to impact the land around us.
In class we discussed that despite the obvious political differences, North Korea and Maryland have similar climate due to the similar latitude. We also talked about how humans can modify the characteristics of a site enough to change it entirely, like how NYC's Manhattan Island nearly doubled in size because of people filling in rivers.
This brought the discussion to the impact of putting buildings on land that previously didn't exist. People have to take into account electricity, sewage systems, roads, education, and medical buildings for the people living and working in this newly developed area. All of this also costs money, takes time, and can have a serious negative impact on the surrounding environment. The environmental impact isn't as important though, as people tend to prefer money to a healthy planet and water that isn't polluted.
All in all, the ability humans have to modify a location's site is appalling, and speaks volumes about the potential we have to impact the land around us.
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