CHAPTER 3 - EARTH'S HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

CHAPTER 3 ( SECTION 1)

WHERE DO PEOPLE LIVE?
This section focuses on Population and Population Distribution:

POPULATION - total number of people...spread unevenly over the Earth's surface.
POPULATION DISTRIBUTION - describes the way population is spread out over the Earth.
DEMOGRAPHERS- people who study world populations...examine rates of birth, death and marriage...they look at reasons why people choose to live in certain areas.

Population distribution is uneven, why?
Much of the Earth's landforms are rugged mountains, hot deserts and dry land with little vegetation...few people choose to live in these places.
BETTER PLACES TO LIVE:
1. Near bodies of water - rivers and lakes are natural "roads" for travel and trade.
-also they provide fresh water -drinking and farming...
2. Flat and Fertile soil - easier to grow food and build...(plains and valleys), coastal areas...make it easy to trade(shipping)
3. Climate - people like to live where it is not too hot or too cold...and in areas where this is plenty of rainfall...good for raising crops and animals.
Also, people choose to live in an area that has plenty of natural resources...
POPULATION DENSITY - average number of people living in a square mile or kilometer
population densities vary from one area to another...Japan high population density...Canada...very low..
How to figure out Pop. Density: divide number of people living in an area by the number of square miles of that place...