How has the geography of the West shaped who we are?

-Characteristics that make the location distinct

The travel of people, product or ideas from once place to the other

-includes physical and cultural characteristics 

Cultural: -Land use (Housing, economic activities) -Political ideologies

Physical: -Landforms like plains, rivers, mountains, deserts, etc. -Flora and fauna -Climate -Resources

I think history is a huge part in what made and continues to make the west. History shapes and influences who we are, how we act, and what we do. We use history as an example to learn from other peoples mistakes and to not repeat them.

Downtown Calgary The photo shows movement. I think this because of the people in the mural. If the mural is based off of the streets during the day then I would assume they would have things with them while they’re going from one place to the other. The mural on the building was a design made by an artist to show the streets during the day while people use the transit to get to work or school. My connection to downtown Calgary would be sleeping in a hostel for 3-4 nights and walk around the city during the day. I had a great room with people I don’t usually talk to.

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Last Spike Reflection The photo I chose shows movement with the old train. When the Canadian Pacific Railway was made the trains were a big part of bringing people, Money, resources, and other important things to the west The train was on a separate track because the economy got better and Canada could afford to make a better train to transport more goods, though that wouldn’t have been able to happen without that original train. It’s interesting to me to look at what trains used to look like compared to today The way I am connected to the geographical place is with the stones (not shown in the photo) placed into a statue from the different provinces. The rock from BC was a pretty greenish grey colour and it reminded me of the forests BC has.

He gave me and Brooke his slap bracelets!!

I’m a grade 9 from BC. I love to have fun with my friends. I work in the cafeteria an I try to help out with things if I’m given the chance to.

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site Reflection I think that this image shows movement through the dog. The dog was used to transport some things like tools or wood around the camp/village and could also help hunt with the correct training. The way the dog shaped the west would be with how they were tamed and trained to help the village. If people didn’t start taming wolves we wouldn’t have pet dogs today. Just like how they were helpful, they still are. They can help disabled people with things they have trouble accomplishing I connect to this because I have a dog and I’ve seen many examples of dogs helping out, whether that be with simple things like giving someone motivation and cheering them up, or helping people walk if they have trouble seeing.

Calgary Zoo Reflection I think the camel portrays human-environment interaction, the camel was imported and humans altered the nature to make safe for the camel to live. Without a custom made habitat, the camel would struggle to live or be unhappy with its area. Zoos in general are a very social thing in my mind because it’s a big open public area that you can walk around to look at animals. Most of the time there are crowds and many other people with people going in any and every direction. The way I can geographically connect to this is where its located next to. I liked the river running on both sides of the island the zoo is on. The water reminds me of playing in creeks and the ocean as a kid and I found it kinda cool that there was a huge river right next to a pretty major city.

Cave and Basin National Historic Site I think cave and basin relates to place. I think this because its been a mostly well known area since it was discovered. Before railworkers found it, it was a traditional place for ceremonies to the First Nations. After they found it, it became a hotel then the government made it into a public hot spring. After people realized it was killing the snails that lived there, it was made into a museum. Cave and basin shaped the west with its history. (As mentioned) It was a place to have ceremonies, “stake your claims”, bathe in the hotsprings, and now its used to learn about the history of the hot springs and a bit about Banff too. I feel connected to Banff because I used to be really close friends with someone who grew up in Banff. We found each other’s number again recently and have stayed in contact luckily.

Building bridges over rivers to make movement easier

Oil and gas companies depend on earths resources for their “products”

Digging/clearing out areas for housing or shops

Some fun things that happened outside of activities/only happened to me

Golden Skybridge Reflection I think the Golden Skybridge would be human-environment interaction. This makes the most sense since humans modified the land so it would be easier to get across The Valley easier. Though I believe history is the one of the biggest reasons the west is how it is, I think that the golden skybridge is related to economy. From what I know, theres no history behind the golden skybridge (i’m not talking about the whole town of golden though) and that the whole park was made to make money. My connection to the golden skybridge would be from going to wild play when I was a kid and absolutely loving it. Ive been wanting to go back to a ropes corse and a zip line corse for a while so I think going to the golden skybridge was one of the funnest things we did

What is geography and what are the 5 themes? The 5 themes of geography are movement, place, location, region, and human-environment interaction. 

Frank Slide The frank slide shows place in my opinion. It shows place because its very distinct and because its a big historical landmark in Alberta since it was one of the worst Canadian natural disasters in recorded history. The frank slide helped the development of technology responsible for predicting/preventing rock slides and helped geologists understand the west’s geography. Without the tech it would be hard to know when a mountain is unstable or where a rock slide could start. My own connection to the frank slide is through the earrings I bought that I wear daily. They’re small smoky quartz earrings that I think look really nice and match most of my outfits

Absolute: -Exact place on the globe -latitude and longitude -street address

Formal: -Defined by a governmental boundaries

Relative: -the position of a place in relation to another place -landmarks, direction, time, distance

Vernacular: -loosely defined by people’s perception

Glacier Skywalk and Columbia Icefield Reflection I think the glacier is place AND region. I think this because the glacier shares traits with both theme descriptions. It’s place because of its physical traits, its climate is cold and the area has flora and fauna special to that altitude. I also think its region because its a government defined place because of the tours that go up to the glacier and the boundaries the governs set around the glacier The way the glacier has helped (and continues to)make the west would be through climate change research. The glacier looses 30m of ice per year and only regains ~20m-25m in the winter so its been slowly receding for a long time. I feel connected to the glacier because I live really close to a mountain and (both) my dads side of the family lives/is from a colder place in Canada. With my uncle living on the east coast and my step dad growing up in the NWT. I have the opportunities to be in the colder climate during winter break.

<a href="bookcreator://page/b-TDL-2vS9ac60fN-y13vQ">Pg 3-6. Explaining the 5 Themes of Geography</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/u4Qd__HtRLCRiLgp4X4ILw">Pg 8-9 The Last Spike</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/YTLtrnBTSyuJgOmFPfG9Lw">Pg 10-11 Downtown Calgary</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/agA6VZENQEyV_bz805eWuA">Pg 12-13 Calgary Zoo</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/I4-doXOlQhy4Dlt9aI2gHQ">Pg 14-15 Frank Slide</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/KMLKm0PbSt6h9t6LlqP0sQ">Pg 16-17 Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/ySZG4XcLRb6fCn-t2pqHrg">Pg 18-19 Cave and Basin</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/EBw0gZJjSx6uNCm2f5RixA">Pg 20-21 Glacier and Skywalk</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/WSaWVVxyRKOPtzRxKHFQ8w">Pg 22-23 Golden Skybridge</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/aRqOS3F7RJisG4E3XwPvFw">Pg 24-25 Fun things unrelated to work</a> <a href="bookcreator://page/MHqIeYujQOixc0-Wv0G9Ww">Pg 26 About me</a>!