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

Lake Louise is beautiful, I just had to say that. this photo of me sitting by the lake fits into the fifth theme, regions. If it was any type of region it would be a vernacular region, a place loosely defined by peoples perception. 

I think that this photo of a miniature version of the mountains represents the human-environment interaction, because of how humans have overcome the problems of traversing mountains, such as building snow sheds over the road where avalanches frequently happen. As well as showing the road itself which proves that humans are adaptable.

How has the geography of the west shaped who I am???

The last spike reflection: The photo I have included in the previous slide shows a strong representation of the fourth theme of geography, movement. The reason I chose the fourth theme is because it is an accurate example of how humans got around and how they could transport the materials that built the towns and cities around us. The photo was taken in a very important place where the two sides of Canada were connected. The last spike on the Canadian Pacific Railroad was driven into the ground on November seventh, 1885 Chraigellachie BC, where this photo was taken. I think the reason that the railcar is on a separate bit of track is to show how the trains were able to finally bring people and more importantly, things across Canada.

3. Human-environment interaction The alteration of the environment and how we as humans interact with it is what human-environment interaction is. Examples of this in our everyday life would be bridges, dams, roads, mining, or really anything that was built by humans.

4. Movement This might be pretty simple on the surface, movement is planes, trains, and automobiles, as well as watercraft. Those are staples of movement but there is also humans using other animals to move and just using our own bodies. A more obscure way to look at this though would be to look at your house and imagine how they got those materials there, did they ship them in? Maybe they flew in some pieces, or maybe a train carried something. Movement even supplies other movement, trains and ships bring in gasoline and oil to fuel our other means of movement.

The Columbia ice field is a great example of the second theme of geography, because it is a pretty unique location that is recognizable. It also works for a relative location as you can describe many places by saying how close or far away it is. 

Golden skybridge reflection: Golden skybridge fits into the movement theme of geography because we as humans have figured out ways to travel across chasms and gaps that were unreachable before. It is pretty amazing how we have figured out how to use bridges and tunnels to aid us and help us carry resources, information, and people across even greater distances. Golden’s skybridge has significance as the highest suspension bridge in all of Canada! It features two bridges, one to travel across, and the other to come back across. It also has multiple attractions like a zip line that goes across the entire canyon, a small one person mountain coaster, axe throwing, and a swing that goes into the canyon. I chose the photos of the skybridge because it was one of the best examples of engineering that the trip had to offer. It is truly amazing to imagine that fellow human beings had to design and build the bridge, which means going through all the flaws and making sure it is perfect.

Lake Minnewanka reflection: The photo from the past page was taken during a boat cruise on Lake Minnewanka, this would relate to geographical theme five, human-environment interaction. It shows how humans can change to use lakes for our survival and growth, as well as how we can thrive and make business that can help us. Lake Minnewanka is of importance to the Stoney-nakoda first people. They called it “lake minn-waki” which means lake of the spirits, the Stoney-nakoda people feared and respected the spirits in the lake. The spirits were believed to be dangerous and vengeful. When the Europeans arrived they named it devils lake because they had heard about the spirits that would shake up the water and make it rough. The photo shows humans adapting and learning in new environments, the forest in the picture was once part of a so called “controlled burn” the fire spread 3 hectares past the 100 meter square area.

In this video we had to make a video that was styled to be like a TikTok video. I decided to showcase all of the different places we went to

This means it had to be pretty short though. Although we had to do this with partners, I think that taught me a bit about working together and cooperating and collaborating with ideas.

5. Regions A region would be where you look for similarities to other places, like huge mountain ranges or you talk to a local who gives you a loose area that has a name, an example would be Deep Cove, it is a vernacular region, somewhere loosely defined by people. There are two other types of regions. Formal regions, which are defined by official government boundaries. Functional regions, which are defined by the function of the area.

What is geography? Geography isn’t just one single thing, it is multiple different themes and ways to be identified. There are five big themes to geography, they are: 1. Location 2. Place 3. Human-environment interaction 4. Movement 5. Regions These themes are what make up every aspect of geography,

The Cave and Basin in Banff is a beautiful place. The cave itself is a good example of place, which is the second them of geography, because if you describe it it is a pretty unique place and a landmark that people could know of.

For this video we had to ask questions to support our thesis that relates to our driving question, “how has the geography of the west shaped who we are?”.

Golden sky bridge is a much more subtle example of movement, to me it shows how we have found ways to move across previously uncrossable places. 

This photo represents the third theme of geography to me. The reason being, it shows how we as humans have adapted to travel across bodies of water and how we can use it for our own good.

This video is all about the different things that inspire me to be who I am

The Columbia icefield is a pretty cool place, (get the joke?) in all seriousness the icefield has been moving incredibly slowly for hundreds of years. I think that it shows the second theme of geography which is place, it is a recognizable landmark that can be seen from far away. The Columbia ice field has a very long history. It was formed somewhere in 238,000 - 126,000 BCE. It also was one of the last geological places in western Canada to be visited and documented by the Europeans. Unfortunately, around the year 1840 the glacier started receding. Since then its size and width have both drastically decreased. Its volume has been halved and it has lost over 1.5 km in length. The photo I took shows the glacier and how climate change is a real problem that we need to remedy. The thing that I worry about sometimes is that we are too late.

What made and makes the west The west is the place we live in, it is beautiful, and it is ours, it’s our history, we may have roots in Europe but this is where we live now. We made the west, with the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway where we literally connected two oceans and found a way to travel between them. We shaped mountains and made deep holes into the crust of the earth. Our culture has flourished and grown, we are our own people. Now we continue to shape the west for future generations, whether for the better or worse, I am unsure.

Aidan M. is a student at Seycove who is in the PLP program. He thinks he has a knack for reading (he is delirious). he has fun with his friends outside of trying to actually do schoolwork (not fully there). but he enjoys making light of situations as well as just being supportive to his friends.

While at the last spike, I took a photo of the train that was once on the Canadian Pacific Railway because it represents the movement aspect of the five themes of geography.

Cave and basin reflection: This photo of mine is an accurate example of place, which is the second theme of geography. The reason being, is that it is a location that has a very unique look to it. If you were to describe it to someone who had a vague sense of the location, they would find it. The smell is also another factor that makes it so special, the air around the basin smells strongly of sulphur which is how it was discovered in the first place. When three men working with the Canadian Pacific Railroad looking for gold stumbled across a small gap in the ground, they realized what they had just found. The men started letting people visit for a cost. This discovery lead to the government wanting rights because they wanted money, but they also wished to protect the hot springs and the area around it, which created Canada’s very first national park in 1885. The photo represents how much the CPR changed the surrounding area and its impact on all of Canada for years to come.

When we were at The three Valley Gap Ghost town, we made a silent video, similiar to the ones from a long time ago. 

This was a photo that I took of the outside of the railway museum. To me this photo would fit under the movement theme of geography because it used to be a train station. The station would connect people getting on and leaving trains, as well as serving as a checkpoint for trains.

Rogers pass reflection: The theme of geography this photo most represents is definitely human-environment interaction because it shows how humans can adapt and innovate to combat new challenges and geographical problems. Like how we made snow sheds to shelter our highways from avalanches, or how we even start avalanches using howitzers so that they don’t get triggered by a passing car. There is a historical significance to this photo as well because it was a vital spot where the Canadian Pacific Railroad was going to travel, but, because of it being an unexplored mountain range they needed a way for the trains to get through. Unfortunately because of Roger’s pass’s steep grade and its dangerous avalanche conditions it was very difficult to get a train though. During the year of 1910 58 men who were in the process of clearing a different avalanche were struck and killed by another avalanche, this sparked the decision to create the Connaught tunnel which is under the pass. The place where I took this photo was a discovery center. The center was put there for people to learn about the history of the pass and why it is so important to our own history.

1. Location There are two different types of geographical location. There is relative, and there is absolute location. In relative location you might use another object as a point of reference, an example of relative location would be: Myrtle Park is to the left of Seycove secondary. Another type of relative location would be describing the surrounding area. Absolute location, this type of location uses exact coordinates using longitude and latitude, street addresses, map coordinates, and gps. It is hard and fast, the coordinates do not change for the location.

2. Place Place is a description of a place that can be put clearly into a persons mind. An example for place might be “meet me at the crescent moon shaped rock beside the beach with the white sand”. Place also includes all of the physical and cultural distinctions.

Revelstoke reflection: The photo I have taken might help to explain how movement is a part of geography because it is a train station, and that is where people from different places are connected and trains form all over Canada will pass by travelling towards their destination with resources and people. The history of Revelstoke is pretty interesting. The town was made before the CPR came along, it was owned by a man named A.S. Farwell, he named the town Farwell after himself. When the CPR came and built the train station nearby, they eventually took control of the land and named it Revelstoke after Lord Revelstoke, who had helped fund the CPR greatly and even saved them from bankruptcy. I took a photo of the train station because of its importance to the town and towards the making of the CPR.

Lake Louise reflection: That photo showed the fifth theme of geography because it was a vernacular region that people have an idea of in their minds. Lake louse is a good example of how the geography that people live in or near can affect them. I happen to think that’s the people who live near lake Louise are more active and enjoy hiking because I know there are many different beautiful locations where you can do that. Lake Louise was originally just a CPR construction camp that was called holt city until 1914 when it was renamed after Princess Louise, the daughter of queen Victoria and the wife of governor-general of Canada. It is also known to some people as “the birthplace of Canadian mountaineering.” It has the highest permanent settlement in Canada at 1731 meters. I believe that lake Louise is a great place for people who truly want to admire how beautiful Canada can be. It is one of the best places I have ever hiked and I truly felt accomplished and proud of myself when I made it to the top.

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