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

I can connect this photo on the previous page to geography and its influence on the social, political and and economic change happening in the west through it representing the completion of the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway). This historical event impacted all of Canada, and it also connects to the theme of movement because the CPR moved and moves ideas, people and objects. This railway was a step to take in order to connect Canada, and it even caused towns to be built specifically for the railroad (this will be spoken on more later), called railroad towns.

My connection to this geographical place is that  most of my ancestors would not have moved here if the CPR was not built. 

The photo I have on the previous page was taken at the Calgary Zoo. It shows the theme of human environment interaction and also maybe a little bit of physical place. The red bamboo in the photo shows how us as westerners have a will to connect to the rest of the world.

You can see what historically made and makes the west through this photo because of how it shows that we as a society want to learn from other countries and study the world’s wildlife. You can see it influencing social change in the west by helping us to keep our minds open when it comes to different places around the world. My personal connection to this photo is that when my dad when on his year long trip to Japan he saw red bamboo and got to take a piece home with him.

In order to redefine our understanding of what the word Geography  means, we must first learn the 5 “themes” of Geography. These 5 themes describe different categories of the Academic study of Geography. These themes are movement, human environment interaction, region, location, and place. The comic on the previous page talks a bit about the definitions of the different themes. Geographers use these themes to categorize different geographical subjects.

Reflection 5: Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

The photo that I have chosen for this section reflects the theme of place (maybe cultural and physical at the same time), because the buffalo jump was a very sacred land for the group of First Nations that used it. They would use a specific strategy in order to chase buffalo off the cliff and they would fall to the ground below. This killed almost all of them instantly, and it would feed the people throughout the winter. Sadly though when the settlers came they killed off nearly all of the buffalo. They did this because the wanted control over the First Nations. Since the buffalo were their main source of food, this forced them to sign the white peoples treaties.

This photo that I made in Downtown Calgary shows the theme of human environment interaction, because Downtown Calgary was only created through modification of the natural environment.

This photo represents the physical environment influencing the nature of political, social, and economic change in the west because Calgary was established to pave a way for treaties with the First Nations people. My personal connection to the geographical place in this photo is in my family tree. Lots of my family on my dad’s side lives in Calgary.

Reflection 6: Cave and Basin National Historic Site

The photo on the previous page represents the theme of human environment interaction, because humans found the hot spring and later people drilled into the cave to make an easy path into the hot spring. We are also preventing people from going in because of a nearly extinct species of snail that only exists within the cave and basin hot springs.

This photo shows how geography shaped our history through the hot spring and this once again shows how we as humans had a change in our values somewhere along the line, and started wanting to preserve the environment around us. 

The Columbia Ice Field as a whole can be related back to human environment interaction, since throughout history it has been a huge source of our water here in Vancouver. This is a big example of geography shaping us, and also an example of us depending on geography. Sadly, this glacier is melting away faster every year due to factors like climate change.

This photo represents how geography influences social change because recently after seeing the glaciers melt people have been starting to try to motivate others to help save the glaciers. The personal connection I have for the glacier is the glacial water that comes down all the way from the ice field to where we are here in Vancouver, providing water for me as well as everyone else in this city. If the glacier were to melt, it would mean the loss of a major source of water for not just us, but the other places that the Athabaskan glacier provides water for.

The Golden Skybridge relates to the themes of location and human environment interaction.  These can be seen through how humans modified and depended on the environment in order to make a profit. The theme of location can be seen through how the valley was turned into a memorable place to be.

This photograph shows how geography influences economic change because of how humans turned it into a way to make money and another way for people to learn from the world around them.

The picture on the previous slide was from the Frank Slide, aka, the worst natural(?) disaster to ever take place in Canada. We can connect this to human environment interaction because this event was not entirely natural. As you might already know, there was a mine at the bottom of the mountain. This was definitely a contributor to the event, but other factors were at play. It rained very heavily for days before the slide happened, and then it got very cold. This caused the rainwater in the mountain to freeze up, and when water freezes it contracts. This lead to many cracks below the mountains surface, and at some point it had to come down.

This will be your cover. It should include a graphic(s), your name, and a title relating to the answer to the driving question.

The things that make and shape the west relate HEAVILY to the five themes. If you look around in a culturally significant place you will begin to notice the themes everywhere. One of the themes that I noticed heavily shaping our lives as people in the west is place. Place has 2 categories, cultural and physical. I’d say the names of these two categories speak for themselves.

This is where you will help your reader understand &apos;What made and makes the West&apos; a second piece of your keystone evidence that helps you explain your answer the driving question to the reader. Each page has a suggested photographic evidence stop from our field study. The next page is where you will add your descriptive writing when we get home. For now, that page is where you should record a quick audio reflection for the photo to help you remember how you felt this photo showed what made and makes the West while reflecting one or more of the Five Themes of Geography.

Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site

Geography is shaped by us and at the the same time we also shape it. You will include your Comic Life in this section and it will probably cover a page to 3 pages depending on how you lay it out with explanation.

Geography shapes us as we shape geography

So, what exactly are we talking about when we talk about geography? Sure, we can go with the simple explanation of it and say that it is the physical form of our earth, but in reality there is more to geography than just that. In this book I will be explaining what the 5 themes of geography are and how they shape the west.

Name

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