How to learn high school geography well

First of all, someone asked almost the same question not long ago, and my answer was accepted. I will copy my own answer for you. I hope it will be helpful to you. I believe that my own real learning experience is much more practical than those copy-pasted answers.

Now that I am a sophomore, I feel nostalgic when I still see questions like this. In high school, I was the representative of the geography class and had very good scores in liberal arts. I hope it will be helpful to you if I share some of my own experience. Although high school geography is a liberal arts subject, it is actually somewhat more comprehensive than history and politics. I don’t know which province you are from. Anyway, our national second volume at that time had about three calculation questions, which were very comprehensive. I think whether it is geography or history and politics, memorization is a must, but it cannot be learned by rote memorization.

First of all, you must cultivate your interest in geography. Once you are interested, you will take the initiative to remember everything, and you will be able to memorize it quickly. Secondly, at your current stage, the teacher should teach you some things in the book in chunks, so just follow the teacher. Human geography and physical geography must be studied together. If they are studied in isolation, you won't be able to tell anything by looking at the map during the exam. . When I have nothing to do, I take this small atlas and read it over and over again, such as the provinces and municipalities of our country, the shapes of important countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Russia, Italy, Germany, Brazil, and India, and the directions of iconic rivers and mountains. No matter the size of the map, how Flip, to the extent that it can be recognized at a glance, is the preliminary stage of understanding physical geography by looking at the map; familiarity with important longitude and latitude lines, topography, ocean currents, atmosphere, population, resource distribution, and human geography conditions extended based on the physical geography of each country is The second stage; the third stage is the synthesis between disciplines. Looking at the map of humanities and physical geography, one must be able to associate the relevant content of history and politics. Because the comprehensive essay is a volume, many of the questions are comprehensive. At this stage, I believe you will have a good grasp of the comprehensive comprehensive... In short, as long as you often read the atlas, all the knowledge can be extended, like a map Just like the Internet, there is no need to memorize it by rote.

I can’t remember some of the knowledge clearly. Here’s a simple example: When you see the map of North America, what do you think of? Anyway, I would think that the warm North Pacific Current flowing from high latitudes to low latitudes on the Pacific side is the California Cold Current, and the flow from low latitudes to high latitudes is the Alaska Warm Current. From the ocean currents, I can think of the law of pressure and wind belts, and the unique patterns that appear along the coast. Reasons for the Mediterranean climate. When talking about the Mediterranean climate, you can think of the distribution of other climate types and natural zones in the United States. Why do these climate types occur? Terrain is important! Then the topographic map of high in the west and low in the east appeared in my mind. Then, the reason why the Cordillera Mountains in the west were created was the demise boundary of the Pacific Plate and the American Plate. It was an earthquake zone, but why is it so famous? Because there are big cities in the west such as San Francisco and Los Angeles. What are these cities famous for? ——Silicon Valley, and then you can think of the developed transportation in the United States, you can think of other cities, the Mississippi River runs through the United States, industrial agriculture, corn belt, cotton belt, wheat and vegetable planting land and animal husbandry, and the central Great Plains will also appear...and finally reach the east, You can seem to feel the knowledge about the Great Lakes, the busyness of New York, and the warm sunshine of Miami... Then there are the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Warm Current, which can be extended to why Europe is so warm and humid... and so on. Do you still find geography difficult to memorize? Anyway, I have the urge to review it again, haha

Then there are some fixed formulas, air pressure and other basic issues to understand. Remember, it is to understand the principle of production, not to memorize it! You will never remember it if you memorize it. Just follow the teacher and put all the wrong questions in the usual exams into a notebook and read them over and over again.

I believe that after one year of studying high school geography in this way, you will be able to enter the examination room with ease! This is totally my personal experience, I hope it will be helpful to you and my fellow students!

In addition, the following is the answer from huazeyan98

. His answer is more specific. I hope it will be helpful to you!

When looking at a map, you should pay attention to quantifying the map. For example, the longitude and latitude of the east-west, north-south dividing lines in various regions of the world can be found as follows:

Each major region has 30 latitudes from east to west. Boundaries, 30E is the boundary between Asia-Africa and Asia-Europe, 60E is the Ural Mountains, and the boundary between West Asia and South Asia, 90E is the boundary between South Asia and Southeast Asia, etc.

Find the main geographical things, such as cities, The longitude and latitude of rivers and mountains, but only the most important ones are needed. The purpose is to find reference objects and infer other geographical things based on the precise positions of these most important geographical objects. For example:

The longitude and latitude of Cairo is 30E, 30N , you can guess that the longitude of Israel is in the early 30s

Understand the underlying causes of some geographical phenomena through topographic maps. For example, the direction of rivers can be seen from the terrain characteristics, and the distribution of ocean currents can be seen from the distribution characteristics of sea and land and latitude. We can see why Europe’s gap climate penetrates deep into the European continent (many mountain ranges in Europe run across the continent from east to west and are basically unimpeded to the wind), why the climate in the United States is so continental (mountains running from north to south are conducive to the monsoon blowing), and why the East African plateau is not a rainforest. The climate is rather a grassland climate (high terrain, climate degradation), why is it rainy in Sichuan (the basin is prone to cloudy skies), and why is northern Xinjiang rainier than southern Xinjiang (Tianshan blocks water vapor)

The above are all from What can be seen in topographic maps

In addition to topographic maps, you also need to contact some specialized maps, such as climate type distribution maps, ocean current distribution maps, resource and energy distribution maps, transportation maps, etc.

These pictures often need to be memorized

Most of the college entrance examination questions are based on pictures, so it is very important to look at pictures

Sometimes there are some very special pictures that you have never seen before. Or not commonly used, you need to learn to read pictures on the spot, such as solar altitude angle distribution diagram, climate rose diagram, smile curve diagram, etc.

There are also some contour diagrams that require special attention. These will be the focus of review. Such as contour maps, isobaric maps, constant precipitation line maps, etc. These maps have special methods to analyze, and senior high school students will conduct special training

Some questions require you to guess what is in the picture. For this kind of question, first look at the outline. Regions or countries such as Shandong Peninsula, Japan's four islands, Taiwan Island, Scandinavia, Italy, Alaska, and Australia can be seen at a glance

If you can’t tell, use the longitude and latitude to guess, see above for details

I took the college entrance examination in 2004 and was among the top in Beijing. These are my experiences. , hope you can absorb it well

Appendix: About the contour map

The following are my tutoring handouts:

4.2. Isotherms:

< p>4.2.1. Key points for interpreting isotherm diagrams:

4.2.1.1. Determine the distribution trend of isotherms:

Analyzing the distribution trend of isotherms, we can see that a certain place is In the Southern Hemisphere or the Northern Hemisphere. Generally speaking, the temperature decreases from low latitudes to high latitudes. If the temperature is higher toward the north, it means that the north is a low latitude and the place is in the southern hemisphere; vice versa, it is the northern hemisphere.

4.2.1.2. Determine the extension direction of the isotherm: (The chart cannot be displayed, and it is arranged in the order of the influencing factors explaining the change of the isotherm)

(1) The isotherm is straight and Parallel latitudes Solar radiation energy varies with latitude Solar radiation (latitude)

(2) Isotherms are generally parallel to the coastline. Temperature changes gradually from the coast to the inland. The degree of ocean influence is different

( 3) Summer: Inland convex to high latitudes Winter: Inland convex to low latitudes Sea and land distribution (thermal difference between sea and land)

(4) Parallel to the contours (parallel to the direction of the mountains and the edge of the plateau) Isotherm extension To the highlands, turn sharply to the curved terrain (vertical height of the mountain)

(5) Warm currents: cold currents convex to high latitudes: warm currents convex to low latitudes, warming cold currents and cooling ocean currents

(6) The closed curve of the basin has a hot center in summer and a warm center in winter. It is difficult to dissipate heat in summer and is heated by downdrafts. In winter, the mountain barrier terrain blocks the surrounding mountain barriers

(7) The mountain closed curve has low temperatures in both winter and summer. The temperature decreases vertically and the terrain is high

(8) Zigzag distribution (Temperature map of South America in July) Valleys, plains, plateaus, and mountains are alternately distributed, with different temperatures and varying terrain.

4.2.1.3. Judgment of isotherms The bending direction:

Protruding towards high latitudes means the temperature will be higher than in adjacent areas.

4.2.1.4. Determine the density of isotherms:

Dense isotherms mean a large temperature difference; sparse isotherms mean a small temperature difference.

4.2.1.5. Read the maximum value of temperature:

The size of the temperature difference can be seen by analyzing the maximum and minimum values ??of temperature in the graph.

4.2.1.6. Several main isotherms:

Some special isotherms are often the rough boundaries of climate zones, such as 0℃ and 20℃ isotherms.

4.2.1.7. Find the areas with special isotherm shapes in the picture:

On some isotherm maps, there are some areas with special isotherm shapes, which are due to special temperature conditions. area. (For example, in the 2003 college entrance examination question, the isotherm turns sharply southward along the Taihang Mountains)

4.2.1.8. Determine the temperature in the closed isotherm area:

Located between the two isotherms The closed area of ??the isotherm: If its temperature value is equal to the lower temperature value of the isotherms on both sides, the temperature in the closed area is lower than the temperature value of its isotherm;: If its temperature value is equal to the lower temperature value of the isotherms on both sides If the higher temperature values ??are equal, the temperature in the closed area is higher than the temperature value of its isotherm. The total value also follows the law of "high high, low low". For example, the temperature of A in the picture is lower than 12°C, and the temperature of B is higher than 15°C.

4.2.1.9. Determine sea, land or season based on the distribution characteristics of isotherms:

Several principles:

(1) Temperature increases from low latitudes to high latitudes Decreasingly.

(2) The low latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere are in the south, and the low latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere are in the north.

(3) If the temperature of the continent is higher than that of the ocean, it is summer in that hemisphere, and vice versa.

(4) If the isotherm protrudes toward high latitudes, the temperature will be higher than that at nearby same latitudes, and vice versa.

(5) Summer is in the northern hemisphere and winter is in the southern hemisphere. Winter is in the northern hemisphere and summer is in the southern hemisphere.

Several conclusions:

(1) If several isotherms are in the same hemisphere and the high temperature is in the north, then the hemisphere is the northern hemisphere;

If several isotherms are in the same hemisphere, and the high temperature is in the north; If the isotherms are in the same hemisphere, and the high temperature is in the south, then the hemisphere is the southern hemisphere.

(2) The continental isotherm bulges to the south in January, and bulges to the north in July;

The ocean isotherm bulges to the north in January, and bulges to the north in July .

(3) Continental isotherms bulge towards low latitudes in winter and towards high latitudes in summer;

Marine isotherms bulge towards high latitudes in winter and towards low latitudes in summer .

4.2.1.10. Determine the terrain based on the isotherm distribution:

4.2.1.10.1. Determine the terrain based on the isotherm:

Closed isotherm distribution area If the isotherm value decreases from the inside to the outside, that is, the inside is high and the outside is low, it is generally a basin terrain, and vice versa, it is a mountainous terrain.

4.2.1.10.2. Determine the relative height between isotherms based on isotherm distribution:

If the temperature difference between two isotherms is A, then the The relative height is: (1000×A/6) meters.

4.2.2. Distribution rules of isotherms in my country:

4.2.2.1. Distribution characteristics of isotherms in my country in January:

(1) Isotherms in January The extension direction of the lines is roughly parallel to the latitude lines, and the isotherms are densely arranged.

(2) The lowest average temperature in January is in northern Heilongjiang Province, and the highest temperature is in the South China Sea Islands.

(3) The 0°C isotherm roughly follows the southeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and passes eastward through the Qinling-Huaihe River line

(4) In areas such as the Tarim Basin, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and Qilian Mountains, Closed isotherms appear; the 4°C isotherm curves significantly northward when passing through the Sichuan Basin, and the winter temperatures in these areas are different from other areas at the same latitude.

4.2.2.2. The main characteristics of winter temperature distribution in my country:

The temperature in the north and south of my country in winter is very different. In winter, the sun shines directly on the southern hemisphere. The height of the sun at noon in the north is lower than that in the south. The day length is shorter than in the south. The sun height obtained is less than that in the south. At the same time, the winter monsoon intensifies the severe cold in the north. The lowest winter temperature in my country occurs in the Mohe area in northern Heilongjiang.

4.2.2.3. Distribution characteristics of isotherms in July in my country:

(1) The isotherms are sparsely arranged, and the eastern part is roughly parallel to the coast.

(2) Except for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Tianshan Mountains, and the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains, the temperature in most areas is above 20°C, and it exceeds 28°C in many places in the south.

(3) The temperature difference in July between the northern Northeast and the South China Sea Islands is only about 8℃.

4.2.2.4. The main characteristics of summer temperature distribution in my country:

High temperatures are common in most areas of my country in summer, and there is not much difference in temperature between the north and the south. Due to its high terrain and thin air, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the place with the lowest summer temperatures in my country.

4.2.3. World isotherm distribution rules:

Based on the world isotherm distribution maps in January and July, the characteristics of world temperature distribution can be analyzed.

(1) From the general trend of temperature distribution across the country:

Whether it is winter or summer, the temperature generally decreases from low latitudes to high latitudes. Isotherms are not completely parallel to latitudes because the temperature is also affected by ocean currents, land and sea distribution, topography and other factors.

(2) Comparing the northern and southern hemispheres:

The isotherms in the southern hemisphere are relatively straight and sparse, while the isotherms in the northern hemisphere are more tortuous and dense. The distribution and changes of temperature in the northern hemisphere are more complex than those in the southern hemisphere. . This is because the land area in the Southern Hemisphere is relatively small, the ocean with relatively uniform surface properties is much wider than in the Northern Hemisphere, and the difference in thermal properties between sea and land is relatively small, so the changes in temperature are relatively simple.

(3) Judging from the winter and summer temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere:

In the northern hemisphere, the continental isotherm curves southward and the ocean curves northward in winter; in summer, the continental isotherm curves northward and the ocean curves southward. .

(4) Looking at the areas where temperature extremes occur:

The coldest and hottest places in the world appear on the continent, and the hot center in summer appears at 20 ~ latitude north. Desert areas with 30 degrees Celsius, such as the Sahara Desert and the Arabian Desert, the cold center of the northern hemisphere in winter occurs in Siberia, while extreme low temperatures occur in the Antarctic continent.

4.3. Isoprecipitation line:

(1) Determine the difference in regional distribution of precipitation:

Dense - the regional distribution of precipitation is very different

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Sparse - the regional distribution difference of precipitation is small

(2) Determine the windward slope and leeward slope:

The equal precipitation line is parallel to the trend of the mountain range.

More rain - windward slope; less rain - leeward slope.

(3) Determine the impact of sea and land:

The constant precipitation line is roughly parallel to the coastline - precipitation decreases from the coast to the inland.

For example, the distribution of precipitation contours in Liaoning Province shows that precipitation decreases from the southeastern coast to the northwest inland: