Geography

This term in Geography, we have covered a number of topics across the High School dealing with our physical and human environment.

Just as many of us have changed and grown in the last year, so has our planet and the people on it. The earth and processes that shape it, work as part of a system with flows of energy and processes that each have a distinct role. In order to understand ourselves and the world around us better, it helps to be able to identify the factors that influence our actions and habits. We also need to understand how each part of the system affects the whole.

Year 7 and 9 have been studying Plate Tectonics and the resultant earthquakes and volcanoes the movement of the Earth’s plates causes. Mount Nyiragongo in Congo recently erupted, causing people to evacuate, and affecting neighbouring Rwanda with earthquakes due to the volcano.  People that live in tectonically active regions have had to learn how to live with and adapt to these natural disasters.

Weather and Climate has been a topic in the Year 8 and 11 classes. This is often the most challenging section as the changes in the atmosphere and the reasons behind them can often seem to disappear and reappear like the wind, sun, and clouds do in Cape Town every day. There are also many factors that can affect the climate of a location, ranging from its proximity to the ocean, altitude, and latitude. These all work together to govern the weather systems that we experience locally and globally.

In Year 13 we have covered Global Interdependence. This section looks at connectivity in the world in relation to trade and tourism. To what extent do the resources and geographical location of a country determine its economic success? To what degree do the high-income countries that hold the bargaining power in terms of trade agreements shape trade patterns in low-income countries? Does aid play a more important role than trade in the development and success of a country?

Year 10 and 12 classes have been revising and consolidating their knowledge and skills in order to prepare for their Prelims, which they are currently writing. We hope all the hard work pays off!

Ann Donald
High School Geography Teacher