Geography- it is the description and study ● Human Geography- How people
of the Earth. interact with the Earth, and we study
products of human civilization,
Origin embodied in our cultural
● Geo - Earth environment. It includes: culture,
● Graphos - Description migration patterns and patterns of
● Graphite - Write population.
"Description of the earth as abode of human
beings" Methods of Geographic Study
GEOGRAPHY as a SCIENTIFIC ● Maps- maps, have power, and,
DISCIPLINE historically speaking, maps were
● As a discipline, geography is the created for and those by power.
science that studies the relationships ● Geographic Information Systems- A
among areas, natural systems, geographic information system (GIS)
cultural activities and the is a computer system for capturing,
interdependence of all these over storing, checking, and displaying
space. data related to positions on Earth's
surface.
5 Themes ● Geographic visualisation- the notion
● Place- can have physical and human refers to a set of tools and
characteristics. techniques, supporting geospatial,
● Location-2 types of location: communication and information
absolute and relative. analysis through the use of
● Movement- migration is an example interactive maps.
of movement. ● Spatial Statistics- this type of
● Region- places with common analysis looks for patterns or
physical features as grouped by correlation in recorded observations
geographers. of some process that occurs across a
● Human-Earth Relationships- earth space.
is a unified system.
Laos
Major Divisions
● Physical Geography - It is a spatial ● Flag - The current national Laos flag
analysis of physical elements and was adopted on December 2, 1975,
processes that make up the when the communist Lao People's
environment. Here, we have: Democratic Republic (Lao PDR)
Landforms, vegetation, climate, and toppled the King and took over the
bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, government.
and seas.
The flag has three horizontal stripes, red ● Kong
stripes on the top and bottom, a blue stripe,
whose height is double of the red ones, in Climate
the middle with white circle in the centre of ● Laos has a tropical climate, with a
the blue stripe. pronounced rainy season from May
through October, a cool dry season
Background
from November through February,
● Land of a Million Elephants
● Laos is in the centre of the South and a hot dry season in March and
Asian Peninsula; Cambodia, China, April. Generally, monsoons occur at
Burma, and Thailand borders LPDR the same time across the country,
● Known for its mountainous regions although that time may vary
and extensive forests
significantly from one year to the
● Has over 49 ethnicities
● 70% of their land is mountainous next.
and only 4% is arable
● Inspired by Indian culture: Hinduism Vegetation
and Buddhism ● Similar to the Philippines
● Communist country ● Trees are mostly secondary growth
● Home to orchids and palms
Relief
● Definition- The difference between ● Bamboos and wild banana trees
the highest and lowest elevations of a Agriculture
location. Major Crops
● Mount Bia- 9,245 feet above sea
● Rice
level
● Vegetables and beans
● Annamese Cordillera- Forms part of
● Sugarcane
the principal chain of mountains,
● Starchy Roots
followed by another chain of
● Tobacco
mountains
Major Exports
● Northern Laos/ Plain of Jars-
● Timber
Another highland
● Lumber
● Plywood
Drainage
● Coffee
● Tha
Major Imports
● Beng
● Sugar
● Ou
● Condensed Milk
● Ngum
● Long Grain Rice
● Kading
Fisheries
● Bangfai
● Bangbiang
● Fishing is an economic livelihood ● Industry- Represents half of the
and primary protein. industrial activity
● Manufactured Products- Bricks,
● They have discovered over 481 fish
Cigarettes, Detergents, Insecticides,
species including 22 exotic species.
Matches, Oxygen, Plastic, Rubber,
Footwear, Salt, Beer, Textiles
Forestry ● Prospect Manufacturing Hub-
Uses Demand for electronics and
● Used for timber exports and other components being manufactured in
cash crop exports such as coffee, etc. Laos
Also used for medicine and food
sustenance Transport
● Congested with private vehicles
Facts ● Poor public transportation
● 5000 species ● Dangerous roads
● 1373 genera and 188 families ● Mekong River; mostly inaccessible
● 485 wild orchids locations
● 8000- 11000 species in the country
of flowering plants Trade
● 100 species of large mammals ● Engages trade with Japan, South
● 90 species of bats Korea, and Germany
● Exports mostly hydropower
Religion ● Followed by Gold, Rubber, and
● Forests are worshipped for their Sugar
spiritual beliefs
● Forest Spirits Tourism
● 886,400 tourists in 2020
Mining Industry ● 106th in the world most visited
country
Resource-Rich Country- 570 mineral ● Generated 227 million US dollars in
deposits: gold, tin, iron, bauxite, lignite, the tourism sector.
potash, copper, zinc, and lead
New Economic Mechanism- Transition of Population
purely agricultural to market-oriented ● The country's population is at 7.38
Contributions- Demand and Supply- million today, compared to the
Increased exports; Narrow budget deficits; Philippines' 105 million population;
labour forces increase it is a very small number.
● Labour force is 77.8 percent
Manufacturing ● Unemployment rate is 1.5 percent
● Youth unemployment rate 10.4%
Problems and Prospects
Drainage- Since Mekong is the primary Population- 685,881,269
drainage system, most waste comes from
upstream and is heavily dependent on China Agriculture
and other upland countries. ● Fishing
● Farming
Mining- Mining has no sustainable solution
● Forestry
and through this, the mining is posing a risk
● One of the Agricultural Baskets of
to the environment of Laos.
the World
Forestry- The degradation of forests due to Mining
illegal mining poses as a problem and ● Key Minerals are nickel, copper, tin,
therefore proves to be dangerous to the and gold
people and animals and most of all their ● •10 biggest producing surface mines.
economy
Forestry
Southeast Asia ● Home to 15% of the world's forests.
Structure- Consists of 11 countries divided Manufacturing
into mainland and island zones. ● ASEAN has low-wage workers
which entice foreign companies
Drainage- Five major river systems: ● Can generate up to 600 billion USD
Irrawaddy, Salween, Chao Phraya, Mekong,
and Red Rivers.
Climate- Generally, falls within the warm,
humid tropics, and its climate generally can
be characterised as monsoonal.
Vegetation
Tropical- Generally, it falls within the
warm, humid tropics, and its climate
generally can be characterised as
monsoonal.
Monsoon- Generally, falls within the warm,
humid tropics, and its climate generally can
be characterised as monsoonal
Soil- Much of Southeast Asia is blessed with
fertile volcanic or alluvial soils. Such areas,
particularly the river valleys, have high
human populations.
