Geographic features affect the other regions as well as the people who live in that region. A given geographic feature affects people who live in a region in many ways. One way is with the climate. People who live near a lake may experience cooler weather in the summer if the winds are coming off of the lake. People who live near a lake may get more lake-effect snow depending on which side of the lake they live. People in Buffalo, New York and Marquette, Michigan get a lot of snow in the winter because of the location of those cities.
Another way geography impacts the people in a region is that a geographic feature may be a barrier to movement. People who live near rivers depend on bridges to travel across the river. People may have to travel extra miles to get to the nearest bridge. If that bridge is out of service, travel may be impacted significantly.
Geographic features may impact the economy. People who live near scenic mountains may have a lot of tourism because people come to see the scenery or to ski in the winter or hike in the summer. People who live near lakes and oceans may fish for a living.
Geographic features affect other regions also. If a large river, like the Mississippi River, floods due to a lot of rain, people downstream may experience flooding even if they didn’t get the rain. People may depend on a given geographic feature for food or trade even if they don’t live in the area. Much of our food comes from fertile plains as well as from lakes and oceans. These supplies of food are then sent all over the country and the world. A geographic feature may help prevent a country from being invaded. Switzerland has been protected by various mountain chains.
Geographic features are important both locally for the people living in the area as well as for regions far from the geographic feature.
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