Geography Of Your Community (1954)

[Music] thank you our world is big many people live on some people live where it is always hot some people live where it is always cold some are fishermen some are farmers some live in big cities when we find out about people why they live as they do and about the world we are learning geography but did you know that you can begin to study the geography of the world write in your own community to see how let's study this community a small City and the country around it let's begin just outside the city as you might begin the study of your community on the way to school while the children are getting on the bus let's look around here is farmland over here is a herd of dairy cattle thank you across the road there are men working they are using a steam shovel to dig something out of the ground they are digging clay this is a Clay Pit on the way to school we can see more of this community as we go the farmland's end and the city begins we go through a section of homes then we come to factories not far away are many stores and offices a few blocks farther on we come to railroad tracks then we go over the bridge across the river in a few blocks we are at school but of course you see your community at other times and on your way to school so let's look around this city a little more let's go back to the river we crossed there's a small dam across the river on the other side of the river are Factory buildings now why were the factories built along the river let's remember that question as we find out more about the factories do you know what this truck carries ice cream and it's made in this Factory and look they're unloading milk cans at this Factory milk is used in making ice cream but why is there an ice cream factory in this city let's remember that question too here is another Factory the sign says it's a pottery company to see what they do let's go inside look what's coming out of the spot it is wet clay the wet Clay is poured into molds when the clay dries it becomes hard and is shaped like the molds then it is sprayed with paint it is baked in a very hot oven called a Kill when the Clay comes out it is pottery finished and ready to be sent to stores all over the country but why is there a Pottery Factory in this city we'll find the answer to this question too as we continue to study the community there down the street is the tallest building in the city it keeps going up higher and higher what does the city look like from the top you can look way out to the edge of the city and you can see Farms outside the city you can see the trees in the section where many homes are you can see some of the stores and offices over here are the factories beside the river in a helicopter we can go high above the tallest building and still higher when we look at a community from high above it's like looking at a map so let's make this more like a map first we'll put in the river here's the bridge we crossed on the way to school here's the dam and the factories along the river here is where many houses are the houses go right to the city limits outside the city are farmlands here is the railroad that joins the community to a big city not far away leading out of the community in One Direction is a broad Highway but in this direction the roads are narrower why well looking way off in the distance this way all we can see past the city is farmland but off in this direction is the broad Highway that leads to the big city the highway joins this community to the big city carrying goods and people back and forth so we can learn much about a community by looking at a map or by looking around the community itself we had some questions do you remember them we wanted to know why the factories were built along the river and we wanted to know why there is an ice cream factory in this city and why a pottery company these are geography questions let's think first about why the factories were built along the river you remember the dam across the river it was built a long time ago when water power was used to turn wheels and make things so factories were built close to the water then a railroad was built to the factories more factories were built to be close to the railroad and though in time water was no longer the major source of power this had become the section of the city for factories so now we know why we find factories along the river but what do the factories make why is there an ice cream plant in this city well remember the dairy cattle we saw all around the city are dairy farms that produce large supplies of milk the milk is put into cans and hauled to the ice cream factory where the milk is used to make ice cream milk from the dairy farms made into ice cream by people of the community and sent to the big city not far away now why do we have a pottery company here let's think we saw that there is a Clay Pit just outside the city there is much clay here and it is a good kind for making pottery so the factory was built in this community to be near the clay we have learned a great deal about this community by looking around it and by studying a map in the same way you can learn about your community you can learn how people live in your community and in other communities and in places all over the world this is geography [Music]