Synoptic links in geography

The Overview

Geographers see connections in the world, how things interact and inter-relate. Making synoptic links in geography means making links between what you are studying and other aspects of geography.

Going Deeper

You may be wondering what synoptic links in geography are all about. They sound more complicated than they actually are. Making synoptic links in geography means making connections between different elements of geography. It is very rare in geography for something not to be connected to another part of geography. Practically everything you have studied is linked and inter-related with something else. Let’s have a look at an example of synoptic links in geography.

Hurricane Michael, the 3rd strongest storm in recorded history to make landfall in the USA. The hurricane reached Florida on the afternoon of Wednesday 10th October 2018 as a category four storm. Like other hurricanes affecting the USA during 2018, the storm was formed over the west coast of Africa. As with all tropical storms, the ocean over which the storm formed was 26.5 degrees. The impact of the storm was reduced because the USA is a HIC. This means they have the financial resources to plan, monitor and prepare for tropical storms.

As you can see from the paragraph above links have been made to other tropical storms, weather and climate in terms of how tropical storms form and economic geography in terms of the level of development of the country.

You could present your synoptic links as a paragraph of writing or you may want to present it as a diagram. Below is a simple concept map showing and explaining synoptic links.

Synoptic links in geography using a concept map

By making synoptic links you can also apply your knowledge, skills and understanding in geography to situations that you are unfamiliar with.

There are a number of tools you can use to create a concept map. The example above was created in MS Word. The example below was created using an online app called Mindmup.