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Introduction

Welcome to class. In today's lesson, we will learn the how the physical environment influences human activities and human activities influences our physicalenvironment. We will talk about settlement and types of settlement.

Influence of the physical environment on human activities

Our physical environment and its features influence the type and nature of human activities. Whether it is urban or rural, our physical environment influences us; and we, in turn, influence our physical environment.

Our economic activities are determined by our physical environment in certain areas, for instance, in Delta of Nigeria, the land does not encourage farming, and this makes the people to resort to fishing and trading as their main occupations. Most times, their lowlands are flooded. As a result, people in such area build houses with stilt, and their creeks and water channels become vital fishing grounds.

Also, in the northern part of Nigeria, there is not enough rainfall, and their climate is such that can sustain sparse vegetation. So, in the North, we have more of grasses, and this makes them cattle rearers.

The physical environment determines the kind of crops that can be grown in a particular area. For instance, crops that require heavy amounts of rainfall are grown in thick forest areas e.g cassava, rubber, cocoa, palm trees and other big trees like iroko, mahogany, etc. are found in such a place. But crops that require little rainfall to survive like onions, groundnut, carrot, tomatoes, pepper etc. are grown in savannah area of Northern Nigeria where there is a little amount of rainfall.

Most of our important minerals have their deposits in our mountains and
plateaux e.g tin ore and columbite are mined in Jos Plateau. Coal is mined in Udi Hills of Enugu. Our coastal lowlands and Niger Delta areas have large deposits of petroleum and natural gas. The production of petroleum in the areas fetches Nigeria enormous foreign exchange. In fact, petroleum is today the major export product of Nigeria. It fetches Nigeria the highest foreign exchange.

Rivers and hills affect the way people build their houses.

Influence of human activities on the physical environment

Human activities have both positive and negative influences on our environment. Through our knowledge of science and technology, we have been able to tum many natural conditions to our own advantage. We modify the physical environment through the following activities:

1. Construction of roads and bridges (for easy communication and transportation) to link up other places for survival. Some highland areas have been reduced; roads, railways and bridges built across mountains, rivers etc. for easy communication and transportation.

2. Clearing of land to erect houses of different kinds and for different purposes; for example, schools, hospitals, industries, hotels, homes etc.

3. Clearing of the land for farming.. This replaces the natural vegetation with food and cash crops.

4. Building of dams and canals for supplying of electricity and irrigation purposes.

5. Dredging of our rivers and flood channels.

6. Application of fertilizers to barren soil to make it rich; and many others not mentioned in this text.

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS

Where we live otherwise known as our physical environment determines the type of settlement we have in a particular area.

A settlement is a place with buildings where people live. It could be a town or village or an area with many houses built by people and/or by government.

There are two kinds of settlement.

They are:
(i) Urban Settlement, and
(ii) Rural Settlement

Urban Settlement

Refers to developedtowns like Onitsha, Lagos, Enugu, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Abakaliki, Abuja, Awka, Owerri, Umuahia, Aba etc all these states are found in Nigeria. In urban area, houses are built close to one another and with many people from different parts of the world living in the area. Different kinds of houses are found in cities or urban centres such as upstairs, skyscrapers, bungalows, duplexes etc. People are usually many and have different types of occupation they engage in. Different religions are practised e.g. Islam, Christianity etc; and people speak different languages.

Rural settlement

Rural settlement refers to places like villages or the country side where people live. Such places are characterised by a quiet environment. Rural dwellers have enough space to build houses. They engage in such occupations as farming, mining, forestry etc. Usually, they have a common language, the same culture and custom. People co-operate and help one another more readily than in township. The rural dwellers supply the urban dwellers with foods, people etc.

Types of Houses

Houses are built for shelter or protection from the elements such as rain, heat of the sun, wind etc. The type of house found in an area depends on the type of material obtainable in such locality. Houses found in urban centres are different from those found in rural areas. The type of houses found in a place is also determined by the physical features of such an area. In villages like Omor in Anambra State of Nigeria and some riverine areas, houses are built with local materials found around.

Showing how people are influenced by their physical environment.

Homework Task

1. State some ways in which human activities influence the physical environment.
2. State some ways by which physical environment influences our activities.
3. Describes a settlement
4. List and explain two types of settlement

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