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Geography is a major disadvantage in Haiti; according to the World Bank, over 90% of Haiti is at a heightened risk. Earthquakes, hurricanes, and flash floods (from hurricanes) are the biggest issues. Earthquakes such as the one with a 7.0 magnitude on 1/12/2010 killed up to 300,000 people and displaced over 1.5 million, and hurricanes such as the category 4 Hurricane Matthew on 10/4/2016 destroyed over 90% of crops and livestock in Haiti. The impacts of these geographical challenges impacts Haiti in regards to their economy, agriculture, and general civilization. There definitely are impacts of climate change on Haiti, such as the increased natural disaster risks- all of the natural disasters occur more and worse because of climate change. Since Haiti is less than a quarter arable, they were pushed to find new, innovative ways to grow crops in less fertile areas, such as on steep hillsides.

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Geography has a major impact on Ghana, but their biggest ones all involve water. There are lots of rivers and other water sources, which made them able to utilize hydropower and use it as not only their main source of energy but some of their surrounding countries as well. They also had the unfortunate geographical location that droughts were common, so since they had such a high dependence on their hydropower, their economy and civilization as a whole would suffer catastrophic effects whenever a drought occurred.

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Kush grew and developed specifically along the water (situated between the cataracts, major cities by the Nile, White Nile, Blue Nile, etc) so they could use it for water to use as a resource, for travel/trade/communication, and for agricultural purposes (although they didn’t become heavily invested in agriculture until much later). Important ceremonies and rituals for their gods were held at geographical locations they believed to have significance (ex. honoring Amun at Jebel Barkal). This also continued with their rulers (who were seen as basically gods), such as their queens, who were often depicted like the Candace Amanitore was by temples or other places of religious significance. Their physical proximity from Egypt also played a key role as they shared a lot of customs, writing systems, and more with their Egyptian neighbors.

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Geography directly impacted Japan in many ways. It made them learn how to build terraces and use the sea frequently in their everyday life, as well as teach them how to get around being poor in mineral resources. A centralized religion was formed after the many different religions within the archipelago came together to form it- a religion that treated the emperors as gods and gave them the most lavish, lush, massive, nature-filled tombs. The geographical separation of many of the clans also provided them each with power and rulership, which would become an issue once one clan took control; the other clans had issues relinquishing their control and seizing their own resources, which became a big military conflict.

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Mayan Civilization (southern Mexico, Guatemala, northern Belize, western Honduras)

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Mayan Civilization (southern Mexico, Guatemala, northern Belize, western Honduras)

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Geography directly impacted the Mayan Civilization in many different ways. They needed to create innovative ways to manage water as the water table was too low to excavate wells, so they built cisterns and reservoirs to collect and store rainwater and structures like aqueducts to control the flooding they would have during their wet season. They created gods based on the natural geography of their civilization, such as gods of corn and rain, which helped explain why things happened for them. The physical height in Maya helped influence the development of government as the height showed how much power you had. Kings and other powerful people had homes towards the top, and the king had a seat to sit out all the way at the top "like a god" to show how he was all powerful. Their geography made them adapt to find a way to keep their economy alive, as they avoided the slash-and-burn method and instead built raised beds above swamps and on hillside terraces to grow crops such as maize, beans, and squash to sell.

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The soil in Mesopotamia was very fertile because it was located between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. These rivers also made it so that they were at the "crossroads of the world", so there was a lot of trade, travel, and cultural diffusion. However, being between those rivers also brought unpredictable flooding (which the Mesopotamian people used to develop their religious beliefs by linking it to their religious gods being harsh and moody), and left there with little natural barriers from the outside world. Cities were located near the water so they could have easy access to water and be by trade/transportation. Job specialization benefited from the Euphrates flooding because someone had to constantly supervise the canals.

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Natural barriers such as the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, Pacific Ocean, Plateau of Tibet, Himalayas, Gobi Desert, Taklimakan Desert, Mongolian Plateau and more helped protect the Yellow River Valley from invasion from the east and south. The Huang He (also known as the Yellow River) overflows massive amounts of fertile soil called loess when its banks exceed capacity, which spreads to the west and the north by winds from deserts. A lot of China’s modern day wheat (around half) comes from the Huang He/Yellow River’s flood plain.  Sediment building up on the river bed (specifically of the Huang He) causes floods that had catastrophic effects (devouring whole villages) periodically when the river bursts its banks. Becuase of China’s natural barriers, early settlers couldn’t really trade with outside people and instead had to supply their own goods. China’s natural boundaries protected them a fair amount, but not completely. Specifically from the west and north, lots of invasions happened. The Yellow River influenced the The Mandate of Heaven and helped develop the communal beliefs of the Yellow River Valley civilians; if there were unnatural conditions, such as floods or famine, it was a sign that the dynasty had lost their divine right to rule and they needed a new ruler.

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The Indus River valley is protected from invasion and other conflicts by a large desert to the east and the world’s tallest mountains (the Himalayas) to the north. The soil was very fertile because the plain was between the Indus and Ganges rivers, which made it a prime spot for agriculture. Spots alongside both of those rivers were also rich with silt.

The Indus and Ganges Rivers were both crucial links from the Indus River Valley to the sea (the former from the Himalayas to the Arabian sea and the latter from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal), which made it good for transportation. While yearly floods spread the fertile soil across a large area, the floods along the Indus were very unpredictable. The course of the rivers sometimes changed. The unpredictableness of the wet and dry seasons from the monsoon winds was hard to deal with, as if there was too much rain floods would wipe out whole villages, and if there was too little rain people starved and plants withered and died.

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When the Nile River’s spilling receded each October, it would leave behind a lot of silt which was extremely fertile and significantly helped the civilization agriculturally. They used their fertile soil to help them develop their religious beliefs, saying the gift from the Nile was actually a present "from the gods." The Nile River was extremely predictable (unlike the Tigris and Euphrates), which made it easier for the villagers to plan and execute their farming and agriculture. The deserts on both sides of the Nile helped shut out all invaders. The Nile River’s close proximity helped promote trade because it was a reliable, easy source of transportation from Upper to Lower Egypt. If the flood waters from the Nile were just a little bit lower than usual, the amount of fresh silt and water for crops substantially decreased, which left thousands to starve. If the flood waters from the Nile were just a little bit higher than usual, the extra water destroyed the previous seeds farmers needed for planting, as well as wrecked houses and granaries. Egyptians were forced to reduce their interactions with outsiders and live on a very small portion of the total land because there were dry, vast deserts on both sides of the Nile. Geography impacted when Egyptians could work; because where they resided had a flood season, all of the people who worked in the fields (majority of the Egyptians) instead were called upon to help build temples for the pharaohs.