Introto geography[1]

Human Geography
Unit 1: Basic Concepts

Created by Daniel Eiland | http://www.mreiland.info

Introductions

Unit Geographic
Tools
Outline
The Five
Themes

Introduction
to
Geography

“Geography is the
systematic study of the
spatial patterns of all
phenomena on or near
the Earth’s surface.”

Geography is:

A scientific and descriptive study of
the Earth’s surface.

Geography is:

Interactions between people and
their environment

Geography is:

A study of spatial and local
variation.

Geography is:

A
Study
Of
Spatial
Patterns.

What is the
why
Of where?

What is the above a picture of? Why might it
have been built the way that it was?

In this night picture of the earth, why are some areas brighter
than others? How would it have looked 200 years ago?

Who are some important Geographers?

Aristotle (384 BCE – 322 BCE)

I was the first person
to demonstrate that
the Earth was
spherical.

Eratosthenes (3rd Century BCE)
I accurately calculated
the circumference of
the earth using
geometry and was the
first known person to
use the word
geography.

Claudius Ptolemy (CE 90 – CE 168)
I wrote a book called
Geography and
designed the
forerunner to
longitude and
latitude lines.

Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani al-Sabti

Al Idrisi (1099–1165)

I’m an Arabic
geographer who
worked for the King of
Sicily to create an
accurate
representation of the
world.

Abraham Ortelius (1527 – 1598)

I designed the
first modern
atlas: Theatre
of the World.

George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882)
I first described how
natural systems are
impacted by human
actions. I am considered
the first modern
environmentalist

Carl Sauer (1889-1975)
In 1925, I argued that
cultural landscapes, the
interactions between
people and their
environment, should be
the focus of geographic
study.

How did the maps change between
Eratosthenes and Ortelius? Why?

What fields of study exist in Human
Geography?

What are W.D. Pattinson’s four
traditions?

The Culture-Environment Tradition

What are the differences between
Human and Physical geography?

What characteristics of this image would
a human geographer notice? A physical
geographer?

Human Geographers ask:

Where are people located?


What are people like?


What are their interactions over space?


What kind of landscapes do they build?

What kinds of data do geographers
use?

Qualitative Data

Examines cultural or regional Uses rigorous mathematical
geography. techniques to examine hard
Gathered through numerical data.
observations, interviews, and
the interpretations of texts.

Quantitative Data

Idiographic

Facts and Concepts that
figures unique are universally
to a particular applicable
place or
region

Nomothetic

Develop a qualitative, nomothetic question
about the populace of our school.

Develop a quantitative, idiographic
question about the populace of our school.

“Cartography is
the science of
making maps.”

“A map-scale shows the
relationship of a feature’s size
on a map to its actual size on
Earth.”

Ratio or
1:24,000 1/100
Fraction

Map
Scale
Graphic Written
Scale scale

0|----------------|100km 1 inch equals one mile

Which would be a good scale for viewing a
classroom, a school, a parish, a country?

A) 1in:1000miles
C) 1in:100miles
D) 1in:10feet
E) 1in:100ft

“Resolution is a map’s smallest
discernable unit. In other
words, it is the smallest item
you can see on a map.”

“Projection is the scientific
method of transferring
location on Earth’s surface to
a flat map.”

Shape
Distance
or
Direction

Relative
Size

Distortion

Mercator Projection

Distortion:
Size and Shape

The standard map projection for
nautical purposes.

Mollweide Projection

Distortion:
Shape and Angle

Primarily used where accurate representation
of area takes precedence over shape

Robinson Projection

Distortion:
Everything
in small
amounts.

Primarily used to create visually
appealing maps of the entire world.

Azimuthal Equidistant Projection

Distortion:
Shape and distance
as one gets farther
from the center.

Used when drawing Polar maps.

Fuller Projection

Distortion:
Maintains the
accurate shape
and size but
rearranges
direction.

Peters Projection

Distortion:
Retains the accurate
size of landmasses but
sacrifices shape.

Often seen as a politically driven map.

“A reference map
shows locations of
places and geographic
features.”

“Relative location is the position
on Earth's surface relative to
other features.”

Where is Caddo Parish located
relatively?

“Absolute location is a point
on the earth's surface
expressed by a coordinate
system such as latitude and
longitude.”

“Longitude is the numbering
system that enumerates
meridians, arcs that are
drawn between the north
and south pole.”

Longitude

0° Longitude runs through
Greenwich, England and is known
as the Prime Meridian

“Latitude is the numbering
system that enumerates
parallels, circles drawn around
the globe parallel to the
equator and at right angles to
the meridians.”

Latitude

0° Latitude is the equator.

90° north latitude is the north
pole.

90° south latitude is the south
pole.

“A Time zone is a region on
Earth that has a uniform
standard time for
legal, commercial, and social
purposes.”

What is the international date line?

“The International Date Line is an
imaginary line on the surface of the
Earth, that runs from the north to
the south pole and demarcates one
calendar day from the next.”

A traveler crossing the
International Date Line
eastbound subtracts
one day, or 24 hours, so
that the calendar date
to the west of the line
is repeated.

“A thematic map is a type
of map or chart especially
designed to show a
particular theme connected
with a specific geographic
area.”

Choropleth Maps
Uses differences in shading, , or the
placing of symbols.

Dot Maps

Uses dots in a
specific area.
Each dot is a
specific quantity.

Isoline Maps

Uses continuous lines joining
points of the same value.

Mental Maps

Shows an person’s internal
perception of space.

Cartograms

Expands or shrinks the area of
locations to demonstrate different
types of data.

The World Population

What does this map show you about the
world’s population?

“GIS or a Geographic
Information System is a
computer system that
stores, organizes, analyzes, and
displays geographic data.”

For Your Consideration
Imagine that you are a researcher using GIS to
determine information. What is a question that
you might be able to answer using the
technologies available?

“GPS or a Global Positioning
System determines the precise
position of something on Earth
through satellites, tracking
stations, and receivers.”

“Remote sensing is the
acquisition of data about the
Earth’s surface from a satellite
orbiting the planet or from
other long distance methods.”

“A Geographic Model is a
simplified way to explain
complex patterns, make
informed decisions and explain
future behaviors.”

Part 3: The Five Themes of Geography

“Site is describing a location of
a place based on its physical
characteristics. Situation is the
location of a place relative to
other places.”

Describe your town or city only by
discussing its location relative to other
places.

Describe your town or city only by
discussing its physical characteristics.

Much of South Louisiana is made
up of swamp-land.

A. Site
B. Situation

Baton Rouge is next to the
Mississippi River.

A. Site
B. Situation

The first Woodlawn High School
was built on a fault line.

A. Site
B. Situation

The new Woodlawn High School
was built next to a church.

A. Site
B. Situation

“A Toponym is the name of
something on the Earth.”

“A region is an area of Earth
defined by one or more
distinctive characteristics.”

“The physical
features, economic
features, and cultural features
that make up a region are
called its cultural landscape.”

What types of regions are there?

Formal Regions

Everyone shares in common one or
more distinctive characteristics.

Formal Regions

Borders are easy to track and slow to
change.

Formal Regions

Examples: Political regions and long
lasting economic regions.

Functional Regions

Organized around a central node.

Functional Regions

Tied to the point by transportation and communication
systems or by economic or functional associations.

Functional Regions

Examples: Subway Systems, Newspaper Distribution, Store
Distribution

Perceptual Regions

A place that people believe exists as part of their
cultural identity.

Perceptual Regions

Informal and varies dependent on who is defining
them.

Perceptual Regions

Examples: “The South” “The Country”

The next 10 slides ask you to
identify if the region shown is
formal, functional, or vernacular.

The Corn Belt
A. Formal
B. Functional
C. Vernacular

The South
A. Formal
B. Functional
C. Vernacular

Kentucky
A. Formal
B. Functional
C. Vernacular

A county in Kentucky
A. Formal Breckenridge
County
B. Functional
C. Vernacular

Eastern Kentucky
A. Formal
B. Functional
C. Vernacular

Chicagoland (Chicago and all the areas
served by the city)
A. Formal
B. Functional
C. Vernacular

The Deep South
A. Formal
B. Functional
C. Vernacular

“Movement is the way that
people, products, information
and ideas move from one place
to another.”

Compare how long it would take you to get
from school to the mall (6.2 Miles) using
the following forms of transportation.
1) Walking (3.1 MPH)
2) Horse (15 MPH)
3) Car (45 MPH)
4) Helicopter (100 MPH)

How has the time it takes to travel
changed through the years? Why?

“Distance Decay is the
lessening interaction between
places as the friction of
distance increases.”

“Friction of Distance is the
effect of distance on
interaction between places.”

Distance-Decay Models for Stores

What is space-time compression?

“Space-Time Compression is
the reduction in time it takes
for something to reach another
place because of a change in
technology.”

1500-1840

1850-1930

1950s

1960s

1980s

What determines the interaction between
places?

Proximity

The nearness to important features.

Connectivity

Directness of routes linking pairs of
places.

Accessibility

The relative ease with which a destination may
be reached from other locations.

“The Gravity Model says that
the interaction between two
places is equal to the product
of the places’ population
divided by the square of their
distance apart.”

Insights from the Gravity Model

1) Larger cities have greater gravitational pull
than small ones.
2) Two large cities like Los Angeles and New York
can still pull on each other even with the
distance between them.

“Diffusion is the process by
which a characteristic spreads
across space from one place to
another over time.”

What is the a Cultural Hearth?

A hearth is the place
which an innovation or
cultural change
originates.

How do cultural elements diffuse?

Core: The “most pure” area
that possesses all cultural
traits used to define a region.

Domain: The area in which the
culture is dominant but less
intense.

Sphere: The zone of outer
influence where people with
the culture traits can even be a
minority in another region.

Relocation Diffusion: The diffusion of a
characteristic as people move from
place to place.

The rapid, widespread
diffusion of a characteristic
through the population.

Can you tell where the cholera outbreak
started?

The spread of an idea
from persons or nodes
of authority or power to
other persons or places.

Stimulus Diffusion:
Spread of an idea after
reestablishing it after
initial failure.

For Your Consideration:

The next few slides will ask you to
identify what type of diffusion is
being discussed.

Fashion Trends from cities to
surrounding areas.
A. Contagious
B. Hierarchical
C. Stimulus
D. Relocation

Christianity not being adopted by its
initiating group (the Jews)
A. Contagious
B. Hierarchical
C. Stimulus
D. Relocation

The serving of Lamb Burgers at
McDonalds in India
A. Contagious
B. Hierarchical
C. Stimulus
D. Relocation

When missionaries try to convert kings
first to spread their religion.
A. Contagious
B. Hierarchical
C. Stimulus
D. Relocation

The spread of Islam from Mecca from
individual to individual
A. Contagious
B. Hierarchical
C. Stimulus
D. Relocation

Italians teaching Americans to make
pizza when they moved to North
America.
A. Contagious
B. Hierarchical
C. Stimulus
D. Relocation

“Place is an area that is defined
by everything in it.”

How do geographers analyze space?

How does the
big affect the
small?

What
characteristics
of the small are
Scale How does the
small affect the
characteristics
of the big? Asks big?

What
characteristics
of the big are
part of the
small?

How does your perception of cancer rates change
when you look at a country and state level map?

Density

How many things are in one square unit of
space?

Concentration

How closely are things related to one
another in a space?

Pattern

How are things arranged in a space?

How does this image
demonstrate the properties of
density, concentration, and
pattern?

Describe this classroom using the words
density, concentration, and pattern.

Theme 5: Human/Environment Interaction

“Human-Environmental
Interaction is how humans
modify, adapt to, and depend
on their environment. Cultural
Ecology is the study of human-
environment relationships.”

Environmental Determinism

How a People have
physical the ability to
environment adjust to
causes social their
development. environment.

Possibilism

Introto geography[1]

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