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THEMES of Geography (7)
1. (LOCATION) – the absolute and relative position of a
geographic phenomenon
a.
b.
c.
Location – (SITUATION – Relative location)
Direction
Distance
2. (PLACE) Physical and Cultural Attributes
a.
b.
natural landscape (physical characteristics - SITE)
cultural landscape (human imprint on nature
– manmade
environment)
3. (REGION) – an area of Earth with distinctive cultural and
physical characteristics (Era : History::Region : Geography)
a.
b.
c.
Formal / Administrative – North Carolina, Corn Belt
Functional / Nodal – Charlotte
Perceptual / Vernacular
4. (SCALE) – relationship between the portion of earth being studied
and earth as a whole
a. Absolute – “Map Scale” – ratio of map distance to real earth
distance
b. Relative – “Local” / “regional” / “global”
5. (DISTRIBUTION) Structured Content of a Place
a. Density – frequency something occurs in space
1.
2.
3.
Arithmetic density
Physiological density
Agricultural density
b. Concentration – spread of something over space
1.
2.
Clustered
Dispersed
c. Pattern – arrangement of objects on earth’s surface
1.
2.
6.
Geometric
Irregular
CONNECTIONS between Places / Spatial Interaction a
a. Accessibility
b. Connectivity
Map Questions
7.
(Human / Environmental Interaction)– ways in which human
society and natural environment affect each other
“Arctic Blues”
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
• Why was the city of New Orleans
even built where it is in the first
place?
• Why were most of the historic landmarks and
tourist attractions in New Orleans not flooded?
• Why were the population of the areas
flooded two-thirds African American, while the
areas not flooded less than one-forth African
American?
Absolute and Relative Location
Absolute and Relative Direction
Absolute and Relative Distance
Key Issue #2
Why Is Each Point on Earth Unique?
• Geographers describe a feature’s place on earth by
identifying its LOCATION:
• 4 Ways to identify Location
1. Mathematical location
2. Place name
3. Site
4. Situation
1. Mathematical Location
(Absolute Location)
•
Globe grid (Graticule) – Equator,
Prime Meridian, International
Date Line, latitude (parallels) and
longitude (meridians)
Longitude and Time
•
•
•
•
Greenwich Mean Time (Universal
Time)
24 Time Zones (every 15 degrees)
Street Address is also a way to
describe Absolute Location
2. Place Names (Toponymy)
•
•
•
Toponym – name given to a place on earth
Places are named for:
•
Person
•
Religion
•
Origin of settlers
•
Physical landscape
•
Cultural landscape
•
Indigenous language words
Name changes – historical, political, economic
• EXTRA CREDIT: Toponymy –
• Give two examples of places named using each of the factors listed
above. Places must not be examples used in the book, or places in
Mecklenburg County
• Funny Place names
• Long Place names
• Place name pronunciations – Appalachian, Nevada, Concord,
Lancaster, New Orleans
• Give two examples (not in the book) of places that have changed
their name, and explain why.
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3. Site – physical character of a place
•
Climate, water sources, topography, soil, vegetation, latitude,
and elevation
•
Site determines what places are good for settlement or not
•
Human alterations of sites reflects the conversion of physical
landscape to cultural landscape
•
•
•
Landfills and cofferdams
Dikes and levies
Dams
4. Situation – location of a place relative to other places
(Relative Location)
• Helps find unfamiliar place by comparing its location to a familiar
one – giving directions using landmarks
• Helps understand the importance of a location – place utility
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•
B. Regions: Areas of Unique Characteristics
Regions Tutorial
REGION – Region : geography : : era : history
• Area of Earth defined by one or more distinctive characteristics is a region
• “Cultural landscape” (geographer Carl Sauer)
• Cultural – language and/or religion
• Economic – agriculture and/or industry
• Physical – climate and/or vegetation
• Regional Studies approach – regions have unique, distinctive landscape that
combines social relationships and physical processes
• people are the most important agents of change on the Earth’s surface (not
physical or natural processes)
• Regions exist on different scales - any area larger than a specific point,
and smaller than the entire planet:
• neighboring countries that share important features, or
• many localities within a country who share common characteristics
•
Geographic area with common Characteristics
•
•
•
•
•
•
human lifestyles
social arrangements
use of land and resources
language
spiritual and/or political beliefs
Regions defined / distinguished in different ways
•
•
•
•
•
geographic proximity – North America
dominant crop – Corn Belt, Wheat Belt
dominant livelihood – manufacturing belt, “Blue Banana”,
“megalopolis”
common history – “Dixie”
common trading partners – European Union, NAFTA
Types of Regions –
1. Formal / Uniform – area defined by unifying characteristic(s);
common traits include: language, religion, economic activity,
political structure, physical attributes
•
•
•
•
•
•
North Carolina, Washington State (Administrative)
Megalopolis – continuous area of urban development
Blue or Red (Democrat or Republican states or regions)
Dairy Belt – milk, cheese, butter
Dixie / Confederacy – southern states that seceded
Latin America – Western Hemisphere, common Spanish or Portuguese
heritage
*** broad generalizations often fail to recognize cultural,
economic, or environmental diversity within regions;
creates appearance of homogeneity and perpetuates
stereotypes and discrimination
2. Functional / Nodal – metropolitan area organized around a node or focal
point (central business district – CBD); the defining characteristic dominates
in an area of central focus (node) and diminishes in importance outward;
region is tied together by transportation and communication systems
MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area)
• transportation networks / mass transit
• information exchange (media market), i.e. newspaper circulation,
reception areas of local radio & television stations / WBTV); becoming
less relevant with new technology (mass media, i.e. Sirius Radio, USA
Today, CNN, FOXNews)
• movement of people (commuters); becoming less relevant with
possibility of tele-commuting
• retail centers / shopping malls / supermarkets; becoming less relevant
due to mail order and internet shopping
• Area served by sports franchises (Charlotte or Carolina?)
Functional Regions: TV markets
3. Perceptual Region – emotional associations with places; defined
by peoples feelings and attitudes about an area; place can be part
of a person’s cultural identity, their “turf”!
•
•
•
Perceptual region – regional identity as perceived by those outside a region
Mental maps, “Bible Belt”, “the South”, “the Middle East”, “hoods” / ”turfs”
Vernacular region – regional identity as perceived by those within a region
•
•
•
•
core – area of highest concentration of defining culture traits
domain – area where defining culture traits are still dominant but with less frequency
sphere – area where defining traits are present but not dominant; they begin to blend and overlap
with surrounding regions
realm – groups of distinct regions which share common traits
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3. Which of the following statements about latitude is NOT true?
a. Latitude is a measure of distance north or south of the equator
b. Latitude lines are always parallel to each other
c. On a globe, lines of latitude intersect meridians of longitude at right angles
d. Latitude lines run east and west
e. Latitude is always written as some number between 0 degrees and 180 degrees
13. The visible imprint of human activity on the earth’s surface is known as:
a. spatial interaction
b. the attributes of the setting
c. the cultural landscape
d. the natural landscape
e. human geography
14. The acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or from another longdistance method is:
a. GIS
b. GPS
c. Remote sensing
d. USGS
e. Topographic analysis
25. New York City’s ____________________ is approximately 100 miles northeast of Philadelphia and 100
miles southwest of Boston.
a. location
b. site
c. situation
d. toponym
e. jurisdiction
16. The Act that created a grid system that divided the United States into
townships, ranges, sections, and quarter sections
a. Geographic Information System
b. Global Positioning System
c. The Louisiana Purchase
d. U.S. Land Ordinance of 1785
e. U.S. Geographic System