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Unit One Notes
Geography- Its Nature and Perspectives
1.
What is Geography?
2 categories- Human and Physical
i. Human- where and why human activities are located where they are (examples- religions,
businesses, and cities)
ii. Physical- where and why natural forces occur as they do (examples- climates, landforms,
and types of vegetation)
iii. Even though our course is in Human Geography, often the two interact with each other
(example- Hurricane Katrina)
b. Mapping- key to geography
i. Many types of maps geographers use
c. Why are places on Earth unique?- central question to geography
i. 2 concepts to explain this- place and region
ii. Place- specific point on Earth
iii. Region- area of Earth distinguished by a distinctive combination of cultural and physical
features
(1)
Human Geographers especially interested in cultural features of a group of people
in a region (their beliefs and traditions, political and economic practices)
d. Why do different places on Earth have similar features?
i. 3 basic concepts- scale, space and connections
ii. Scale- relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole
iii. Space- physical gap between two objects
iv. Connections- relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space
2.
History of Geography
a. Cartography- fancy name for map-making
b. Ancient World- Chinese, Greek and N. Africans used maps
i. Served general purpose- develop trade routes to distant lands
c. Eratosthenes
i. Early cartographer, accurate computation of Earth’s circumference
ii. Credited with coining the term geography- which means “earth writing”
iii. Map divided earth into 5 climate zones
d. Ptolemy
i. 2nd century AD, published Guide to Geography, which included rough maps of the
landmasses and a global grid system
e. Age of Exploration- 1400 AD explorers mapped landforms, climates, indigenous
cultures and distribution of plants and animals
i. Effects- helped understand migration of plants, people and animals and it also helped
people develop new theories (Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution)
f. George Perkins Marsh
i. Man and Nature, or Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action (1864)
ii. Book provides first description of how man has impacted environment
iii. Warned that human actions could have disastrous effects, conservation
a.
g.
Carl Sauer (1925)
i. Natural landscapes- unaltered by human activities
ii. Cultural landscapes- products of interaction between humans and environment
iii. Sauer though cultural landscapes should be focus of geography
h. Quantitative Revolution (1960s)
i. Scientific Approach- use empirical measurements, hypothesis testing, develop
mathematical models and use computer programs
ii. Technological innovation
iii. Bring into mainstream of modern science
iv. Some argue limited the study of cultures
i. New Technology
i. Use technology to study spatial data (associated with a particular point on Earth)
ii. Remote Sensing- capture images of Earth’s surface from airborne platforms such as
satellites or airplanes
(1)
Analog or digital photographs
(2)
Record spatial data on the Earth’s surface at a particular point in time
iii. Global Positioning System (GPS)- integrated network of satellites that orbit the Earth
and broadcast location information to hand-held receivers
(1)
People can obtain information on latitude and longitude
(2)
Navigation purposes and determining distances between two points
iv. Geographical Information Systems (GIS)- family of software programs that allow
geographers to map, analyze and model spatial data
(1)
Most GIS use thematic layers (each layer is an individual map that contains specific
features, such as roads or stream networks)
(2)
Can use multiple layers to understand spatial relationships between different things
(example- locations of schools and beaches, income levels, employment
opportunities)
3.
Geography as a discipline
a. 3 major areas- Physical, Environmental, Human
i. Physical- study spatial characteristics of the earth’s physical and biological system
ii. Environmental- where physical and human geography meet, debates regarding
anthropogenic (human-induced environmental change)
(1)
Sustainability- restraint of natural resources to ensure enough for future generations
iii. Human- study of human activities on the Earth’s surface
4.
Five Themes of Geography
a. Location- how the geographical position of people and things on the Earth’s surface
affects what happens and why
i. Latitude and Longitude
b. Human-Environment Interaction- how do different culture groups understand, use and
transform (change) their environments
c. Region- features tend to be concentrated in particular areas, which are often thought of as
regions
d. Place- study the special character and meaning of places
e. Movement- mobility of people, good and ideas across the planet
5.
Thinking Geographically
a. Spatial Perspective
i. Allows geographers to look at the Earth in terms of the relationships between various
places (why and how something occupies their specific locations)
b. Scale
i. General concept that refers to a conceptual hierarchy of spaces, from small to large, that
reflects actual levels of organization in the real world
ii. Example- neighborhood, the urban area, the metropolitan area, and the region
iii. A geographer wants to understand how processes at one scale affect activities on other
scales (pollution)
c. Region
i. An area larger than a single city that contains similar social or physical characteristics
that set it apart from surrounding areas
ii. Regions do not exist as well-defined units- geographers use them for convenience
iii. Examples- Little Italy in NYC, Western Europe, Mid-West
iv. May be based on physical characteristics, climate, cultural characteristics (language or
religion)
d. Types of Regions
i. Functional regions- defined by the connections and interactions that occur between them
and surrounding areas
(1)
Also called nodal regions
(2)
Ex- San Francisco Bay area depends on its heart San Francisco
(3)
Ex- circulation area of a newspaper, reception area of a TV station
ii. Formal Regions (uniform)- have specific characteristics that are the same from one place
to another within the designated region
(1)
Ex- rolling hills, religion, ethnicity, language, desert, government
(2)
Ex- Montana (has boundaries and has a government that sets laws)
(3)
Ex- Wheat Belt (area in US where wheat is grown)
iii. Perceptual Region- exist in the minds of people, reflect feelings and images
(1)
Ex- US “Deep South”- boundary is based largely on stereotypes (climate, language,
food, etc)
iv. Distinctive Region- well-defined region with recognizable borders and geographic
characteristics
(1) Ex- South Florida- similar social and natural characteristics (Gulf of Mexico,
climate,etc)
e.Types of Data
i.Qualitative Data- interviews, observations, or interpretations of texts or artwork
(1) Work well with studies of culture
(2) Not based on statistics
ii. Quantitative Data- use mathematical techniques and research
(1) Use when geographers study economic, political, and population geography
(2) Most physical geography uses quantitative data
iii. Idiographic- facts or features that are unique to a particular place or region (history or
ethnic composition of an area)
iv.Nomothetic- refers to concepts that are universally applicable
(1) Ex- universal laws (lessons learned about use of capital and technology can be applied
to industrialization in general)
6.Maps
a.Cartography- map making
b.Different types of maps- know what type you need with data available (local bus system,
showing average income)
c.Maps are created by projecting the Earth’s 3-D shape onto a 2-D surface
d.In process, lose distortion or details
e.Map Projections
i.Mercator Projection
(1)Preserves accurate compass direction
(2)Distorts landmasses near the poles (North and South)
(3)Land in high latitudes become distorted as well (ex. Alaska, Antarctica)
ii.Fuller Projection
(1)Keeps size and shape of landmasses, but rearranges direction (N, S, E and W have
no meaning)
iii.Robinson Projection
(1)Does not maintain accurate area, shape, distance or direction but minimizes errors
in each
(2)Main one used by Cartographers and organizations like National Geographic
Society
iv.Azimuthal Projection
(1)Uses a planar idea (means either North or South Pole is at center of map)
v. There is no best type of projection or map. Your data and purpose should
determine what type of map you will use
f.Map detail
i. Level of simplification- level of detail in map (depends on purpose)
(1)Ex- Map of US will not include every small town, Map of a mall will include very
small details
ii.Level of aggregation- size of the unit being investigated (cities, counties, countries)
(1)Ex- if showing population of state, divide it by counties
(2)Ex- if showing population of country, divide it by states or provinces
g.Map Scale
i.Ratio between distance on the map and actual distance
ii.Small Scale Map- cover large regions because ratio is small
iii.Large Scale Map- cover small regions because ratio is larger
h.Resolution
i.smallest thing you can see on a map
i.Types of Maps- most fall into two categories, reference and thematic
i.Reference Map- basic information for a particular place, makes it easy to find
landmarks for navigating
ii.Thematic Map- shows one or more variables, such as population or income level,
within a specific area
iii.Topographic Map- uses isolines to represent elevations
(1)good for navigation
iv.Proportional Symbol Maps- thematic map that uses symbols to indicate magnitude
for a region
(1)Ex. Map of NC with circles representing crimes committed (larger the circle the
more crimes committed in that area)
v.Location Chart- gives specific statistical information of a particular place
(1)Ex- Map of Canada with a chart depicting French and English speakers
vi.Dot Maps- thematic map uses points to show precise locations for information (crime,
births, car accidents)
vii.Choropleth Map- uses colors or shading to represent categories for an area
viii.Cartogram- thematic map that transforms space so that the political unit with
greatest value is the biggest
(1)Ex- Map showing population in US- states like Texas, California, NY, Florida
would be biggest and states like Montana, Wyoming, Idaho would be smallest)
ix.Visualizations- use software to create dynamic computer maps, some are in 3-D
(1)Good to investigate things not able to be seen with naked eye or how landscapes
change over time
x.Cognitive Maps- image created in person’s own mind (portion of Earth)
(1) Also called mental maps- organize streets, landmarks and districts in mind
(2) Also have preference maps- show peoples ideas about environment, social or
economic quality of life in various places
7. Location and Relationship to other places
a.Absolute location- the exact position on the grid system
i.Grid system
(1)latitude- parallels
(a)0*= equator
(b)90*= poles (North and South)
(2)longitude- meridians
(a)0*= Prime Meridian (Greenwich, England)
(b)180*= International Date Line
(c)All meridians meet at the poles
b.Relative Location- the position of a place relative to place around it
i.Ex.- NYC is south of Albany, the T-Trailers are near the tennis courts
c.Site- absolute location of a place, described by local relief, landforms, and other cultural or
physical characteristics
i.Ex.- San Francisco is located at about 37*N latitude and 123*W longitude, on a
peninsula that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean
d.Situation- relative location of a place in relation to physical and cultural characteristics of
surrounding area
i.Ex.- San Francisco is a major city in N. California that is home to almost 6 million
people. To the east is Oakland and to the west is the Pacific Ocean
e.Absolute distance- distance that can be measured with standard units
i.Ex.- 5 miles
f.Relative distance- a transformation of absolute distance into measures like time or
monetary costs
i.Ex.- the drive to school takes 7 minutes, a cab ride downtown costs $20
ii.Connectivity- the degree of economic, social, cultural, or political connection between
two places
(1)Ex- Hawaii is thousands of miles away from Los Angeles but very close in terms
of culture and economics
(2)Ex- Key West Florida is only 200 miles away from Havana, Cuba but the two are
very far apart in terms of culture and economics
iii.Time-space convergence- the idea that distance between some places is actually
shrinking as technology enables more rapid communication and increased interaction
between two places
g.Absolute direction- based on cardinal points (N, S, E, W)
h.Relative direction- a culturally based locational reference
i.Ex- go “out West” or go “down South”
8.Spatial Interaction- between places at different scales
a.Economic Geography
i.Complementarity- the degree to which one place can supply something that another
place demands
(1)Florida supplies oranges to the northeast
ii.Intervening Opportunities- the idea that one place has a demand for some good or
service and two places have a supply of equal price and quality, then the closer of the
two suppliers to the buyer will represent an intervening opportunity
(1)Ex- if West Virginia had the climate to grow oranges and sold them for the same
price as Florida, West Virginia would be an intervening opportunity
iii.Transferability- the costs involved in moving goods from one place to another
(1)When costs of moving goods or people are high, transferability decreases
(a)Fertilizer- very heavy an expensive to ship, therefore most fertilizer is grown
locally and not shipped very far
(2)When costs are low, transferability increases
(a)Computer chips- very lightweight and can be shipped all over the world for
low price
iv.Accessibility- the relative ease with which a destination may be reached from some
other place
(1)Important when figuring shipping costs
b.Tobler’s First Law of Geography
i.Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant
things
(1)Friction of Distance- how much absolute distance affects the interaction between
two places (distance hinders interaction)
(a)Ex- You might drive a short distance to see a concert but you probably would
not drive across the country
(2)Distance decay effect- the decrease in interaction between two places or people as
the distance between them increases
(a)Ex- Group of people eating in restaurant (most of those people probably live
relatively close or in the same region- you would not find many people who
live far away)
c.Gravity Model- 1850s, based on Isaac Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
i.Mathematical formula that describes the level of interaction between two places, based
on the size of their populations and their distance from each other
(1) Law of Retail Gravitation- states that people will be drawn to larger cities to
conduct business because larger cities have a wider influence on the areas that
surround them
(a)the outer edge of a city’s sphere of influence is called the breaking point
d.Diffusion
i.Spatial diffusion- describes how different phenomena (technology, disease) travel over
space
(1)Expansion diffusion- spreads to surrounding areas as well as origin
(a)Contagious diffusion- spreads because people close to each other (cold)
(b)Hierarchical diffusion- spreads due to levels of interaction
(i)Ex- ideas and trends in music, fashion, or art will spread quickly to big
cities like NYC and LA and then spread to smaller cities due to
similarities in these cities (theaters, shopping centers, population, etc)
(2)Relocation Diffusion- when people migrate from one place to another and bring
with them cultural traditions from previous homelands
(a)Ex- Immigration in US in the early 1900s