Download Thinking Geographically

Thinking Geographically
Geography
• Geo = “earth”
• Graphy = “to write”
• Eratosthenes (276-194 CE) Greek scholar
– Knew earth was round
– Calculated its circumference to within .5%
accuracy using geometry
– “Father of Geography”
7th century
map of a
town in
present-day
Turkey
People have been
making maps
since earliest
times . . .
We are ALL
geographers!
6th century
map of city
surrounded
by water
Ptolemy’s famous
map of the world,
150 C.E. (or A.D.)
He used information from sailors and
merchants. Only Europe, Western
Asia, and Northern Africa were
known at that time. It was the
standard for the next 1000 years!
CARTOGRAPHER –
a map maker
Ptolemy was an
early cartographer.
Early to modern maps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Moslem travelers
Chinese explorers
European merchant sailors
Modern technologies
Waldseemuller map 1507 (German cartographer)
•First Map to label “America” after Americo Vespucci
•First European map to replace Ptolemy’s map of 150 c.e.
•Used the latest information from explorers like Columbus
Satellite image of New York –
modern cartography is aided
by sophisticated technology
Pioneering Geographers
•
•
•
•
•
Alexander Von Humboldt
Carl Ritter
Friedrich Ratzel
Ellen Churchill Semple
Ellsworth Huntington
Environmental Determinism vs. Possibilism
Early geographers embraced Environmental Determinism, but
progressively moved toward Possibilism
Human – Environment Interaction
Environmental
Determinism
Possibilism
•
•
•
Physical environment caused
social development
Example of Aristotle saying
that Greece was in the perfect
climate zone to form an
advanced civilization
– Colder areas: people too busy
– Hotter areas: people too lazy
•
•
No credit for human ability to
adjust to the environment
Discredited as racist and
unscientific
•
•
•
Physical environment and
human cultures are interrelated
Environment may limit some
human actions, but people
have the ability to adjust to
their environment
Higher technology allows
human to make changes to the
environment to suit their needs
Can choose from many
alternatives in the natural
environment
Environmental Sensitivity – modern technology has altered
the historic relationship between humans and the
environment. We change nature to suit our needs.
But modification can be done in an environmentally
sensitive way, like the Dutch land shown above. The
dikes hold back the water, creating polders, reclaimed
land. Windmills pump out the water.
The Florida Everglades and rerouted Kissimee River
This modificaton of
the Everglades is
less sensitive and
has drastically
altered the natural
habitat of the
swamp, as well as
diverting the
Kissimee River.
It was done by the
U.S. Army Corp of
Engineers during
the 1930s to the
1960s.
Longitude = Meridians
Longitude is connected
to time: the earth
rotates once every 24
hours
360˚ ÷ 24 hours = 15˚
of longitude for each
hour of time difference
•No “natural”
starting point,
like the equator
is for latitude.
•Location
selected by
British leaders
during height of
empire and
power.
The world’s time zones – approximately 24 time zones centered on meridians
every 15 degrees. Each zone is one hour different from the one before and
after. There are local variations, as well as Daylight Savings Time.
GMT = Greenwich Mean Time, the time at the Prime Meridian. Locations east
of the Prime Meridian are earlier, and locations to the west are later. The
International Date Line (180 degree meridian) is where the day/date changes.
Latitude - Parallels
¼ of a circle:
360° ÷ 4 = 90°
•Parallels are all
parallel to each other
•Equally spaced
•Circumference
described by each
parallel gets smaller
closer to the poles
Locating a given point on earth’s
surface using latitude and longitude
40˚N
40˚N
35˚N
35˚N
30˚N
30˚N
25˚N
25˚N
Miami, Florida, is located in the northern and western hemispheres.
Its coordinates are approximately 26˚N, 80˚W.
Map
Projections
The only 100%
accurate
representation
of the whole
earth is a globe!
Map Scale
•Small scale maps show a large portion of
earth’s surface
•World maps have smallest scale of
all
•Features are shown small with little
detail
•Large scale shows a small portion of
earth’s surface in great detail
•Classroom or campus map
•Maps on this page range from small scale
at the top, to large scale at the bottom
Contemporary Mapping Tools
• GIS – Geographic Information Systems
– Computer software that can capture, store, query,
analyze, and display geographic data
– Can add many layers of information such as streets,
and images from satellites
– Geocoding allows the position of any object on earth
to be measured and recorded
• Addresses and names can be linked to a database and
displayed on the map
GIS
Remote Sensing
• Remote sensing refers to any data about earth’s surface
obtained from a satellite or other long-distance methods
• Satellites scan the earth and transmit data back in digital
form
• Can be used in GIS mapping
• Helpful to look at urban sprawl or agricultural practices
• Can be in visible light or infrared wavelengths
Las Vegas meets the desert in this satellite view from Google Earth.
GPS
Global Positioning System – accurately
determines the position of something on earth
surface using satellites orbiting the earth.
Mash-ups
Mash-ups link a map to a database that is searchable. For instance, it
can show businesses near a particular street.
Unique Locations
Location = Site + Situation + Toponym
1. SITE – the physical
location on the earth,
the exact address or
coordinates
Manhattan, New York
2. SITUATION – the
location of a place
relative to other places
-compares it to a
familiar or nearby
location
-helps us understand
the importance or
uniqueness of a
place
-can change over time
3. TOPONYMS – Place Names
The Longest Town Name is in Wales
Toponyms reflect the culture of the people who named them
- famous person – “Washington” or “Pike’s Peak”
- religious association – “St. Louis” or “San Francisco”
- origin of its settlers – “New Mexico” or “Paris, Texas”
- features of the physical environment – “Green River, Wyoming”
Regions – Unique Areas
REGION – a part of
earth with a unique
combination of
features.
1. FUNCTIONAL REGION – an area organized around a focal point or node
Example – the area served by a radio station or a newspaper or a store
(the above map is of television markets)
2. FORMAL REGION – a uniform or homogenous region
where everyone shares some common characteristics
Describes broad or national patterns across the earth
- countries
- local government units, like counties or voting districts or
metropolitan areas
- areas dominated by one political party (like above maps)
- areas dominated by one language or one religion
- areas of one main agricultural activity
* Minorities with differing characteristics are still found in formal regions!
By county
By state
3. VERNACULAR REGION – a perceptual
region, people believe it exists as part of
their cultural identity
GLOBALIZATION – making something worldwide in scope
Globalization of the economy:
- Transnational corporations
- Distinctive roles for each area based on local assets
- Utilizes modern technology of communication and transportation
Globalization of
Culture
•Mass media
•Uniform cultural
landscape
•Disappearing local
traditions
•Tension between forces of
tradition and change
•Local adaptations of
global culture
Global Culture – what is it?
• Modern Western secular urban mass-production
consumer culture
• Spread by powerful U.S. and Western European media
*Despite globalization, people play specialized
economic roles and preserve cultural
diversity
SPACE:
Distribution of
Features
Low density, dispersed
DISTRIBUTION: the
arrangement of a feature in
space
Higher density, dispersed
3 Types of distribution:
•Density
•Concentration
•Pattern
Higher density, clustered
Distribution
• Density – the frequency with which something occurs in
space
– Number of objects compared to the land area
– More or less dense
• Concentration – the extend of a feature’s spread over
space
– Clustered – objects grouped together
– Dispersed – objects spaced relatively far apart
• Pattern – the geometric arrangement of objects in space
– Organized in a pattern, like streets in a grid pattern or houses in
a linear pattern
– Distributed irregularly
Changing
distribution of U.S.
baseball teams
from 1950s to
1990s:
By 1990s, the
density of teams
increased, and the
distribution
became more
dispersed.
Connections
Between
Places
Modern
technology has
increased
interaction
between places
Spatial Interaction
• Spatial Interaction: when people are connected to each
other through a network
• Distance Decay Theory: the further away one group is
from another, the less likely the two groups are to
interact
– Examples - migration, communication, transportation
• Space-time Compression: modern technology has
reduced the time it takes for something to reach a distant
place
Diffusion
• Diffusion: the process by which a
characteristic spreads from one place to
another
• Hearth: the place of origin of a
characteristic
• 2 main types of diffusion
– Relocation
– Expansion
Types of Diffusion
• Relocation: people physically move to a new
location, bringing their culture with them
• Expansion: spread of a feature from one
place to another in a snowballing effect
– Hierarchical: spread from high to low power
– From leaders to the common people, cities to small towns
– Contagious: spreads like a disease, through
trade and contact, from hearth outward
– Language, religion, crops, foods
– Stimulus: spread of underlying principle only
– All computers “evolved” using Apple-pioneered ideas
Relocation Diffusion
Introduction of the
Euro in 2002:
Areas near the
borders of countries
received coins
minted in other
countries first, then
“foreign” coins
spread to the interior
regions
Shows effect of
Distance Decay
Connections Between Places – map shows Continental Airlines network,
a “hub and spokes” system. Most flights originate at one of the company’s
hubs, like Houston, Newark, and Cleveland.
Gender and Space
Daily patterns of movement differ between men and women
– Men
• work farther from the home, long commute
• make fewer stops for errands
– Women
• work closer to home
• make a lot of stops for various errands, like picking up children or
going to the grocery store
• more complex patterns of movement
– Traditional patterns changing with new gender roles
• Professional women work as far away from the home as men
• Stay-at-home or single dads do errands and pick up children