Download Geography - jomarie

1. What is Geography?
- Greek Definition
Geo = “Earth”;
graphy = “to write”
Geography = to
write about the
2. Purpose of Early
First geographers had practical
Geography
purposes. They explored
uncharted territories, mostly for
trade.
First geographers included
Chinese, Greeks, North
Africans. They were also first
cartographers making detailed
maps & making measurement
3.
Eratosthenes
Head librarian at Alexandria during
third century, BC
One of world’s first cartographers
Computed Earth’s circumference
based on sun’s angle at Summer
Solstice and the distance between 2
Egyptian cities: Alexandria & Syene.
Only about 109 miles too long!
Coined the term geography
4. Ptolemy
Wrote an 8-volume Guide to
Geography--included rough
maps of landmasses as he
understood them and a global
grid system
Contributed to both geography
and the technical aspects of
cartography
5. Exploration
1400 AD, knowledge of the globe
expands rapidly as explorers travel the
EArth mapping landforms, climates,
indigenous cultures, and the distribution
of plants and animals
Influential early explorers = Bartholomeu
Dias, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand
Magellan
Later explorers include Alexander
Humboldt & members of the Lewis &
6. George Perkins
1864 - WroteMarsh
Man and Nature, or
Physical Geography as Modified by
Human Action
Traveled a lot through Europe and
Middle East
Warned that people’s willful
destruction of the environment could
have disastrous results--he had seen
the desertification of the Fertile
Early modern
7. Carlgeographer
Sauer
(1925), said cultural
landscapes (result of human
interaction with environment)
should be the focus of
geographic inquiry
Even landscapes that look
natural have had some
alterations as a result of human
8. The Quantitative
A movement in 1950s and 60s where
Revolution
social scientists
stress using empirical
measurements, hypothesis testing,
computer programs to explain
geographic patterns.
Social sciences are influenced by
modernist philosophy and tech
innovation.
Credited for bringing geography into
mainstream science; criticized for
limiting questions geographers ask and
9. Remote Sensing
Process of capturing images from Earth’s
surface from air using satellites or airplanes
Can be digital or analog photos; data can
be collected from several bands of
electromagnetic spectrum (e.g. infrared to
collect vegetation data)
Gives access to landscapes previously out
of reach (e.g. Amazon Rainforest)
Helps measure change in land use
10. Global Positioning System
(GPS)
A group of satellites that orbit the
Earth, broadcasting location
information to handheld receivers
on Earth’s surface
With a receiver, you can get highly
accurate info about geographic
location in terms of latitude and
longitude, from any point on Earth
11. Geographical Information System
A family of software programs that allow
(GIS)
geographers to map, analyze, and
model spatial data
Most use thematic layers, made up of
individual maps that contain specific
features like roads, stream networks, or
elevation contours
Multiple layers can be combined in to
one map using features to help
geographers understand and analyze
spatial relationships between different
12.
Divisions
of Geography
Geography
is typically
divided
into three areas (each is further
divided).
Human geography, physical
geography, and Earth system
science (blending the first two).
Earth system science is often
called human environment
relationships (HER), or
13.
Human
Geography
Broadly defined as the study of human
activiites on the Earth’s surface.
Human geographers generally focus their
work in more specific subdisciplines
including population geography, cultural
geography, urban geography, agricultural
geography, and political geography.
Often, human geographers combine two or
more subfields in their research, hoping to
better understand the spatial dimensions of
complex, interlinked social systems.
15. Physical Geography
Physical geographers study spatial
characteristics of the Earth’s physical and
biological systems
Many natural scientists, including
meteorologists, climatologists, ecologists,
oceanographers, geologists, soil scientists,
and hydrologists, study physical geography.
Through understanding of the spatial
variability of the phenomena under
investigation each of these types of
scientists gain insight into why certain
phenomena behave the way they do in
16. Earth System
Fairly newScience
area of focus for the
sciences, became popular in the
last few decades.
Arose as a way to study
interactions between physical
systems on a global scale.
Geographers have been at the
forefront of this emerging
17.
Systematic
Geography
Study of the Earth’s integrated
systems as a whole, instead of
focusing on particular processes
in a single place.
Allows geographers to apply
their knowledge of a specific
spatial process broadly beyond
unique places to other areas
18. Environmental
Results fromGeography
intersection of human and
physical geography.
Environmental geographers come from almost
every academic discipline; frequently occupy
prominent positions at the forefront of debates
regarding anthropogenic, or human-induced,
environmental change; conservation planning;
and sustainability.
Concerned with anything from history of a given
landscape to the effects of pollution on
impoverished neighborhoods, to the creation of
nature reserves for endangered species.
19. W.D. Pattison’s Four Traditions of
Pattison = University
of Chicago geographer who
Geography
published a defining piece on geography’s 4
defining traditions (1964)
Earth-science tradition = essentially physical
geography
culture-environment tradition = HER or
environmental geography
locational tradition = analysis of spatial data
through cartography
area-analysis tradition = regional geography,
an investigation and description of unique
pieces of Earth’s surface
20. Five Themes of
Location - position
on Earth’s surface
Geography
(absolute/relative)
Place: Physical and Human Characteristics - a
specific point distinguished by a particular
character
Human/Environmental Interactions: Shaping the
Landscape - the relationship between culture and
landscape
Movement: Humans Interacting on Earth interconnections
Regions: How They Form and Change -a space
22. The
Spatial
Intellectual
framework
thatPerspective
lets geographers look
at Earth in terms of relationships between
places.
Geographers look at the spatial distribution of
different phenomena and as how certain
phenomena come to occur in certain places.
Geographers ask:
How do 2 places interact economically,
socially, and culturally?
Why do some places have more in common
than others?
How are social phenomena conveyed over
23. The Importance
of Scale
Geographic
scale refers to a conceptual
hierarchy of spaces, from small to large,
reflecting actual levels of organization in the
real world.
Ex: neighborhood to urban area to
metropolitan area to region.
Geographers wonder how processes at one
scale may affect activities at other scales.
Geographers understand that patterns or
analysis at large scales may not reflect
apparent spatial differences at smaller
24. The Region as a
region = basic
unit
of
analysis
in
Concept
human geography
allows geographers to group
pieces of Earth’s surface are
according to similarities
do not exist as well-defined
units--conceptual constructions
used for convenience and
25. Regional
Def: the study
of regions
Geography
Regions vary in size; a region may be
an entire continent, for example, North
America, or a smaller area, such as
southern Florida.
Regional geographers, no matter the
size of the region under study,
investigate the unique characteristics,
patterns, and processes existent within
Human geographers work with various types of
26.data
Qualitative
vs.main
Quantitative
Data
that come in two
forms: qualitative
and
quantitative.
Qualitative - associated with cultural or regional
geography because they are more unique to and
descriptive of places and processes.
Qualitative - not suited to statistical analyses and
modeling and are often collected through
interviews, empirical observations, or the
interpretation of texts, artwork, old maps, and
other archives.
Quantitative - uses rigorous mathematical
techniques, are particularly important in
27. Idiographic vs.
Idiographic -Nomothetic
facts or features unique to a
particular place or region, such as its history or
ethnic composition.
Nomothetic - concepts that are universally
applicable.
Contrast is similar to the regional/systematic
difference; regional geographers tend to be more
idiographic, while systematic geography takes a
nomothetic approach by seeking universal laws
that can be applied broadly to numerous places
on the Earth’s surface.
28. The Geoid
The term for the bumpy oblate
spheroid that is the Earth’s surface.
An oblate spheriod is a sphere that
is slightly bigger horizontally than
vertically.
Approximately 8,000 miles in
diameter and its circumference is
about 25,000 miles.
29. Projection
The scientific method of transferring
locations on Earth’s surface to a flat
map.
Traditionally, done by placing light
inside a translucent globe and
projecting globe’s features on a
piece of paper surrounding the
globe.
Now, done with numerous, different,
30. Map Distortion
All flat maps are distorted as a result
of going from 3D to 2D; the only
accurate representation of Earth’s
surface is a globe.
Some projections distort certain
features to preserve others.
Generally, major features that get
distorted or preserved are shape,
area, & direction.
31.Cartographers
When Projection
Matters
choose projections
according to the purpose of the map.
Ex: a map of population density by
country should use a projection that
preserves area (e.g. an equal-area
map)
Global-scale maps are much more
distorted than maps of local places
(e.g. state shapes & sizes do not
change nearly as much as country
32. The Mercator Projection
advantages: very little distortion of
shape; consistent direction;
rectangular map
greatest disadvantage: area is grossly
distorted toward the poles, making
high-latitude places look much larger
than they are
cylindrical projection - projected onto
a cylindar
Mercator Projection
33. The Peters Projection
Cylindrical projection that retains
accurate sizes of all the world’s
landmasses
Reveals how large the landmasses
near the equator actually are
Often seen as a political statement
- an attempt to focus attention on
the world’s poorest countries
The Peters Projection Map
34. The Fuller Projection
Maintains the accurate size
and shape of landmasses but
completely rearranges
direction
Cardinal directions -- north,
south, east, and west--no
longer have any meaning
34. The Fuller Projection
35. The Robinson
Example of
an
attempt
to
balance
Projection
projection errors
Does not maintain accurate area,
shape, distance, or direction, but
minimizes errors in each
Is aesthetically pleasing, so is
frequently used by cartographers at
organizations like the National
Geographic Society (where it was
35. The Robinson
Projection
36. Azimuthal Projections
Planar projections - formed
when a flat piece of paper is put
over a globe with a light source
inside
One of the poles is at center of
the map, giving an impression of
looking up or down at the Earth
36. Azimuthal Projections
37.
Cartographic
Scale
aka map scale = ratio between distance on a
map and actual distance on Earth’s system
Ratio is constant despite units; ex: 1:200 means
1 unit on the map is equivalent to 200 of that
same unit in reality.
On small scale maps, ratio between map units
and ground units is small and map represents a
larger piece of the Earth’s surface
On large scale maps, ratio between map units
and ground units is large, meaning map
represents a relatively small piece of the Earth’s
surface.
38. Resolution
refers to map’s smallest
discernible unit; basically it is
the smallest thing visible on a
map.
If an object has to be 330 feet
long in order to show up on a
map, then that map’s
resolution is 330 feet.
39. Generalization
Averaging over details; in a cartographic
context generalization results from scaling
changes.
Small-scale maps have high generalization, or
less detail, but show larger pieces of the Earth’s
surface area.
Large-scale maps have less generalization, or
more detail, but show smaller pieces of the
Earth’s surface.
A map of the entire United States (small scale)
will not show the small towns and villages that
would appear on a map of a local area (large
Form
depends on vs.
the map’s
purposeMaps
40.
Reference
Thematic
Reference maps are used to navigate
between places and include topographic
maps, atlases, road maps, and other
navigational maps.
Thematic maps display one or more
variables across a specific space such as
population variables, voting patterns, or
economic welfare.
Many ways to display thematic data; some
common methods include choropleth maps,
proportional symbol maps, isoline maps,
41. Isoline Maps
Maps that use lines to represent quantities
of equal value.
Most common example is a topographic
map, where each line represents a constant
elevation.
Lines spaced close together indicate a
rapidly changing value, whereas lines far
apart indicate little change over space.
Isolines can be used to show other values
that vary continuously over space such as
temperatures (e.g., in physical geography)
43. Proportional Symbols Maps
Size of the chosen symbol (e.g.,
circle, triangle, or flow line) indicates
relative magnitude of some value for
a given geographic region.
Flow lines often used to show
movement of goods or people over
space; lines get relatively thinner and
thicker as values shrink or expand.
Proportional
Symbols
Map: Bigger
dots show
more users.
44. Dot Density Maps
use points to represent particular values;
for example, cropland harvested where
each dot represents 1,000 bushels of corn.
value comes from the ability to facilitate
perception of spatial pattern; in example of
corn cropland harvested, an obvious
spatial pattern would emerge in the
Midwest.
The disadvantage is that data that does
not meet the threshold (e.g., only 999
bushels of corn harvested in a particular
45. Choropleth Maps
Use colors or tonal shadings to
represent categories of data for
given geographic areas;
countries, states, or counties most
commonly use polygons.
A map of population density by
county in the United States might
use five different colors to classify
density values.
46. Cartograms
Transform space so that the political unit
(state or country) with the greatest value
for some type of data is represented by the
largest relative area and all other polygons
are represented proportionally to that
largest polygon.
Shows comparative patterns. Ex: a US
electoral vote cartogram would make
Wyoming small (few electoral votes) and
make smaller states bigger to show the
influence on the political process.
47. Visualizations
Exist digitally and use sophisticated
software to create dynamic computer
maps, some of which are threedimensional or interactive.
Some allow geographers to investigate
features that cannot be seen with the
naked eye; others use models to show
how landscapes change over time
In some, people can walk through, or fly
over, landscapes.
48. Simplification
refers to level of detail portrayed on a
map.
if a cartographer designs a map of the
entire United States, he or she would
probably not include minute details such
as locations of towns smaller than fifty
thousand people.
completely depends on the purpose of
the map and the size of the area the map
is portraying.
49. Aggregation
refers to the size of the unit under investigation
such as cities, counties, states, or countries.
like simplification, completely depends on the
purpose of the map.
level also depends on the data geographers
have access to.
If a geographer investigates population density
with data at the state level, his or her map will
dramatically differ from a geographer that has
density data at the county level
51. Power of Maps
Ability to make something nonspatial (e.g.,
population rates), spatial, thereby facilitating
the perception of spatial relationships.
Ability to simply display a large amount of
information, for example, the only way to
see the entire Earth’s surface at once.
Can highlight only necessary information: for
example, maps of subway systems contain
only necessary information for using the
subway; everything extra is removed.
52. Deception of Maps
deceive by simplification and generalization by
excluding or generalizing important details.
On many maps, certain features are
exaggerated for clarity; for example, reference
maps display highways as much thicker than
they would appear in reality.
Symbolism can mislead: people associate
certain colors with certain features (greens and
browns with plants); if colors are not used
correctly, maps may be misread
Projection means no map can give an accurate
picture ofsize, shape, and direction of land
53. Cognitive Maps
dynamic internal representation of place or
environment
when someone is asked to draw it, it becomes a
“sketch map”
Sketch map is external representation of the
spatial information that exists in a person’s head
Each cognitive map is individual, dependent on
info an individual finds important; its limited by
amount and type of experience the person has
with a place
a child’s cognitive map will differ from an older
brother’s map--older brother likely has a bike and
56. Absolute Location v. Relative
Location
Absolute location is the exact
location of any object or place on
Earth’s surface as determined by a
standard grid or coordinate system-usually latitude and longitude.
Relative location describes a place’s
location in terms of its relationship
to places around it--how you would
locate it.
#57.
Latitude
and
Longitude
Coordinates
used for
locational
purposes
are made up of lines of latitude and
longitude
Lines of longitude (meridians) begin at
the prime meridian (passes through
Greenwich, England) and ends at the
International Date Line. All meridians
meet at the poles.
Lines of latitude (parallels) run parallel to
each other. They begin at the equator
Site 59.
= the Site
physical
and
cultural
features
v. Situation
of a place, independent to other places
around it
Situation describes a place’s relationship
to other places around it
EX: New Orlean’s site is poor--it is
basically a bowl below sea level,
meaning heavy rain is a big problem.
However, its location on the Mississippi
River delta makes its situation in relation
to the rest of the United States very
60.absolute
Absolute
vs.
Relative
Distance
distance = exact measure of
the separation between two points using
a standard measure
relative distance = when less precise but
often meaningful measures are used to
describe separation between two points
most common relative distance measure
is time
Ex: New York is typically described as
being five hours from Los Angeles (by
61. Feature Distribution Concepts:
Density, Dispersion (Concentration),
Helps discover/analyze
Pattern spatial
processes
Density - frequency of a feature in a
given area. (Not the same as dense;
dense = cluster)
Dispersion- how features are spread
out from one another
Concentration - how features are
62. Spatial Association
describes the distribution of two or
more features and how they do or do
not correspond
allows geographers to understand why
spatial patterns exist
EX: Mapping of Type 2 Diabetes and
socioeconomic status (SES) shows a
STRONG spatial association because
the highest levels of Type 2 Diabetes
were also the lowest levels of SES
63. Distance Decay
the pattern of decreasing
likelihood of interaction with a
place as the distance
increases
most shoppers in a grocery
store live nearby
different activities have
different distance decay curves
64. Distance Decay
Curve
This is taped onto
your card!
65. First Law of Geography
Everything is related to everything
else, but near things are more
closely related than far things.
Describes “the friction of distance,”
meaning that the farther away
something is, the less likely
someone is to interact with it.
66. The Gravity Model
first described in the 1850s, it is based on Isaac
Newton’s law of universal gravitation
lij = PiPj/Dij2
Where
lij = interaction between places i and j
Pi = the population of place i
Pj = the population of place j
Dij2 = the distance between places i and j,
squared
Important implication = large cities may still have
extensive interactions despite being separated
by great distances; for example, New York and
67. Connectivity
a measure of all the means of
connection and communication
between places.
virtually synonymous with
relative distance as some
places are highly connected to
one another yet separated by
significant distances.
68. Accessibility
relative ease with which you
can reach a destination
determined by a place’s
connectivity; the more means
there are for interacting with a
place, the higher its
accessibility
69.
Network
The areal pattern of connections
between places.
Some describe literal connections
between places such as the
connections between subway stops on
a metro map. However, some are less
literal; for example, many emerging
Internet sites such as “mySpace” or
“Facebook” are social networks,
describing all the links between a group
70. Time-Space
Convergence
Idea that with
increasing transportation and
communications technology, absolute distance
between certain places is, in effect, shrinking.
Ex: increased transportation tech has “shrunk”
the distance between New York City and
London; it used to take days or weeks (by boat);
now it takes only half a day by plane.
Increased communications tech allows places to
communicate instantaneously with each other,
which, in effect, completely negates distance’s
effect on interaction (via voice or text
communication)
71. Spatial Diffusion
The ways phenomena (tech innovations,
cultural trends, outbreaks of disease)
travel over space
Two types
Relocation diffusion - physical
movement of people leads to spread
(usually migration); few “adopters”
Expansion diffusion - interaction leads
to spread; rapid growth of “adopters”
before stabilizing
72. Contagious Expansion
Diffusion
Describes
diffusion
resulting from direct
contact with an
individual.
Ex: infectious diseases
like AIDS are spread by
73. Heirarchical Expansion
Diffusion
Describes spread
first to major
nodes and then down a hierarchy.
Fashion trends spread hierarchically
by first appearing in major fashion
nodes (London, Milan, Paris) and
then spread from there.
Within major nodes, a phenomenon
typically spreads by contagious
diffusion--a fashion trend will spread
within Milan.
74. Stimulus Expansion
DescribesDiffusion
the pattern by which
a concept is diffused but not in
the same form as in original
contact.
Example: some Native
American groups developed
their own written language
based on exposure to written
75. Barriers to
Something that stops the spread of
Diffusion
phenomena across
space.
Can be physical barrier = in the
environment like mountains, highways,
rivers, etc.
Can be sociocultural barrier = a person’s
beliefs, culture, or place in society prohibit
interaction with certain people or places
Psychological barriers = usually fear or
ignorance; emotions keep people from
interaction with people or places and keep
76. Time-Distance
Decay
The idea that the longer it takes
for something to spread or move
over space, the less likelihood of
interaction with or spread of that
phenomena.
Essentially description of time as
a barrier to spatial diffusion.
77. Regions
def: pieces of Earth’s
surface area
four types--see cards
78, 79, 80, 81
78.
Administrative
politically
determinedRegions
so
boundaries are exact
hierarchical--Country made up
of states; states made up of
counties, counties made up of . .
.
have uniform membership-everyone in OC is equally a
AKA
- defined
79.“thematic”
Formalregions
Regions
by one or more variables or
themes
membership strength varies-some members represent the
theme more strongly (wheat belt
example)
boundaries are vague
EX: climate regions, language,
80. Functional Regions
boundaries surround a “hub” or
“node” that people interact
with--the space used by the
interaction defines the
boundary
EX: commuters to a city,
newspaper circulation area, TV
station reception area
81.
Cognitive/Perceptual/Vernacular
describe how people
Regions
informally organize places in
their mind
formed by individuals, but
often shared by others. EX:
most people would draw
similar boundaries around
“Deep South”
vague, variable, imprecise
82. Zelinsky’s Work on Perceptual
Regions
1970s - Zelinsky divided the US
into what he called vernacular
regions based on what he
thought were unique cultural
characteristics of each area