Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Chapter 1: Basic Concepts The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. What is Geography? Geography is the study of what is where and why it’s there. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. For example: Why are so many plant and animal species becoming extinct at the end of the twentieth century? Why do there always seem to be been so many wars in Africa? Why is corn such an important part of a traditional diets? Why are French fries called chips in England? © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Divisions of Geography Physical Geography Rocks and Minerals Landforms Soils Animals Plants Water Atmosphere Rivers and Other Water Bodies Environment Climate and Weather Human Geography Population Settlements Economic Activities Transportation Recreational Activities Religion Political Systems Social Traditions Human Migration Agricultural Systems Geography is a bridge between the natural and social sciences. Geography is a holistic or synthesizing science. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. The Five Themes of Geography Place Human features Physical features Region united by similar physical conditions Region United by common cultural traits People adapt to the environment Interaction People change the environment Absolute location (latitude and longitude) Location Relative location (in relation to another place) Travel from place to place Movement Exchange of goods and ideas © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Defining Geography • Historians versus Geographers • Word coined by Eratosthenes – Geo = Earth – Graphia = writing • Geography thus means “earth writing” © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Contemporary Geography • Geographers ask where and why – Location and distribution are important terms • Geographers are concerned with the tension between globalization and local diversity • A division: physical geography and human geography © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Geography’s Vocabulary • Place: unique location or position on Earth • Region: combination of cultural/ physical features • Scale: portion of the Earth compare to the whole • Space: gap between two objects • Connections: relationship btw people/objects © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. How Do Geographers Describe Where Things Are? Key Issue One © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Maps • Two purposes – As reference tools • To find locations, to find one’s way – As communications tools • To show the distribution of human and physical features © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Maps • Maps are a geographers most important tool. • Two purposes: – As reference tools • To find locations, to find one’s way – As communications tools • To show the distribution of human and physical features • The science of mapmaking is called cartography. • Cartographers have to make two important decisions when map-making—scale and projection. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Maps • Early map-making: – Babylonians on clay tablets c.2300 BC – Polynesians using 3-D stick charts made of palm trees and sea shells – Mediterranean sailors used landforms and ocean currents c.800 BC to make maps – Aristotle 1st observed the Earth was spherical – Eratosthenes calculated the Earth’s circumference within a 0.5% accuracy! – Ptolemy wrote an 8 volume guide to geography from info gathered by merchants and soldiers in the Roman Empire – Phei Hsiu “father of Chinese cartography” created a map of China c.267 AD – Muslim cartographer al-Idrisi created a world map and geography text c.1154 – Ibn-Battuta wrote a book called Travels after 3 decades of journeys through N. Africa, S. Europe, and much of Asia – Age of Exploration led to Columbus, Magellan, etc. travelling and mapping © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Early Map Making Figure 1-2 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Maps: Scale • Types of map scale – Ratio or fraction: numerical ration btw distances on Earth’s surface 1:100 – Written: written word form of ratio – Graphic: bar line to show distance • Projection – Distortion: 4 types • • • • Shape: appears more elongated Distance: distance, more or less Relative size: altered size Direction: distorted © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. • Map Scale Example • 1) Washington State 1:10,000,000 (1 in = 10,000,000 inches or 158 miles) • 2) Western Washington 1:1,000,000 • 3) Seattle 1:100,000 • 4) Downtown Seattle 1:10,000 Explained: As the area covered gets smaller, the maps get more detailed. 1 inch represents smaller distances Figure 1-4 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Projection Robinson Map: shape distortion/ more ocean Mercator Map: accurate shape/ distorted poles © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Peters Map one specialization of a configurable equal-area map projection known as the equal-area cylindric or cylindrical equal-area projection. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. U.S. Land Ordinance of 1785 • Township and range system to help facilitate the selling of land westward – Township = 6 sq. miles on each side • North–south lines = principal meridians • East–west lines = base lines – Township: T1 (distance north or south on a particular baseline – Range: R1 (distance east or west on a particular meridian line – Sections: each township is divided into 36 sections, each of which is 1 mile by 1 mile. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Contemporary Tools • Geographic Information Science (GIScience) – Global Positioning Systems (GPS) – Remote sensing – Geographic information systems (GIS) © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Figure 1-7 Contemporary Tools • GIS-computer program that can capture, store, query, analyze, and display geographic data. – GIS uses geocoding to create maps from info that has been recorded and stored online about Earth. – Each type of info is stored in layers that can be added or taken away. Layers can be compared with each other to show their relationships. – It allows for very complex maps to be created and for geographers to see if items on maps are significant or coincidental. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Contemporary Tools • Remote sensing-the acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting Earth. – Geographic uses are primarily environmental. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Contemporary Tools • GPS-system that accurately determines the precise position of something on Earth. – Most commonly used in navigation of aircraft and ships. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. How is GIS used? • Spatial patterns • data • Point patterns • Line patterns • Area patterns © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. A Mash-up Figure 1-8 https://developers.google.com/maps/ © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Key Issue 2 Why is Each Point on Earth Unique? pg13 - 28 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Regions: Areas of Unique Characteristics • A region derives its unified character through the cultural landscape-a combination of cultural features such as language and religion, economic features such as agriculture and industry, and physical features such as climate and vegetation. • Since the mid-1800s, geographers have used the term regional studies to argue that each region has its own distinctive landscape that results from a unique combination of social relationships and physical processes. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Place: Unique Location of a Feature – 23, 24, • Location: 4 ways to identify – Place names • Toponym: – Site: the physical characteristics of a place – Situation: location of a place relative to other places (helps locate a location) – Mathematical location: © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Toponyms • 1896 Mt. McKinley, Alaska • 2015 Denali (The Tall One) © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. SITE - 25 • physical characteristics of a place: climate, water sources, topography, soil, vegetation, latitude, and elevation. • Humans have the ability to modify the characteristics of a site. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Palm Island Dubai © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Situation: • Location of a place relative to other places (helps locate a location) © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Place: Mathematical Location – 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 • Location of any place can be described precisely by a numbering system – Meridians (lines of longitude) 74W • Prime meridian (Greenwich, England) – Parallels (lines of latitude) 41N • The equator © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Find the Latitude/Longitude © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. World’s Time Zones - 16 © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. What is Remote Sensing/ Ground Truth? 18, 19 • The scanning of the earth by satellite or high-flying aircraft in order to obtain information about it. • Ground truth is a term used in various fields to refer to the absolute truth of something. © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. The Cultural Landscape • A unique combination of social relationships and physical processes • Each region = a distinctive landscape • People/Culture = the most important agents of change to Earth’s surface © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.