Download Chapter1-obrian11_Intro HumanGeog

Human Geography
Chapter 1
what is geography?
• “description of the earth”
• a study of spatial variation
– the how and why of physical & cultural
differences
– location, location, location
– observable patterns that have evolved
through time
-interaction of physical environment and
human activity
-cultural landscape can alter the natural environment
evolution of the discipline
- mapping/human interpretation
• Aristotle (384-322 BC)-earth is spherical
• Erathosthenes (276 BC)-Greek scholar”geo”=earth “graphy”=to write
• Strabos (63BC-24AD)/Herodotus (484423BC)
Ptolemy (2nd century AD)
outside the western world
• Chinese Scholars
• Muslim Scholars
•
•
•
•
Where are people?
What are they like?
What is their interaction over space?
What kinds of landscapes do they erect?
human
geography
physical geography
• attention towards natural landscape
– landforms and their distribution
– atmospheric conditions and climatic
patterns
– soils / vegetation associations
modern geography…..
• 1. Climates, patterns, processes of
physical environment
• 2. Rapid development of natural
sciences
• 3. Accurate mapping
• 4. Data collection / statistics
academic geography
•
•
•
•
Earth science
Man-land relations
Areal differentiation
Spatial organization
–
–
–
–
–
location
processes
patterns
interactions/relations
distributions
three concepts about space
• Location
• Direction
• Distance
absolute location
• Mathematical location
– Latitude & Longitude
• degrees, minutes, seconds
– Township & Range (1785 Land Ordinance)
• Subdivision: parallels & meridians
• Topographic quadrangle, US Geological Survey
– Metes & Bounds
latitude & longitude
(22° 15' N, 114° 10‘ E)
relative location
• “place” in relationship to surroundings
• Site
– absolute location concept
– physical & cultural characteristics
• Topography, vegetation, water, physical
characteristic
• Situation
– external relations of locale
– relative location concept
– dynamic
absolute directions
• Based on cardinal systems
– north, south, east, west
– from solar system
relative directions
• Based on cultural & local perceptions
– no absolute boundaries or definitions
– “down south”, “out west”, “up north”,
“down south”, “Near East”, “Far East”
absolute distance
• Absolute mathematical mileage, or
measurement of distance
relative distance
• Refers to a more regional spatial
relationship
– how distance is described
$$$ & TIME
MILES
MINUTES
psychological distance
• Distance lengthened / shortened
– first time traveled
– night / day travel
– safety / danger / excitement
size & scale
• Size of unit studied
• Scale implies degree of generalization
– broad or narrow
– Varying sizes
• local
• regional
• global
landscapes
• Natural
• Cultural
• Dynamic
multi-varied landscapes
process of change
Before 1970
After development
Long Island, New York
spatial interaction
• Accessibility
– how easy/difficult to overcome
time & space separation
• Connectivity
– how places are connected
• Spatial diffusion
– process of dispersion of ideas or items from a
center of origin to more distant points
• Globalization
– Increasing interconnection of peoples and societies
worldwide
globalization
• Standardization
– $$$$, EU, time, United Nations
• Containerization
– movement of products
– outsourcing
• Intersection of the ‘haves’ & ‘have nots’
– cell phones, internet
spatial distribution
• Arrangement of items on Earth’s surface
• Three concepts
1. density
• Measure of the number/quantity within
a defined unit of areas
– proportion
• arithmetic
• physiological density
2. dispersion (concentration)
• Amount of spread of phenomenon over
an area
– 1. clustered, agglomerated
– 2. dispersed, scattered, random
3. pattern
• Emphasizes design rather than spacing
– linear (a) – road, river, rail line
– centralized (b) – city & suburbs
– random (c)
• Rectangular system of land survey - U.S.
– rural: checkerboard, 1 mile squares
– cities: grid system
regional concepts
• 1. formal or uniform regions
– Areas of essential uniformity
• Physical or cultural
• Sahara Desert, “Bible Belt”
2. functional region
• spatial system defined
by interactions/
connections
Glendale Galleria
Newspaper Route
3. perceptual regions
• Less structured & more culturally based
China Town
The “Valley’
cartography –
the science of making maps
• Maps provide a visual tool
• Maps are subjective
• Map projections transfer locations on a
round surface to a flat surface
– some form of distortion always occurs
– greater distortion results from larger areas
depicted
global grid system
mathematics of the Earth
• Aristotle (384-322 BC) discovered the
earth to be an oblate spheroid
– Equatorial bulge 7926.38 (7924)
– Polar shortening 7899.80 (7922)
– 23.5° axis (tilt)
seasons and climate
• Earth’s rotation & movement around
the sun
• Tilt of the earth’s axis (23.5°)
• Receipt of solar radiation
• Re-radiation of energy in the form of
heat
the Earth’s divisions
• Latitude lines
– Equal distance between lines
– Lines become increasingly smaller descending from
the equator to poles
• Longitude lines
– Each line is the same exact length
– All lines become increasingly close together as they
descend to the poles
important lines of latitude
• Equator: 0 degrees
• Tropic of Cancer: 23.5 degrees North
• Tropic of Capricorn: 23.5 degrees South
• Arctic Circle: 66.5 degrees North
• Antarctic Circle: 66.5 degrees South
important lines of longitude
• Prime Meridian: 0 degrees (runs through
Greenwich, England)
• International Dateline: 180 degrees
• Time Zones: every 15 degrees of
longitude equals one hour
maps
• Scale
– the smaller the scale the
greater the detail
- for example one inch =
one mile is more detailed
than one inch = one
hundred miles
1:1 or 1:100
• Legend
– interprets map information
map projections & distortion
•
•
•
•
Shape
Distance
Relative size
Direction
Robinson map projection
Fuller’s Dymaxion projection
Topographical map
Thematic maps
Cartogram map
Geographical
Information
Systems
mental
maps