Download Chapter 1 Key Issue #2

CHAPTER 1
KEY ISSUE
#2
WHY IS EACH POINT ON EARTH UNIQUE?
LOCATION –
POSITION ON EARTH
• Difference between PLACE & REGION is a matter of scale
• Place – unique location of a feature
• Name (toponym)
• Site
• Situation
• Mathematical Location
• Region – area of unique characteristics
• Cultural Features
• Economic Features
• Physical Features
PLACE
•
Toponym – name given to a place on Earth
•
• Names are given for a variety of reasons
Site – physical characteristics of a place
•
• Ex. Climate, water sources, topography, soil, etc
• Choice of settlement is often influenced by culture
• Humans often modify the characteristics to suit their needs
Situation – location in relation to other places
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Reference points
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Only as good as the importance to the person
• Relative location
Mathematical Location – latitude & longitude
•
Measured in degrees, minutes, & seconds
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15 degrees of longitude is approximately 1 hr. difference in time
0° latitude = Equator & 0° longitude = Prime Meridian
REGION
 Cultural landscape – combo cultural, econ., & physical
features
 Study of is also know as region studies
 People are the most important cause of change
 Types of Regions: formal, functional, & vernacular
 Formal (uniform or homogeneous) – area where everyone
shares @ least 1 distinctive characteristic
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Can be dominant but not exclusive (i.e. dairy)
Help to identify patterns (i.e. voting tendencies)
Be cautious when creating formal regions b/c of diversity
Ex. States, cities, climate regions (temperate zone)
 Functional (nodal) – area around a node or focal point
 Ex. TV station coverage (Wausau vs. Madison vs. GB)
REGION
 Types of Regions: formal, functional, & vernacular cont’d
 Vernacular (perceptual) – place associated w/ cultural ID
 Ex. Midwest vs. South
 Mental maps – internal representation of something
 Spatial Associations
 Regions have distinct features because of cultural, econ., &
environmental factors w/ similar spatial distributions
 Culture – customary beliefs, material traits, & social forms
creating traditions of a group
 Things cared about: Ideas beliefs & values
 Language – signs, sounds, gestures, & marks
 Religion – system of attitudes, beliefs, & practices for
worship
 Ethnicity – language, religion, & other values AND
physical traits (heritage)
REGION
 Spatial Associations cont’d
 Culture cont’d
 Things to take care of: production of material wealth
 Ex. Food, clothing, shelter
 More Developed Countries (MCD’s) vs. Less
Developed Countries (LCD’s)
 Determined by income, literacy rates, technology,
medical facilities, etc.
 LCD = primarily agriculture
 MCD = primarily manufacturing & service
REGION
o Cultural Ecology – study of human-environment interactions
o Environmental Determinism (ED) vs. Possibilism
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o
ED (Humboldt & Ritter) – physical environment causes social
development
Possibilism – more modern approach to H-E interactions
o Environments limit possibilities but people adapt
o Ex. Gas prices = driving habits/income/population
o Physical Processes: climate, vegetation, soil, & landforms
1. Climate – long-term weather conditions
o Köppen system:
A. Tropical: humid tropical & seasonal humid tropical
B. Dry: semiarid & desert
C. Warm Mid-Latitude: humid subtropical, Medit., & Marine W.
Coast
D. Cold Mid-Latitude: humid continental & subarctic
E. Polar: tundra & ice cap
o Affects location of civilizations & food production
o Ex. Monsoon & S Asia
REGION
o Cultural Ecology cont’d
o Physical Processes cont’d
2. Vegetation – Biomes: plant communities
① Forest – continuous canopy with undergrowth
② Savannah – sparse trees and shrubs & grassy areas
③ Grassland – grasses & plants
④ Desert – very sparse vegetation
3. Soil
o 12 different orders of soil
o Order suborder  great groups 
subgroups  families  series
o Over 12,000 types of soil
o Soil problems: erosion & depletion of nutrients
REGION
o Cultural Ecology cont’d
o Physical Processes cont’d
4. Landforms – geomorphology
o Most people live on flat areas
o Ex. CA mudslides = big $
o Topographic maps
o Relief – difference in elevation
o Slope – degree of incline
o
Like math: relief (rise)/distance (run)
o Contour maps – use lines to represent elevation
o
Close lines = steep, distant lines = flat
REGION
 Modifying the Environment
 Need to be careful about HOW we influence environment
 Technology allows greater influence on the environment
 Ex. Netherlands – below sea level & FL – draining
Everglades