Download Chapter 1 Key Issue 2

Chapter 1
Key Issue 2
Why is Each Point on Earth
Unique?
Place: Unique Location of a
Feature






Geographers identify location in one of four ways-placenames, site, situation, and absolute location.
All inhabited places on the Earth’s surface have been given
place-names or toponyms.
Place names may tell us about historical origins, such as
“Battle” in southern England, which is named for the Battle
of Hastings.
They can also give us an indication of the physical
environment-Aberystwyth in Wales, for example, which
means “mouth of the River Ystwyth.”
Place names may speak to religion, such as Islamabad,
Pakistan, or economics, such as Gold Point, Nevada.
Place names also change because of political turmoil. The
city that was Leningrad in Russia during the communist era
has now been changed back to St. Petersburg.
Site




Site refers to the specific physical
characteristics of a place.
Important site characteristics include
climate, water sources, topography,
soil, vegetation, latitude, and
elevation.
The combination of physical features
gives each place a distinctive
character.
Site factors have always been
essential in selecting locations for
Situation


Situation or relative location
describes a place’s relationship
relative to other places around it.
Situation is a valuable way to
indicate location, for two reasonsfinding an unfamiliar place and
understanding its importance.
Mathematical Location







The exact location of a place on the Earth’s surface can be
pinpointed on a standard grid or coordinate system.
This universally accepted system of latitude and longitude
consists of imaginary arcs on a globe.
Line of longitude or meridians are drawn between the North
and South poles according to a numbering system.
0º is the prime meridian, which passes through the Royal
Observatory at Greenwich, Great Britain.
The meridian on the opposite side of the globe is 180º
longitude and is called the International Date Line.
Lines of latitude or parallels are circles drawn around the
globe parallel to the equator.
The grid system is especially useful for determining location
where there has been no human settlement.
Regions: Areas of Unique
Characteristics






A region is generally defined as an area larger than a single city that
contains unifying cultural and/or physical characteristics.
Geographers have identified 3 types of regions: formal, functional, and
vernacular.
A formal region is also called a uniform region because it has specific
characteristics that are fairly uniform throughout that region.
A functional region is also called a nodal region because it is defined by a
social or economic function that occurs between a node or focal point and
the surrounding areas. For example, the circulation area of the Denver
Post is a functional region and Denver is the node.
A vernacular region or perceptual region is one that exists in people’s
minds such as the American “South.” When individuals are asked to draw
a boundary around this region, their boundary will probably be based on
stereotypes they associate with the South such as climate, accent, cuisine,
and religious practices such as Southern Baptist.
One’s attachment to a region perceived as home is sometimes called a
sense of place.