UNIT 1 Erin Kristen Nora

GLOBALIZATION  A set of processes and outcomes that occur on the global scale, circumventing and leaping over state boundaries to affect the world

THE 5 THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY  Location  Place  Region  Movement  Human-environment interaction

LOCATION  “Where is it?”  Can be absolute or relative Absolute- a latitude and longitude or a street address Relative- described by landmarks, time, direction or distance from one place to another

PLACE  “What is it like?”  Places have physical and human characteristics Physical- include mountains, soil, beaches, wildlife and other natures formations Human- derived from the ideas and actions of people that result in changes to the environment such as buildings, roads, clothing food and habits

REGION  The basic unit of study in geography  A group of places which share one or more similarities and are linked by these  These are human constructs and can be mapped and analyzed  Three different types Formal- designed by the government or administrative boundaries. These aren’t open to dispute Functional- these are defined by a function Perceptual- these are loosely defined by people’s perception

MOVEMENT  “How do people, goods and ideas move from one location to another?”  The movement of people, the import and export of goods, and mass communication play major roles in shaping the world.  People interact with each other through movement  Ideas can move too

HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION  “How do people relate to the physical world?”  We change the environment and sometimes it changes itself (floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc)  There are three key concepts to consider: Humans adapt to the environment Humans modify the environment Humans depend on the environment

DIFFUSION  The process of dissemination, the spread of an idea or innovation from its hearth to other areas

DIFFUSION  Types of diffusion: Expansion – idea or innovation spreads outward from the hearth Contagious – spreads adjacently Hierarchical – spreads to most linked people or places first Stimulus – idea promotes a local experiment or change in the way people do things

ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM BIG IDEA:  The environment determines (hint hint) how a culture develops Developed in the 20 th century but introduced in ancient Greece Physical environment is the most dominant force in shaping culture Humans were clay to be molded by nature Overestimated the role that environment plays in peoples’ lives.

POSSIBLISM BIG IDEA:  Anything is possible Human inventiveness can harness nature Took hold in the 1920s in place of determinism Nature was the clay to be molded by humans Technology added a huge part to this change in culture Humans are the ones who shape culture Jim Norwin:  Geographer that warned control over the environment is just an illusion because of climate change

TYPES OF MAPS: Thematic  Tell a story about the degree of an attribute, the pattern of its distribution, or its movement Contour Map (Isopleths)  Use contour lines to show elevation Proportional Symbols Map  Uses symbols of different sizes to represent data associated within different areas within the map Dot Map  Locates each occurrence of a phenomenon  Can indicated any number of entities Choropleth Map  Uses shading or different colors to show statistical data over a region Cognitive Map  Mental map that is produced by your brain

MAP SCALE The degree to which a map “zooms in” on the area it is representing Tells you what extent the portion of the Earth represented on the map has been reduced from its original size to fit the map. Large Scale vs Small Scale  Large scale = more zoomed in  Large scale = large amount of detail  Small scale = less zoomed in  Small scale = smaller amount of detail

GENERALIZED MAP DEFINITION:  A vague map of an area without specific detail Cartographers must use the data they are given to make educated guesses for places where the information is not provided Help us to see general trends because we cannot see all cases of a given phenomena

TOPOGRAPHIC MAP DEFINITION:  shows elevation contour lines, in addition to detailed road, town, and physical characteristics of the landscape. Provide details about the natural and man-made aspects of the land Known for their use of contour lines that show elevation Traditionally used in paper form, but now have been used in digital format

CARTOGRAM When a variable in a map is distorted in order to convey the information of this alternate variable

GPS Global Positioning System Uses satellites to determine location of places or geographical features Absolute location

GIS Geographic Information System Layers many maps together to create one singular map Can help geographers analyze and interpret data to reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts

MAP PROJECTIONS Mercator Projection:  Cylindrical  Maintains accurate direction  Distortion at poles that makes landmasses appear oversized Peters Projection  Cylindrical  Attempts to retain accurate sizes of all the world’s landmasses  Sometimes used as political statement Robinson Projection  Attempts to balance several possible projection errors  Does not maintain completely accurate area, shape, distance, or direction but it minimizes each  Used by National Geographic Azimuthal Projection  Planar  Either North or South pole is oriented at center of the map  Gives the viewer impression of looking up or down at Earth