Chapter 1: Basic Concepts The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography

Key Issue #2 Why is each point on earth unique?

Place: Unique Location of a Feature Location the position that something occupies on Earth’s surface Place names Site Situation Mathematical location

Place: Unique Location of a Feature Location the position that something occupies on Earth’s surface Place names (toponyms): most common way of describing a location. Sometimes reflect the cultural history of a place. People: Washington, Jefferson Religion: St. Louis, St. Paul Events: Lucky Boy Pass, Disaster Peak A change in place name is often culturally motivated. Cincinnati: originally named Losantiville; derived as follows: “L” for Licking River, “os” is Latin for mouth, “anti” is Latin for opposite, “ville” is Latin for town  hence, “town opposite the mouth of the Licking River.” It was changed to Cincinnati in honor of Cincinnatus, an ancient Roman general.

Toponyms

Toponyms

Toponyms

Toponyms

Toponyms

Place: Unique Location of a Feature Site: references the physical characteristics of a place. Climate, water sources, topography, soil, vegetation, latitude, and elevation Harbor sites: the site of a natural harbor New York City Alexandria, Egypt Istanbul, Turkey

Sites New York City became a major city because it is located on a natural harbor.

Sites Alexandria, Egypt became a major city because it is located on a natural harbor.

Sites Istanbul, Turkey became a major city because it is located on a natural harbor.

Place: Unique Location of a Feature Island sites: the site of islands in strategic locations Paris (originally located on an island in the Seine River) Hong Kong Singapore

Sites Paris, France became a major city because it is located on an Island in the Seine River.

Sites Hong Kong, China became a major city because it is located on an Island

Singapore became a major city because it is located on an Island. Sites Singapore became a major city because it is located on an Island.

Place: Unique Location of a Feature Fall line sites: sites where a river meets a waterfall Richmond, Virginia Confluence sites: cities located where rivers meet Khartoum, Sudan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Hilltop sites: cities located on hilltops Rome, Athens, Jerusalem

Sites Richmond, VA became a major city because it is located on the fall line of the James River.

Sites Khartoum, Sudan became a major city because it is located at the site where three rivers converge (confluence or the White Nile and the Nile Rivers).

Sites Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania became a major city because it is located at the site where three rivers converge (confluence or the Ohio River, the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River).

Sites Rome, Italy became a major city because it is located at on a hill overlooking the city.

Sites Athens, Greece became a major city because it is located at on a hill overlooking the city.

Sites Jerusalem, Israel became a major city because it is located at on a hill overlooking the city.

Place: Unique Location of a Feature Situation: the location of a place relative to other places. Helps us find an unfamiliar place by comparing its location with a familiar one. Helps us understand the importance of a location.

Place: Unique Location of a Feature Situation: the location of a place relative to other places. Helps us find an unfamiliar place by comparing its location with a familiar one. Helps us understand the importance of a location.

Situation Command of land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers Baghdad, Iraq Command of straits and land bridge to Europe Istanbul, Turkey Focal point of religious pilgrimage Mecca, Saudi Arabia; Varanasi (Benares), India— Cities that grew up along trade routes Samarkand, Uzbekistan and Xi’an, China (the Silk Road) Timbuktu, Mali (Trans-Sahara trade) Singapore— (maritime trade)

Situation Supply station for ships Capetown, South Africa Cities that grew up along the U.S. Transcontinental Railroad Omaha, Nebraska Sacramento, California Cities that grew up along the Trans-Siberian Railroad Novosibirsk, Russia Vladivostok, Russia

Situation Baghdad, Iraq became a major city because it commands the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

Situation Istanbul, Turkey commands the straits and land bridge between Asia and Europe

Situation City of religious pilgrimage Muslims on a Hajj to Mecca City of religious pilgrimage Mecca, Saudi Arabia—Muslims-Hajj

Situation City of religious pilgrimage Hindus bathing in the Ganges River City of religious pilgrimage Varanasi (Benares), India --Hindu

Situation Samarkand, Uzbekistan and Xi’an, China developed along the Silk Road, an ancient trade route across Asia

Situation Timbuktu Timbuktu, Mali developed along the trans Sahara trade route where salt was traded for gold.

Situation Singapore is the site of maritime (sea) trade because of it’s location on the tip of the Malay peninsula.

Situation Capetown, South Africa grew up on the southern tip of Africa because it supplied ships when they traveled from Europe to Asia

Situation Sacramento, California Omaha, Nebraska Omaha, Nebraska and Sacramento, California developed on the Transcontinental railroad in the USA

Situation Novosibirsk, Russia and Vladivostok, Russia grew up along the Trans-Siberian Railroad

Place: Mathematical Location Location of any place can be described precisely by meridians and parallels (coordinates) Meridians (lines of longitude) Prime meridian Parallels (lines of latitude) The equator

Place: Mathematical Location Telling Time From Longitude The world is divided into 24 standard time zones, each of which represents 15 degrees of longitude. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the time near the prime meridian, or 0 degree longitude. Pacific Time Zone, which encompasses the western part of the U.S. and Canada, is 8 hours behind GMT because it is situated near 120 degrees longitude. International Date Line: 180 degree longitude If you crossed the IDL heading eastward toward the U.S., you turn the clock back 24 hours. If you were heading westward toward Asia, you turn the clock ahead 24 hours.

FIGURE 1-13

The Cultural Landscape Regional studies approach: a unique combination of social relationships and physical processes Each region (region: any area larger than a point and smaller than the entire planet) = a distinctive landscape People = the most important agents of change to Earth’s surface

Types of Regions Formal (uniform) regions: an area within which everyone shares in a common one or more distinctive characteristics. Example: Montana (boundaries and government/laws) Functional (nodal) regions: an area organized around a node/focal point. Example: the circulation area of a newspaper Vernacular (perceptual) regions: a place that people exists as part of a cultural identity Example: the American South as “being Southern” as an identity

Types of Regions Regional differences in the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election.

Types of Regions FIGURE 1-16

Spatial Association A region can be constructed to encompass an area of widely varying scale, from a very small portion of Earth to a very large portion. Different conclusions can be reached concerning a region’s characteristics depending on its scale. For example, consider the percentage of Americans who die each year from cancer.

FIGURE 1-17a

FIGURE 1-17b

FIGURE 1-17c

Culture Helps to answer why each region on Earth is distinctive Origin from the Latin cultus, meaning “to care for” Two aspects: What people care about The study of beliefs, values, and customs Language, religion, and ethnicity What people take care of Earning a living; obtaining food, clothing, and shelter The study of regions that are more (or relatively) developed economically (abbreviated MDCs) and less developed or developing regions (abbreviated LDCs). Examples of MDC regions: North America, Europe, and Japan Manufacturing or services Examples of LDC regions: sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Agriculture Per capita income, literacy rates, televisions per capita, and hospital beds per capita

Cultural Ecology The geographic study of human–environment relationships Different cultural groups modify the natural environment in distinctive ways Two perspectives: Environmental determinism 19th century geographers, von Humbolt and Ritter studied how the physical environment caused social development People are passive products of their physical surroundings

Environmental Determinism Based on this theory, mountain people would be simple, backward, and conservative because they live secluded from others Anything wrong with this theory?

Environmental Determinism Tibetans?

Environmental Determinism Another application, people living in tropical climates would be lazy since they didn’t need to work too hard to get food. Anything wrong with this theory?

Environmental Determinism Papau New Guinea?

Environmental Determinism Part of the rationale used in colonialism; the Europeans claimed to be naturally stronger and smarter. Any problems you see with this theory?

Cultural Ecology Possibilism Modern geographers generally reject environmental determinism in favor of possibilism The physical environment may limit some human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to their environment

Vegas? Then…

Vegas? Now…

Possibilism Different cultures regard the earth as a collection of resources: substances that are useful to people, economically and technologically feasible to access, and socially acceptable to use Some geographers say that the more wealthy or technologically advanced a society is, the more POSSIBILITIES it has to shape its environment. Can we control the environment?

Possibilism

Possibilism

Physical Processes Climate Vegetation Soil Landforms These four processes are important for understanding human activities

Physical Processes Climate Long-term average weather conditions at a particular location Frequently classified according to a system developed by Vladimir Koppen Five main climate regions that are identified by a letter (A through E), as well as by names A Tropical Climates B Dry Climates C Warm Mid-Latitude Climates D Cold Mid-Latitude Climates E Polar Climates

Physical Processes Further divided into subtypes All but B are based off amount of precipitation

Physical Processes Vegetation Earth’s land vegetation includes four major forms of plant communities, called biomes Their location and extent are influenced by both climate and human activities (IE soil type influences the type of agriculture people practice in a particular region) Classified into four biomes: Forest biome: trees form a continuous canopy over the ground Savanna biome: mixture of trees and grasses Grassland biome: grass covers the earth, rather than trees Desert biome: completely bereft of vegetation

Physical Processes Soil Material that forms on Earth’s surface, the thin interface between the air and the rocks U.S. Comprehensive Soil Classification System divides global soil types into ten orders, according to the characteristics of the immediate surface soil layers and the subsoil. Orders are divided into suborders There are more than 12,000 identified soil types in the United States Human Geographers concerned with the destruction of the soil that results from a combination of natural processes and human actions Destruction caused by erosion and/or depletion of nutrients

Physical Processes Landforms Geomorphology (study of physical features) helps to explain the distribution of people and the choice of economic activities at different locations Topographic maps

Modifying the Environment Examples The Florida Everglades The Netherlands Polders: pieces of land that is created by draining water from an area Figure 1-21

Case Study: The Netherlands Review the questions on your case study handout. As we watch the video, answer the questions on your case study handout. http://schools.dcsdk12.org/education/page/download.php?fileinfo=QVBIR19DdWx0dXJhbF9FY29sb2d5X1ZpZGVvXy1fQ29tcHV0ZXIubTR2Ojo6L3d3dy9zY2hvb2xzL3NjL3JlbW90ZS9pbWFnZXMvZG9jbWdyLzM3MzkxZmlsZTI2MjIyMC5tNHY=&sectiondetailid=205109