Key Issue #1: How Do Geographers Describe Where Things Are? Ch. 1 Key Issue #1: How Do Geographers Describe Where Things Are?

Defining Geography Word coined by Eratosthenes Geo = Earth Graphia = writing observable patterns that have evolved through time

What is Human Geography? Studying people and places and how they fit in with the world Diffusion (spread) of popular culture (music, architecture) are making more people and place look alike

Globalization No place on Earth is untouched by people Each place we see is affected by and created by people, which represents their culture in that place over time Contemporary geographers are concerned with the tension between globalization and local diversity

Globalization vs. local diversity Examples from Case Study?

Important Vocab Place and Region Scale, Space and Connections Help explain why each point on Earth is unique Places with shared characteristics can be joined into a “region” Scale, Space and Connections Helps explain why different places on earth have similar features

Geographic Inquiry Geographers ask themselves questions about their surroundings Focuses on the spatial Arrangement of places and phenomena How are things organized on Earth? Human Geographers ask where and why Where are people and activities found on Earth? Why are they found there?

Physical vs. Human Geography The cultural landscape is a reflection of the altered natural environment

5 Themes of Geography Location- why are things where they are? Relative and absolute Human-environment interactions Humans adapting, modifying and depending on the environment Region- concentrated areas of similar phenomena Formal, functional and vernacular Place- sense and perceptions of place Human made and naturally occurring Movement- mobility of people (immigration), goods (imports/exports) and ideas (fashion, culture, government); expresses the interconnected places

Cartography Science of mapmaking 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– Why?

Early Mapmaking Aristotle (384-322 BC) was first to say world was spherical Ptolemy in Europe (Greek) Chinese and Muslim cartographers as well Age of Exploration led to more accurate maps

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Ptolemy (2nd century AD)

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Why make maps? Globes are too bulky to carry around To represent a larger area than we can see To show a phenomenon or process we can’t see with our eyes To present information concisely To show spatial relationships To wage war?

Represent a larger area

Show what we can’t see

Present info concisely; (where and why)?

Show spatial relationships

Wage war? During WWII, Hitler claimed the Sudetenland for Germany.

Maps Serve two purposes As reference tools To find locations, to find one’s way As communications tools To show the distribution of human and physical features Maps are generalizations of information: larger scale = more accurate Precipitation averages of world, US, Florida, counties, cities (small scale to large)

Two Types of Maps: Reference Maps Show locations of places and geographic features Absolute locations Thematic Maps Tell a story about the degree of an attribute, the pattern of its distribution, or its movement. Relative locations Communication

Reference Map What is useful about this reference map?

Thematic Map What story about median income in the Washington, DC area is this map telling?

Map Scale Specifically to maps, scale refers to the relationship of a feature’s size on a map to its actual size on Earth. Types of map scales: Ratio or fraction (1:100) Written (one inch = one mile) Graphic: bar scale

Map Scale Scale the larger the scale the greater the detail 1:100 1:10 1:1 1: .1 Scale the larger the scale the greater the detail for example one inch = one mile (1:1) is more detailed than one inch = one hundred miles (1:100) 1/1 = 1; 1/100 = .01 So a large-scale map covers a small area

Another definition of scale The spatial extent of something. The local, regional, national, global levels More detail/more specific information as we “zoom” in to a different scale ( going from global to local) Rescale- to use scale politically; make a local issue a national or global issue/raise awareness

Map Projections & Distortion Projection= how cartographer chooses to depict Earth’s surface Can cause distortions with: Shape Distance Relative size Direction

Mercator Projection FIGURE 1-13

Robinson Projection FIGURE 1-23

Mental Maps Maps in our heads of places we have (or have not) been to What is the Great Plains like? Southwest Asia (Middle East)? Terra incognita- unknown lands that are off limits Activity spaces- places we travel to routinely in our rounds of daily activity Detailed mental maps reflect activity spaces

U.S. Land Ordinance of 1785 Township and range system To facilitate sale of land Township = 6 sq. miles on each side North–south lines = principal meridians East–west lines = base lines Range- location east or west of a principle meridian Divided into 36 sections

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Contemporary Tools Geographic Information Science (GIScience) Global Positioning Systems (GPS)- your exact location on earth Remote sensing- scanning earth Geographic Information Systems (GIS)- layering the different maps (Google Earth)

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