© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Chapter 1: Basic Concepts The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Questions that “Geography” addresses Where are things located? Why are they important? How are places related? How are places connected? How are humans affected by these locations?

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Defining Geography Word coined by Eratosthenes –Geo = Earth –Graphia = writing Geography thus means “earth writing” Map – two dimensional / flat scale model of the earth’s surface

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Development of Geographic Thought “Four Traditions of Geography” Earth Science Tradition (physical geography approach) Locational Tradition (use of satellite imaging-mapping) Cultural-Environment Tradition (impact of deforestation) Area-Analysis Tradition (regional patterns of development)

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. 5 Strands of Geography MR. LIP Movement – ppl, things, ideas Region – formal, functional - unifying characteristic Location – position on earth’s surface Interaction – ppl and their environment Place – everywhere is unique human features / physical

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Contemporary Geography Geographers ask where and why –Location and distribution are important terms Geographers are concerned with the tension between globalization and local diversity A division: physical geography and human geography

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Development of Geographic Thought “Why Geography Matters” (DeBlij) Age of Exploration (China, European, Islamic) Globalization (expansion of economic and political activities aided by information technology and transportation) Devolution (regions within countries demanding autonomy) Supranationalism (E.E.C., A.P.E.C., N.A.T.O.) Environmental Degradation Remote Sensing (spy satellites-used in Iraq and Afghanistan)

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Geography’s Vocabulary Place – specific pt Region – area of cultural or physical features Scale – portion of earth compared to whole Space – physical gap btwn two objects Connections – relationships btwn ppl

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Tools and Methods of Geographers Cartography-the art and science of creating, using and study of mapping –The map is the most important tool of geography –Maps provide a wealth of factual information such as visual comparisons between areas and geographic features of an area

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Maps 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

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Tools and Methods of Geographers Types of Maps Topographic

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Tools and Methods of Geographers Types of Maps Thematic –Dot maps –Choropleth maps –Isoline maps

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Tools and Methods of Geographers Types of Maps Physical

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Tools and Methods of Geographers Types of Maps Political

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Early Map Making Figure 1-2

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Tools and Methods of Geographers Collecting Data –Field Studies –Secondary Sources (censuses, surveys, maps, and photographs) –Since WWII (aerial photography, radar, underwater crafts (bathyspheres) and “Remote Sensing” with satellites. Information obtained from the Landsat satellite is used to map land use, manage forested land, estimate crop prodution, monitoring grazing conditions, access to quality water and protect wildlife –Global Positioning System-a series of satellites that provide precise information on location, altitude, and time

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Maps: Scale Types of map scale –Ratio or fraction – 1: 100,000 –Written – 1 cent is 1 kilo –Graphic - l_i_i_i_i_i_i_i_i_i_l Projection –Distortion Shape Distance Relative size Direction

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Figure 1-4 Scale – level detail / amount area covered Relationship of a feature’s size on a map to its actual size on earth

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. U.S. Land Ordinance of 1785 Township and range system –Township = 6 sq. miles on each side North–south lines = principal meridians East–west lines = base lines –Range –Sections

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Township and Range System Figure 1-5

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Tools and Methods of Geographers Geographic Information Systems –GIS is a computer technology that manages georeferenced information –GIS allows the analysis of mass amounts of data in a two or three dimensional imaging systems

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Contemporary Tools Geographic Information Science (GIScience) –Global Positioning Systems (GPS) –Remote sensing –Geographic information systems (GIS) Figure 1-7

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. A Mash-up Chicago Mass Transit Authority shows location of buses / bus stops along 3 routes. Rolling the mouse over a bus stop shows when the next 3 buses are expected.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Conformal – shows waters / direction important but land towards poles is inaccurate i.e. China is 4xs the size of Greenland

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Shows the land size accurately but cylinder - distances are not, shapes are vertically distorted

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc.

Place: Unique Location of a Feature Location distinguished by –Place names Toponym –Site Physical character; area chosen; modified NY –Situation Location of a place relative to others –Mathematical location Precise point by meridians / parallels

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why is each point on Earth unique? A.Place: Unique Location of a Feature 1.Toponym is the name given to a place on Earth 2.Site is the physical character of a place. Includes climate, water sources, topography, soil, vegetation, latitude, and elevation

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Site: Lower Manhattan Island Fig. 1-6: Site of lower Manhattan Island, New York City. There have been many changes to the area over the last 200 years.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why is each point on Earth unique? 3.Situation is the location of a place relative to other places. Situation helps us find an unfamiliar place by comparing its location with a familiar one. Situation, also, helps us understand the importance of a location.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Situation: Singapore Fig. 1-7: Singapore is situated at a key location for international trade.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Downtown Singapore

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why is each point on Earth unique? 4.Mathematical location or in other words latitude and longitude.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Place: Mathematical Location Location of any place can be described precisely by meridians and parallels –Meridians (lines of longitude) Prime meridian –Parallels (lines of latitude) The equator

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. World Geographic Grid Fig. 1-8: The world geographic grid consists of meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude. The prime meridian ( 0º) passes through Greenwich, England.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. World Time Zones Fig. 1-9: The world’s 24 standard time zones each represent about 15° of longitude. They are often depicted using the Mercator projection.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. The Cultural Landscape A unique combination of social relationships and physical processes Each region = a distinctive landscape People = the most important agents of change to Earth’s surface

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why is each point on Earth unique? B.Regions: Areas of Unique Characteristics 1.A region derives its character through the cultural landscape- a combination of cultural features such as language, and religion, economic features such as agriculture and industry, and physical features such as climate and vegetation.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Types of Regions Formal (uniform) regions –Example: Montana Functional (nodal) regions –Example: the circulation area of a newspaper Vernacular (cultural) regions –Example: the American South

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why is each point on Earth unique? 2.Types of Regions a)Formal, also called a uniform region or homogeneous region, is an area within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristics.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why is each point on Earth unique? b)Functional Region- also called a nodal region, is an area organized around a node or focal point.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Formal and Functional Regions The state of Iowa is an example of a formal region; the areas of influence of various television stations are examples of functional regions

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why is each point on Earth unique? c)Vernacular Region, or perceptual region, is a place that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Vernacular Regions Fig. 1-12: A number of features are often used to define the South as a vernacular region, each of which identifies somewhat different boundaries.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Culture Origin from the Latin cultus, meaning “to care for” Two aspects: –What people care about Beliefs, values, and customs –What people take care of Earning a living; obtaining food, clothing, and shelter

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Cultural Ecology The geographic study of human– environment relationships Two perspectives: –Environmental determinism – physical enviroment causes social development –Possibilism Modern geographers generally reject environmental determinism in favor of possibilism

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Physical Processes Climate Vegetation Soil Landforms –These four processes are important for understanding human activities

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Climate Long term avg weather condition at a particular location The modified Koppen system divides the world into five main climate regions Letters A – E Which are further subdivided into categories based on precipitation/season (except B which is divided into temperature / precipitation)

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Climate A Tropical Climate B Dry Climate C Warm Mid-Latitude Climate D Cold Mid-latitude Climate E Polar Climates

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Physical Processes Forest biome – trees continuous canopy Savanna biome – trees no canopy Grassland biome – grass no trees = prairies Desert biome – dispersed patches of vegetation

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Soil / landforms Erosion –Soil washes away Depletion of nutrients –Overproduction Topographic maps –Relief= difference of elevation btwn pts –slope = steepness –Ppl live on flat land

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Modifying the Environment Examples –The Netherlands Polders - land created drain water –The Florida Everglades Figure 1-21

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Scale Globalization –Economic globalization Transnational corporations –Cultural globalization A global culture?

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why are different places similar? 1.Scale: From Local to Global 2.Space: Distribution of features a)Density is the frequency with which something occurs in space b)Concentration is the extent of a feature’s spread over space c)Pattern is the geometric arrangement of objects in space

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Distribution: Density, Concentration, & Pattern Fig. 1-18: The density, concentration, and pattern (of houses in this example) may vary in an area or landscape.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Density and Concentration of Baseball Teams, 1952 & 2007 Fig. 1-19: The changing distribution of North American baseball teams illustrates the differences between density and concentration.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. U.S. Baseball Teams, 1952 Fig. 1-19: Baseball teams were highly concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest in 1952.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. U.S. Baseball Teams, 2007 Fig. 1-19: By 2007, U.S. baseball teams were much more dispersed than in 1952, and their number and density at a national level had increased.

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Space: Distribution of Features Distribution—three features –Density Arithmetic Physiological Agricultural –Concentration –Pattern

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Space–Time Compression Figure 1-29

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Why are different places similar? 3.Connections between places a)Spatial Interaction *distance decay-the farther away one group is from another, the less likely the two groups are to interact

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Spatial Interaction Transportation networks Electronic communications and the “death” of geography? Distance decay Figure 1-30

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Diffusion The process by which a characteristic spreads across space and over time Hearth = source area for innovations Two types of diffusion –Relocation –Expansion Three types: hierarchical, contagious, stimulus

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. a)Diffusion *relocation-the spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another *expansion-the spread of a feature from one place to another in a snowballing process *hierarchical-the spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places *contagious-the rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Relocation Diffusion: Example Figure 1-31

© 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. The End. Up next: Population