1. This is Geography
CHAPTER ONE

2. Key Issue 1: Why is Geography a Science?

3. Basic concepts to explain the “where” and “why”
Place: specific point on Earth, distinguished by a particular characteristic.
Region: an area of Earth defined by one or more distinctive characteristics
Scale: the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole.
Space: the physical gap or interval between two objects
Connection: relationships between people and objects across the barrier of space

4. MAPS!
Geography’s most important tool for thinking spatially about the distribution of features across Earth is a map.
Map: a two-dimensional or flat- scale model of Earth’s surface or a portion of it.
Used as a reference tool and for communication

5. Contemporary Geographic Tools
GPS: Global Positioning System. The system that determines the precise position of something on Earth.
Satellites
Most commonly used for navigation
GIS: Geographic information system. Captures, stores, queries, and displays the geographic data.
Combining information to form an image. Usually layers.

6. Interpreting Maps
To make a map, a cartographer has to make 2 decisions.
How much of Earth’s surface to depict on the map (map scale)
How to transfer a spherical Earth to a flat map (projection)

7. Map Scale
What is going to be on the map? The entire globe? A continent? A country? A city?
If the map shows a smaller area, such as a street, it will show A LOT more details than a large area such as the globe.
Map Scale: refers to the relationship of a feature’s size on a map to its actual size on earth.

8. Map Scale Map scale is presented in 3 ways:
Ratio: shows the numerical ratio between distances on the map and Earth’s surface.
Ex: 1:1,000,000. I unit on the map represents 1 million of the same unit on the ground
Written: the ratio written into words
Ex: 1 centimeter equals 10 kilometers
Graphic: Bar line marked to show distance on Earth’s surface
Ex: looks like a ruler
Large scale shows smaller areas with more details
Small scale shows large areas with little detail

10. Projection
Projection: the scientific method of transferring locations on Earth’s surface to a flat map
4 types of distortion can occur
Shape of areas
Distance between areas
Relative Size of areas
Direction from one place to another

11. A: Goode Homolosine, an equal area projection
A: Goode Homolosine, an equal area projection. B: Robinson, an uninterrupted projection. C: Mercator, featuring accurate shapes and directions

12. Geographic Grid
Meridian: an invisible arc drawn between the North and South poles.
Lines of longitude
Prime Meridian: 0 degrees longitude
Parallel: an invisible circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians.
Lines of latitude
Equator: 0 degrees latitude
Together, they are used to identify locations

13. Telling Time Longitude is the basis for calculating time
360 degrees/15 degrees which gives us 24 time zones, 1 for each hour of the day.

14. Telling Time
Greenwich Mean Time or Universal Time: 0 Degrees or the Prime Meridian
International Date Line: 180 degrees longitude

15. Key Issue 2: Why is Each Point on Earth Unique

16. Place: A Unique Location
Place names: Toponym
Named after a person, religion, origins, physical environment
EX: St. Louis
Site: the physical character of a place
Climate, water sources, soil, elevation
Essential in selecting places for settlement
Situation: the location of a place relative to other places.
Helps find unfamiliar places by comparing it to familiar location
Helps understand the importance of a place. Many locations are important because they are accessible to other places.

19. Region: A Unique Area
An area of Earth defined by one or more distinctive characteristics
Formal Region: (Uniform region) an area within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristic.
Language, climate, local government

20. Region: A Unique Area
Functional Region: (nodal region) an area organized around a node or focal point. Region is tied to central point by communication or transportation
Economic area
TV station’s signal

21. Region: A Unique Area
Vernacular Region: (perceptual region) an area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity.
Informal sense of place rather than scientific models
The South

22. Culture Regions
Culture: the body of customary beliefs, material traits, and social forms that together constitute the distinct tradition of a group of people.
What people care about
Ideas, beliefs, values
Language, religion, ethnicity
What people take care of
Material wealth
Clothing, food, shelter