2. THEMES of Geography (7)
(LOCATION) – the absolute and relative position of a geographic phenomenon
Location – (SITUATION – Relative location)
Direction
Distance
(PLACE) Physical and Cultural Attributes
natural landscape (physical characteristics - SITE)
cultural landscape (human imprint on nature – manmade environment)
(REGION) – an area of Earth with distinctive cultural and physical characteristics (Era : History::Region : Geography)
Formal / Administrative – North Carolina, Corn Belt
Functional / Nodal – Charlotte
Perceptual / Vernacular

3. Absolute – “Map Scale” – ratio of map distance to real earth distance
4. (SCALE) – relationship between the portion of earth being studied and earth as a whole
Absolute – “Map Scale” – ratio of map distance to real earth distance
Relative – “Local” / “regional” / “global”
5. (DISTRIBUTION) Structured Content of a Place
a. Density – frequency something occurs in space
Arithmetic density
Physiological density
Agricultural density
b. Concentration – spread of something over space
Clustered
Dispersed
c. Pattern – arrangement of objects on earth’s surface
Geometric
Irregular
CONNECTIONS between Places / Spatial Interaction a
a. Accessibility
b. Connectivity
Map Questions

4. (Human / Environmental Interaction)– ways in which human society and natural environment affect each other
“Arctic Blues”
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Why was the city of New Orleans even built where it is in the first place?
Why were most of the historic landmarks and tourist attractions in New Orleans not flooded?
Why were the population of the areas flooded two-thirds African American, while the areas not flooded less than one-forth African American?

6. Absolute and Relative Location

7. Absolute and Relative Direction

9. Absolute and Relative Distance

10. Key Issue #2 Why Is Each Point on Earth Unique?
Geographers describe a feature’s place on earth by identifying its LOCATION:
4 Ways to identify Location
1. Mathematical location
2. Place name
3. Site
4. Situation

11. 1. Mathematical Location (Absolute Location)
Globe grid (Graticule) – Equator, Prime Meridian, International Date Line, latitude (parallels) and longitude (meridians)
Longitude and Time
Greenwich Mean Time (Universal Time)
24 Time Zones (every 15 degrees)
Street Address is also a way to describe Absolute Location

12. 2. Place Names (Toponymy)
Toponym – name given to a place on earth
Places are named for:
Person
Religion
Origin of settlers
Physical landscape
Cultural landscape
Indigenous language words
Name changes – historical, political, economic

13. EXTRA CREDIT: Toponymy –
Give two examples of places named using each of the factors listed above. Places must not be examples used in the book, or places in Mecklenburg County
Funny Place names
Long Place names
Place name pronunciations – Appalachian, Nevada, Concord, Lancaster, New Orleans
Give two examples (not in the book) of places that have changed their name, and explain why.

14. 3. Site – physical character of a place
Climate, water sources, topography, soil, vegetation, latitude, and elevation
Site determines what places are good for settlement or not
Human alterations of sites reflects the conversion of physical landscape to cultural landscape
Landfills and cofferdams
Dikes and levies
Dams
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15. 4. Situation – location of a place relative to other places (Relative Location)
Helps find unfamiliar place by comparing its location to a familiar one – giving directions using landmarks
Helps understand the importance of a location – place utility
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16. B. Regions: Areas of Unique Characteristics Regions Tutorial
REGION – Region : geography : : era : history
Area of Earth defined by one or more distinctive characteristics is a region
“Cultural landscape” (geographer Carl Sauer)
Cultural – language and/or religion
Economic – agriculture and/or industry
Physical – climate and/or vegetation
Regional Studies approach – regions have unique, distinctive landscape that combines social relationships and physical processes
people are the most important agents of change on the Earth’s surface (not physical or natural processes)
Regions exist on different scales - any area larger than a specific point, and smaller than the entire planet:
neighboring countries that share important features, or
many localities within a country who share common characteristics

17. Geographic area with common Characteristics
human lifestyles
social arrangements
use of land and resources
language
spiritual and/or political beliefs
Regions defined / distinguished in different ways
geographic proximity – North America
dominant crop – Corn Belt, Wheat Belt
dominant livelihood – manufacturing belt, “Blue Banana”, “megalopolis”
common history – “Dixie”
common trading partners – European Union, NAFTA

18. Types of Regions –
1. Formal / Uniform – area defined by unifying characteristic(s); common traits include: language, religion, economic activity, political structure, physical attributes
North Carolina, Washington State (Administrative)
Megalopolis – continuous area of urban development
Blue or Red (Democrat or Republican states or regions)
Dairy Belt – milk, cheese, butter
Dixie / Confederacy – southern states that seceded
Latin America – Western Hemisphere, common Spanish or Portuguese heritage
*** broad generalizations often fail to recognize cultural, economic, or environmental diversity within regions; creates appearance of homogeneity and perpetuates stereotypes and discrimination

20. 2. Functional / Nodal – metropolitan area organized around a node or focal point (central business district – CBD); the defining characteristic dominates in an area of central focus (node) and diminishes in importance outward; region is tied together by transportation and communication systems
MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area)
transportation networks / mass transit
information exchange (media market), i.e. newspaper circulation, reception areas of local radio & television stations / WBTV); becoming less relevant with new technology (mass media, i.e. Sirius Radio, USA Today, CNN, FOXNews)
movement of people (commuters); becoming less relevant with possibility of tele-commuting
retail centers / shopping malls / supermarkets; becoming less relevant due to mail order and internet shopping
Area served by sports franchises (Charlotte or Carolina?)

22. Functional Regions: TV markets

24. Perceptual Region – emotional associations with places; defined by peoples feelings and attitudes about an area; place can be part of a person’s cultural identity, their “turf”!
Perceptual region – regional identity as perceived by those outside a region
Mental maps, “Bible Belt”, “the South”, “the Middle East”, “hoods” / ”turfs”
Vernacular region – regional identity as perceived by those within a region
core – area of highest concentration of defining culture traits
domain – area where defining culture traits are still dominant but with less frequency
sphere – area where defining traits are present but not dominant; they begin to blend and overlap with surrounding regions
realm – groups of distinct regions which share common traits
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31. 3. Which of the following statements about latitude is NOT true?
Latitude is a measure of distance north or south of the equator
Latitude lines are always parallel to each other
On a globe, lines of latitude intersect meridians of longitude at right angles
Latitude lines run east and west
Latitude is always written as some number between 0 degrees and 180 degrees
13. The visible imprint of human activity on the earth’s surface is known as:
spatial interaction
the attributes of the setting
the cultural landscape
the natural landscape
human geography
14. The acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or from another long-distance method is:
GIS
GPS
Remote sensing
USGS
Topographic analysis
25. New York City’s ____________________ is approximately 100 miles northeast of Philadelphia and 100 miles southwest of Boston.
location
site
situation
toponym
jurisdiction

32. The Act that created a grid system that divided the United States into townships, ranges, sections, and quarter sections
Geographic Information System
Global Positioning System
The Louisiana Purchase
U.S. Land Ordinance of 1785
U.S. Geographic System