1. Geography: Its Nature and Perspectives
Mr. Webster’s Class

2. Geography
Geography is the study of Earth’s surface and the people and processes that shape its landscapes.
The Greeks were the first to classify geography as a study and as a science.
Greek philosophers were also the first to write about the Earth being round.

3. Defining Human Geography
The term “geography” was coined by Eratosthenes.
It is based on two Greek words. Geo, which means “earth,” and graphy, which means “to write.”
Human geography is the study of where and why human activities are located where they are – for example, religions, businesses, and cities.

4. The 5 Themes of Geography
1. Place
2. Region
3. Location
4. Human-environment interaction
5. Spatial interaction or movement

5. Maps
Maps are the basic tools that geographers use to convey information.
A map is a 2-dimensional or flat- scale model of Earth’s surface, or a portion of it.
Geography is distinguished from other disciplines by its reliance on maps.
The science of mapmaking is known as cartography.

6. Distortion and Scale
All maps inevitably distort spatial relationships.
Scale is the relationship of the size of the map to the amount of area it represents.
Small-scale maps show more area in less detail (i.e. world map).
Large-scale maps show a smaller area in greater detail (i.e. city map).
Large-scale maps have less distortion.

7. Types of Map Scale Map scale is presented in three ways:
A ratio or fractional scale shows the numerical ratio between distances on the map and Earth’s surface.
A written scale describes the relation between map and Earth distances in words.
A graphic scale usually consists of a bar line marked to show distance on Earth’s surface.

8. Projection
The scientific method of transferring locations on Earth’s surface to a flat map is called projection.
The four general classes of map projections include cylindrical, conic, planar (or azimuthal), and oval.
The greatest distortion on maps generally occurs near the poles.

9. Popular Map Projections
The Mercator projection is a cylindrical map where shape is distorted very little and direction is consistent.
The Mercator’s greatest disadvantage is that area is grossly distorted toward the poles.
The Robinson and Molleweide projections are oval projections that are useful for displaying information across the oceans.

10. Types of Maps
General-purpose or reference maps display general features of an area (i.e. highway maps).
Thematic maps display a single type of information (i.e. population), and can be represented in a variety of ways, such as graduated circle, dot, and choropleth.
Cartograms chart and assign data by size.

11. Land Ordinance of 1785
The Land Ordinance of divided much of the country into a system of townships and ranges to facilitate the sale of land to settlers in the West.
A township was defined as being a square with 6 miles on each side.
Principal meridians are N-S lines that separate townships and base lines are E-W lines that separate townships.

12. Contemporary Tools of Geography
GPS (global positioning system) uses latitude and longitude coordinates to determine an exact location on Earth.
GIS (geographic information system) uses geographic information and layers it into a new map showing specific types of geographic data.
Remote sensing is the scanning of the Earth by satellite or other aircraft to obtain information.

13. Place and Region
Geographers use both place and region to classify Earth’s surface.
A place is a specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular characteristic. Every place occupies a unique location on Earth’s surface.
A region is an area of Earth’s surface defined by one or more distinctive characteristics.
Power of Place

14. Cultural Landscape
A region derives its unified character through the cultural landscape.
The cultural landscape is made up of 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.
Geographer Carl Sauer defined cultural landscape as an area fashioned from nature by a cultural group.

15. Types of Regions
A formal region is an area in which everyone and everything shares one or more distinctive characteristics (i.e. language, religion, political units, etc.).
A functional region is an area organized around a node or focal point (i.e. transportation system, television market).
A vernacular region, or perceptual region, is a place that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity (i.e. the South).

16. Distance Decay Interaction among groups can be reduced by barriers.
Typically, the farther away one group is from another, the less likely the two groups are to interact.
Contact and influence diminishes with increasing distance and eventually disappears. This is known as distance decay.

17. Location
Geographer’s describe a feature’s place on Earth by identifying its location.
Location is the position that something occupies on Earth’s surface.
There are four ways to identify location: place name, site, situation, and absolute location.

18. Identifying Location A toponym is the name given to a place on Earth.
Site refers to the physical characteristics of a place, which includes climate, water sources, vegetation, elevation, etc.
Situation is the location of a place relative to other places (i.e. near the mouth of the Mississippi River).

19. Parallels of Latitude
Parallels are lines that run east/west on Earth’s surface.
The latitude line that runs through the middle of the Earth is the equator.
The equator is located at 0˚ latitude.
The North Pole is at 90˚ north latitude, and the South Pole is at 90˚ south latitude.

20. Meridians of Longitude
Meridians are invisible lines that run north and south.
The prime meridian, located at 0˚ longitude, passes through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England.
All other meridians have numbers between 0˚ and 180˚ east or west, depending on whether they are east or west of the prime meridian.
The Int’l Date Line runs roughly along the 180˚ line of longitude.

21. Absolute Location
The location of any place on Earth’s surface can be described precisely by using meridians and parallels.
Absolute location identifies the exact position of a place using longitude and latitude coordinates.
For example, Orlando, FL, is located at 28˚24’57”N, 81˚17’56”W.

22. Time Zones Earth is divided into 24 time zones.
Each time zone has a span of 15˚ of longitude (360˚ divided by 24).
Greenwich Mean Time is the time at the prime meridian, and is the master reference time for all points on Earth.
World Clock

23. Environmental Determinism vs. Possibilism
Culture involves the customs, beliefs, and traits that form a distinct tradition of a group of people.
Environmental determinism is the belief that the physical environment causes social development.
The possibilist approach suggests that humans are not a product of their environment but possess the skills necessary to adjust their environment to fit their needs.

24. Climate and Biomes
Climate is the long-term average weather condition at a particular location.
The climate of a particular location influences human activities, especially the production of food.
There are four major biomes, or major plant communities, on Earth: forest, savanna, grassland, and desert.

25. Modifying the Environment
Modern technology has allowed humans to modify their physical environment to a great extent.
The Dutch have modified their environment with two distinctive types of construction projects – polders and dikes.
In South Florida, modification of the environment has had negative consequences, such as polluted waters and beach erosion.

26. Globalization
Globalization is a force or process that involves the entire world and results in making something worldwide in scope.
Globalization of the economy has been led primarily by transnational, or multi-national, corporations, who conduct research, operate factories, and sell products in many countries.

27. Globalization: Technology and Specialization
Modern technology provides the means to easily move money, as well as materials, products, technology, and other economic assets, around the world.
Every place in the world is a part of the economy, and each place plays a distinctive role, based on its local assets (i.e. natural resources, skilled workers, etc.).

28. Globalization of Culture
In recent years, culture has also become globalized and produced uniform “global” landscapes.
Suburban housing developments, strip malls, service stations, and fast food chains are examples of how cultural landscapes have become globalized.
Other global actions include driving a car, owning a house, wearing jeans, and using brand-name products.

29. Global Communication
Globalization requires a form of common communication, and the English language is increasingly playing that role.
Yet despite globalization, cultural differences among places still flourish in many places.
The communications revolution that promotes globalization of culture also permits preservation of cultural diversity.

30. Distribution
Spatial thinking is the most fundamental skill that geographers possess to understand the arrangement of objects across Earth’s surface.
The arrangement of a feature in space is known as its distribution.
The three main properties of distribution across Earth are density, concentration, and pattern.

31. Density
Density is the frequency with which something occurs within a given space, and is most often used with respect to population.
Arithmetic density is the total number of objects in an area.
Physiological density is the number of people divided by arable land.
Agricultural density is the number of farmers per unit area of farmland.

32. Concentration
The extent of a feature’s spread over space is its concentration.
If the objects in an area are close together, they are clustered.
If they are relatively far apart, they are dispersed.

33. Pattern Pattern relates to how objects are organized in their space.
For instance, many American cities contain a regular pattern of streets, known as a grid pattern.
Another example of pattern lies in the fact that in most U.S. neighborhoods, the residents are virtually all white people or virtually all persons of color.

34. Diffusion Diffusion is the movement of a characteristic.
The place where the characteristic began is known as a hearth.
Today, ideas that originate in one area diffuse rapidly to other areas through sophisticated communications and transportation networks (i.e. internet, social media).

35. Types of Diffusion
Relocation diffusion is the physical spread of cultures, ideas, and diseases through people (i.e. migration).
Expansion diffusion is the spread of a characteristic through various means. It may result from one of the three following processes:

36. Types of Expansion Diffusion
Hierarchical diffusion is the spread of an idea from a group, usually the social elite.
Contagious diffusion is the rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population (i.e. disease, video gone “viral”).
Stimulus diffusion takes part of an idea and spreads that idea to create an innovative product.