1. The Importance of Place
GEOLOCATION
The Importance of Place

2. Toponyms: What do we name it? Site factors: What’s there?
DESCRIBING A PLACE
Toponyms: What do we name it?
Site factors: What’s there?
Situation factors: What’s it near?

3. MATHEMATICAL LOCATION
Put a Grid
on it.

4. MATHEMATICAL LOCATION
Earth’s Axis
The Earth spins as it orbits the sun
The Axis is the line around which the earth spins
It spins from West to East (direction of the arrow)
The point around which the earth spins at the top and bottom of the earth are the poles

5. Latitude Lines (Parallels)
MATHEMATICAL LOCATION
Latitude Lines (Parallels)
Geographers orient the earth so that the direction of spin is at a right angle to the axis
They then apply lines in the direction of spin called latitude lines (parallels)
The lines of greatest circumference is called the equator (assigned 0°)

6. Divides the earth into two Hemispheres (North and South)
MATHEMATICAL LOCATION
THE EQUATOR (0°)
Divides the earth into two Hemispheres
(North and South)

7. MATHEMATICAL LOCATION
LATITUDE LINES
Each additional line is placed at 1° intervals (angle from center of earth with equator as a base) Latitude lines run from 0° to 90° both North and South of Equator North pole is 90° North, South Pole is 90° South

8. MATHEMATICAL LOCATION
AXIS TILT
Earth’s axis tilts 23.5° to both sides every year.
That tilt changes the point on the earth’s surface that gets the most direct sunlight.
It also changes the point on the top and bottom of the earth at °90 to the sun.

9. MATHEMATICAL LOCATION
TROPICS & CIRCLES
When axis tilts right, northern hemisphere gets more direct sunlight.
When axis tilts left, southern hemisphere gets direct sunlight.
The lines of greatest shift relative to the equator are called Tropics
The lines of greatest shift relative to the poles are called circles

10. MATHEMATICAL LOCATION
LONGITUDE LINES
(MERIDIANS)
Geographers draw lines that connect the two poles called longitude lines (or meridians)
All meridians have an equal length.
English geographers set the first meridian (0°) to pass through Greenwich England and called it the Prime (as in primary) Meridian.

11. MATHEMATICAL LOCATION
PRIME MERIDIAN
(0° LONGITUDE)
Greenwich, England

12. MATHEMATICAL LOCATION
LONGITUDE LINES
Using the pole as a point and the Prime Meridian as a base, all other meridians are place at 1° angle intervals to the East AND West of the Prime Meridian.
Meridians run 0° to 180° West of the PM (towards the US) and 0° to 180° East of the Pm towards China.
There is a single line of 180° longitude, exactly opposite the Prime Meridian.

13. THE GRID Each degree of latitude and longitude is further divided:
MATHEMATICAL LOCATION
THE GRID
Lines of Latitude and Longitude form a grid. Coordinates are given in latitude, longitude.
Each degree of latitude and longitude is further divided:
Each degree into 60 minutes
Each minute into 60 seconds

14. MATHEMATICAL LOCATION
KNOW YOUR LOCATION

15. TIME ZONES Geographers used Meridians to create system of time.
Earth takes 1 hour to turn 15° longitude.
There are 24 total zones (24x15= 360° total longitude).

16. INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE
Global time set at the prime meridian (Greenwich Mean Time, GMT)
The International Date Line is located roughly 180° longitude.
Cross it going East (Towards America) SUBTRACT a day.
Cross it going West (Towards Asia) ADD a Day.

17. You Ain’t From Around Here Are Ya?
REGIONS
REGIONAL STUDIES
You Ain’t From Around Here Are Ya?

18. REGIONS
A region is an area of the Earth defined my one or more characteristics:
CULTURAL (language, religion, etc.
ECONOMIC (agriculture, industry, etc.
PHYSICAL (climate, vegetation, etc.)
Regions gain uniqueness from a combination of human and environmental characteristics
Human Activities produce distinctive landscapes that do not derive primarily from physical features
REGION applies to any area larger than a point and smaller than the planet.

19. REGIONAL STUDIES REGIONS
An approach pioneered by Vidal and Brunhes and then adopted by American Geographer Carl Sauer.
Regional studies approach argues that each region has its own distinctive landscape that results from the unique combination of social relationships and physical processes.
Paul Vidal de la Blanche and Jean Brunhes
People are the most important agents of change on the earth’s surface.
Carl Sauer

20. THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
REGIONS
THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
Regions derive their character through the cultural landscape.
The Cultural landscape is a combination of cultural (language, religion, etc.), economic (agriculture, industry, etc.) and physical (climate, vegetation, etc) features.
Carl Sauer said, “Culture is the agent, the natural area the medium, the cultural landscape the result.”
The Bamiyan Buddha

21. REGIONS
TYPES OF REGIONS

22. Formal Regions (aka Uniform or Homogenous)
US CORN BELT (A FORMAL REGION)
DEFINITION
TYPES
An area in which everyone (or the great majority) shares distinct characteristic
a region marked by internal sameness
CULTURAL (language, religion, etc.)
ENVIRONMENTAL (climate, vegetation, etc.)
ECONOMIC (crops, manufacturing, etc.)
POLITICAL (states, sub-state divisions, etc.)

23. REGIONS
Formal Region: CULTURAL
World Macrocultural Regions

24. Formal Region: ENVIRONMENTAL
REGIONS
Formal Region: ENVIRONMENTAL
World Climate Zones

25. Formal Region: POLITICAL
REGIONS
Formal Region: POLITICAL
World States

26. Functional Regions (aka Nodal)
DEFINITION
QUALITIES
A area based around a central focal point (node)
Functional characteristic dominates at CORE and lessens towards PERIPHERY
Marked by functional integration, not internal sameness
Area tied to node by systems (communication, transportation, economic)

27. REGIONS
Functional Region
TV Viewing Area

28. Newspaper Circulation
REGIONS
Functional Region
Newspaper Circulation

29. Fast Food Service Region
REGIONS
Functional Region
Fast Food Service Region

30. REGIONS
Functional Region
Airline Hubs

31. Vernacular Regions (aka Peceptual)
DEFINITION
QUALITIES
An area people believe exists as a part of a cultural identity
Vernacular regions may also have cores and peripheries
Marked by emotional reflection, not internal sameness or functional integration
Reflects feelings and ideas of a people about a place

32. REGIONS
Vernacular Region
“The South”

33. REGIONS
Vernacular Region
A Neighborhood

34. SPATIAL
ASSOCIATION
Geographers try to identify cultural, economic, and environmental factors that display similar distributions.
Factors that have similar distributions are said to have spatial association.
These spatially associated factors do not necessarily cause each other but they can influence each other.
Examine the above maps. What do you notice about the distribution of America’s poor and cancer mortality rates?

35. Aqueduct of the Eagle, Nerja, Spain
CULTURAL ECOLOGY
CULTURAL
ECOLOGY
Macchu Picchu, Peru
Where Man Meets Land
Aqueduct of the Eagle, Nerja, Spain

36. CULTURE CULTURAL ECOLOGY
Culture is the sum total of a group’s way of living. It’s comprised of three elements:
MENTIFACTS… religion and philosophy
SOCIOFACTS… government and economy
ARTIFACTS… food, clothing and shelter)
Culture can operate at a number of scales from macrocultural to microcultural

37. CULTURAL ECOLOGY
Macro- culture
Micro- culture

38. ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM
CULTURAL ECOLOGY
CULTURAL ECOLOGY
the study of the relations and interactions between an organism and its physical environment
Different cultural groups interact with the natural environment in different ways
The geographic study of human-environment relationships is called CULTURAL ECOLOGY.
There have been two primary theories of cultural ecology:
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM
POSSIBILISM

39. ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM
CULTURAL ECOLOGY
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM
The Environmental Determinism theory was pioneered by German geographers Humboldt and Ritter in the 1800s.
It was espoused by others in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
It claimed that the physical environment CAUSED (determined) social development.
IT’S BEEN REJECTED BY MODERN GEOGRAPHERS.

40. Environmental Determinism has been rejected as inaccurate because:
CULTURAL ECOLOGY
Environmental Determinism has been rejected as inaccurate because:
The environment does limit man’s activities, but man can always choose how to act in response to the environment.

41. CULTURAL ECOLOGY
POSSIBILISM acknowledges that the environment does limit man’s activities, but claims that man can always choose how to act in response to the environment.
Modern geographers take a closer look at the environment and its processes.
They know they must understand the earth’s PHYSICAL PROCESSES to understand how they AFFECT (not DETERMINE) human activity.

42. CULTURAL ECOLOGY PHYSICAL PROCESSES CLIMATE
Climate is the long term, average weather condition at a location.
Humans have a limited tolerance for extreme temperature and precipitation levels.
Local climate affects human activities, especially food production.

43. CULTURAL ECOLOGY PHYSICAL PROCESSES VEGETATION
Vegetation and soil affect the types of agriculture people practice.
Earth’s land vegetation is divided into four main categories (biomes) of plant communities:
1. FOREST BIOME 2. SAVANNA BIOME
3. GRASSLAND BIOME 4. DESERT BIOME

44. CULTURAL ECOLOGY PHYSICAL PROCESSES SOIL
Soil is the organic material that forms on the Earth’s surface.
It contains dirt, decomposed biomatter and nutrients essential for plant growth.
Geographers have identified more than 12,000 types of soil.
Geographers are especially concerned with destruction of soil due to erosion and desertification (nutrient depletion).

45. CULTURAL ECOLOGY PHYSICAL PROCESSES LANDFORMS
Earth’s surface features (landforms) vary from flat to mountainous.
Landforms include mountains, bodies of water, forest, valleys, wetlands, etc.
Landforms affect the distribution of people and the choice of economic activities at different locations.

46. POSSIBILISM CULTURAL ECOLOGY
Claims that the physical environment can LIMIT SOME human activities, but that humans have the ability to adjust to their environment.
Humans can CHOOSE a course of action from many alternatives in the physical environment, given the physical processes.
Possibilists argue that the physical environment becomes valuable through man’s adaptation of it and its resources.

47. CULTURAL ECOLOGY
POSSIBILISM IN:
United Arab Emirates

48. Burj al Arab Hotel, Dubai UAE
CULTURAL ECOLOGY
POSSIBILISM IN:
United Arab Emirates
Ski Dubai
Dubai, UAE
The World Islands
Dubai, UAE
Burj al Arab Hotel, Dubai UAE
Palm Island: Dubai, UAE