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Chapter 1: Basic Concepts

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1 Chapter 1: Basic Concepts
The Cultural Landscape: An Introduction to Human Geography

2 Defining Geography Word coined by Eratosthenes Geo = Earth
Graphia = writing Geography thus means “earth writing”

3 Contemporary Geography
Geographers ask where and why Location and distribution Geographers examine the tension between globalization and local diversity Physical and human geography

4 Geography’s Vocabulary
Place Region Scale Space Connections Place Region Connections Scale Space

5 Maps Two purposes As reference tools As communications tools
To find locations, to find one’s way As communications tools To show the distribution of features

6 Early Map Making Eratosthenes Thales Ptolemy Anaximander Chinese
Muslims Thales Anaximander Hecateus Aristotle Figure 1-2

7 Maps: Scale Map scales Ratio or fraction Written Graphic

8 Maps: Projection Projection Distortion Shape Distance Relative size
Direction

9 U.S. Land Ordinance of 1785 Township and range system
Township = 6 sq. miles on each side N-S lines = principal meridians E-W lines = base lines Range Sections Figure 1-5

10 Contemporary Tools Geographic Information Science (GIScience)
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Remote sensing Geographic information systems (GIS) Figure 1-7

11 Aerial Photo of Banda Aceh Coast Before Tsunami

12 Aerial Photo of Banda Aceh Coast After Tsunami

13 Place: Unique Location of a Feature
Place names Toponym Site Situation Mathematical location

14 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

15 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

16 Types of Regions Formal (uniform) regions Functional (nodal) regions
Example: Montana Functional (nodal) regions Example: circulation area of a newspaper Vernacular (cultural) regions Example: the American South

17 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

18 Cultural Ecology Geographic study of human–environment relationships
Two perspectives: Environmental determinism Possibilism

19 Physical Processes Climate Vegetation Soil Landforms
These four processes are important for understanding human activities

20 Modifying the Environment
Figure 1-21 Modifying the Environment Examples The Netherlands Polders South Florida Everglades Barrier Islands

21 Scale Globalization Economic globalization Cultural globalization
Transnational corporations Cultural globalization A global culture?

22 Globalization

23 Space: Distribution of Features
Distribution—three features Density Arithmetic Physiological Agricultural Concentration Pattern

24 Gender and Ethnic Diversity in Space
Stereotypes of gender and family Cultural identities Pride vs. classification Geographers use cultural identities to study spatial interactions

25 Space–Time Compression
Figure 1-29

26 Spatial Interaction Transportation networks
Electronic communications and the “death” of geography? Distance decay Figure 1-30

27 Figure 1-31 Diffusion The process where a characteristic spreads across space and over time Hearth = source area for innovations Two types of diffusion Relocation Expansion Three types: hierarchical, contagious, stimulus

28 The End


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