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

2. 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.

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

4. Maps Geography’s most important tool is mapping. 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.

5. All About Maps Maps are used to represent and identify spatial patterns and processes at different scales. Maps can be used as a tool for storing reference material and also as a tool for communicating geographic information. All maps inevitably distort spatial relationships.

6. Map Scale Map Scale is presented in three ways: A ratio or fraction 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.

7. Projection The scientific method of transferring locations on Earth’s surface to a flat map is called projection. The four types of distortion that generally occur relate to shape, distance, relative size, and direction. The four general classes of map projections include cylindrical, conic, planar (or azimuthal), and oval.

8. Type of projection The Robinson projection is an oval projection that is useful for displaying information across the oceans. It major disadvantage is that by allocating space to the oceans, the land areas are much smaller than on interrupted maps of the same size. The Mercator projection is a cylindrical map where shape is distorted very little and direction is consistent. It greatest disadvantage is that area is grossly distorted toward the poles.

9. Types of Maps General-purpose or reference maps display general features of an area. Examples include topographic or highway maps. Thematic maps display a single type of information, such as population, median income, etc. Thematic maps often come in the following forms: graduated circle, dot, and choropleth.

10. Land Ordinance of 1785 The Land Ordinance of 1785 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.

11. Contemporary Tools of Geography The system that accurately determines the precise position of something on Earth is GPS (Global Positioning System). The acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting Earth or from other long-distance methods is known as remote sensing. A computer system that can capture, store, query, analyze, and display geographic data is a GIS (geographic information system).

12. Orlando Map Assignment – 25 points For this assignment, you are to create your own map of Orlando. Throughout the assignment, you must use your best judgment to place local sites and attractions in their proper geographic location. You will inevitably make mistakes, but you should aim to be as precise as possible. Your map should have a scale and it should indicate which directions are North, South, East, and West. It should include at least 5 entries from each of the following categories: roads/highways, local-area cities, points of interest/attractions. I will be grading as follows: Roads/highways – 5 points Local-area cities – 5 points Points of interest/attractions – 5 points Directions and scale – 5 points Neatness and Accuracy – 5 points

13. Map Analysis Activity – worth 20 points For this assignment, you must select a map from a newspaper, magazine, the Internet, or another source. You must examine the map carefully and think about the choices the cartographer (mapmaker) made. You must then answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper and turn in with your map. Each question will be worth 5 points. A. Why did the cartographer choose the color or colors used on the map? B. Why did the cartographer choose the particular symbols used on the map? C. Is there some form of data the cartographer chose to place on this map? If so, what is it? Why do you think she/he included the data? D. Do you find the map useful? What are some of the map’s advantages and limitations?

14. Place and Region Geographers use two basic concepts to explain why every place is unique – place and region. A place is a specific point of Earth distinguished by a particular characteristic. Every place occupies a unique location on Earth’s surface. A region is an area of Earth distinguished by a distinctive combination of cultural and physical features. Power of Place

15. 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 mathematical location.

16. Identifying Location Places can receive their names from a wide variety of sources. A toponym is the name given to a place on Earth. Site is the physical character of a place, which includes climate, water sources, vegetation, elevation, etc. Situation is the location of a place relative to other places. The location of any place on Earth’s surface can be described precisely by meridians and parallels, which are two sets of imaginary arcs drawn in a grid pattern on Earth’s surface.

17. Meridians of Longitude A meridian is an arc drawn between the North and South poles. The location of each meridian is identified on Earth’s surface according to a numbering system known as longitude. The meridian that passes through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, is 0˚ longitude. It is known as the prime meridian. All other meridians have numbers between 0˚ and 180˚ east or west, depending on whether they are east or west of the prime meridian.

18. Parallels of Latitude A parallel is a circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians. The numbering system to indicate the location of a parallel is called latitude. The equator is 0˚ latitude, the North Pole is 90˚ north latitude, and the South Pole is 90˚ south latitude.

19. Mathematical Location Latitude and longitude are used together to identify locations. The mathematical location of a place can be designated more precisely by dividing each degree into 60 minutes (’) and each minute into 60 seconds (”). For example, Orlando, FL, is located at 28˚24’57”N, 81˚17’56”W.

20. Time Zones Longitude plays an important role in calculating time. Earth as a sphere is divided into 360˚ of longitude. Earth is divided into 24 time zones. Therefore, each time zone has a span of 15 degrees 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

21. Regions A region is an area of Earth defined by one or more distinctive characteristics. A region derives its unified character through the cultural landscape – 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.

22. Types of Regions A formal region is an area within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristics (i.e. language, religion, economic activity, 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. sense of place).

23. Culture Culture is the body of customary beliefs, material traits, and social forms that together constitute the distinct tradition of a group of people. The geographic study of human- environment relationships is known as cultural ecology. Environmental determinism is the belief that the physical environment causes social development. According to possibilism, the physical environment may limit some human actions, but people have the ability to adjust their environment.

24. Climate Climate is the long-term average weather condition at a particular location. Geographers frequently classify climates into five main climate regions that are identified by the letters A though E as well as by names. They are as follows: A – Tropical Climates B – Dry Climates C – Warm Mid-Latitude Climates D – Cold Mid-Latitude Climates E – Polar Climates The climate of a particular location influences human activities, especially the production of food.

25. Biomes There are four major biomes, or major plant communities, on Earth. Forest biomes occur when trees form a continuous canopy over the ground, and grasses and shrubs grow beneath the cover. Savanna biomes occur when trees do not form a continuous canopy, and the resultant lack of shade allows grass to grow. Grassland biomes occur when land is covered by grass rather than trees, and few trees grow in the region because of low precipitation. Desert biomes occur in areas with little to no vegetation, where dispersed patches of plants have adapted to the dry conditions.

26. Modifying the Environment Modern technology has allowed humans to modify a region’s physical environment to a greater extent than in the past. 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.

27. Globalization Scale is an increasingly important concept in geography because of 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 primary by transnational, or multi- national, corporations, who conduct research, operate factories, and sell products in many countries.

28. 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.).

29. 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. Regardless of cultural traditions, people around the world aspire to take part in global actions such as driving an automobile, watching tv, owning a house, wearing jeans and using brand name products like Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonalds.

30. 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. For example, people in two distant places can watch the same television program. At the same time, two people in the same house can watch different programs.

31. International McDonalds Commercials For each of the following commercials, you must make a list of the things that stand out to you. Things you may to include are: language, music, cultural traits and/or references, menu items, race and/or ethnicity, etc. McDonalds Germany McDonalds China McDonalds India McDonalds Russia McDonalds Arabia McDonalds France McDonalds Finland McDonalds Belgium

32. Globalization FRQ – worth 15 points For this assignment, you must answer the following three questions. The McDonalds commercials viewed in class should form the basis of each response. A. Describe three examples in which McDonalds’ international commercials demonstrate globalization. B. Describe three examples in which McDonalds’ international commercials demonstrate preservation of local culture. C. Describe three examples of menu items that are either similar or different to those that we have in the United States.

33. 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.

34. Density The frequency with which something occurs in space is its density. Arithmetic density is the total number of objects in an area, and is commonly used to compare the distribution of population in different countries. Physiological density is the number of persons per unit of area suitable for agriculture. Agricultural density is the number of farmers per unit area of farmland.

35. 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.

36. Pattern Pattern is the geometric arrangement of objects in space. For instance, many American cities contain a regular pattern of streets, known as a grid pattern. Patterns in space vary according to gender and ethnicity. An example of this lies in the fact that in most U.S. neighborhoods, the residents are virtually all white people or virtually all persons of color.

37. Space-Time Compression Space-time compression is the term used to describe the reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another place. Distant places seem less remote and more accessible. With better connections between places, people often adopt certain cultural and economic traits of another region.

38. 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 diminishes with increasing distance and eventually disappears. This phenomenon is known as distance decay.

39. Diffusion Diffusion is the process by which a characteristic spreads across space from one place to another over time. Today, ideas that originate in one area diffuse rapidly to other areas through sophisticated communications and transportation networks (i.e. internet, social media). The place from which an innovation originates is called a hearth.

40. Types of Diffusion Relocation diffusion is the spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another. Expansion diffusion is the spread of a feature from one place to another in a snowballing process. It may result from one of the three following processes: Hierarchical diffusion is the spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other person or places. Contagious diffusion is the rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population. Stimulus diffusion is the spread of an underlying principle, even though a characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse.