1. Geography102
Ptolemy’s First World Map, c. AD 150

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

3. What is Geography? Ptolemy
Geography is a representation of the whole known world together with the phenomena which are contained therein.

4. Contemporary Geography
Geographers ask where and why
Location and distribution are important terms
Geographers are concerned with the tension between globalization and local diversity
Two Divisions: physical geography and human geography

5. Maps
CARTOGRAPHY

6. 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 human and physical features

7. Early Map Making
Figure 1-2

8. Maps: Scale Types of map scale
Ratio or fraction
Written
Graphic
Projection: Interrupted (orange peel), Robinson’s Projection, Equal Area, Mercator’s Projection, Polar Projection
Distortion
Shape
Distance
Relative size
Direction

9. Geographic Scale:
Vernacular Scale: “On a large scale” or “on a big scale” – different!
Small scale vs. Large Scale: Mathematical Scale
Showing a Larger Area: Small Scale (Zoom Out)
Showing a Smaller Area: Large Scale (Zoom In)

10. Where is AIDs?
Where do we find hunger?
Where are American blacks?
Where are cows produced?

11. Describing Distributions

12. Different Kinds of MAPS?
Physical
Political
Thematic:
Isoline
Choropleth
Dot
Proportional Symbol
EXAMPLES?

13. Describing Distributions - Choropleth Map

14. Can maps lie?
After reading the excerpt from, “How to Lie with Maps”& watching the clip from the WEST WING, in 5-10 sentences
explain how maps can mislead our thinking.

16. Figure 1-4

17. U.S. Land Ordinance of 1785 Township and range system
Township = 6 sq. miles on each side
North–south lines = principal meridians
East–west lines = base lines
Range
Sections

18. Township and Range System
Figure 1-5

19. A Mash-up
Figure 1-8

20. Write Down (EXIT TICKET): How many details can
you list about the map?
What map thematic map type?
Physical or Political?
Zoom In (Large Scale) or Zoom Out (Small Scale)

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

22. Divisions of Geography
Physical Geography Human Geography
Rocks and Minerals Population
Landforms Settlements
Soils Economic Activities
Animals Transportation
Plants Recreational Activities
Water Religion
Atmosphere Political Systems
Rivers and Other Water Bodies Social Traditions
Environment Human Migration
Climate and Weather Agricultural Systems
Geography is a bridge between the natural and social sciences. Geography is a holistic or synthesizing science.

23. Geography’s Vocabulary
Place
Region
Scale
Space
Connections

24. The Five Themes of Geography

25. The Five Themes of Geography
LOCATION
The Five Themes of Geography

26. Unique Location of a Feature
Place names
Toponym
Site
Situation
Mathematical location

27. Place: Mathematical Location
Location of any place can be described precisely by meridians and parallels
Called: ABSOLUTE LOCATION
Meridians (lines of longitude)
Prime meridian
Parallels (lines of latitude)
The equator

28. Absolute Location What is the global address of Phoenix?
33.5 N and 112 W
What is the global address of Tucson?
32 N and 111 W
What is the global address of Page?
37 N and 111.5 W

29. Absolute Location 1700 West Washington Phoenix, Arizona 85007
The Arizona state
capital building is
located at:

31. Relative Location Uses descriptive phrases
Gives a general sense of position on Earth
in relation to another position.
Uses descriptive phrases
Phoenix is located in
south-central Arizona,
100 miles NORTH of Tucson.

32. Flagstaff is located in
Relative Location
Describe the relative
location of Flagstaff.
Flagstaff is located in
northern Arizona,
125 miles NE of Phoenix.
location of Yuma.
Yuma is located in the
SW corner of Arizona,
220 miles NW of Tucson.

33. Relative Location is frequently used in everyday situations.
“I live two blocks from the school”
“The gas station is across the street from Taco Bell”
“Meet you on the corner of Broadway & West 42nd !”
Times Square, New York City

34. PLACE NAME Called “TOPONYMS”: these are just names!
How do Places get their names?
Some are from history: - Ex: New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire
- all these places were British colonies
and are named after the ORIGINALS
in Britain
B) Some are descriptive: They describe a place
- Pleasantville, Three Rivers and Springfield
C) Some have a story behind it: Like Newport
News – The Jamestown settlers were going to
abandon the settlement in 1610 but at NN, Capt.
Christopher Newport gave them good news that
abandonment wasn’t necessary thus the name

35. SITE A location might also be defined by SITE
Site: The physical and human-transformed
characteristics of a place
Britain – an important SITE characteristic
is that it is an ISLAND country off of the
Atlantic coast of Europe
- helps them with trade in times of peace
- helps them with protection in times of war

36. SITE 2. Los Angeles – LAX is an important airport;
humans have impact on SITEs as well
- they are not always PHYSICAL
characteristics

37. SITUATION This characteristic refers to RELATIVE LOCATION
- important in determining the centrality
or isolation of a place
- helps us to find an unfamiliar place
by comparing it to a place we know
EX: BELGIUM – Formerly of the Netherlands
is above France and below the Netherlands
(Holland)
- We know where France is situated so it
helps us find Belgium

38. SITUATION

39. SITUATION

40. The Five Themes of Geography
PLACE
The Five Themes of Geography

41. Place and Sense of Place
Every place is unique. Imagine where you lived as a child. What made that special?
Sensory
Architecture
Symbolic
Humanistic Geography - values the individual perspective.
Place and Placelessness (Relph, 1978)

42. Geography and Politics
Ties to Military
Role in Colonization
Role in Imperialism
Role in Cold War
Ethnocentrism
Masculinism
Foreign - 4) Situated in an abnormal or improper place. 5) Not natural: alien.
The American Heritage Dictionary

43. Introduction to Cultural Geography
Definition of Cultural Geography
History of the Discipline
Fundamental Concepts

44. Culture – The Daily Life of A People
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

45. 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

46. Geographic Importance of Culture
Geographers study culture because it leaves dramatic imprints on the earth, both physical and cultural.
Language: a crystal ball into culture.
Religion: strongest determinant of ethics.
Nationalism and Borders
Material Culture: tools, clothes, toys, etc.
Architecture: Suburban garages vs. earlier porches

47. What kinds of cultural values are reflected in each of these American houses?
Gated community?

48. Where are we. What values are reflected in each
Where are we? What values are reflected in each? What relation to physical environment?

49. Fieldwork: Geographers as Modern Explorers and Observers
Examples Include:
Census
Land Surveyors
Taking Pictures
Interviewing People
Gathering Samples for Research

50. Rarotonga, Cook Islands, 2002

51. Mt. San Jacinto State Park, Idylwild, CA, 2001

52. Baja, 1996

53. Rocky Mountain National Park, 2003

54. Taos, New Mexico, 2003

55. Northern Baja Rest Stop, 1998

56. National Parks Class Big Sur, California, 2003

57. Milford Sound, New Zealand 2002

58. Franz Joseph Glacier, New Zealand, 2002

59. Honolua Bay, Maui, Hawaiian Islands, 2003

60. Taos, New Mexico

61. Guarding the Great Wall of China

62. Antelope Canyon, Navajo Nation, 2000

63. The Five Themes of Geography
REGION
The Five Themes of Geography

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

65. Key Concepts REGION - an area that shares common characteristics
Formal - all members legally share a characteristic (U.S.A.)
Functional - defined by a node of activity and distance decay from center (i.e. cell phone coverage)
Vernacular – common perception of cultural identity (“Deep South”)

66. FORMAL A) Formal – Striking similarities
Ie: Latin America – Religion (Catholic),
Language (Spanish and Portuguese)
Mexico, Middle
America (Central
America and the
Caribbean) and
South America

67. Functional B) Functional Region – Sometimes called Nodal Region
- organized around Cores
- traveling into the Periphery
ie: The DC Metro Area – Organized around
the CORE city (or node/hub)Washington, DC

68. Functional Regions

69. Functional Regions

70. Vernacular C) Perceptual Regions – Called Vernacular Regions
- People “believe” these exist as regions ie: “The Deep South, Up North etc”

71. Vernacular Regions

72. Perceptual Region or Vernacular Region
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic sub regions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the antebellum period. The Deep South was also commonly referred to as the Lower South or the "Cotton States".
Today, the Deep South is usually delineated as being those states and areas where things most often thought of as "Southern" exist in their most concentrated form

73. Human – Environment Interaction
The Five Themes of Geography

74. Environmental Determinism VS Possiblism
The result of the natural environment and all of the changes to it as a result of a particular culture. (Carl Sauer)
Environmental Determinism: environment is primary determinant of culture.
Possibilism: humans are primary determinant of culture.

75. Modifying the Environment
Examples
The Netherlands
Polders
The Florida Everglades
Figure 1-21

76. Environmentally Determined?
N.Y.C.
Environmentally Determined?

77. What about Bali,
Indonesia?

78. The Five Themes of Geography
Movement
The Five Themes of Geography

79. The Geography of Breakfast a geographic thinking demonstration
Take a minute to write down everything ate for breakfast or lunch today.

80. COFFEE
 Top Ten Coffee Growing Countries

81. CHOCOLATE
Chocolate was “discovered” for Europe by Christopher Columbus, but it’s commercial possibilities were recognized by Hernan Cortez who was served a drink made from cocoa beans by Moctezuma, leader of the Aztecs (whom he later executed). The cacao tree, like coffee, grows only in the tropics. Today it is grown primarily for export to the U.S. and Europe.

82. Breakfast Foods Food Place of Origin Current Production
coffee Ethiopia Tropics
oranges South Asia, India US, Mediterranean
pork China, South Asia Worldwide
wheat Near East US, Russia, Argentina
tea China Asia
oats Near East Temperate Climates
pepper South America Americas, Asia

83. Diffusion
The process by which a characteristic spreads across space and over time
Hearth = source area for innovations
Two types of diffusion
Relocation
Expansion
Three types: hierarchical, contagious, stimulus

84. Diffusion
Relocation
Hierarchical
Contagious
Stimulus

85. Relocation Diffusion: Example
Figure 1-31

87. Tobler’s 1st Law of Geography
All things are related. However, all other things being equal, those things that are closest together are more related.
Related Concepts:
Distance Decay

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

89. Space
Latitude and Longitude - a reference system designed to provide “absolute” location (as opposed to relative locations).
Parallels of Latitude
Meridians of Longitude
Glendale College is located at N W

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

91. Space–Time Compression
Figure 1-29

92. Other Key Concepts

93. Key Concepts: Core-Periphery

94. Key Concepts: Core-Periphery
U.S., Europe, Japan, Australia
Wealthy
Powerful
Controls Media and Finance
Technologically advanced
Periphery
Less Developed
Poor
Dependent upon Core countries for:
Education
Technology
Media
Military Equipment

95. Scale Globalization Economic globalization Cultural globalization
Transnational corporations
Cultural globalization
A global culture?

96. Globalization
The increasing interconnectedness of different parts of the world through common processes of economic, political, and cultural change. The economic, cultural, and environmental effects of globalization are highly contested.
Panama, 1997

97. The End.
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