Chapter 1

Key Issue 2:

Why is Each Point on Earth Unique?

Two key points

• Place: Unique location of a feature

• Region: areas of unique characteristics

Place: Unique Location of a Feature

• Geographers describe a feature’s place on Earth by identifying it’s location.

There are four ways to identify location:• Name • Site• Situation• Mathematical location

Place Names

• Toponym is a name given to a place on Earth.--Names are often named after people, religious

reasons, local economies, physical environments

--Places can also change their names:

a. Cincinnati was named Losantiville

b. Hot Springs changed to Truth and Consequences

Site

• It is the physical character of a place.

• Characteristics include: climate, water sources, topography, soil ,vegetation, lat’s and long’s

• People can change the characteristics to fit their needs…Manhattan

Site:Lower

Manhattan Island

Fig. 1-6: Site of lower Manhattan Island, New York City. There have been many changes to the area over the last 200 years.

Situation

• Is the location of a place relative to other places.

• It helps in locating an unfamiliar place in location to a familiar one

• It helps us understand the importance of a location

Downtown Singapore

Situation: Singapore

Fig. 1-7: Singapore is situated at a key location for international trade.

Mathematical Location

• Any location can be found with meridians and parallels• Meridians are longitudes

– 0 degrees longitude is the Prime Meridian– 15 degrees equals one hour of time

• Parallels are latitudes– The equator is 0 degrees

• Greenwich mean timeIs the universal timeLook at page 19 for reference

• International Date LineWhere the day changes and is located 180 degrees from GMT

World Geographic Grid

Fig. 1-8: The world geographic grid consists of meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude. The prime meridian ( 0º) passes through Greenwich, England.

World Time Zones

Fig. 1-9: The world’s 24 standard time zones each represent about 15° of longitude. They are often depicted using the Mercator projection.

Regions: Areas of Unique Characteristics

• A region derives its unified character through the cultural landscape– a combination of cultural features such as ag, industry and physical features such as climate and vegetation.

Cultural Landscape

• Sometime it is called regional studies approach• A region has its own distinctive landscape that

results from a unique combination of social relationships and physical processes.

• The main principle is that people are the most important agents of change of Earth’s surface.– You might have poor soil in the area but people can

change it by added nutrients to grow crops

Types of Regions

• Formal

• Functional

• Vernacular

Presidential Election 2004Regional Differences

Fig. 1-10: Presidential election results by county & state illustrate differences in regional voting patterns.

Presidential Election, 2004Results by County

Presidential Election, 2004Results by State

Formal Region

• is an area within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristic.

• Could be cultural value such as language, economic activity

• IE Gov’t units such as state or the wheat belt, voting tendencies.

Formal and Functional Regions

Fig. 1-11: The state of Iowa is an example of a formal region; the areas of influence of various television stations are examples of functional regions.

Functional Region

• Is an area organized around a node or focal point.

• Usually the area is tied to the focal point by transportation, communication, or economics.

• IE newspaper, or TV reception, or a business service.

Vernacular Region

• Is a place that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity.

• IE is a mental map– It depict what a person knows about a place

Vernacular Regions

Fig. 1-12: A number of features are often used to define the South as a vernacular region, each of which identifies somewhat different boundaries.

Regional Integration of Culture

• Why each region is distinctive, geographers refer to culture

• They look at two ideas– What people care about (ideas, beliefs,

values, customs– What people take care of (salary, living,

obtaining food, clothing, shelter)

Spatial Association at Various Scales

Fig. 1-13: Death rates from cancer in the US, Maryland, and Baltimore show different patterns that can identify associations with different factors.

Spatial Association at Various Scales

Fig. 1-13: Death rates from cancer in the US, Maryland, and Baltimore show different patterns that can identify associations with different factors.

Cancer Death Rates in the U.S.

Cancer Death Rates in Maryland

Cancer Death

Rates in Baltimore

What people care about

• Geographers study why the beliefs, ideas and values produce a distinctive culture on a particular place.

Language and religion play a part

Ethnicity encompasses all these things and will cause problems when in contact with other ethnicities

What people take care of

• Look at material wealth—food, clothing, and shelter that humans need to survive.

• World is divided into regions:– LDC and MDCs– MDCs have more per capita income, higher literacy

rates, lower death rates etc– LDCs are mainly farming, MDC are manufacturing

countries– MDCs are usually organized into a political group—

country, states. LDCs are usually under a cultural group that doesn’t coincide with the boundaries of a country

Cultural Ecology: Integrating Culture and Environment

• Groups:#1Cultural Ecology: Integrating Culture and

Environment#2Human and Physical Factors#3 Physical Processes: Climate#4 Physical Processes: Vegetation#5 Physical Processes: Landforms

All people in the group need to participate, each member will then go to another group and be an expert about their area.

World Climate Regions

Fig. 1-14: The modified Köppen system divides the world into five main climate regions.

After the groups

• Read and write a summary on the modifications of the Netherlands and Florida. What are the potential problems and benefits of their modifications?

Uniqueness of Places & Regions

• Place: Unique location of a feature– Place names– Site– Situation– Mathematical location

• Regions: Areas of unique characteristics– Cultural landscape– Types of regions– Spatial association– Regional integration of culture– Cultural ecology

Environmental

Modification in the

Netherlands

Fig. 1-15: Polders and dikes have been used for extensive environmental modification in the Netherlands.

Environmental

Modification in Florida

Fig. 1-16: Straightening the Kissimmee River has had many unintended side effects.