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what is geography?
• “description of the earth”• a study of spatial variation
– the how and why of physical & cultural differences
– location, location, location– observable patterns that have evolved
through time
-interaction of physical environment and human activity (Marsh, Sauer) -cultural landscape can alter the natural environment
evolution of the discipline- mapping/human interpretation
• Aristotle (384-322 BC)• Erathosthenes (276 BC)• Strabos (63BC-24AD)/Herodotus (484-
423BC)
human geography
• Where are people?• What are they like?• What is their interaction over space?• What kinds of landscapes do they erect?
physical geography
• attention towards natural landscape– landforms and their distribution– atmospheric conditions and climatic
patterns– soils / vegetation associations
modern geography…..
• 1. Climates, patterns, processes of physical environment
• 2. Rapid development of natural sciences
• 3. Accurate mapping• 4. Data collection / statistics
academic geography
• Earth science• Man-land relations• Areal differentiation• Spatial organization
– location– processes– patterns– interactions/relations– distributions
absolute location
• Mathematical location– Latitude & Longitude
• degrees, minutes, seconds
– Township & Range (1785 Land Ordinance)• Subdivision: parallels & meridians• Topographic quadrangle, US Geological Survey
– Metes & Bounds
• Site– absolute location concept– physical & cultural characteristics
• Topography, vegetation, water, physical characteristic
relative directions
• Based on cultural & local perceptions– no absolute boundaries or definitions– “down south”, “out west”, “up north”, “down
south”, “Near East”, “Far East”
relative distance
• Refers to a more regional spatial relationship– how distance is described
MILES MINUTES
$$$ & TIME
psychological distance
• Distance lengthened / shortened– first time traveled– night / day travel– safety / danger / excitement
size & scale
• Size of unit studied• Scale implies degree of generalization
– broad or narrow– Varying sizes
• local • regional• global
spatial interaction
• Accessibility – how easy/difficult to overcome time
& space separation
• Connectivity– how places are connected
• Spatial diffusion– process of dispersion of ideas or items from a
center of origin to more distant points
• Globalization– Increasing interconnection of peoples and
societies worldwide
globalization
• Standardization– $$$$, EU, time, United Nations
• Containerization– movement of products– outsourcing
• Intersection of the ‘haves’ & ‘have nots’– cell phones, internet
1. density
• Measure of the number/quantity within a defined unit of areas – proportion
• arithmetic• physiological density
2. dispersion (concentration)
• Amount of spread of phenomenon over an area– 1. clustered, agglomerated– 2. dispersed, scattered, random
3. pattern
• Emphasizes design rather than spacing– linear (a) – road, river, rail line– centralized (b) – city & suburbs– random (c)
• Rectangular system of land survey - U.S.– rural: checkerboard, 1 mile squares– cities: grid system
regional concepts
• 1. formal or uniform regions– Areas of essential uniformity
• Physical or cultural• Sahara Desert, “Bible Belt”
2. functional region
• spatial system defined by interactions/ connections
Glendale Galleria
Newspaper Route
cartography – the science of making maps
• Maps provide a visual tool • Maps are subjective• Map projections transfer locations on a
round surface to a flat surface– some form of distortion always occurs– greater distortion results from larger areas
depicted
mathematics of the Earth
• Aristotle (384-322 BC) discovered the earth to be an oblate spheroid
– Equatorial bulge 7926.38 (7924) – Polar shortening 7899.80 (7922)– 23.5° axis (tilt)
seasons and climate
• Earth’s rotation & movement around the sun
• Tilt of the earth’s axis (23.5°)• Receipt of solar radiation• Re-radiation of energy in the form of
heat
the Earth’s divisions
• Latitude lines – Equal distance between lines– Lines become increasingly smaller descending
from the equator to poles
• Longitude lines– Each line is the same exact length– All lines become increasingly close together as
they descend to the poles
important lines of latitude
• Equator: 0 degrees• Tropic of Cancer: 23.5 degrees North• Tropic of Capricorn: 23.5 degrees South• Arctic Circle: 66.5 degrees North• Antarctic Circle: 66.5 degrees South
important lines of longitude
• Prime Meridian: 0 degrees (runs through Greenwich, England)
• International Dateline: 180 degrees• Time Zones: every 15 degrees of
longitude equals one hour
maps
• Scale– the smaller the scale the
greater the detail - for example one inch = one
mile is more detailed than one inch = one hundred miles
1:1 or 1:100
• Legend – interprets map information
Mercator: preserves direction, distorts landmassFuller’s: preserves shape and size, distorts directionRobinson: minimizes projection errorsPeters: equal-area projection, focus on Africa Azimuthal: oriented to the Poles