Thinking Geographically

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Chapter 1

• Thinking Geographically

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Key Issues

1. How do geographers describe where things are?
2. Why is each point on Earth unique?
3. Why are different places similar?

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An In-depth Social Science

• Many people have misconceptions about geography
  and think of the discipline as simply an exercise
  in memorizing place names.

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Where we find Geography

• Geography exists in the global issues receiving
  attention at this time. Things such as
• Population growth
• Terrorism
• Cultural diffusion.
• Diffusion is defined as the spread of linguistic
  or cultural practices or innovations within a
  community or from one community to another.

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Location, Location, Location

• Geography's importance can also be established by
  looking at community issues, such as
• Water supply
• Pollution
• Growth management
• Housing
• Retail
• Openings
• Closures

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Thinking Geographically

• In addition to political rule, boundaries can be
  drawn based on various components of culture
  including language, religion, values.

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Questions to Ponder

• Where would the most desirable places to live be
  located?
• What impacts would this population increase cause?

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Every Story Can be approached from a Geographers
Perspective

• Consider natural events and natural disasters.
• Do humans choose to live in harms way?

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Spatial analysis

• Geography by its nature is a spatial science.
  Geographers therefore study space in order to
  locate the distribution of people and objects.
• Geographers ask two main questions, where and
  why. Spatial analysis is concerned with
  analyzing regularities achieved through
  interaction. Regularities result in a distinctive
  distribution of a feature.
• Distribution has three properties
• Density
• Concentration
• Pattern

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Relevance

• Geographers observe that people are being pulled
  in opposite directions by two different factors
  globalization and local diversity.
• Tensions between these simultaneous geographic
  trends underlie many of the worlds problems that
  geographers study.
• Political conflicts
• Economic uncertainty
• Pollution of the environment

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Maps

• The most important tool for geographers is a map.
• Two-dimensional or flat-scale model of Earths
  surface, or a portion of it.
• Cartography the science of mapmaking.
• Serve two purposes
• Tool for storing reference material.
• Tool for communicating geographic information.
• Often the best means for showing the distribution
  of human activities or physical features, as well
  as thinking about reasons underlying a
  distribution.

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Projection

• The method of transferring location on Earths
  surface to a flat map is called projection.
• Earths spherical shape poses a challenge for
  cartographers because drawing Earth on a flat
  surface unavoidably produces distortion.

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Distortion

• Four types of distortion
• Shape
• Distance
• Relative size
• Direction between points

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Examples of Map Projections
Robinson Projection
Azimuthal Projection
Goodes Interrupted Projection
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Map Scale

• The scale of a map is the relation of a features
  size on a map and its actual size on Earths
  surface.
• Fraction (1/24,000)
• Ratio (124,000)
• Written statement (1 inch equals 1 mile)
• Graphic bar scale

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Graphic Scale

• A graphic scale usually consists of a bar line
  marked to show distances on Earths surface.
• The bar line is used by measuring a distance on
  the map, then reading that distance along the bar
  line.
• The appropriate scale for a map depends on the
  information being portrayed.

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Washington State (110 million scale)
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Western Washington(11 million scale)
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Seattle Region(1100,000 scale)
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Downtown Seattle, Washington(110,000 scale)
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(No Transcript)
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Scale Differences Maps of Florida
Fig. 1-3 The effects of scale in maps of
Florida. (Scales from 110 million to 110,000)
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Spatial Association at Various Scales
Fig. 1-13 Death rates from cancer in the U.S.,
Maryland, and Baltimore show different patterns
that can identify associations with different
factors.
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Contemporary Tools

• GIS
• A geographic information system (GIS) is a
  high-performance computer system that processes
  geographic data.
• Each type of information (topography, political
  boundaries, population density, manufacturing,
  etc.) is stored as an information layer.
• GIS is most powerful when it is used to combine
  several layers, to show relations.

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Layers of a GIS
Fig. 1-5 A geographic information system (GIS)
stores information about a location in several
layers. Each layer represents a different
category of information.
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GPS
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• Site vs. Situation

• 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.
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• Singapore

• Situation

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

Pakistan
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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.
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World Time Zones
Fig. 1-9 The worlds 24 standard time zones are
often depicted using the Mercator projection.
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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.
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Vernacular Regions
Fig. 1-12 A number of factors are often used to
define the South as a vernacular region, each of
which identifies somewhat different boundaries.
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Vernacular Region

• Kurdistan

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What is Culture?

• Your book defines culture as a body of customary
  beliefs, material trades, and social forms that
  together constitute the distinct tradition of a
  group of people.
• The Latin root of culture is cultus, which means
  to care for. Example Agriculture (term for
  growing things)

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Diffusion

• Diffusion is the process by which a
  characteristic spreads across space from one
  place to another over time.
• The place of origin of the characteristic is
  called the hearth.
• For example US, Canadian, and many Latin
  cultures can be traced back to the European
  Hearth.
• There are two basic types of diffusion
• Relocation diffusion
• Expansion diffusion
• Expansion Diffusion includes
• Hierarchical diffusion
• Contagious diffusion
• Stimulus diffusion

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Space-Time Compression (14921962)
Fig. 1-20 The times required to cross the
Atlantic, or orbit the Earth, illustrate how
transport improvements have shrunk the world.
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Cultural Ecology

• Geographers also consider environmental factors
  as well as cultural factors, when looking at
  regions.
• This is cultural ecology.
• Basically, this is the geographic study of
  human-environmental relations.
• In the 19th Century some geographers said that
  human actions were caused by environmental
  conditions. (environmental determinism)
• This is rejected by modern geographers that say
  some environmental conditions limit human
  actions. (possibilism)
• Of course now we are realizing that humans can
  actually adjust their environment. (For good or
  bad)

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Environmental Modification in the Netherlands
Fig. 1-15 Polders and dikes have been used for
extensive environmental modification in the
Netherlands.
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Environmental Modification in Florida
View of Miami Beach
The barrier Island - Orchid Island.
Fig. 1-16 Straightening the Kissimmee River has
had many unintended side effects.