The Geographers Eye

1
The Geographers Eye

• Seeing the World In
• Spatial Terms

2
What do Geographers Do?
3

4
How do they answer those questions?

• The use the SPATIAL ANALYSIS of natural and human
  phenomena.
• What in the world does this mean?

5
Spatial Analysis

• They see geography as a study of distribution,
  places and regions. A study of man-land
  relationships and research in earth sciences.
  Geographers seek to understand the Earth and all
  of its human and natural complexitiesnot merely
  where objects are, but how they have changed and
  come to be.
• Geography has been called 'the world discipline'.
  As "the bridge between the human and physical
  sciences," geography is divided into two main
  brancheshuman geography and physical geography

6
Location
Where is it?
7
Two Types of Location
8
Absolute Location

• Absolute Latitude and Longitude
• 30 north and 95 west (anyone know
• where that is?)

9
World Geographic Grid
The world geographic grid consists of meridians
of longitude and parallels of latitude. The prime
meridian ( 0º) passes through Greenwich, England.
10
Latitudes
11
North/South Hemispheres
12
Longitudes
13
Measurement
14
Relative Location

• Relative Describing where a place is by
  describing places near it.
• South Carolina is north of Georgia and east of
  Tennessee.

15
Place
What it is like?
16
Two Features
17

• Human features The culture of a place.
• Race, religions, languages, governments,
  occupations, architecture, foods, clothing, etc.

18

• Physical features Things determined by nature.
• Climate, indigenous plants, animals, land forms,
  types of soils, etc.

19
Human/Environment Interaction
How do people relate to the physical world?
20
Human- Environment Interaction

• How people effect the environment and how the
  environment affects people.

21
Examples

• Dams
• Roads
• Farms
• Cities

22
Movement
How do people, ideas, products move from one
location to another?
23
Movement

• Movement of people, goods, and ideas from one
  place to another.

24
Everything Came From Somewhere
25
Movement is Measured In Distance and Time

• Linear Distance
• How far do people, products and ideas travel
  from one location to another.

26
Time Distance

• The amount of time it takes for a
  person/idea/good to travel from one location to
  another.

27
Psychological Time

• The way people perceive distance.

28
Region
How are areas similar or different?
29
Region

• An area that is unique. Geographers use regions
  to compare different areas.

30
Distinctive Characteristics
31
Formal Regions

• Formal regions are those that are designated by
  official boundaries, such as cities, states,
  counties, and countries. For the most part, they
  are clearly indicated and publicly known.
• Texas
• USA
• Houston
• Harris county

32
Functional Regions

• Organized around a set of interactions and
  connections between places. Areas are connected
  because a certain type of function exists to
  connect them.
• Railroad service areas
• Distribution of a paper
• Bus routes

33
Formal and Functional Regions
The state of Iowa is an example of a formal
region the areas of influence of various
television stations are examples of functional
regions.
34
Perceptual Regions

• People see characteristics the same way.
• Hill Country
• Acadiana
• The Midwest
• NW Houston

35
Spatial Association at Various Scales
Death rates from cancer in the US, Maryland, and
Baltimore show different patterns that can
identify associations with different factors.
36
Cancer Death Rates in the U.S.
37
Cancer Death Rates in Maryland
38
Cancer Death Rates in Baltimore
39
Perceptual Regions
A number of features are often used to define
the South as a perceptual region, each of which
identifies somewhat different boundaries.