nature and perspectives

A P H U M A N G E O G R A P H YU N I T 1

NATURE AND PERSPECTIVES

WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?

• Is geography scientific?

• “The why of where”• AP Human vs. World

Geography Course:• Human vs. Physical • Topical vs. Regional

Approach• Descriptive vs.

Systematic

http://184.72.220.25/Olympics/




ORAL QUIZ: PAGES 14-17

#1: Define site and provide two examples.

#2: Define situation and provide two examples.

DO MAPS LIE?

Fuller’s

Mercator

DO MAPS LIE?

Percentage of Hispanic Total in the US0% - 0.3%0.3% - 0.7%0.7% - 1.9%1.9% - 4%4% - 9.9%9.9% - 19.4%19.4% - 34.4%

900 0 900 1800 Miles

N

EW

S

Hispanic Population by Percentage of US Total

Number of Hispanics0 - 4122341224 - 183465183466 - 462411462412 - 953407953408 - 3351242

Total Number of Hispanics

DOES YOUR MAP LOOK ANYTHING LIKE THIS?

• This is the one of the oldest known maps (Ga-Sur 2500BCE), drawn on a clay tablet in Ancient Babylon.

Line drawn image of the map

THE PROBLEM WITH PROJECTION

• Round object on a flat surface• Distorted shape• Relative size• Distance • Direction

…or…

http://spatialanalysis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/picture2.png

http://spatialanalysis.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/picture3.png

PROBLEM OF PROJECTIONMercator

Robinson

Fuller’s

PROBLEM OF PROJECTIONEqual Area

Peters

PROBLEM OF PROJECTION

Conic—p.12-13 (atlas)

• Cylindrical—p.10 (atlas)

Planar (Azimuthal)--p.46 (atlas)

MAP CHARACTERISTICS

• Projection• Scale—relationship between distance on the map

and distance on the ground• large vs. small—which is bigger 1/10 or 1/100?, large

scale=large fraction• Scale has multiple meanings for geographers

• Symbols• Thematic Maps—show the distribution, flow, or

connection of one or more characteristics• Data Manipulation • Grid System

SCALEWashington State (1:10 million scale)

Seattle Region(1:100,000 scale)

Downtown Seattle, Washington(1:10,000 scale)

Western Washington(1:1 million scale)

MAP CHARACTERISTICS






MAP SYMBOLS

Cell Towers (Dot Map)

2008 Electoral Map (Cartogram—population)

Individuals living in Poverty, 2000 (Choropleth)

Multiple Symbol Map

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/statepopredblue1024.png

MAP SYMBOLSRelief MapIsoline Map

in millions, (Proportional Symbols)

Pie chart map

http://uwecgeog200mainharn.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/bad_circle1.jpg

MAP CHARACTERISTICS






Total Number of African-Americans in each State1951 - 112460112461 - 300130300131 - 778035778036 - 14563231456324 - 2859055

900 0 900 1800 Miles

N

EW

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Continental United StatesThis map shows the total number of African-Americans per state. Examine Georgia.

Misleading Scale

Number of African-Americans per County0 - 47914792 - 1219412195 - 2424124242 - 8260882609 - 324008

100 0 100 200 Miles

N

EW

S

GeorgiaIn the previous slide, Georgia had one of the highest number of African-Americans, but a closer look tells a different picture. The dark red is the Atlanta metropolitan area.

Misleading Scale

Percentage of Hispanic Total in the US0% - 0.3%0.3% - 0.7%0.7% - 1.9%1.9% - 4%4% - 9.9%9.9% - 19.4%19.4% - 34.4%

900 0 900 1800 Miles

N

EW

S

Hispanic Population by Percentage of US Total

Misleading Statistics

Percentage of Hispanics0 - 0.0470.047 - 0.1460.146 - 0.2960.296 - 0.5220.522 - 0.927

Percentage of HispanicsA similar comparison can be made with Hispanics living in the US. This map shows the total percentage of Hispanics in each county.


Number of Hispanics0 - 4122341224 - 183465183466 - 462411462412 - 953407953408 - 3351242

Total Number of Hispanics This map displays the total number of Hispanics in each US county.


These three Southern California counties (Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego) have a total Hispanic population of 5,045,726 which is greater than the total Hispanic population of Texas at 4,339,905. New Mexico has the greatest percentage of Hispanics (33%), it’s total Hispanic population is 579,224.


MAP CHARACTERISTICS






SPATIAL DATA AND THEMATIC MAPSMapping Natural Disasters

Spatial Data Set

Spatial Data Set GRAPHED

Utah

Wyoming

Delaware

South

Carolin

a

Nevad

a

Marylan

dIda

ho

Massa

chus

etts

Michiga

n

Oregon

Vermon

t

Wiscon

sinMain

e

North C

arolin

a

North D

akota

Penns

ylvan

iaIow

a

Kansa

s

Nebras

ka

West V

irgini

aIlli

nois

Arkans

as

Alabam

a

New Y

ork

Oklaho

ma0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Presidental Declarations of Disaster Areas, 1953-2010

1953

1955

1957

1959

1961

1963

1965

1967

1969

1971

1973

1975

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

2001

2003

2005

2007

2009

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80Presidential Declarations of Natural Disasters: 1953-2010

Year

Dot Distribution Map

Proportional Symbol Map

Choropleth MapEQUAL FREQUENCY

Chropleth MapEQUAL INTERVAL

Choropleth MapNATURAL BREAKS (JENKS’ FORMULA)

MAP CHARACTERISTICS






FUNDAMENTALS OF GEOGRAPHY

• Scale: relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole, similarities at local, regional and global levels (global vs. local)

• Place: location, or position, unique for its particular characteristics

• Region: unique and distinctive areas, area distinguished by a distinctive combination of cultural and physical features

• Space: physical gap or interval between two objects, often concerned with density and pattern

• Connections: relationships among places

PLACE

• Toponym, Site, Situation (relative location), Mathematical Location (exact location)

• Mental Maps: using the concept of place…• Find a partner…on a piece of paper, draw a mental map of

your neighborhood, the Marietta/Cobb County area, and Atlanta. Include a home address in your map. Show as much detail as you can, and remember to make the map accurate in terms of what is important to you, such as the places you eat, work, walk, recreate, friends’ houses, landmarks, etc. Finally, make sure you include your own made-up symbols and associated legend/key…you don’t need to use a map, or electronic device for this activity.

PLACE• As you look over your map consider the following

questions…1. What do you personally consider to be the most important

features on your map? Why? How do these features/places shape your “sense of place?”

2. Why are certain businesses or houses located where they are? 3. How have people influenced the physical and/or cultural

environment in a particular area noted on your map?4. How long have you lived here? How has this affected your

mental map? “Egocentric vs. Geocentric perspective ”5. How do you get around? Do you drive, walk, or bike? How has

this affected your mental map? “Cognitive distance”6. What are the fringes of your map and how are those places

represented?

View of Kennesaw Mt., from Sweat Mt.

MATHEMATICAL LOCATION

• Why latitude and longitude?

• Latitude/Parallel• Equator

• Longitude/Meridian• Prime Meridian• International

Dateline

MATHEMATICAL LOCATION: TIME ZONES

The world’s 24 standard time zones each represent about 15° of longitude. They are oftendepicted using the Mercator projection.

MATH. LOCATION: TOWNSHIP & RANGE SYSTEM IN THE US

Principal meridians & east-west baselines of the township system. Townships in northwestMississippi & topographic map of the area.

EVOLUTION OF MAPPING

• Remote Sensing• acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite

orbiting Earth• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

• acquiring, analyzing, processing, and displaying spatial data—such as location and various characteristics (ie. elevation, vegetation, population, slope, climate, etc.)—often in layers

• Global Position System (GPS)• accurately determines the precise position of something

on Earth

MAP INTERPRETATION

Example:1. HIV/AIDS , 2002. Figure 2-26, pg. 75 Rubenstein2. Equal Area Projection, choropleth, 3. Demonstrates capacity of AIDS to be a global reducer of

population and identify key global regions hardest hit by the epidemic.

4. Sahara Desert seems to serve as an obstacle to the diffusion of AIDS from the southern part which is primarily devastated by the disease.

• Other global parts that exhibit at least an above average problem with the disease are usually located in the tropics, with the exception of the Ukraine in eastern Europe.

5. It might be interesting to see differences within countries. I would also like some indication just how high the infection rate is in countries over 15%.

UNITED STATES MENTAL MAP

Divide the United States into regions. Your regions can be functional, formal, or vernacular. Every portion of the country should be located in at least one region. Be sure to identify the key characteristic as you name each region.

Igor Panarin, 2008—was supposed to happen in 2010…

REGION

• “Areas of unique characteristics”

• Culture• What people care

about • What people take

care of • Cultural Landscape

REGION

• Formal (uniform)

• Functional (nodal)

The state of Iowa is an example of a formal region; theareas of influence of various television stations areexamples of functional regions.

REGION

• Vernacular (perceptual)• What is “the West?”

Name 3 regions in which we live.

A number of features are often used to definethe South as a vernacular region, each ofwhich identifies somewhat different boundaries.

Most Famous Brand From Each State In The US

Every Country England Has Ever Invaded (all but 22 countries in the world)

CULTURAL ECOLOGY

• Study of “human environment relationships”

• Environmental determinism

• Possibilism• Polder

• Resources

CULTURAL ECOLOGY “THE AGE OF MAN”

“…Our impact on the planet’s surface and atmosphere has become so powerful that scientists are considering changing the way we measure geologic time. Right now we’re officially living in the Holocene epoch, a particularly pleasant period that started when the last ice age ended 12,000 years ago. But some scientists argue that we’ve broken into a new epoch that they call the Anthropocene: the age of man. “Human dominance of biological, chemical and geological processes on Earth is already an undeniable reality,” writes Paul Crutzen, the Nobel Prize...“It’s no longer us against ‘Nature.’ Instead, it’s we who decide what nature is and what it will be.”

http://science.time.com/2012/03/07/anthropocene-why-you-should-get-used-to-the-age-of-man-and-woman/

CULTURAL ECOLOGY “THE AGE OF MAN”

Population Cartogram—depicts night lights, major roads, railways, power lines, pipelines, overseas cables, air lines and shipping lanes

CULTURAL ECOLOGY: CLIMATES

Climate: the long-term average weather condition at a particular location

**Vladimir Koppen: basis for divisions are seasonal precipitation, B climates are based on temperature and precipitation**

CULTURAL ECOLOGY: BIOMES

Biomes: “plant communities”• Forest: trees form continuous canopy• Savanna: mixture of grass and trees• Grassland: grass covered (little precipitation)• Desert: little vegetation

CULTURAL ECOLOGY: SOIL & LANDFORMS

• Soils—10 orders, 12,000 types• Erosion

• Solutions...reduced plowing, choice of plants whose roots protect soil, and avoiding planting on steep slopes

• Depletion of Nutrients• Solutions…certain plants are

known to replenish soil, and adding fertilizers can offset depletion

• Landforms—• Helps to explain population

distribution and choice of economic activities

SCALE: “LOCAL TO GLOBAL”

• Globalization—a force or process that involves the entire world and results in making something worldwide in scope

• Globalization of Economy:• Global: Interconnected and

interdependent (Transnational Corporations)

• Local: Increasing specialization• Globalization of Culture:

• Global: We are becoming more culturally uniform (ie. fast food, hotels, cars, cell phones, etc.)

• Local: Some are fighting to retain their local culture

SPACE• Distribution—How are

things arranged? Where are they located?• DENSITY: frequency with

which something occurs in space • Arithmetic Density• Physiological Density• Agricultural Density

• CONCENTRATION: extent of a feature’s spread over space• Clustered vs. dispersed

• PATTERN: geometric arrangement of objects in space

SPACE: DENSITY AND CONCENTRATION

By 2007, U.S. baseball teams were much more dispersed than in 1952, and

their number and density at a national level had increased.

CONNECTIONS• CONNECTIONS—How are

places and regions connected? How do they interact?• SPATIAL

INTERACTION• Networks &

transportation systems• Space-Time

Compression• Distance Decay

• Friction of distance

The times required to cross the Atlantic, or orbitthe earth, illustrate how transport improvementshave shrunk the world. (1492-1962)

CONNECTIONS: DIFFUSION

• Relocation Diffusion

• Expansion Diffusion• Hierarchical –through

a social or physical hierarchy

• Contagious—from person to person

• Stimulus—spread of an underlying idea• “stimulated”

UNIT 1 EXAM REVIEW

1. Regions— types, examples, think about the breakdown of the US

2. Map types and interpretation• Scale—large vs. small• Longitude and latitude

3. Geography—fields, types, and history4. Key Terminology— site, situation, place, types of

density, cultural ecology (possibilism, environmental det.), cultural hearth, types of diffusion

nature and perspectives

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