Unit 1 - Thinking Geographically

Five Themes of Geography

- Place

- Location

- Interaction

- Region

- Movement

Reference Maps

People refer to them for general info about places

Three types of RM's are: Political, Physical, & Road maps

Political Maps

Human created boundaries and designations like countries, cities, etc

Physical Maps

Show & label natural features like rivers, mountains, etc

Thematic Maps

Show spacial aspects of info or of a phenomenon

Cloropleth Maps

- Use various colors, shades of one color, or patterns to show location and distribution of data

- Usually, the darker the color, the higher the statistical value

- Always look at the key!

Dot Maps

- Show the specific loction and distribution of info across territory

- Each dot represents a specified quantity

Graduated (proportional) Symbol Maps

Use symbols of different sizes to indicate different amounts of what is being mapped

Isoline Maps

- Use lines that connect points of equal value to show variations in data

- Where lines are close together, change is rapid

-Where lines are far apart, the phenomenon is relatively the same

- Most common type: topographic map

Cartograms

Sizes of countries are shown according to some specific statistic

Mercator Map

- ALL land has the correct shape

- Map can be used for oceanic navigation

- Size of land is MASSIVELY distorted

Goode's Map

- Minimizes distortion of the size & shape of land masses

- Land masses appear large compared to oceans

- Can't be used for oceanic travel

Polar Map

- Accurately displays BOTH polar regions

- Size of continents are realistic

- Distortion increases as you move away from the poles

Gall Peters Map

- Size of land masses is accurate

- More accurately depicts the size of developing countries (they are small in the mercator projection)

- Shape of land is INACCURATE!!

Winkel (Johnson) Map

- NO major distortion

- Oval shape appears more like a globe than does a rectangle

- Area, shape, size and direction are all slightly distorted

Formal Region

- An area united by one or more traits

- Has a defined border

ex.

Physical - Sahara Dessert

Cultural - Northern Belgium where people speak Flemish

Functional Region

- Organized around a focal point (node)

- Defined by an activity that occurs across region

ex.

Pizza delivery area (pizza store is the node)

Sports team fanbase

Newspaper circulation (the same guy prob delivers both you and your friends amazon packages)

Perceptual/Vernacular Region

- Defined by the informal sense of place people give to them

- Boundaries vary widely (people have a different sense what defines this region)

ex. - The American "South", "Upstate" NY

Geographic Info Systems (GIS)

- Computer system that can store, analyze, and display info from multiple digital maps

- Uses include: Analysis of crime data, urban planning, transportation & time analysis

Global Positioning System (GPS)

- GPS receivers use locations of multiple satellites to determine exact location

- Uses include: navigating ships, aircraft, & cars; locating borders

Remote Sensing

- Use of cameras mounted on aircraft or satellites to collect digital images

- Uses include: determining land cover and land use; monitoring environmental change

Online Mapping & Visualization

- Websites that provide graphical and text info as maps and databases

- Example: Google Earth

- Uses include: Planning trips, finding landmarks & businesses, plotting storm tracks

Absolute Location

precise spot that never changes latitude and longitude

ex. street addresses

Lines of LATITUDE

- Run parallel to one another

- Center line is 0° (the equator)

- Get shorter as they approach the poles

- Three categories include..

High (60° - 90°)

Mid (30°-60°)

Low (0°-30°)

Lines of LONGITUDE

- Also called meridians

- 0° East & West is the Prime Meridian

- Located in Greenwich, England

- All meet at the poles

- Time zones are approx. 15° apart

Relative Location

- Where something is located in relation to other things

- Changes over time as accessibility changes

ex. ghost towns

Space

a location w/ no cultural meaning

Place

- the specific human & physical characteristics of a location.

- Types of places are sites and situations

Site

characteristics of that location

ex. soil type, climate, human structures, etc.

Situation

- synonym for relative location

- can change over time

sense of place

people perceive characteristics of places based on their personal beliefs

flows

movement of people, things, or info from one place to another

distance decay

- as distance between places increases, interaction between places decreases

-also called friction of distance

time - space compression

- the shrinking "time distance" between locations due to improved transportation and communication

- Global forces now influence culture almost everywhere

- Local diversity reduced

Pattern

- geometric arrangement of things like people, houses, stores, etc

- this arrangement can be CLUSTERED, RANDOM, OR UNIFORM

hierarchical diffusion

occurs when ideas leapfrog from one important person, community, or city to another, bypassing other persons.

ex. trends set by celebrities, spread of fashion from influencers to followers

contagious diffusion

the rapid spread of ideas in the manner of a contagious disease, moving from person to person through close contact

ex. rapid spread of internet memes, spread of cold or flu from person to person

stimulus diffusion

occurs when a specific trait is modified and adapted in new locations to create a new, related trait. the main idea is the base principal.

ex. McDonalds altering it's menu for different countries (they have veggie burgers in india because Hindu's do not eat beef)

Relocation Diffusion

occurs when individuals or groups w/ a particuar idea or practice migrate from one location to another, thereby bringing the idea/practice to their new homeland

ex. immigrants introducing italian food, like pizza, to America & the spread of Christianity via European colonization

Scale is..

How zoomed in/out the map or image is.

zoomed out maps = SMALL!! Less detail

zoomed in maps = HUUGE!!! More detail

scale maps = shows a HUGE area with LESS detail

Global scale

Map of the world

- aggregated at a global level

- almost impossible to use

Regional Scale

map of a specific area of the world

- aggregated at regional level

- world regions, continents

(see how certain parts of the map r highlighted?!)

National Scale

map of a specific country

- data is aggregated at a national level

- displays one or more countries

(notice how ONLY USA is highlighted blue)

Local Scale

map of a city, state, or country

-data is aggregated at a local level

- shows subregions of a country

scale of analysis

data on a map

when you analyze maps, ALWAYS ask yourself 2 things..

- what's the geographical scale of the map?

- what is the scale of analysis of the map

Why do geographers divide geographic spaces into regions?

To better understand, compare, and analyze areas that share similar characteristics like culture, climate, or landforms

Quantitative Data

- Deals with numbers

- Measurable data

Qualitative Data

- Deals with descriptions

- Non measurable data

Examples of QUANTITATIVE Data

- Census Data

- Geospacial Data

- GPS Coordinates

- Remote sensing

- Thematic Maps

- GIS

Examples of QUALITATIVE Data

- Interviews

- Photographs

- Audio Recordings

- Surveys

- Thematic Maps