Unit 1 - Thinking Geographically

Spatial

How things are distributed in a space

ESPN

Economic, Social, Political, Environmental

Absolute Location/Distance

Exact location; coordinates. Quantitative, similar to site

Relative Location/Distance

Location of an object in relation to another object. Qualitative, similar to situation.

Sense of Place

Peoples perception of a place

Distance Decay

Function that explains how the farther away 2 places are, the less interconnected they will be; modern technology has decreased the impact of distance decay

Time-space compression

Technology compresses the effect of distance decay between two areas by reducing the time it takes to send an idea (communication) or a product over to another place.

Pattern vs Process

Pattern - how objects are arranged in space.

Process - the “why of where,” why the pattern occurs

Reference Maps

Informational, often displaying physical and man made features

Thematic Maps

Shows quantitative data, such as density and distribution, and tell the story of its title

Types of Thematic Maps

Choropleth, Dot distribution, Graduated Symbol, Isoline, and Cartograms

Choropleth

Colors and shading to show quantitative data, shows density but not distribution

Dot Distribution Map

Each dot represents a value in its approximate location, shows distribution but density is hard to see

Graduated Symbol Map

Symbols that represent data, larger symbols representing more of an object

Isoline Map

Have different shades or lines dividing areas that have different amounts of an occurrence

Cartograms

Shows spaces with more measured objects as bigger, without care for geographic size

Types of Spatial Patterns represented on Maps

Clustered data, Dispersed data, Uniform patterns, and Random data

Clustered Data

Data is mostly clumped in a singular area or spot

Dispersed Data

Data is spread across the space

Uniform Patterns

All data is evenly distributed within the space

Random Data

There is no observable pattern to the data, it is just randomly anywhere

Map Projections Traits

All Map Projections must have distortions because a curved object, Earth, can not be 100% accurately displayed on a flat image

Conformal Projections

Retain the shape of objects but distort size

Equal-Area Projections

Distort Oceans to retain the size of landmasses

Types of Map Projections

Mercator, Gall-Peters, Robinson, and Goodes

Mercator

Show latitude and longitude at right angles, preserve shape of objects, but massively distorted size at higher latitudes; are used in navigation

Gall-Peters

Preserve size but distort shape by stretching and compressing

Robinson

Preserved size and shapes of continents, but distort polar areas a little, but better than Mercado in those areas; are compromise projections and are used in atlases

Goodes

remove ocean to preserve the size and shape of land masses; often use for Thematic maps; made up of four ovals of land masses

Gathering Data “in the field”

individuals or organizations are considered “in the field” when they’re gathering any type of data

Who gathers data?

Government agencies, private companies, research institutes or universities, and individuals

Private companies

can gather data through devices, like phones, or apps on that device

Research Institutions or Universities

Can gather data through methods like surveys or studies

Individuals

Can gather data through field observations, such as going on journeys and taking notes

Census

Every decade, population, ages of people, number of people in a household

GIS stands for?

Geographic Information Systems

What is GIS?

Can collect store, analyze, and display geographic data. Can display different types of geographic information on a map; Such as where houses are, where roads are, where mountains are, etc.

Satellite Navigation Systems

Provide precise latitude and longitude coordinates of location locations to help in travel (through GPS).

Remote Sensing

Satellites collect data when orbiting the Earth by scanning the Earth in a detailed image. Can gather data about urban settlements and increase in their size, locations in drought, how many is being used for agriculture use, etc.

Online Mapping and Visualization

Online maps that provide data

Collecting Data

Data can come from field observation, reports from the media, notes made while in the field, legislation regarding a geographic topic, interviews with experts, landscape analysis, aerial photograph analysis, etc.

Who uses Geographic Data?

Individuals, Companies, Federal Governments, and State or Local Governments

How do individuals use Geographic Data?

GPS to get from one place to another

How do companies use Geographic Data?

GIS to analyze sites on where to make a new location

How do Federal Governments use Geographic Data?

Census to decide the funding and representation in government for an area when redistributing

How do State or Local Governments use Geographic Data?

GIS to make decisions about public transportation and urban development

Sustainability

Actions that provide immediate benefit by use of resources but will also provide a benefit in the long run by preserving resources

Renewable Resources

Renewable Resources are sustainable and can be remade

Non-Renewable Resources

Non renewable resources cannot be used forever and aren’t sustainable

What are the types of Land Use?

Agricultural, Industrial/Commercial, Residential, Transportational, and Recreational

Environmental Determinism

Was developed in the ancient world; says that natural factors determine humans way of life. Environmental Determinism is debunked.

Who used Environmental Determinism?

It was used by European as a justification for colonization because Europeans were “more advanced” due to more resources

Too hot, too cold, too dry, too wet or too mountainous

Areas people won’t live in much. 45° north and south of the equator is common living zone; the temperate region

Possibilism

Physical environments affect humans way of life, but isn’t the main factor. Humans can break free from environmental restrictions and adapt to harsh environments.

Map Scale

Relationship between a distance on a map and a distance in real life

Types of Scales of Analysis

Global, regional, national, and local. Different patterns and processes can be seen at different scales; Just because the country of India has high population density doesn’t mean that every local place in India is that way.

Global Scale of Analysis

Regional Scale of Analysis

National Scale of Analysis

Local Scale of Analysis

Types of Regions

Formal, Functional/Nodal, Vernacular/Perceptual Regions

Formal Regions

Uniform and homogeneous, have defined, official boundaries.

Functional/Nodal Regions

The area that is dependent around a central node. Example: metropolitan areas

Vernacular/Perceptual Regions

Have some characteristics that the region shares, no defined boundaries, just people’s perceptions.