Ch.2 The Intellectual Context for an Introduction to Human Geography

Geography is the study of…

• the Earth’s surgace

• the distribution of physical and human features

• the relationships between people and their environments

Geography combines…

• physical processes

• human activitie

Spatial Perspective

looks at location, patterns, and relationships

• anaylizes distribution of people, resources, climate, cities, and cultures,

Eratosthenes

calculated the Earth’s circumference very accuratley

Absolute Location

exact coordinates (latitude & longitude)

Relative Location

position compared to other places

Place

physical characterisitcs - landforms, climate, vegetation

human characteristics - language, culture, architecture

Region

formal region - defined boundries

functional region - connected by activity

perceptual region - based on people’s opinions

Movement

transportation, trade, migration, communication, cultural exchange

Human-Environment Interaction

adapt to enviorment, modify environment, depend on environment

Physical Geography

climate, landforms, water systems, ecosystems

Human Geography

population, culture, economy, cities, politics

Geography and Science Connections

meteorology, envionmental science, economics, sociology, politcal sciemce, etc.

Tools and Methods

Maps, scale, spatial analysis, geographic information systems

scale

the spatial frame in which places are contextualized

Ptolemy

studied in Alexandria

• early effors to mesure and coordinate the Earth

Al-dris

continued Ptolemaic learning during European Dark Ages

Alexander von Humboldt

last cosmographer, first modern geographer