AP Human Geo Unit 1: Introduction to Human Geography

Study of Geography

Study of earth as created by natural forces & modified by human action

Physical Geography

Deals with the Earth’s natural processes and their outcomes. It’s concerned with climate, weather patterns, landforms, soil formation, and plant & animal ecology

Human Geography

Deals with spatial organization of human activities and with people’s relationships to their environments.

5 Themes of Geography

Location, Region, Place, Movement, Human-Environment Interaction

Location

Concerned with analyzing where something is on Earth and the effects that position has on human life

Absolute Location

a point or place on the map using coordinates of Latitude and Longitude

Key identifying feature of Absolute Location

notation or exact coordinates

Relative Location

location described in relation to places around it

Examples of Relative Location

• We live about 50 miles outside of D.C.

• Taking a left from Broad Run takes us to the desired location

• Across the Potomac River

Site

the physical characteristics of a place

Factors of Site(s)

• Landforms (i.e is the area protected by mountains or is there a natural harbor present?)

• Climate

• Vegetation Types

• Availability of Water

• Soil Quality

• Minerals

• Wildlife

Situation

interrelatedness with other places

Factors of Situation(s)

• accessibility of the location

• extent of a place’s connections with another

• how close an area is to raw materials and markets for goods

Region

Large area with some unifying social or physical character; people, environment & activites in a region share similarities and differ in some way from other regions

Three types of Regions

• formal

• functional

• vernacular

Formal Regions

Defined by some homogenous or uniform characteristic

Example of Formal Region

U.S., U.K, Australia, etc. are all within the same linguistic region, when you stop hearing English, you left the formal region

Regional Boundaries can be affected by the type of formal region

• cultural regions

• political regions

• environmental regions

Cultural regions

tend to have abstract/fuzzy borders

Political regions

finite and well-defined

Environmental regions

Transitional

Ecotone

Boundary between two environmental regions (biomes)

Functional (Nodal) Regions

service coming out of a node or central place; often measured from a market place (city) and its area of influence

Examples of Functional (Nodal) Regions

• newspaper routes/circulation

• radio station reception range

• hospital

• metro

• local pizza delivery zone

• public transit

• airline network

Vernacular/Perceptual Region

based upon the perception of a collective mental map of region’s population; it may vary based on individual experiences and cultural identity.

Examples of Vernacular/Perceptual Regions

• The American South

• The Midwest

• The Middle East

• The Bible Belt

• The Rust Belt

• Silicon Valley

Place

space given distinction by human activity and is given a toponym

Toponym

name of a place

Movement

Movement of information, people, goods, and other phenomena from one place to another

Spatial Interaction

Analysis of how places interact with each other

Distance

The amount of separation between two places; can be measured in absolute or relative terms

Absolute Distance

Exact measurable distance between two points, such as 50.1 miles between two locations

Relative Distance

Distance measured in terms of factors such as time, cost, or effort rather than exact physical distance

Friction of Distance

The idea that distance itself makes interaction between places more difficult

Tobler’s First Law of Geography

Everything is related to everything else, but nearer things are more related than distant things

Distance Decay

Contact and interaction between two places decrease as the distance between them increases

Example of Distance Decay

Sound from a concert becomes weaker as you move farther away from the stage

Space Time Compression

Reduction in the time needed to connect two places because of improvements in transportation and technology

Example of Space Time Compression

Driving and flying to New York cover similar physical distance, but flying greatly reduces travel time

Human Environment Interaction

Describes how human activities affect the environment and how environmental changes affect human life

Cultural Ecology

Study of how humans adapt to social and physical environments

Human Adaptation

Biological and cultural processes that allow a population to survive and reproduce within a given or changing environment

Model

An abstract generalization of real world geographies that share a common pattern

Spatial Model

A model that shows common spatial characteristics among similar landscapes

Example of a Spatial Model

An urban model showing how different cities can have similar spatial structures

Non Spatial Model

A model that uses data to show a general pattern without directly referencing space

Example of a Non Spatial Model

The Demographic Transition Model uses population data to show changes in population growth

Cartography

The process of mapmaking by projecting Earth’s three dimensional surface onto a two dimensional flat surface

Simplification

Removing unnecessary map details so the map focuses on the information being displayed

Four Main Map Projection Distortions

Shape, distance, relative size or area, and direction

Projection Surfaces

Cylinder, cone, and planar surfaces can be used to project Earth onto a flat map

Cylindrical Projection

A map projection created as if Earth’s surface were projected onto a cylinder

Conical Projection

A map projection created as if Earth’s surface were projected onto a cone

Planar Projection

A map projection created as if Earth’s surface were projected onto a flat plane

Equidistant Projection

Projection designed to represent distance as accurately as possible

Limitation of Equidistant Projections

Distance can usually be represented accurately in only one direction while other properties are distorted

Lambert Projection

Example of an equidistant projection shown in the slides

Azimuthal Projection

Projection in which compass directions are correct from one central point but other properties may be distorted

Azimuthal Equidistant Projection

Example of an azimuthal projection that preserves direction and certain distances from a central point

Conformal Projection

Projection that accurately represents compass directions but distorts area, especially at high latitudes

Mercator Projection

A conformal projection that preserves direction but greatly enlarges areas near the poles

Mercator Projection Distortion

High latitude areas such as Greenland appear much larger than their true relative size

Equal Area Projection

Projection that shows areas of Earth in their correct relative proportions

Limitation of Equal Area Projections

Accurate area is maintained by sacrificing accuracy of shape and angle

Mollweide Projection

Example of an equal area projection

Compromise Projection

Projection designed to create a balanced and visually useful map rather than perfectly preserve one property

Robinson Projection

Compromise projection that distorts all four major properties but minimizes the amount of error in each

Fuller Projection

Compromise projection that maintains accurate size and shape but greatly rearranges direction

Topographic Map

Highly accurate map showing location and topography, commonly used for engineering surveys

Reference Map

General purpose map primarily used for navigation, such as a road map

Cognitive Map

Mental map developed from an individual’s internal understanding and experience of a place

Preference Map

Map based on people’s ideas, feelings, desires, or preferences about locations

Thematic Map

Map designed to display one or more specific variables such as population, religion, or language

Choropleth Map

Thematic map that uses variations in shading or color to show geographic differences in data

Isoline Map

Thematic map using lines that connect locations with the same value or quantity

Examples of Isoline Maps

Maps showing equal elevation, temperature, pressure, or other continuous measurements

Proportional Symbol Map

Thematic map in which the size of a symbol represents the relative magnitude of a value

Dot Density Map

Thematic map using dots to show the location and concentration or density of occurrences

Flow Line Map

Thematic map using lines of varying thickness to show the direction and volume of movement

Cartogram

Thematic map that changes the size of geographic areas according to the data being represented

Remote Sensing

Acquisition of information about Earth’s surface using satellites or other long distance methods

Uses of Remote Sensing

Mapping vegetation, snow cover, deforestation, desertification, and other environmental conditions

GPS

Global Positioning System that accurately determines the precise position of something on Earth

GPS System

Uses satellites and tracking stations to determine location and is now commonly used in cars, phones, aircraft, and ships

GIS

Geographic Information Systems are computer programs used to map, analyze, and model spatial data

Thematic Layering

GIS technique in which multiple layers of geographic information are combined into one comprehensive map

Distribution

The arrangement of a feature in space

Three Properties of Distribution

Density, concentration, and pattern

Density

The frequency with which something occurs within a given area

Important Idea About Density

A large total number does not necessarily mean an area has high density

Arithmetic Density

Total number of people or objects divided by the total land area

Agricultural Density

Number of farmers per unit of land actively under cultivation

Physiological Density

Number of people per unit of land suitable for agriculture

Why Physiological Density Matters

Helps indicate the pressure a population places on its available agricultural land and whether the country can support its population

Concentration

The extent to which a feature is spread over space

Clustered Concentration

Objects are located close together

Agglomerated Concentration

Objects are grouped together in a concentrated area

Dispersed Concentration

Objects are located relatively far apart

Density vs Concentration

Density measures how many objects occur in an area while concentration describes how closely together or spread apart they are

Major League Baseball Concentration Example

There are more teams today, giving a higher density, but they are more geographically dispersed than in the past