everything is straight from the aphg textbook.

Unit 1

Thinking Geographically

Introduction- 

Branches of geography-

Physical Geography- study of spatial characteristics of the physical environment (landforms, water, climate, erosion, ect.) 

Human Geography- study of spatial characteristics of humans and human activities (ex: population, culture, politics, urban areas, economics) 

Four- Level analysis-

1. What? Where? When? Scale? (ex: global, regional) and source? (ex: nasa.gov)

2. Are there patterns in the source?

3. Pick a pattern from the source and ask- Why did this pattern occur there? or How did this pattern occur?

4. What will be the impact of this pattern on the economy, society, politics, or the environment? Or what if the pattern continues in the future?

Chapter 1- maps and geographic data

1.1- introduction to maps

Reference maps (refer to general info about places)

• Political maps- show human created boundaries/designations like countries, states, cities, capitals.

• Physical maps- show natural features like mountains, rivers and deserts

• Road maps- show and label highways, streets and alleys

• Plat maps- show and label property lines + details of land ownership

Thematic maps (show spatial aspects of info/phenomenon)

• Chloropleth map- uses different colors/shades to show location and distribution of data 

• Dot distribution map- used to show specific location and distribution of something across a map. Each dot= a specified quantity (any symbol can be used instead of dots) 

• Graduated symbol map- uses symbols of different sizes to show different amounts of something (aka proportional symbol map)

• Isoline maps (isometric maps)- use lines that connect points of equal value to show variations in data across the space - lines close together = rapid change, far apart = less change.

Most common are topographic maps (among hikers) that connect points of equal elevation. Others are weather maps, showing change of rain, temp, pressure, ect, across spaces.)

Cartogram- sizes of countries, states, ect, are distorted to show a specific statistic. (ex: cartogram of world population shows Canada and Morocco as same size b/c similar population numbers, but Canada in reality is much bigger)

Scale- ratio between the size of things IRL vs on the map

• Cartographic scale- the way a map communicates the ratio of its size to the size of what it represents

• Words (ex: 1 in = 10 miles)

• Ratio (ex: 1: 200- 1 unit on the map = 200 in reality)

• Line - indicate the line is ex: 10 miles, in reality.

Small scale maps: show large amount of area with less detail (ex: Earth at night)

Large- scale maps: show small amount of area with more detail (ex: U.S. at night)

Absolute location- precise spot where something is

 main system is latitude (showing N and S, equator) and longitude (showing E and W, prime meridian)

Relative location- location in relation to things (ex: salt lake city is just south of the great salt lake, about halfway between…)

Described in terms of:

Connectivity - how well 2 locations are tied together by roads, ect.

Accessibility - how quick/easy people can interact with each other between locations

Direction- cardinal (N,S,E,W) or intermediate (NE, SW, ect.)

Relative location can change, while absolute location can not. 

Distance- 

absolute (ex: feet, inches, miles) vs relative (ex: minutes, and depends on way of travel ex: walking, driving)

Elevation- distance of features above sea level (usually feet or meters) can impact things like climate, weather, and agriculture 

Pattern distribution - 

distribution - the way a phenomenon is spread over an area. 

patterns- general arrangement of things → looked for in distribution

Common distribution patterns:

Linear- arranged in a straight line (ex: restaurants in food court at a mall) 

Dispersed- spread out over a large area (ex: towns along a railroad line)

Circular- equally spaced from a central point, forming a circle (ex: homes of people who shop at a particular store)

Geometric- in a regular arrangement (ex: squares/blocks formed by roads in the Midwest)

Random- no appeared order in position (ex: pet owners in a city)

Projections

1.2- geographic data

Landscape analysis- Task of defining and describing landscapes 

(Geo)Spatial data- all the info that can be tied to specific locations

Can be quantitative or qualitative.

Gathered by: 

Field observation/fieldwork- physically visiting a location and recording information there.

Remote sensing- gathers info from satellites orbiting the earth or other crafts above the atmosphere

Aerial photography- images captured from planes within the atmosphere

(sketching landscapes replaced with on-ground photography) 

Then, once the data is gathered, it is interpreted. 

1.3- the power of geographic data

Geovisualization- geospatial data, with the help of technology, turned into 2D and 3D interactive maps, allowing people to see the data in ways previously impossible. 

types of geospatial technologies:

• Global Positioning System (GPS):  uses satellites, tracking stations, and receivers to get precise absolute locations on earth.

Examples of uses:

• Navigate planes and ships, and guide drivers

• Map vegetation arrangements and gather data for the ice cover around the N and S pole

• Locate precise borders

• Mapping lines (like trails) or points

• Remote sensing: the collection of digital data about earth's surface from aerial platforms like camera mounted on aircrafts/satellites

Examples of uses:

• Determining land cover + use

• Monitoring environmental changes

• Assessing spread of spatial phenomena

• Monitoring weather

• Geographic information systems (GIS): computer system that stores, analyzes, and displays geographic data from multiple digital maps/data sets (with “computer mapping”)

Examples of uses:

• Analyzing of crime data

• Monitoring effects of pollution

• Analyzing transportation/travel time

• Planning urban area

The data is stored in layers to make it sophisticated:

Street data +

Buildings data +

Vegetation data

or

Street data +

Land usage +

Elevations +

Real world

• Smartphone and computer applications: 

“Location aware apps that gather, store and use locational data from computers/other devices”

Examples of uses:

• Suggesting restaurants, stores, or best routes to users 

Chapter 2- spatial concepts and geographic analysis

1.4- spatial concepts 

Spatial approach- considering/studying arrangement of phenomena across the surface of earth.

(Focuses on things like location, distance, direction, orientation, flow, pattern, and interconnection- also looks at the movements of people and things and changes in places over time)

Ask questions like these about spatial distributions: (four- level analysis)

• Why are things where they are?

• How did things become distributed as they are?

• What is changing the pattern of distribution?

• What are the implications of the spatial distribution of people? 

(space- an area between two or more phenomena or things. heart of geography)

Location- where specific phenomena are located (either absolute location, or relative location)

Place- specific human and physical characteristics of a location.

Region- a group of places in the same area that share characteristics (continued on 1.7)

Ways to refer to place:

• Site- characteristics at the immediate location (ex: soil type, climate, labor force, buildings, ect.)

• Situation- locative of a place relative to its surroundings and connectivity to other places. -can change

Example: 

Site = Riyadh, capital and populated city in Saudi Arabia. Desert climate, large labor force, modern islamic city.

Situation = Located in the center of the Arabian peninsula. 

Ex: 

Bay area site would be close to water and have good land

situation would be how close it is to Sacramento (just random example) for trading, ect. 

Sense of place- humans perceive characteristics of places in different ways based on personal beliefs.

Toponyms- place names

Time-space compression- shrinking “time-distance” or relative distance between locations bc of improved methods of transportation and communication. (ex: air travel, globalization, ect.)

Spatial interaction- contact, movement, and flow of things between locations → growing because of increased connection between places. Places with more connections have more spatial interaction.

(connections can either be physical like roads, or thru information like the internet)

• Flow- patterns and movement of ideas/people/products and other phenomena

Friction of distance- when things are farther apart, tend to be less connected. (inverse relationship- as distance increases, connection decreases) 

Called distance decay. (example could be how a radio signal or earthquake weakens as it travels across space- also with human characteristics like a new store being most popular to the people nearby it.) 

Spatial association- matching patterns of distribution (ex: distribution of malaria matches distribution of mosquitoes carrying it. But similar patterns aren't always cause and effect, ex: distribution of bicycle stores might be similar to distribution of athletic wear stores, but not related. Might reflect the distribution of active people!)

1.5- human-environmental interaction

Human-Environmental interaction: the relationship, (connection and exchange) between humans and the natural world.

Natural resources- items that occur in the natural environment that people can use (ex: air, water, oil, fish, soil, minerals.)

Classified in 2 ways:

• Renewable- unlimited and will not be depleted based on use by people (ex: air for wind power, solar energy, ect)

• Non-renewable- limited and can be exhausted by human use [ex: fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas, and coal), earth’s minerals ( gold, copper, silver), soil.]

Sustainability- the use of Earth’s renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that ensure resource availability in the future. (ex of sustainable policy: companies use renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels)

Land use- the study of how land is used, modified, and organized by people

geographers study the patterns of the land use. 

• Built environment- the physical artifacts that humans have created that form part of the landscape (ex: buildings, roads, signs, farms, fences)

• Cultural landscape- anything built by humans is part of it- people with different cultures living in different physical landscapes will construct different buildings and other elements to create a unique built environment.  

Cultural Ecology- the study of how humans adapt to the environment. 

Environmental determinism- belief that the environment, mostly its physical factors, determines the patterns of human culture & societal development. (ignores the influence of culture)

In the 19th century, the belief that climate and landforms are the most powerful forces shaping human behavior and societal/cultural development. Used to justify racism. 

Ex: warmer climates cause laziness, so believed the Europeans were more motivated, smarter, and advanced than people in warmer climates, like Africa.

Possibilism- (more modern interpretation)

Acknowledges the limitations from the environment but focuses on the role of human culture and tech to modify and respond to the environment to fit human needs. 

1.6- scales of analysis

Scale of analysis allows geographers to look at local, regional, country, or global scale. All examples of Geographic scale (relative scale).

Aggregation- organizing data into different scales [census tract/area, (about 4,000 ppl) city, county, or country]

1.7- regional analysis

Region- area with unifying characteristic and boundaries, that are created by people.

1) Formal regions (aka uniform or homogeneous regions)- United by one or more traits

• Political (ex: Brazil in South America)

• Physical (ex: Sahara in North Africa)

• Cultural (ex: SW Nigeria, most people speak Yoruba)

• Economic (ex: Gold Coast of Africa -Ghana- which exports gold)

2) Functional regions (aka nodal regions)- organized around a focal point and defined by an activity (political, social, or economic, usually) that occurs across the region. 

Examples:

• Pizza delivery areas (pizza shop is node)

• State or country [political functional region] because government makes regulations that apply within the boundary (capital city is political node)

• Airport = node; locations that flights connect for functional region

Necessary part: flow of some phenomenon across the networks that unite the region -flow can be visible, like cars delivering pizza using roads, or invisible, like political and legal authority from the capital city.

3) Perceptual region (aka vernacular regions)- defined by an informal sense of place that people ascribe to them.

Boundaries vary widely because people have different sense (varies from person to person)

examples: american south, middle east, upstate NY

Large world regions:

Seven continents + 3 cultural regions:

• Central america 

• Sub saharan africa

• Russian federation (spans eastern europe and northern asia)

Subregions- division of regions into smaller regions 

Share some characteristics w the larger region but is different in some ways

Ex: region is Latin America, but subregion is Brazil 

similarity is roman catholics, but difference is language of portuguese

Examples of subregions:

• Caribbean

• W/E Europe

• N/E/W/S/central Africa

• Middle east

• Central, S,E, SE Asia

subregions can be further divided into regions based on culture, politics, economics, climate, ect.