Unit 1:  Thinking Geographically 

• Focus on an understanding of the World and its patterns 

  • Not just looking for where, but “why of where?”

  • Why do certain events occur where they do? 

  • Why are certain places located where they are?

  • What is there, why there, and why care?

• Why is Geography important?

  • Globalization 

    • A set of processes that are increasing interactions, deepening relationships, and heightening interdependence without regard to country borders

    • In order to understand the world today, we need to understand the impact of globalization at all levels (individual, local, regional, national, and international 

• Geographers create a spatial perspective to try and explain why human events occur 

  • They also use spatial perspective to try and show how certain events are related 

  • Spatial perspective relates to the location of things and events 

• Spatial perspective can be looked at through the lens of Physical and Human Geography 

  • Physical Geography 

    • Spatial analysis of structures, processes, and locations of the earth’s natural phenomena 

  • Human Geography 

    • Spatial analysis of structures, processes, and locations of the earth’s human creations and their interactions 

• The 5 Themes of Spatial Perspective (or the 5 Themes of Geography)

  • Location 

    • Where is something located?

    • Can be broken into Absolute and Relative Location 

      • Absolute Location 

        • A location on the global grid 

        • Must use latitude and longitude to find absolute location 

          • Latitude = Equatorial Lines (horizontal)

            • Parallel to the Equator 

            • Measured in degrees North and South 

          • Longitude = Meridian Lines (Vertical) 

            • Parallel to the Prime Meridian 

            • Measured in degrees East and West 

        • Latitude and longitude can be broken into Minutes (‘) and Seconds (“) 

          • There are 60 Minutes (‘) in a Degree and 60 Seconds (“) in a Minute. 

        • Time zones revolve around lines of Longitude 

          • There are 24 established time zones around the earth 

          • With each 15 degree east or west of the Prime Meridian you travel, you move forward or back 1 hour 

      • Relative Location 

        • A relative location is the location of a place in relation to another place or a place nearby 

        • Absolute Location cannot change but Relative Location is subject to change

          • It changes with the places it is related to

    • Site and Situation 

      • Site 

        • Refers to a place’s internal physical and cultural characteristics 

          • Terrain and Dominant Religions 

      • Situation 

        • Refers to the location, or context of a place relative to the physical and cultural characteristics around it 

  • Human – environment interaction 

    • Also referred to as Cultural Ecology 

    • A study of how humans and their decisions affect the environment and how the environment affects the decisions of humans 

  • Region 

    • Regions are the way in which geographers try to classify their information 

      • It helps for organizational purposes but isn’t always exact

    • Regions try to link areas together that share something 

    • 3 Types of Regions 

      • Formal 

        • Also called uniform region

        • A region that happens to be linked by a common or uniform culture or physical characteristics 

          • A state, Geographic Region (Appalachian Mtns, Rocky Mtns, etc)

      • Functional 

        • Also called nodal region

        • A group of places linked together by some function’s influence on them 

        • Defined by a place that is affected by an outside influence 

      • Perceptual 

        • Also called vernacular region

        • This type of region is not a scientifically proven region 

        • It is a region created by the perceptions of people 

        • Because the region is created by perception, the region can change depending on the point of view 

  • Place 

    • This is a unique combination of physical and cultural attributes that give each location its individual makeup 

    • Human attributes of “place” are comprised of:

      • Religion, Language, Politics, and Artwork 

    • Physical attributes of “place” are comprised of:

      • Climate, Terrain, and Natural Resources 

    • You can create your own “sense of place” through your individual perceptions and memories of a place 

  • Movement 

    • Geographers want to analyze movement that occurs within a space

      • This can include information, people, goods, etc 

    • Geographers also consider how places interact through movement, known as spatial interaction 

      • This describes how things that are closer to one another tend to have a greater impact on the other 

    • Through evaluating movement and spatial interaction, geographers can look at friction of distance

      • This is the extent to which distance interferes with interaction between two objects 

      • As time and technology have progressed, friction of distance decreases as interaction between long distances is made easier 

      • This increase in connectivity between people and places is known as space-time compression 

        • This is a decrease in the human perceived distance between two places, not the actual distance between two places 

    • Distance decay is similar to friction of distance

      • This refers to the reduction in influence of one area over another as the distance between them increases 

      • Distance decay has lessened, as well with improved transportation technology 

        • Trains, cars, planes, boats, etc

        • Allows ideas, fads, trends to be carried from place to place 

Maps 

• The way Geographers study the earth and its features are through maps 

• There are many different types of maps for many different types of studies 

• Map = a 2 dimensional model of the earth or a portion of its surface 

  • Cartography is the map making process

  • Cartographers (or mapmakers) will simplify the information on maps in order to stress only the information that is important to them or the task they are trying to accomplish 

• There are issues involved in making maps

• Because of this, the most accurate representation of the earth is a globe 

  • One of those issues is distortion (size, shape, distance, and direction):

    • These are errors that are created through trying to flatten the round surface of the earth 

• Each map has four primary properties: Shape, Size (or area), Distance, and Direction 

  • Shape = geometric shapes on the map 

  • Size (area) = the relative amount of space taken up on the map by landforms 

  • Distance = the represented distance between objects on a map 

  • Direction = the accuracy representing the cardinal directions between objects on the map 

    • Cardinal Direction – North, South, East, West

    • Intermediate Directions – North East, North West, South East, South West

    • Relative Directions – Up, Down, Left, Right 

  • The problem is that not all four properties can be accurately reflected on a map at the same time

    • So cartographers (or mapmakers) must decide which property they are going to distort 

    • This will depend on what kind of information they are trying to get across 

• 4 types of maps which distort different properties of maps:

  • Equal-area (equivalent) projections 

    • Maps which maintain area but distort other properties 

  • Conformal (orthomorphic) projections

    • Maps which maintain shape but distort other properties

    • It is not possible to have a map which is both conformal and equal area

  • Azimuthal projections 

    • Maps which maintain direction but distort other properties 

  • Equidistant projections 

    • Maps which maintain distance but distort other projections

• The four different types of projections can be used to create any type of map

  • Not all maps use one or the other projection

  • Many maps use a combination of the several different projections 

  • Most common types of map projections are the Robinson projection and the Mercator Projection 

    • The Mercator projection shows the shape of continents and landforms accurately, but distorts the size (area) of the continents, mostly at the poles.  

  • The Robinson projection slightly distorts all properties of maps, but no property is overly distorted

  • The Peters Projection 

    • Attempts to more accurately maintain the correct land size 

  • The Fuller Projection 

    • Maintains correct size and shape of landmasses, but rearranges the direction of those landmasses 

• Cognitive Maps (Mental Maps)

  • Maps drawn from memory 

  • These maps help us to determine what is important to the individual who drew the map 

• Scale 

  • The relationship between a distance on the map and the actual measurement in the real world 

  • The larger the area of space being represented on a map, the smaller the scale 

  • The smaller the area of the space being represented on the map, the larger the scale

  • Scales work in this fashion:

    • The distance on the map comes first

    • The actual distance that the distance on the map refers to comes second 

    • 1:40 / 1/40 = 1 inch on a map = 40 actual miles

  • The scale can tell you how detailed the map is 

• Map Categories 

  • Categorized depending on what kind of information the cartographer is trying to get across 

  • Reference Map:

    • A reference map will show common features

    • Boundaries, roads, highways, mountains, cities

  • Thematic Map 

    • A map that shows one particular feature of an area 

    • Climate, city sizes, number of alligators 

  • Isoline Thematic Map

    • Displays lines which connect points of equal value

  • Choropleth Thematic Map 

    • Shows a pattern of some variable

    • Uses colors or varying degrees of shading 

  • Proportional Symbol (Graduated) Thematic Map 

    • Uses symbols of different sizes in order to display the frequency of some variable 

    • The larger the symbol, the greater the frequency of the variable found in that area 

  • Dot Density Maps

    • Dots are used to display the frequency of some variable 

    • All dots have the same value 

  • Cartogram 

    • Uses proportionality of the area in order to display the frequency of some variable 

• Map Making Technologies 

  • Cartographers (mapmakers) are able to use new technology in order to help them construct more accurate and different types of maps 

  • A GIS (Geographic Information System) can collect and store information, and then reproduce it later

    • This can be used in order to “layer” information 

    • Put maps which display different information on top of each other to show the relationship between the two variables

  • GPS (Global Positioning System) uses satellites in order to determine exact locations on a global grid

  • Geographers can use primary or secondary data 

    • Primary Data 

      • Data collected directly by the geographer making the map or doing the study 

    • Secondary Data 

      • Data collected by a source other than the geographer making the map or doing the study and using that data to create the map