Unit 1 (Thinking Geographically
Lesson 1.1
Lesson Vocab
Spacial Patterns: How and where different geographical features occur on the earths surface
Relative Distance: Measures social, cultural, or political differences or similarities between two locations
Relative Direction: Describes one location in reference to another
Map Scale: Distance between areas represented by specific items found on the key
Scale: How much of the world we are seeing on the map
Reference Maps: Display specific geographic locations
Thematic Maps: Specialize in displaying geographic information
Kinds of Spacial Patterns
Absolute distance
Distance that can be measured in feet, miles, kilometers, or meters
Absolute Direction
Cardinal directions (north, east, south, west)
Clustering & Dispersal
Show how different phenomena are organized across an area
Clustered: Close together
Dispersed: Far from each other
Elevation
Measures the height of geographic features relative to sea level
Map Features
Map Scale
Tells you how the distance on the map relates to distance int he real world
Direction
Represented by a compass rose
Compass Rose
Indicates the cardinal directions
Can give intermediate directions as well
Scales
Large Scale Map: Shows a small area in loads of detail
Small Scale Map: Shows a large area in less detail
Thematic Maps
Choropleth
Visualizes data from a specific geographic region in different colors
Cartogram
Distorts the size of geographic shapes to display differences in data
Graduated Symbol
Also known as a “proportional map”
Dot Distribution
Uses dots to visualize the location of certain data points
Example: John Snow’s Cholera Map
Isoline Map
Uses lines to depict changes in data
Map Projections
All maps are selective in what they present and are distorted in some way
Any attempt to represent a three dimensional object on a two dimensional map will always mean that something doesn’t look right. There will always be some kind of lie in every map.
Types of Map Projections:
Mercator Projection: Shows latitude and longitude lines which meet at exactly 90 degree angles
Good for navigation
Has distortion on the poles (North and South)
Peters Projection
Developed to challenge mercator projection
Depicts continents according to the true size of their landmass
Goode Homolosine Projection
Accurately depicts the shape of each continent
Breaks up the oceans to do so
Polar Projection
Depicts continents accurately by the poles
Inaccurate when away from the poles
Robinson Projection
A compromise between Mercator and Peters
minimal distortion in land masses
Lesson 1.2
Lesson Vocab
Field Observations: When a researcher physically goes to a place and makes written observations about what they see
Census: Gathers information about a government’s citizens
This includes age, location, and religion which is used to inform policy decisions or congress allocation
Quantitative Data: Numbers-based
Qualitative Data: Characteristics or qualities
Geospatial Technology: Hardware and software that can examine and measure geographical features on the earth
GPS: Used to determine location
GIS: Used to analyze data for the purpose of answering research-based questions
Who Gathers Data?
Individuals
Field observations
Travel Narratives
Media Reports
Organizations
Businesses
Government Agencies
Governments
Census data
Two Kinds of Data
Quantitative Data
Numbers based
Qualitative Data
Characteristics or qualities (opinions based)
Geospatial Technologies
Global Positioning System (GPS)
Geographic Information System (GIS)
Software which can manipulate geospatial data that can be used for research or problem solving
Remote Sensing
Satellite Imagery
Helps visualize population patterns and other geospatial information
Aerial Photography
Used for places that need more detailed information gathered
Lesson 1.3
Lesson Vocab
Data Drives Decision Making
Geographers gather all that data because data drives decision making
People make decisions with data
Governments make decisions with data
The government uses geographical data to make decisions at all scales
Businesses and organizations make decisions with data
During the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses and schools used geographic data to figure out when it was safe to reopen
Individuals and Data
Recreation Decisions
Moving/Relocation
Locating Other People
Governments and Data
Census
Satellite Imagery
Lesson 1.4
Lesson Vocab
Spatial Concepts: The way in which different phenomena are organized in space
Absolute Location: Indicates a precise geographical location on the earth’s surface
Relative Location: Describes one location in reference to another and is usually measured in distance or time
Flow: Describes the patterns of connection between two places
Space: A theoretical concept that geographers use to describe the geometric surface of the earth
Place: Describes the way humans modify a particular space in ways that reflect who they are
Time-Space Compression: Describes the decreased distance between two places measured by the time or cost it requires to travel between them
Patterns: Make sense out of how phenomena are arranged on the landscape
Latitude: Lines run horizontally
“Parallels”: Run along equator
Longitude: Lines run vertically
Distance Decay: The further apart two things are, the less connected they will be
The further apart two populations are geographically, the less connected they will be, the less sharing, the less interaction between them
Geographical Patterns
Random Dispersal: no uniformed way of distribution
Clustered: everything is distributed in one or more specific areas
Phenomena are tightly packed together
Dispersed: Phenomena are spread out
Linear: Phenomena are in a line
Circular: Phenomena surrounds a central node
Geometric: Phenomena appear to be in a regular and orderly fashion
Lesson 1.5
Lesson Vocab
Human-Environmental Interaction
Use of Natural Resources
Materials found in the earth that humans use for economic gain
Renewable resources: can be used in unlimited measure
Nonrenewable resources: must be used in limited measure
Human-Environmental Theories
Environmental Determinism:
Environment determines culture
Possibilism
Humans determine culture (mainly)
For cultures with access to many technologies, their environment plays less of a role in how their culture is formed, and for those with less access, environment plays more or a role
Lesson 1.6
Lesson Vocab
Analysis: Observing and thinking about data and then drawing conclusions about it
Scale: How large or small that data set is
In human geography, scales of analysis indicate how much of the world we are studying
Scales of Analysis
Global Scale
Entire planet
Largest scale
Regional Scale
Large chucks or regions
Afro-Eurasia, North America, etc
National Scale
Single Country
France, Algeria etc.
Local Scale
Province, State, City
Neighborhood
Analyzing geographical data at different scales reveals spacial patterns
The global scale of analysis has become increasingly important in the last century because of the increasing effects of globalization
Lesson 1.7
Lesson Vocab
Region: A geographical unit which shares some unifying principle
Formal Regions: Sometimes called uniform regions or homogeneous regions
A geographical area that is linked by common traits like language or religion or economic prosperity or some geographical feature, etc.
Formal regions tend to have pretty clear boundaries which separate them from other places
Perceptual Region: Also called a vernacular region, these are regions defined by people’s shared beliefs and feelings about themselves, and the borders here are pretty vague
Formal and functional regions tend to have distinct boundaries while perceptual regions tend to have vague boundaries
Functional Regions: Also known as nodal regions
A functional region is organized not based on shared traits but on a shared function. And hat sets this kind of region apart is some central location or node around which that shared activity is carried out, and these kinds of regions also tend to have petty clear borders, but not always.