Geography Notes

Introduction to Geography

What is Geography?

  • Geography is the study of the interaction of physical and human phenomena at specific locations.

  • It examines how interactions among places form patterns and organize space.

  • Key areas of focus include:

    • Physical Geography

    • Human/Cultural Geography

    • Cartography

    • Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Development of Geography

  • Classical Western World:

    • Erastosthenes (275-195 B.C.): Early contributor to geography.

    • Hipparchus (180-127 B.C.): Made contributions to measurement and mapping.

  • Non-European World:

    • Al-Edrisi (1099-1154): Geographer and cartographer.

    • Ibn-Battuta (1304-1378): Famous for his extensive travels and geographical documentation.

    • Ibn-Khaldun (1332-1406): Social scientist and historian who contributed to regional studies.

    • The Tribute of Yu: Ancient Chinese geographical text.

    • Phei Hsiu: Chinese cartographer.

    • Kangido: East Asian map.

  • Since the 1400s:

    • General geography (1650):

      • Bernhard Varen: Defined general vs. special geography.

      • Special geography: Regional geography.

      • General geography: Topical/systematic geography.

    • Human-environment tradition:

      • Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859):

        • Cosmos: Emphasized the interconnectedness of the natural world.

      • George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882):

        • Man and Nature (1864): Focused on human impacts on the environment.

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Regions

  • Formal regions: Exhibit uniformity across a cultural or physical characteristic.

  • Functional regions: Defined by interactions among places

  • Vernacular regions: Based on widespread popular perception of existence.

Spatial Analysis: Distribution

  • Distribution: Arrangement of features in space.

  • Three properties of distribution:

    • Density: Frequency of something within a defined area.

    • Concentration: Extent of a feature's spread over space (clustered vs. dispersed).

    • Pattern: Geometric arrangement of objects.

Physical Systems

  • Four Physical Systems:

    • Atmosphere (air): The layer of gases surrounding the Earth.

    • Lithosphere (Earth's solid rocks): The Earth’s crust and upper mantle.

    • Hydrosphere (water): All forms of water on Earth.

    • Biosphere (living organisms): All living things on Earth.

Human-Environmental Interaction

  • Reciprocal interaction: Humans affect the environment, and the environment affects humans.

  • Culture: Shared practices, such as language, food, religion, and social ceremonies.

  • Natural landscapes: Environments without evidence of human activity.

  • Cultural landscapes: Environments modified by human activities.

The Geographic Grid

  • Longitude:

    • Measures distance east and west around the globe.

    • Also known as ‘meridians’.

    • Prime Meridian/ Greenwich Meridian: 0 degrees.

    • International Date Line: 180 degrees East or West.

  • Latitude:

    • Location on the Earth’s surface between the equator and either the north or south pole.

    • Also known as ‘parallels’.

    • Equator: 0 degrees.

  • Hemispheres:

    • 0-90 degrees North or South.

Map Making

  • Cartography: The art and science of making maps.

  • Scale:

    • Fraction: 1/24,0001/24,000

    • Ratio: 1:24,0001:24,000

    • Written statement: “1 inch equals 1 mile”

    • Bar scale: Graphic representation of distance.

  • Detail and area:

    • Small scale map: Less detail, large denominator (e.g., 1:1,000,0001:1,000,000).

    • Large scale map: More detail, small denominator (e.g., 1:100,0001:100,000).

Projection

  • Scientific method of transferring locations on the Earth’s surface to a flat map.

  • Four types of distortion:

    • Shape

    • Distance

    • Relative size

    • Direction

Remote Sensing

  • Acquisition of data about Earth's surface from satellites or high-flying aircraft.

Satellites

  • Landsat:

    • Launched in 1972 and 1999.

    • Sensors measure radiation of colors of visible light.

    • Pixel size (resolution): 59 meters×59 meters59 \,\text{meters} \times 59 \, \text{meters}.

    • IKONOS resolution: 1.5 meters×1.5 meters1.5 \, \text{meters} \times 1.5 \, \text{meters}.

  • Weather satellites: Very large pixels.

Remotely Sensed Data

  • Human activities: Monitoring changes in plant growth, drainage patterns, and erosion due to agriculture.

  • Logging and forest management.

  • Wetland monitoring.

  • Wartime applications.

GIS (Geographic Information Systems)

  • Database software for digital geographic information.

  • Contains the same information as a regular database, PLUS:

    • Spatial characteristics such as boundary information or coordinates.

    • An identifying characteristic that locates the item in space (i.e., address).

  • Layers: Information with specific characteristics.

    • Examples: Soils, hydrology, land ownership.

    • Can be combined for analysis.

Digital Geographic Information

  • Raster: Grid cells of data.

    • Remote sensing images.

    • Pixels.

  • Vector: Point, line, polygon data.

    • X and Y coordinates.

  • Different uses and spatial accuracies.

Digital Data

  • Conversion of paper maps to digital formats.

  • Digital database creation: using remote sensing images and digitizing (tracing lines).

  • Available types of data:

    • Topographic maps: DRG (Digital Raster Graphics) and DLG (Digital Line Graphs).

    • US Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory.

    • Census Bureau TIGER files.

GIS Spatial Analysis

  • Calculating densities and distribution of population.

  • “Counting” lakes.

  • Monitoring environmental changes with satellite images.

  • Analyzing changes in food production and land use.