Meteorology, History of Cartography, Europe:
Climate and Clouds:
Climate Regions are classified by
Latitude
Altitude
Koppen-Geiger - System of Climate Classification
5 Main Groups
A - Tropical
B - Dry
C - Temperate
D - Continental
E - Polar
Has sub groups that define the climate of these areas more specifically
DC Area is in the Cfa
Problems with Koppen-Geiger
Scare records, short term
Weather / Climate change
Clouds
Cumulus - Low Altitude (Base 6,500 feet)
Most Common
Cumulonimbus - Low Altitude (Base 6,500 feet)
Massive collection of Cumulus
Top can reach as high as 63,000 feet
Can form individually or a long stretching line
Strong Storms, Lightning, Hail, Heavy rain
Associated with Cold fronts
Stratus - Low Altitude (Base 6,500 feet)
Associated with Warm fronts
Cirrus - High Altitude (Base around 20,000 feet)
Feathery, wispy
History of Cartography
Eratosthenes
Mathematician, Philosopher, Geographer, Astronomer, and a lot more
From Egypt
Worked at the Library of Alexandria
His measurements on the Earths’ circumference were based on certain facts
The distance between cities of Alexandria and Syene is 500 miles
Alexandria and Syene is on a north-south line
Syene is on the extreme edge of the tropic of cancer
500 × 50 = 25,000 miles is what he came up with for the circumference of the Earth
Only within 250 miles of the actual answer, very close
Longitude and Latitude on a Globe
Latitude - Horizonal bands
Longitude - Vertical bands passing through both poles
John Harrison
Wants to build a marine chronometer to calculate the longitude of the ship
His thought process
Earth = 360 degrees
24 hours in a day, 360 degrees/24 hours in a day = 15
Thus, for every 15 degrees that one travels east or west, the local time moves one hour
Knowing the local times of two places on Earth allows us to calculate how far apart those places are in longitude east or west
Pre-Historic Cartography
Purpose
Communicating spatial information
Early discovery
Found in Turkey in 1963, dating back to 6200 BC
Art rendering a erupting volcano near buildings
Map bases (material)
Stick maps in martial islands, via seashells for island and directional sticks for ocean currents
Clay tablets in area around Tigris and Euphrates rivers (mesopotanmia). Created over 3k yrs ago
Animal skins, map of western Africa and eastern south America (1513). Seal skin was used too.
Claudius Ptolemy
Wrote book called “Geography” - first real instructions on map makings
Nothing compares to it
Influenced adventures such as Christopher Columbus to explore a spherical world
Roman Cartography
Inherited skills from the Greeks
Produced maps on cloth, stone, and bronze
Primary surveying instrument - The Groma
The Groma
Consisted of a long staff or pole with 4 bladed propeller shaped piece all at right angles balanced at the top. Balancing was achieved by equal weights tied and suspended from the tips of the blade
Greatly improved geographic accuracy
Used for establishing straight lines and angles
Impressionistic Maps of the Middle Ages
T-O Map was the predominate shape (Orbis Terrarum)
The name comes from the structure of the map… A T inside an O
Reflected the power of the church at the time
Details about the T-O map
East was always at the top because the church says that heaven is East
Each quadrant has 1 of 3 known continents: Asia (Top), Europe (Bottom left) , Africa (Bottom right)
The outer circle with everything inside it represents the ocean
The “T” represents the waterways that separates the continents (Don river between EU and Asian, The Nile between Asia and Africa, and The Mediterranean between Europe and Africa)
Jerusalem was always at the center
The Invention of the Atlas
Mid 1500s, Age of Discovery slowly beginning
In the Mid 1500s… Exploration exploded, rise of world economies, turmoil through Europe, routes must be planned carefully
Aegidius Hooftman
Organization of maps was always a problem, and he needed a solution
Abraham Ortelius
Not an academic, but was regarded as a scholar
Cartographer and collector
Intrigued by Hooftmans problem
He would obtain the best map of every area around in the best quality and put them together in a single book. He did not create the maps.
Planned the book to have 30 maps and consulted with Gerard Mercator
Ortelius “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum” (First Atlas)
Never claimed the maps to be his creation
Included were maps of:
Germany
France
Netherlands
Italy
etc.
First modern Atlas was published in 1570, compiled and edited by Abraham Ortelius
Called “Theatrum Orbis Terrarum”
Gerard Mercator
Friend of Ortelius
Was trying to solve the problem of plotting a course using a straight line on a flat map
“The Mercador Projection”
Perfect for the purpose
Misused a lot
The 2D map we are all used to
Further from the equator, the more inaccurate the size and results in misconceptions like Greenland bigger than it is.
First to use “South and North America”
First to make a map with Asia and NA not joined
Used Italics in European maps for the first time
Published his own book with 51 maps
Created the name “Atlas” for his book
Components to a Complete Map
Map Elements:
Title
Contains date
Legend/Key
Scale
Give us an idea of how large a graphic element is
North Arrow
North isn’t always at the top of every map
Source Statement
Give credit
Graphic Element
Design Variable
Color
What’s the best colors and shades
Linework
What types of lines
Font
Symbology
Texture
Represent information
3 Ways to Represent Scale on a Map
Representative Fraction (FR)
ie: 1:10,000
1:24,000
with this one^^, it means 1 inch equals 24,000 inches in real life
Verbal Statement “1 inch equals 16 miles’
Visual Bar Scale - Often 3 visual bars on a map (Miles, feet, kilometers)
Missed Terms:
Names:
Alexander von Humbolt contributions
Humboldt was one of the first people to propose that the lands bordering the Atlantic Ocean were once joined (South America and Africa in particular)
Mark Jefferson - Every country has a Primate City ( a city that dominates in economics, social factors and in politics)
James Watt
A Scottish engineer who created the steam engine that worked faster and more efficiently than earlier engines, this man continued improving the engine, inventing a new type of governor to control steam pressure and attaching a flywheel.
Alfred Weber
LEAST COST THEORY to predict the locational decisions made by industrial operations. -agglomeration vs degolomerate forces
Waldo Tobler's 1st Law of Geography - "Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things."
Terms:
Polders - areas in the Netherlands drained of sea water & now used for farmland
Primate city - A countries largest city (usually but not always the capital)
Ancona Line - Northern and Southern Italy are divided by this invisible line extending from Rome to the Adriatic coast at Ancona. core= industrial, contains milan, skilled labor. periphery= stagnant south, intensive agriculture
Länder - the states in Germany
Coriolis Effect - A deflective force rising from rotation on axis, responsible for high and low pressure system rotations
Shatter Belt - An area of instability between regions with opposing political and cultural values.
Fjord - A long, narrow inlet of the sea with steep sides. NORWAY
Mercantilism - An economic policy under which nations sought to increase their wealth and power by obtaining large amounts of gold and silver and by selling more goods than they bought
Supranationalism - Term applied to associations created by three or more states for their mutual benefit and achievement of shared objectives
Irredentism - A policy of cultural extension and potential political expansion by a state aimed at a community of its nationals living in a neighboring state.
Cartogram - A map that distorts to convey a geographical message
Nation-State - country whos population posses a substantial degree of cultural homogenity and union. political unit
Agglomeration - industry locates to take advantage of an established market. not necessarily near rich natural resources. Alfred Weber
Balkans - northern tip of Adriatic sea, Northwest corner of the black sea (odesa), ans southern tip of greek mainland, forms a triangle
Break-of-Bulk - location along a transport route where goods must be transferred from one carrier to another. In a port, cargoes of ships are unloaded and put on trains and trucks for inland distribution
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an alliance made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country; US, England, France, Canada, Western European countries.
Benelux - Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg
Core periphery concept - The contrasting spatial characteristics of and linkages between the have (core) and the have not (periphery) components of national, regional, or global system (im fs not remembering this bs)
Karst topography - A type of landscape in rainy regions where there is limestone near the surface, characterized by caverns, sinkholes, and valleys
Devolutionary Forces - Economic, ethnocultural, spatial.
Conurbation - an aggregation or continuous network of urban communities