Introduction to Geography

1. Introduction to Geography Tori Smith Block 7

2. Where? Why? • The two main questions in geography are where? And why?

3. Geography • Geography: the study of Earth as created by natural forces and modified by human action • Physical geography: deals with the Earth’s natural processes and outcomes • Human Geography: deals with the spatial organization of human activities and people’s relationship with the environment

4. Five themes • Location: explains where something is on the Earth • Human environment interaction: describes how human activities affect their environment and how the environment impacts human life • Region: a group of places that share similar characteristics • Place: all of the human and physical attributes in a location • Movement: the movement of information, goods, people, and other phenomena

5. Absolute vs. relative location • Absolute location is the mathematical location of a place, includes longitude and latitude • Longitude: lines that run from the North pole to the South pole • Latitude: Lines that run parallel to the equator • Relative location includes site and situation • Site: physical character of a place • Situation: the location of a place relative to other places and human activities

6. Identifying a location • Place name: the most straightforward way to describe a location • Site • Situation • Mathematical location

7. Distance • Tobler’s law: everything is related to everything else, but nearer things are more related than distance things • Leads to distance decay: the contact between two places decreases as the distance increases

8. Space • Immanuel Kant: German philosopher that compared geography’s concern for space and history’s concern for time

9. Distribution/Spatial Interaction • Distribution is the arrangement of a feature in space • Density: frequency something occurs • Concentration: extent of a feature’s spread over space • Pattern: geometric arrangement of objects in space

10. Diffusion • Diffusion is the process in which phenomenon spread from place to place. • Hearth: place of origination • Types: • Relocation: the spread of an idea through physical movement • Expansion: develops in the hearth and remains strong while spreading

11. Types of expansion diffusion • Hierarchical: idea spread from people or nodes of authority • Contagious: rapid, widespread diffusion throughout population • Stimulus: indirectly promote changes, ideas, and innovation

12. Technology • GIS: a computer system that can capture, store, analyze, and display geographic data • Used in the military

13. Types of maps • Reference: shows common features such as: boundaries, roads, and mountains • Thematic: designed to represent the spatial dimensions of particular conditions, processes, and events • Isopleth: based on isolines which are lines that connect places with equal data value • Dot: dots represent a specific number of occurrences of a particular phenomenon • Choropleth: shadings that reflect variations in numbers, frequencies, and densities

14. Scales • Fractional: shows the numerical ratio between distances on a map • Ex: 1:30,000 • Written: relationship between distances is expressed in words • Ex: 1 inch equals 3 miles • Graphic: consists of a bar line marked to show distance on the Earth

15. Types of projections • Mercator: preserves direction but distorts area • Fuller: maintains size and shape but rearranges direction • Robinson: shows uninterrupted projections and is useful for displaying oceans • Azimuthal: puts the North or South pole at the center of the map and viewed by looking up or down at the Earth

16. Mercator Projection

17. Fuller Projection

18. Robinson Projection

19. Azimuthal Projection

20. Regions • Formal: help explain patterns such as religions and level of economic development • Ex: Montana • Functional: region organized around a focal point • Ex: circulation of the newspaper • Perceptual: place that people believe exists as a part of their cultural identity • Ex: “the south”