Nature and Perspectives
AP Human Geography Review PowerPoint 1 of 8
Carl Sauer- Possiblism, cultural landscape
UC Berkeley - focus on how people have transformed the
natural landscape into a cultural landscape
Five Themes of Geography
In 1986 the Geography Education National implementation
Project (GENIP) added two themes to three of Pattison’s
“traditions”
-location: position; situation of people and things
-human/environmental interaction: reciprocal relationship b/w
humans & env.
-region: area on Earth’s surface marked by a degree of
homogeneity (uniformity) of some phenomenon
-place: uniqueness of a location (or similarity of two or more
locales); phenomena within an area
-movement: mobility of people, goods and ideas; phenomena
between areas
Theme #1: Location
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Ways to indicate location (position):
1) Maps: best way to show location and demonstrate insights gained through spatial
analysis.
2) Place-name: a name given to a portion of the Earth’s surface (“Miami”).
3) Site: physical characteristics of a place; climate, water sources, topography, soil,
vegetation, latitude, and elevation
4) Situation: the external locational attributes of a place; its relative location or regional
position with reference to other nonlocal places.
5) Absolute location: latitude and longitude (parallels and meridians), mathematical
measurements mainly useful in determining exact distances and direction (maps).
6) Relative location: location of a place relative to other places (situation), valuable way to
indicate location for two reasons:
a) Finding an unfamiliar place - by comparing its
location with a familiar one (“Miami – 35 miles northwest of Cincinnati”).
b) Centrality,
understanding its importance (Chicago – hub of sea & air transportation, close to four
other states; Singapore – accessible to other countries in Southeast Asia).
7) Distribution: arrangement of something across Earth’s surface.
a) Density –
frequency with which something occurs in an area. Arithmetic density – total number of
objects (people) in an area. Physiologic density – number of people per unit area of
agriculturally productive land.
b) Concentration – extent of a feature’s spread over an
area. Clustered – relatively close. Dispersed – relatively far apart.
c) Pattern –
geometric arrangement of objects.
Theme #2: Human/Environmental Interaction
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1) Cultural landscape – includes all human-induced
changes that involve the surface and the biosphere. Carl
Sauer: “… the forms superimposed on the physical
landscape by the activities of man.”
2) Cultural ecology - the multiple interactions and
relationships between a culture and the natural
environment.
3) Environmental Determinism – human behavior,
individually and collectively, is strongly affected by, and
even controlled or determined by the environment
4) Possibilism – the natural environment merely serves
to limit the range of choices available to a culture
5) Environmental Modification – positive and negative
environmental alterations
Theme #3: Region
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1) Distinctive characteristics:
a) area: defined spatial extent
b) location: lie somewhere on Earth’s surface
c) boundaries: sometimes evident on the ground, often based
on specifically chosen criteria
d) other: cultural (language, religion), economic (agriculture,
industry), physical (climate, vegetation)
2) Three types of regions:
a) Formal – (a.k.a. uniform, homogeneous), visible and
measurable homogeneity (link to scale and detail)
b) Functional – product of interactions, and movement of
various kinds, usually characterized by a core and hinterland
(e.g. a city and its surrounding suburbs)
c) Perceptual – (a.k.a. vernacular), primarily in the minds of
people (e.g. Sunbelt)
3) Regions can be seen in a hierarchy (vertical order, scale),
(e.g. Ft. Lauderdale – Broward County – Florida – Southeastern
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Theme
4:
Place
Culture – people’s lifestyles, values, beliefs, and traits
What people care about: language, religion, ethnicity
What people take care of: 1) daily necessities of survival (food, clothing, shelter) and 2)
leisure activities (artistic expressions, recreation)
Cultural institutions: political institutions (a country, its laws and rights)
Components of culture:
Culture region – the area within which a particular culture system prevails (dress, building
styles, farms and fields, material manifestations,…)
Culture trait – a single attribute of culture
Culture complex – a discrete combination of traits
Culture system – grouping of certain complexes, may be based on ethnicity, language,
religion,…
Culture realm – an assemblage of culture (or geographic) regions, the most highly
generalized regionalization of culture and geography (e.g. sub-Saharan Africa)
Physical Processes – environmental processes, which explain the distribution of human
activities
Climate – long-term average weather condition at a particular location. Vladimir Koppen’s
five main climate regions (expresses humans’ limited tolerance for extreme temperature and
precipitation levels)
Vegetation – plant life.
Soil – the material that forms Earth’s surface, in the thin interface between the air and the
rocks. Erosion and the depletion of nutrients are two basic problems concerning the
destruction of the soil.
Landforms – Earth’s surface features (geomorphology), limited population near poles and at
high altitudes
Theme 5: Movement
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Culture Hearths – sources of civilization from which an idea, innovation, or ideology originates
(e.g. Mesopotamia, Nile Valley), viewed in the context of time as well as space
Cultural diffusion – spread of an innovation, or ideology from its source area to another culture
a) Expansion diffusion – an innovation, or ideology develops in a source area and remains
strong there while also spreading outward
Contagious diffusion – nearly all adjacent individuals are affected (e.g. spread of Islam, disease)
Hierarchical diffusion – the main channel of diffusion some segment of those who are
susceptible to (or adopting) what is being diffused (e.g. spread of AIDS, use of fax machines)
Stimulus diffusion – spread of an underlying principle (e.g. idea of industrialization)
Relocation diffusion – spread of an innovation, or ideology through physical movement of
individuals
Migrant diffusion – when an innovation originates somewhere and enjoys strong-but briefadoption, loses strength at origin by the time it reaches another area (e.g. mild pandemics)
Acculturation – when a culture is substantially changed through interaction with another culture
Transculturation – a near equal exchange between culture complexes
Forces that work against diffusion:
Time-distance decay – the longer and farther it has to go, the less likely it will get there
Cultural barriers – prevailing attitudes or taboos
Anthropogenic
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Human induced change on the natural
environment is ANTHROPOGENIC
EVERY PLACE IS UNIQUE!!
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Location
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Site
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Physical characteristics
Attributes
Situation
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Position
Description
Relative location
Comparisons
Significance of location
Place Names
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Location description – toponym
Physical features
U.S. Geological Survey
Absolute Location-Position on Earth’s
surface using the coordinate system of
longitude (that runs from North to South
Pole) and latitude (that runs parallel to the
equator).
Relative Location or Situation
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relative location or
situation of Ballantyne is
south of the city of
Charlotte.
Site: The physical characteristics of a place,
what is found at the location and why it is
significant
Figure 1.5.1
Absolute vs. Relative Distance
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Absolute distance: Exact measurement of
the physical space between two places.
Relative distance: Approximate
measurement of the physical space between
two places.
Regions: Unique Areas
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Combination of Features
Functional, Formal, Vernacular
Region
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Uniqueness of characteristics
Combinations
Cultural Landscape
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Language and religion
Economic features
Physical features
Figure 1.5.3
Formal Region
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Uniform and homogeneous
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Common characteristics
Pattern explanation and identification
Impact of diversity and minorities
Figure 1.6.2
Functional Region
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Nodal region
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Focal or central
point
Regional
domination
Boundaries and
limits
Service areas
Impact of
technology
Figure 1.6.1
Vernacular/Perceptual Region
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Place or perceptual
region
Informal
Transcends
geographic
measurement
Figure 1.6.3
Cultural Trait vs. Cultural Complex
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Cultural trait: a single element of normal
practice in a culture (e.g., wearing a turban)
Culture complex: a combination of related
cultural traits (e.g., prevailing modes of dress;
nationalism)
Agricultural Revolutions:
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First Agricultural Revolution/Neolithic
Revolution - The domestication of plants and
animals around 12,000 BC
Second Agricultural Revolution -improved methods of cultivation, harvesting,
and storage of farm produce stemming from
the Industrial Revolution
Third Agricultural Revolution/ Green Revolutioninternational effort that was planned to eliminate hunger by
improving crop performance. Development of genetically
engineered crops (GE) or genetically modified organisms
(GMOs) It began in the 1960s when a combination of
technologies was made available to Mexico and countries
in Asia in an effort to improve the diets of people in those
regions.
Agricultural Hearths
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Ancient culture hearth: Fertile Crescent,
Indus Valley, Chang & Yellow River Valley
(China), Nile River Valley and Delta, MesoAmerica (origin of farming developed during
the First Agricultural Revolution beginning
around 12,000 years ago).
-Modern culture hearth: Europe, North
America, Japan (origin and focus of the
Industrial Revolution beginning in the early
1800s after the onset of the Second
Agricultural Revolution).
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Cultural landscape (built environment):
Fashioning of a natural landscape by a
cultural group. This is the essence of how
humans interact with nature.
Sequent occupance: The notion that
successive societies leave their cultural
imprints on a place, each contributing to the
cumulative cultural landscape. This is an
important concept in geography because it
symbolizes how humans interact with their
surroundings.
Types of Diffusion
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Cultural diffusion: The process of spread of a feature or trend from one
place to another over time.
Relocation diffusion: The spread of an idea through physical movement of
people from one place to another. Ex: spread of AIDS from New York,
California, & Florida.
Migrant diffusion: dies in its hearth by the time it spreads outward to other
areas: best example: flu
Expansion diffusion: The spread of a feature from one place to another in
a snowballing process…
-Hierarchical diffusion: The spread of an idea from persons or nodes of
authority or power to other persons or places (Ex: hip-hop/rap music)
-Contagious diffusion: The rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic
throughout the population. (Ex: ideas placed on the internet)
-Stimulus diffusion: the spread of an underlying principle, even though a
characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse. (Ex: PC & Apple competition)
Acculturation vs. Transculturation
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Acculturation: Process of adopting only
certain customs that will be to their
advantage
Transculturation: A near equal exchange of
culture traits or customs
Assimilation: Process of less dominant
cultures losing their culture to a more
dominant culture
Environmental Determinism vs. Possibilism
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Environmental determinism: A 19th- and early
20th-century approach to the study of geography that
argued that the general laws sought by human
geographers could be found in the physical
sciences. Geography was therefore the study o f
how the physical environment caused human
activities (e.g., Jared Diamond – Guns, Germs, and
Steel)
Possibilism- The physical environment may limit
some human actions, but people have the ability to
adjust to their environment.
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Cultural Ecology: The geographic study of
the multiple interactions of humanenvironmental relationships
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Holocene epoch: current interglaciation
period (sustained warming phase between
glaciations during an ice age), extending from
around 12,000 years ago to the present
(some scientists speculate that since humans
influence the Earth as no species was able to
before, we have recently entered the
Anthropocene epoch).
Contemporary Mapping Tools
GIS- Graphic Information Systems Layers
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GIS technology
Computers and complex maps
Geographic Information
System
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Precision geocoding
Data storage and relationships
Analysis
Display
Global Positioning
System (GPS):
satellite-based system
for determining the
absolute location of
places.
Remote Sensing
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Remote sensing: method of collecting data or
information through the use of instruments (e.g.,
satellites) that are physically distant from the
area or object of study.
Qualitative data: described in terms of its
quality (that is, informal or relative characteristics
such as culture, language, religion, …).
Quantitative data: precisely describes data
using numbers and measures (population,
political, economic, …).
Contemporary Mapping Tools: Mash-Up:
When you take one geographical element and superimpose or put it side by side
with another
Figure 1.4.3
Creating a Projection: 2 Steps
Mercator Projection- Landmasses near the
North and South Poles look bigger.
(Greenland & Antarctica)
The Robinson Projection – attempt to balance projection
errors. Nothing is perfectly accurate but errors are
reduced and it is pleasing to the eye.
ADV: reserves accurate compass direction, conformal map-shows shapes pretty much
the way they appear on the globe
DIS: artificially increases the size of landscapes to make industrialized developed countries
appear to account for a greater percentage of the total geographical area than they really
do, land masses are larger in size at high latitudes near the North and South Poles
The Peters Projection (“Gall-Peters”)accurate sizes of all of the world’s
landmasses. It shows just how large the
landmasses near the equator (where the
poorest countries are located) actually are! More
fairly shows the third world countries. Countries shapes are distorted, but area is accurate
Fuller Projection- Maintains the accurate size
and shape of landmasses. Rearranges
direction so the cardinal directions no longer
have any meaning
Azimuthal Projection – as if you put a flat
piece of paper on top of a globe (planar)
Map Projections
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Map projections: any 3-dimensional object (Earth) will project some
distortion onto any 2-dimensional object (map)
Azimuthal: directions from a central point are preserved; usually
these projections also have radial symmetry
Mercator: straight meridians and parallels that intersect at right
angles, used for marine navigation
Peters: equal-area cylindrical, areas of equal size on the globe are
also equally sized on the map
Robinson: distorts shape, area, scale, and distance in an attempt to
balance the errors of projection properties
Fuller: using the surface of a polyhedron, it is unfolded to a net in
many different ways and flattened to form a two-dimensional map
which retains most of the globe’s relative proportional integrity
Types of Maps
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Types of maps:
-dot: one dot represents a certain number of phenomena (e.g., population)
-thematic: made to reflect a particular theme about a geographic area (e.g.,
geographic, topographic, political, …)
-choropleth: thematic map in which areas are shaded or patterned in
proportion to the measurement of the statistical variable being displayed
(e.g., population density)
-reference: generalized map type designed to show general spatial
properties of features (e.g., world maps, road maps, atlas maps)
-proportional symbol: type of thematic map in which the areas of symbols
are varied in proportion to the value of an attribute (e.g., city population)
-preference: map demonstrating progressively more desirable options
-cartogram: map in which some thematic mapping variable is substituted
for land area (e.g., GDP)
Dot Map
Thematic Map
Choropleth Map
Reference Map
Proportional Symbol Map
Preference Map
Cartogram
Map Terms
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parallel: line of latitude (Equator, Tropic of Cancer & Capricorn,
Arctic & Antarctic Circles)
meridian: line of longitude (Prime Meridian, International Date Line)
TODALSIG: (Title, Orientation, Date, Author, Legend, Scale, Index,
Grid) acronym for assessing the validity and reliability of any map
Scale: representation of a real-world phenomenon at a certain level
of reduction or generalization; represented as a fraction (large scale
= large detail, small area; small scale = small detain, large area)
Properties of Distribution
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Density –
measurement
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Concentration
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Number of objects
Land area
Clustering
Dispersal
Pattern
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Irregular
Linear
Rectangular
Grid
Connections Between
Places
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Spatial interaction
Characteristics spread through
diffusion
Figure 1.9.3
Spatial Interaction
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Places connected through a
network
Distance decay
Space-time compression
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Promotes change
Cultural interaction
Economic influences
Electronic communications
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Magnifies change
Knowledge transfer
Figure 1.9.1
Diffusion
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Characteristic spreads across
space and time
Hearth - locations and nodes
Relocation diffusion – physical
movement
Expansion diffusion
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Hierarchical
Contagious
Stimulus
Figure 1.9.2
Geographic Consequences of Change
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Globalization and cultural
diversity
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Modern communications pulls
toward cultural and economic
interaction
People look for expression of
unique cultural traditions and
economy
Tension between
globalization and local
diversity
Geographers search for
changes in uniqueness of
place, location, distinctive
culture and physical features
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Geographers look for why
different places have similar
features using three basic
concepts:
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Scale: studying a part of the whole
Space: the physical gap or interval
between objects
Connections: relationships among
people, objects and time
Chapter Summary
Development
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“Earth” and “to
write”
Early geography
assisted in
exploration and
discovery
Scientific
geography
Map –
fundamental tool
Uniqueness
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Every place on
Earth is unique
and can be
determined by
site, situation, and
name
Every area and
region is unique
because of a
combination of
unique features
Similarities
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Globalization –
places and regions
can display similar
economic and
cultural features
Geographers
document
Distribution –
density,
concentration, and
pattern
Diffusion – spread of
features
Communication
Chapter Resources
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Gender and Space
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Time Zones
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Father, mother, and children are different and use
space, time, travel and work differently.
24 standard (mapped) time zones related to
Greenwich, UK (0º longitude). Greenwich Mean Time
(GMT). One hour for each 15 degrees,
Internet
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www.aag.org
www.amergeog.org
www.nationalgeographic