CHAPTER 1- LOCATION -- LOCATION. Where on Earth is The University of Utah?
The image: Ch01Fig01-NASA image of Earth
GREAT QUESTION. LOCATION is one of the five THEMES of GEOGRAPHY.
A few observations / comments about this image:
1. Note how you can find Utah on the North American continent by spotting the whitish patch of the salt
flats west of Great Salt Lake
2. Note how much of Earth’s surface in this image is covered by water. Earth is the water planet. Two
thirds of Earth’s surface is covered by oceans.
3. This image shows North America with the Pacific Ocean to the west and Atlantic Ocean to the east.
4. Utah is located in western North America, a continental location relatively far from oceans.
5. This image shows low pressure weather systems, almost for sure of winter storms, that move from
west to east across the mid-section of the North American continent. Note the area of clear skies over
Utah and much of southwestern and central United States.
So What?
Your school is located on planet Earth, in our Sun’s solar system, in the Milky Way galaxy, in our universe.
Utah is located on the North American continent. Location is one of the five themes of geography.
Location answers one of the fundamental questions geographers ask… Where is …?
This image shows some relationships we can analyze from the perspective of Earth’s five subsystems:
the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere and anthrosphere.
With respect to the geosphere, the solid Earth, the University of Utah is located on the North American
continent, on land. We walk, not swim. With respect to the hydrosphere, the water Earth, Utah’s
location far from oceans affects weather and climate. Utah receives much less rainfall than along the
coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. With respect to the biosphere, the living Earth, even in
this image from space, it is possible to tell that Utah has lush green areas in the north west and dry
brown regions in the west. At this scale it is not possible to distinguish the consequences the University
of Utah. The anthrosphere is a term that means the part of Earth that is affected by humans (think
“anthro” as in anthropology). At this scale even Kennecott Utah Copper’s Bingham mine is not quite
discernable. From outer space, I wonder what evidence would indicate that UofU, its faculty and
students are here?
PAGE TWO of LOCATION of the UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
HOW do we LOCATE a PLACE… HOW DO WE LOCATE THE UNIVERSITY OF
UTAH?
The image:
Ch01Fig02-ESE-FromGoogleEarth-GeogGridsEarthUtah.jpg
Observations / comments about this image
LOCATION is the first of the FIVE THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY
Where is Utah, and the University of Utah Located… how do we locate anything.
1. Location on Earth can be relative to a physical feature such as a place, or an ocean, or a mountain
range. For example, Utah can be located on the globe-image on the left, and on the map-image on the
right relative to the white splotches of salt flats of northwestern Utah.
2. Another way to locate Utah on a map that shows the boundaries of the USA is to mentally divide the
US into an eastern half and western half, and Utah is right in the center of the western half.
3. Another way to locate Utah is to use the convention of geographic coordinates called the
geographical grid. It consists of two sets of imaginary lines shown on the globe-image on the left, and in
detail on the image of Utah on the right.
4. The north-south lines run from pole to pole. These lines are lines of longitude and are also called
meridians. The prime meridian, or starting place, the zero line runs north south through Greenwich,
England. Utah is about one third of the way west, around Earth, from England.
5. The east-west lines run parallel around Earth and are often called parallels of latitude. Earth’s equator
runs equidistant from the poles, hence its name, Equator. Unlike the prime meridian that is an arbitrary
starting place for the grid, the Equator is an imaginary line where our Sun shines directly overhead on
the spring and fall equinox. For centuries, humans have known their location north south. Utah is about
half way from the equator to the North Pole.
6. The image on the right shows the geographic grid of our region. Utah is 5 degrees by 5 degrees. There
are 360 degrees in a circle. So Utah is 5/360ths of Earth north-south, and 5/360ths east west along our
parallel. Can you identify the west 109 degree longitude line? That is Utah’s eastern margin. The
western margin (approximately) is -114 degrees longitude (the “minus” sign is geographer’s shorthand
for “west of the prime meridian.” Utah’s southern boundary is 37 degrees north of the equator. Utah’s
northern boundary is 42 degrees north of the equator.
7. If you look at the grid on the global-image, you can see that the lines of longitude, the meridians, get
closer and closer at the poles. That is why Utah, although it is 5 by 5 degrees, is narrower east-west than
north south.
8. You can use the grid to say where something is… such as Salt Lake City… even from this very coarse
scale. Salt Lake City is located immediately south and east of the Great Salt Lake. The Great Salt Lake is
the blue patch east of the white splotches of the salt flats. So, in geographers’ terms, Salt Lake City is at
about 112 degrees west longitude and between north 40 degrees latitude and north 41 degrees latitude.
There are 360 degrees in a circle, 60 minutes in each degree, and 60 seconds in a minute. You could
locate any place on earth, including your school, using geographic coordinates. That’s what many GPS
units do.
So What?
Location matters for several reasons. It can be important to know where you are because you may need
to find your way to somewhere else; or you may need to tell someone how to find you; or you may want
to know the relationship of something with respect to you. Location almost always is in relationship to
something else. Salt Lake City can be described as south and east of Great Salt Lake, or by its geographic
coordinates (40 degrees 30 minutes North and 112 degrees West).
Two factors of location that greatly influence the physical environment of a place are: location with
respect to the equator; and location with respect to oceans. Other factors such as location with respect
to elevation will be discussed in other chapters. Geography is all about location, location, location and
the web of relationships near and far.
Location with respect to the equator largely determines how and how much of the sun’s energy reaches
a place. When the sun is directly overhead the Equator, the sun’s energy arrives on the ground at right
angles to flat land, such as farmers’ fields. Utah is located somewhat less than half way from the Equator
to the North Pole. The Equator is 0 degrees latitude; the North Pole is at 90 degrees; and Utah lies
between 37 and 42 degrees north of the equator. Therefore, Utah never has the sun directly overhead.
Sun rays always reach Utah at an angle. That is why solar arrays are tilted toward the south, to catch the
most amount of direct sunlight. Utah has four seasons because of our mid-latitude location. The location
difference between St George in the south of Utah and Bear Lake in the north causes differences in
social and behavioral patterns. For example, St George and Bear Lake grow different agricultural
commodities and celebrate different tourist seasons (economics). Social institutions and patterns also
have different emphasis, such as contrasts in numbers of senior centers and use of golf courses
(sociology).
Location with respect to oceans greatly determines weather and climate. Weather and climate (the
atmosphere subsystem of Earth systems) largely determines the plants and animals of a region (the
biosphere subsystem of Earth systems). This is true for Utah. Location also largely determines the
amount of water in rivers and lakes (the water subsystem of Earth systems is the hydrosphere), and
those largely determine where people live (the anthrosphere subsystems of Earth systems). Think about
where hospitals are located in Utah. They are located in cities. Utah cities were located where there was
water. The fifth of the five subsystems of Earth systems, the geosphere, matters to Utah because we
are a “continental” location. This also greatly determines where cities are located, and where water
resources are found.
Utah is not Iowa, or Mexico, or Oregon. There are many differences, and LOCATION determines many of
those differences.
PAGE THREE of LOCATION of the UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
HOW do we LOCATE a PLACE… relative to something else… boundaries
LOCATION is the first of the FIVE THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY
Where is Utah located with respect to states of the USA? And does it matter?
At least four observations / comments about this figure / map / image:
1. This map shows the states of the United States of America. It adds Hawaii and Alaska, not to scale,
and out of place in the lower left of the map. The 48 states of the US are called the conterminous states
meaning they are continuous, their boundaries touch.
2. Utah is in the western half of the conterminous US. Its boundaries touch Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado,
New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada.
3. The southeastern point of Utah is the Four Corners, the only place in the US where four states come
together. I’ve been there and had body parts in all four states at once.
4. Utah’s state boundaries run north-south and east-west. They approximately coincide with lines of
latitude and longitude.
5. Western states tend to be larger than eastern states. Utah is the 11th largest state according to
http://www.theus50.com/area.php.Alaska, Texas, California, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada,
Colorado, Wyoming, and Oregon are larger. According to this site, Minnesota is slightly smaller than
Utah. Idaho, Kansas, and Nebraska follow. The US50 website lists Utah’s area as 84,905 square miles.
How strange… Utah is listed as 13th in size by Netstate.com, smaller than Minnesota and Michigan. How
could that be?
So What? (At least two paragraphs with at least 2 sentences each.)
A state’s location with respect to other states matters for several reasons. State boundaries are called
“political boundaries” for good reason; they were established by laws of Congress when territories
petitioned to become states. Utah’s statehood came in January of 1896, after several petitions that
included requests for a state of different shape and size. Politics still is one of the main reasons location
with respect to others states matters even today. Western states argue that their needs differ from
those of eastern states, and states compete with neighboring states for resources, businesses, and
transportation routes, just to name few ways. .
All geographers study webs of relationships among peoples, places and environments. Geographers
generally categorize themselves as “physical geographers” or as “human geographers.” Physical
geographers concentrate on relationships among the five subsystems of Earth systems: the geosphere,
hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere, and anthrosphere. Human / cultural, geographers focus on
relationships that include perspectives of social and behavioral sciences. This atlas uses considers seven
perspectives of social and behavioral science: anthropology, economics, family and consumer studies,
geography, political science, psychology, and sociology. Note how geography is a social / behavioral
science.
Utah’s location impacts all seven social and behavioral science perspectives. For example, anthropology
from life styles of early peoples to present-day cultural anthropology. Utah’s relationship to other states
of the US is impacted by location. Closer states tend to be more economically tied than distant states.
Utah being in the United States versus Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, or Zimbabwe influences family /
consumer relationships … in fact all seven sets of issues of social and behavioral sciences. Utah’s political
boundaries influence its physical geography less that its human geography. But political boundaries
influence Utah’s physical geography indirectly. For example, neighboring states fight over water (the
hydrosphere) and can work together to reduce pollutants (the atmosphere).
A final note on location, political boundaries, and Utah’s size: How can Utah’s surface area in square
miles be something to argue about? Are we number 11, 12, or 13 in size? Look at the map. The states
that rival us in size are Minnesota, the land of lakes, and Michigan. That’s the clue. How is the surface
area of “land” calculated? If you were Governor of Utah, would you consider Great Salt Lake part of the
state’s surface area? If you were Governor of Michigan, would you consider the bed of Lake Michigan
part of your state’s area?
No matter what, location with respect to political boundaries matters.
Utah is not Iowa, or Mexico, or Oregon. There are many differences, and LOCATION with respect to
political boundaries determines some of those differences.