Geography
"Geography is a representation of the whole known world together with the
phenomena which are contained therein. In Geography one must
contemplate the extent of the entire earth, as well as its shape, and its
position under the heavens...the length of its days and nights...
-Ptolemy (Mathematician, Astronomer, Cartographer 127-145 CE)
Physical Geography - the branch of geography that deals with the natural
features of the earth's surface
Human Geography - The science of the human species as to geographical
distribution and environment. Broadly, it includes industrial, commercial, and
political geography, and that part of ethnology which deals with distribution
and physical environment
Human and Physical Geography is the study of the environment, people, and
the resources they use. Geography determines the way in which humans
live, the adaptations they have developed to survive, and the alterations to
the environment they have made to better their existence. The impact of
human interaction with the environment has had mixed results. While
human life has been improved and made more comfortable, the environment
has been damaged in a variety of ways
Maps: The geographers primary tool, portrays spatial patterns visually
Language of Maps - 3 Major Elements
- Scale the relationship to distance on the map to actual distance
-Large Scale Maps - Large representation of an area, tends to cover a smaller
location, greater detail
-Small Scale Maps - smaller representation, larger area, less detail
-Projection -rendering of globe onto a flat surface
-Symbolization -map legend, allows person to understand the data on the map.
Geography
DEFINITION
• Is the study of where people, places and things are located
• Ways that different things relate to each other at specific places
• Ways that places connect with each other
THE FIVE THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY
LOCATION
"Where are we?" This is the question that the theme Location answers. Location may
be absolute or it may be relative. These locations, whether relative or absolute, may be
of people or places.
An absolute location is latitude and longitude (a global location) or a street address
(local location).
Paris, France is 48o51' North latitude and 2.20' East longitude
Marshall Islands are 10o00' North latitude and 165o00' East longitude
Relative locations are described by landmarks, time, direction or distance from one
place to another and may associate a particular place with another.
PLACE
What kind of place is it? What do you think of when you imagine China? Japan?
Russia? Saudi Arabia?
Places have both human and physical characteristics, as well as images.
Physical characteristics include mountains, rivers, soil, beaches, wildlife, and soil.
Places have human characteristics also. These characteristics are derived from the
ideas and actions of people that result in changes to the environment, such as
buildings, roads, clothing, and food habits.
The image people have of a place is based on their experiences, both intellectual and
emotional. People's descriptions of a place reveal their values, attitudes, and
perceptions.
HUMAN/ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION
How do humans and the environment affect each other? We change the environment
and then sometimes Mother Nature changes it back. For example: floods in the midWest, Hurricane Katrina (New Orleans), and earthquakes and mudslides in California.
There are three key concepts to human/environmental interaction:
Humans adapt on the environment.
Humans modify the environment.
Humans depend to the environment.
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People depend on rivers for water and transportation.
People modify our environment by heating and cooling buildings for comfort.
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People adapt to the environment by wearing clothing that is suitable for summer
and winter; rain and shine.
All places on Earth have advantages and disadvantages for human settlement. One
person's advantage may be another person's disadvantage. Some like the excitement
of large cities whereas others prefer remoteness. Environment is not just trees, spotted
owls, and rain forests. Environment is a feeling.
How have we adapted to or changed our landscape? For example, in the Sudan even
though everything is seemingly barren, the land sustains farmers and nomadic herders.
People and animals have adapted to a hot, dry climate.
MOVEMENT
The movement of peoples, the import and export of goods, and mass communication
have all played major roles in shaping our world. People everywhere interact. They
travel from place to place and they communicate. We live in a global village and global
economy.
People interact with each other through movement. Humans occupy places unevenly
on Earth because of the environment but also because we are social beings. We
interact with each other through travel, trade, information flows (E-Mail) and political
events.
Not only do humans move but also ideas move; fashions move; fads move.
REGION
A region is the basic unit of study in geography. A region is an area that displays a
coherent unity in terms of the government, language, or possibly the landform or
situation. Regions are human constructs that can be mapped and analyzed.
There are three basic types of regions.
Formal regions are those defined by governmental or administrative boundaries (i. e.,
United States, Birmingham, Brazil). These regional boundaries are not open to dispute,
therefore physical regions fall under this category (i. e., The Rockies, the Great Lakes
States).
Functional regions are those defined by a function (i. e., TVA, United Airlines Service
area or a newspaper service area). If the function ceases to exists, the region no longer
exists.
Vernacular regions are those loosely defined by people's perception (i. e., The South,
The Middle East, Finger Lakes Region, Central New York).
Big Geography
The Geography of Global History
How we “see” the world depends on how we project the world. The Earth is
a sphere. Therefore, it cannot be projected on a flat map without distortion.
Three World Map Projections: Mercator, Peters, and Robinson.
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On a Mercator projection, invented by Gerardus Mercator in
1569, any straight line is a line of constant compass bearing.
This enables a navigator to plot a straight-line course.
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Despite the values of the Mercator Projection, it distorts the size and
shape of land areas.
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o Fact: South America is 8 times as large as Greenland.
o Fact: Africa is 14 times as large as Greenland.
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The Peters Projection is an “equal area” map. It represents areas
accurately, but it seriously distorts shapes.
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o Compare the size of Europe to Africa on the two maps.
o Compare the size of the former USSR to China on the two maps.
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Human beings inhabit the biosphere.
o The biosphere is made up of three layers.
o The lithosphere: The solid earth, or outer crust of rock, sand,
and soil.
o The hydrosphere: The watery realm. About 97 percent of it is the
oceans.
o The atmosphere: The thin layer of gasses, mainly nitrogen and
oxygen.
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The lithosphere is in constant, though slow motion.The surface of the earth and
the location of its land masses have therefore had a continuously changing
history.
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70.9 % of the surface of the earth is water.
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Conventional definition of a continent: A large mass of land
surrounded, or nearly surrounded, by water.
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Since the nineteenth century, most scholars have accepted the Ural
Mountains as part of the dividing Line between “Europe” and “Asia” as
continents. European scholars of the nineteenth century decided that it
should be one. One of the benefits of having power in the world is that
you get to name things!
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The dividing line between “Europe” and “Asia” is not something that is
“natural.” That is, it does not exist as a fact of the natural world.
Many geographers have therefore been willing to unite the two regions
as a single continent called “Eurasia.”
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One of the big geographical features of Afroeurasia is the Great Arid
Zone. This is the belt of arid or semi-arid land that extends nearly
across Afroeurasia.
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Historically, peoples who herd animals as a way of life have inhabited
many parts of the Great Arid Zone. These herders are pastoral
nomads, that is, they move with their herds or flocks from pasture to
pasture. A major theme in world history has been the dynamic
relations between pastoral nomadic peoples of the Great Arid
Zone…and peoples who have been farmers or city-dwellers.
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Nomadic peoples of the Great Arid Zone both traded and clashed with
farming and city-dwelling peoples who lived adjacent to the Great Arid
Zone.
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One of the greatest clashes was the attacks of Mongol nomads on
cities of Eurasia in the 13th century.
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The Eleven Seas of Afroeurasia
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They made it easier for people to communicate by water across
Afroeurasia.
Before modern times, merchants relayed goods from one
link in the “chain of seas” to another. That is, a single merchant did not
make the trip from one end of the chain to the other, though it was
theoretically possible.
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Another feature of big geography is the earth’s great mountain chains.
Mountains have been barriers to human communication. But passes
across them have also served as “valves” of communication.
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The major winds and currents of the oceans: Until the coming of
steamships in the 19th century, sailors had to know winds and
currents to have confidence that they could sail from one
place to another in an approximate amount of time. These winds and
currents follow large global patterns. It was a matter of discovering
what those patterns were.
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The wind cycle in the North Atlantic helped Christopher Columbus sail
both ways across the ocean.
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Great Rivers have served as avenues of communication between seas
and deep interior lands.