Introduction to World
Regional Geography
Study of Geography
 Evolution of Geography
 Contributions of the Greeks/Romans

– geo (the earth) graphos (to write about/describe)
– Herodotus-”Father of Geography” who explained the
physical and human geography of his day
– Aristotle- explained processes of the earth, influence of
temperature, wind, soils and vulcanism
– Eratosthenes- measured circumference of the earth
from angle of the sun at two points
– Construction of earth grids- longitude and latitude
– Established the science of cartography
– Ptolemy-Greek astronomer who designed early map of the
world.
– Strabo- description of Roman World, spatial perspective of
the known world

Middle Ages
– Geography falls into disrepute in Middle Ages
– Golden Age of Islamic Civilization
– Arabs were outstanding geographers, continued tradition of
map-making
– Ibn Batuta travels throughout Middle East, observations of
peoples and lands
– Avicenna’s understanding of physical geography, creation
of mountains
– Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddimah provides an account of the
influence of man’ physical environment on social and political
institutions
– observations are model of scientific research on history and
geography
– traveled extensively throughout North Africa and Middle East
– importance of cities and urbanization on the level of civilization.
Ptolemy's World Map, circa 150 A.D.
Ibn Battuta’s Travels 1300 AD
Ibn Battuta’s travels 1300 A.D.

Renaissance and Age of Discovery
– Resurgence of geography as a science
– Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal, new more
accurate maps
– Early explores question old concepts in light of discovery
– Scientific travelers, Alexander von Humbolt’s description
of the earth
– Karl Ritter- understanding of the human dimension of the
world
– Geography is respected branch of knowledge in European
university, particularly in Germany
– Importance of the National Geographic Society in US
founded in 1888
– Chinese contributions to geography
 World
Regional Geography
– Different fields of Geography
 Physical
Geography, study of the environment, location of
terrain, physical features of the land
 Human
Geography, study of human occupation of the land
 Regional
Geography, analysis of environmental and human
patterns within an area or region
– Regions of the World:
 (1)
Europe;
 (2) Russia;
 (3) North America;
 (4) Middle America;
 (5) South America;
 (6) North Africa/Southwest Asia;
 (7) Subsaharan Africa;
 (8) South Asia;
 (9) East Asia;
 (10) Southeast Asia;
 (11) Australia;
 (12) Pacific Realm
– Format of course
 background/historical
 physical
factors
features
 climate
 population
 cultural
features
 social and economic factors
– agriculture
– industry
– environmental problems
Basic Geographical Factors
 Climate
– Climatic differences are result of differences in the
processes by which earth’s atmosphere is heated and
cooled
– Radiation and absorption of heat energy determine
climatic variations
– Lower the latitude, the more solar energy received
– Sun’s rays strike earth at vertical angles in lower
latitudes
– heat dissipated by air currents and ocean currents
– Higher the elevation, the less dense is air and less the
air can hold water vapor. Air temps decrease 3.6
degrees F per 1000 feet of elevation
 Precipitation
– What causes rainfall? Physical process of how air is
cooled is the cause of rainfall
– When water vapor in atmosphere is cooled to point that
it condenses, it changes from a gaseous state to liquid
state
– Warm air can hold more water vapor than cold air
– Types of precipitation
 Convectional
precipitation- equatorial latitudes
with land mass warming, as hot air rises it precipates
 Orthographic
precipitation- air force up over
mountains, cooling rapidly and producing rain
 Cyclonic/Frontal
precipitation-cold front pushes
up under war air front or warm front rises over cold
front. Found in mid latitudes
Types of Precipitation
 Types
of Climate
– Type A Climate (Humid Equatorial Climate
 High
temperatures all year
 High precipitation
 Subtypes (Af)high rainfall every month;
(Am)
monsoon; (Aw) savanna with unpredictable rainfall
– Type B Climate (Dry Climate)
 lower
and higher altitudes
 (Bw) true desert; (Bs) semi-arid steppe
 soils thin and poor
 high range of temperatures (140-48 degrees F)
– Type C Climate (humid temperature climates)
 found
above and below tropic of cancer and tropic of
capricorn
 US (Kentucky-Florida) Europe; southern Brazil/northern
Argentina: South Africa, Australia, China, and Japan
 Subtypes (Cf) No drive season i.el Marine West Coast; (Cw)
dry winter; Cs) dry summers, Mediterranean climates
– Type D Climate (humid cold continental climates)
 great
annual range of temperatures
 very cold winters; cool summers
 total precipitation not high, much snow
 found in interiors of North America/Eurasia
 best soils in world with high levels of humus
– Type E Climates
 vary
from true ice-cap conditions to tundra with 4
months/year of temps above freezing
 high mountain areas
 near arctic conditions with limited vegetation
 Population
– Questions: (1) What factors responsible for growth of
human population? (2) What is density and
distribution of the world’s population? (3) What
models of population explain change?
– Growth of population
5
million from 5,000 BC to 2,000BC
 250 million at beginning of Christian era
 500 million in 1650 AD
 1 billion in 1850 AD
 2 billion in 1950 AD
 5.7 billion in 1998 AD
 7 billion estimated by 2010 AD
– Models of Population Change
 Demographic
 Stage
–
–
–
–
–
I
preindustrial agrarian economy
high birth rate and high death rate
relatively stable population that grows slowly
large # of children useful for work in fields and social security
life expectancy low; security dependent on family
 Stage
–
–
–
–
–
transition
II
high birth rates, falling death rates
improvements in public health, sanitation, and medicine
productivity of agriculture improves
opportunity for employment in cities
industrialization , urbanization, specialization of labor
– Stage III
 birth
rate declines
 smaller families due to urbanization and demands for
education
 children more of a liability in an urban, industrial
environment
 population growth declines dramatically
– Stage IV
 birth
rates and death rates very low
 population growth stabilizes or grows very slowly
– Amount of time to go through demographic transition?
 Western
Europe/US= 150 years
 Soviet Union=40 years
 Japan=25 years
Demographic Transition
Demographic Transition
MDC’s vs. LDC’s
 Human
Cultural Hearths
– Most cultural hearths established from 5,000BC to
1,000 BC
– Primary cultural hearths
 Middle
East (Tigris, Euphrates and Nile Rivers)
 Indus Valley (Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa)
 China (Yellow River and North China plain)
– Secondary cultural hearths
 Mesoamerican
civilization (Mayans and Aztecs)
 Bantu civilization in Africa (Central/South Africa and the
Ethiopian highlands)
 European civilization
 Economic
factors
– Sectors of the Economy
 primary
sector (fishing, extracting natural resources,
forestry, agriculture)
 secondary sector (processing basic commodities,
manufacturing)
 tertiary sector (services provided by government and private
sector)
 quarternary sector (institutions that provide information to
make decisions, computers, data analysis)
– Modernization and development brings about changes
in nature of the economy
– Economic indicators of modernization and development
 level
of GNP and GNP per capita
 per capital consumption of inanimate energy
 percentage of labor force in agriculture