Introduction to Geography
The Basics
What is your definition of
Geography?
• Geography - study of where
things are found on Earth’s
surface and the reasons for the
location
• Human geographers ask: Where
are people and activities found
on Earth? Why are they found
there?
• Geography offers fundamental
insights into the world in which
we live through its concern with
the spatial organization and
character of the Earth’s surface.
Two categories of Geography
• Human geography - study of where and
why human activities are located where
they are
• Physical geography - study of where and
why natural forces occur as they do
Our focus for the year
• This year we will focus on human
geography, but we must never forget
about Earth’s atmosphere, land, water,
vegetation, and other living creatures. We
need to understand the interactions
between people and their environment.
Five themes of Geography
• Geography’s spatial perspective
promotes a focus on:
1. Location
2. Place
3. Human-environment interaction
4. Regions
5. Movement
Opening question
• How do people describe location? How do
people tell others where something is?
Location
• "Where are we?” is the question that the
theme Location answers. Location may be
absolute or it may be relative.
Relative Location
• Relative locations are described by
landmarks, time, direction or distance from
one place to another and may associate a
particular place with another.
• Minnesota is west of Wisconsin, north of
Iowa, south of Canada, and east of both
North and South Dakota.
Absolute location
• Absolute location is a precise location on
the Earth’s surface.
• Parallels and meridians are two sets of
imaginary arcs drawn in a grid pattern on
Earth’s surface.
Parallels
• A parallel is a circle drawn
•
around the globe parallel to the
equator.
The numbering system to
indicate the location of a
parallel is called latitude. The
equator is 0O latitude. The
North Pole is 90O north latitude
and the South Pole is 90O south
latitude.
Meridians
• A meridian is an arc drawn
•
between the North and South
pole. The location of each
meridian is identified on Earth’s
surface according to a numbering
system known as longitude.
The longitude that passes through
Greenwich England is 0O
longitude and is called the prime
meridian.
Meridians
• The meridian on the opposite side of Earth
is 180O longitude (also called the
International Date Line).
• All other meridians have numbers between
0O and 180O east or west, depending if
they are either east or west of the prime
meridian.
Minutes
• The precise location (mathematical location)
of a place can be designated more precisely
by dividing each degree into 60 minutes (“)
Minneapolis is 45o53” North latitude and
93o13” West longitude
Paris, France is 48o51” North latitude and
2O20” East longitude
Marshall Islands are 10o00” North latitude
and 165o00” East longitude
Opening Questions
• How does the environment
influence our daily activities?
• What ways do we change our
environment?
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.
• What do you think is the difference
between human and physical
characteristics?
Physical Characteristics
• Physical characteristics include
mountains, rivers, soil, beaches, wildlife,
etc.
Human characteristics
• 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.
Question????
• What are the physical and human
characteristics of Minneapolis or
Minnesota? How do these shape our
lives?
Human-environment Interaction
• How do humans and the environment
affect each other?
• We change the environment and then
sometimes Mother Nature changes it
back..
• There are three key concepts to
human/environmental interaction:
Humans adapt to the environment.
Humans modify the environment.
Humans depend on the environment.
• All places on Earth have advantages and
disadvantages for human settlement. One
person's advantage may be another
person's disadvantage.
• Environment is not just trees, spotted
owls, and rain forests. Environment is a
feeling.
Questions????
• How do physical features affect us? How
have we adapted to or changed our
landscape?
• Given the choice, where would you live?
Why? What is the environment? How do
people interact with the environment?
Homework – If you could live
anywhere
• Pick three states that you would like to live
in and tell me why.
• Pick three countries that you would like to
live in and tell me why.
• Please type. Use as many details as
possible to tell me why. 3-4+ sentences
on why.
Opening Question
• What are different ways that
people communicate with each
other?
• Name as many forms of
transportation as you can.
Region
• The “sense of place” that humans
possess may apply to a larger area of
Earth.
• A region is an area defined by one or more
distinctive characteristics.
Region
A region derives its unified character
through the cultural landscape - a
combination of cultural features such as
language and religion, economic features
such as agriculture and industry, and
physical features such as climate and
vegetation.
Carl Sauer
• Carl Sauer (1889-1975) was a geographer
who defined cultural landscape as an area
fashioned from nature by a cultural group.
“Culture is the agent, the natural area the
medium, the cultural landscape is the
result.”
Three basic types of regions
• Formal regions are those defined by
governmental or administrative boundaries
(i. e., United States, Minneapolis, Brazil).
These regional boundaries are not open to
dispute, therefore physical regions fall
under this category (i. e., The Rockies, the
Great Lakes States).
The last two types of regions
• Functional regions are those defined by a
function (i. e., 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 or cultural
identity(i. e., The South, The Middle East).
Questions????
• What region do we live in?
• What type of region is it? What are its
•
characteristics? The Midwest, The Twin Cities,
the Southwest community?
What states do you define as the South? The
Northeast? The West? What characteristics
and perceptions go along with these regions?
Opening
• Write examples of how
Minneapolis relates to the 5
themes.
Movement
• The movement of people, 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.
Movement
• 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 (EMail) and political events.
Movement
• Not only do humans move but also ideas move;
•
fashions move; fads move.
What is an example of an idea that moves?
Opening Question
• What types of things can be
shown on a map? Name as
many things as possible.
Maps
• Map - a two-dimensional or flat-scale
model of Earth’s surface, or a portion of it
• Geography has a reliance on maps to
display and analyze information
• Cartography - science of mapmaking
Two purposes of maps
• Tool for storing reference material - helps
us find the shortest distance to a place
and helps us learn where in the world
something is found
• Tool for communication geographic
information - distribution of human
activities or physical features
What is this map’s purpose?
What is this map’s purpose?
• Maps are used to portray the distinctive
character of places; their relationship to
environmental issues; the movements of
people, goods, and ideas; and regions of
various types.
Opening question
• What are some problems
with maps?
Name 5 things that should be
included all maps
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Title
Map scale
Compass rose
Key or Legend
Labels
Map Scale
• The level of detail and the amount of area
•
•
covered on a map depend on its scale.
Scale - the relationship between the size of an
object on a map and the size of the actual
feature on Earth’s surface.
Scale can be presented in 3 ways:
fraction(1/100) or a ratio (1:100), a written
statement (“1 inch equals 100 miles”) or a
graphic bar scale
Projections
• Earth is very nearly a sphere and therefore
•
•
•
accurately represented in the form of a globe.
A globe is a limited tool. Why is this?
The Earth’s shape poses a challenge, since flat
maps will have some distortion.
The scientific method of transferring locations on
Earth’s surface to a flat map is called projection.
How does this projection create
a distorted image?
How does this projection create
a distorted image?
The problem of distortion
• The shape of an area can be distorted,
•
so that it appears more elongated or
squat than in reality.
The distance between two points may
become increased or decreased.
The problem of distortion
• The relative size of different areas may
•
be altered, so that one area may appear
larger than another on a map but is in
reality smaller.
The direction from one place to another
can be distorted.
Opening
• What are some tools that
geographers use?
Contemporary Tools
• GIS (geographic information system) - a
computer system that can capture, store,
query, analyze, and display geographic
data.
Contemporary Tools
• Remote Sensing - the acquisition of data
about the Earth’s surface from a satellite
orbiting Earth or from other long-distance
methods.
• GPS ( Global Positioning System) - a
system that accurately determines the
precise position of something on Earth