introduction to ap human geography
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Introductory Questions
1) Why do students study geography? (3 examples)
2) How does geography affect your life? (3 examples)
3) How would your life be different if you lived in Japan? (3 examples)
Intro. Cont..I. In this course, we will examine why different areas
have developed differently in terms of culture, economics, politics, and urban development.
II. Geography is a means to understand why certain areas are similar to and different from each other. Human geography in particular, helps us to focus on “how the world is and how it might be.”
III. Geography is a means to understand why certain areas are similar to and different from each other. Human geography in particular, helps us to focus on “how the world is and how it might be.”
Intro. Cont…I. Human geography is different from other branches of geography because its
primary focus is people. It studies human groups and their activities, such as language, industry, and the building of cities; it is a social science. (It looks at how people modify their environment, how they interact over space, as opposed to with space).
II. Other Fields of Geographyi. Population geography – The study of the distribution of humankind across the earthii. Cultural geography – The study of the geography of human culturesiii. Political geography – The study of the interaction between political processes and the
distribution of all other activities iv. Economic geography – The study of how various people make their living and what they
tradev. Urban geography – The geographic study of citiesvi. Physical Geography – The study of the characteristics of the physical environmentvii. Historical Geography – The study of the geography of the past and how geographic
distributions have changed.
Are You a Geo-Genius1) Which state is bordered on the southwest by the Savannah River- South Carolina or Indiana?
2) Which state produces more gold than any other state- Nevada or Nebraska?
3) Which state is located closer to the Tropic of Cancer – Louisiana or Wyoming?
4) Which state has a longer border with Canada – Alaska or Idaho?
5) Which state does not have a coastline New Mexico or New Hampshire?
History of GeographyClassical Western World
(1) Erastosthones (275-195 B.C.) Director of library in Alexandria, calculated circumference of the EarthHipparchus (180-127 B.C.) – Alexandria library director, first two place a grid on the earth(2) Ptolemy ( 127 A.D. – 150) – Wrote Guide to Geography
Non-European WorldMuslim Scholars - Al-Edrisi (1099-1154), Ibn-Battuta (1304-1378), and Ibn-Khaldun (1332-1406) produced textsThe Tribute of Yu 5th Century B.C. describes geogrpahy of Chinese EmpirePhei Hsiu – father of Chinese cartography(3) Kangido – Korea 1402, included East Asia, India, Islamic World, Africa, and Europe, far more extensive than knowledge of the Roman World
Since the 1400’s…General geography (1650)
Bernhard Varen – German professor• (4) Special geography = regional geography, begins with explanation of
local physical env. and then analyzes places in terms of categories, such as local population, customs, and politics.
• (5) General geography = topical/systematic geography, examines topics of universal application, basic approach for the outline of your textbook
Human-environment tradition(6) Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859)
• Cosmos – enormous intellectual impact in the United States, statue central park
(7) George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882)• Man and Nature (1864) – U.S. ambassador to several Mediterranean
countries, precursor of today’s env. movement
“The information that any citizen needs in order to make an informed decision on an
important question of the day is largely geographic.”
Geography TodayAssociation of American Geographers
(8) 55 topical specialtieswww.aag.orgWhere?, What?, When?, Why?, and Why there?
Four approachesArea analysis – examines site, situation, and region.Spatial analysis – examines patterns in the distribution of human actions, movements and env. processes across Earth’s surface(9) Physical System Analysis – use models to analyze physical env.Geographic information systems analysis – use computer based GIS and GPS systems
Area Analysis
Site(10) Exact location of a place
Situation or relative locationLocation of a place relative to other places
Accessibility
(11) Constant change
Scale
Regions
Formal regionsExhibit uniformity across a cultural or physical characteristic
Functional regionsDefined by interactions among places
Vernacular regions(12) Widespread popular perception of existence
Spatial Analysis
Distribution – the distribution of a phenomenon means its position, placement or arrangement throughout space
Three properties of distribution(13) Density – describes the frequency of occurrence of a phenomenon in relation to a geographic area (fig. 1-11)
Concentration – refers to the distribution of a phenomenon within a given area
(14) Pattern – geometrical arrangement of objects in an area
MovementDistance – Interaction of people and places across distance
Measurements (several ways to measure)• (15) Absolute – measured in terms of miles or kilometers• Time – i.e. something is 20 minutes away• Cost – monetary amount required to overcome a distance (explains
importance of water to growth of cities)
(16) Friction of distance – effort to overcome distance when we transport items
Distance decayAs distance increases, importance of a particular phenomena decreases
• Ex. Newspaper circulation
Three Types of Diffusion(17) Relocation diffusion – i.e. a nomadic tribe relocatingContiguous diffusion – occurs from one place directly to another place(18) Hierarchical diffusion – upward or downward in an organization (Roman Catholic Church)
Barriers to diffusionCultural barriers
• Oceans, deserts, distance, time• Political boundaries, cultural differences
4 Physical SystemsAtmosphere (air) –surrounding Earth to an altitude of less than 300 miles (lower atm. pure air is 78% N and 21% O)
(19) Lithosphere (Earth’s solid rocks) – consists of Earth’s crust and a portion of upper mantle directly below the crust, extending down 45 miles
Hydrosphere (water) – surface water, vapor in the atmosphere, ice in glaciers, and groundwater in soil and rock
(20) Biosphere - living organisms on Earth
Human-Environmental Interaction
(21) Reciprocal interaction – env. affects human life and cultures and humans alter the env.Culture
Everything about the way people live: language, food, religion, social ceremonies
(22) Natural landscapesWithout evidence of human activity
Cultural landscapesReveals how humans modify local environment
The Geographic GridLongitude
Measures distance east to west around the globe beginning at the Prime MeridianPrime Meridian – 0 DegreeInternational Date Line – see figure 1-19 0-180 degrees East or West(23) Greenwich Mean Time
LatitudeLocation on the Earth’s surface between the equator and either the north or south pole(24) Parallels – lines connecting all points at the same latitude0-90 degrees North or South
Map MakingCartographyScale
Fraction 1/24,000Ratio 1:24,000Written statement “1 inch equals 1 mile”Bar style
Detail and area(25) Small scale map = less detail, large denominator (1:1,000,000)(26) Large scale map = more detail, small denominator (1:100,000)
0 1 2 43
Projection
Scientific method of transferring locations on Earth’s surface to a flat map4 types of distortion – (see page 30)
(27) Shape – objects are stretched more in some parts so that their shape changesDistance – latitude and longitude lines(28) Relative size – items become larger or smallerDirection – lat. & long. orientation changes
Geographic Information Technology
Automated cartographyManual techniques - expensive
(29) Computer Assisted Drawing (CAD)• Sophisticated, specialized digital cartography
systems
• Easier, cheaper editing
• Also used for product design, i.e. Cannondale
Questions:1) When does an area become a cultural
landscape and stop becoming a natural landscape?
2) Are all landscapes cultural landscapes?
3) How much of land in the U.S. should be preserved?
Accessibility – can be as valuable as mineral deposits or fertile soil
Accessibility Survey1. How accessible is NYC? Philadelphia? Tanzania?
2. How accessible are your teachers?
3. How accessible are you, can your friends easily contact you?
4. How might your answers have been different
50 years ago?
5. What are the positives and negatives of increased accessibility?
Remote Sensing
Acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or from high-flying aircraft
Satellites
(30) Landsat – see page 35First launch 1972; most recent launch 1999
Sensors measure radiation of colors of visible light
Pixel size at first (resolution): 59 x 59 meters
IKONOS resolution now: 1.5 x 1.5 meters
Weather satellitesVery large pixels – cover several kilometers on a side
Remotely Sensed Data
Human activities Changes in plant growth
Drainage patterns
Erosion associated with agriculture
(31) Logging and forest management
Wetland monitoring
Wartime applications
GIS – (32) Geographic Information Systems
Database software for digital informationContains same information as regular databasePLUS
• Spatial characteristics such as boundary information or coordinates
• An identifying characteristic that locates the item in space (i.e., address)
LayersInformation with specific characteristics
• Soils, hydrology, land ownership
Can be combined for analysis
Digital Geographic Information
(33) RasterGrid cells of data
• Remote sensing images• Pixels
(34) VectorPoint, line, polygon dataX and Y coordinates
Different uses and spatial accuracies
Digital DataConversion of paper to digital formatsDigital database creation
Remote sensing imagesDigitizing
• Tracing lines
Available types of data(35) Topographic maps
• DRG and DLG
US Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands InventoryCensus Bureau TIGER files
GIS Spatial Analysis
Calculating densities and distribution of population
“Counting” lakes
Monitoring environmental changes with satellite images
Analyzing changes in (36) food production and land use
End of Chapter 1
Chapter 1 Vocab.Space-time compression – the reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another placeHearth – the place where an innovation originatesExpansion diffusion – spread of features from one place to anotherContagious diffusion – rapid widespread diffusion throughout a population, for example a diseaseStimulus diffusion – spread of an underlying principle, like the use of WindowsUneven Development – Increasing economic gap between regions in the core and periphery as a result of globalization
Chapter 1 Vocab. Cont..Transnational Corporation – multinational corp. operates factories and sells products in many factoriesPolder – piece of land created from draining waterCultural Ecology – geographic study of human-environment relationshipsEnvironmental Determinism – Human environment causes social developmentPossibilism – People have the ability to adjust to their environmentMDCS and LDCsCulture – body of customary beliefs, material traits and social forms that constitute a distinct group
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