chapter 1 lecture contemporary human geography … · instructor resource dvd for contemporary...

© 2016 Pearson Education, Inc. Instructor Resource DVD for Contemporary Human Geography, 3e

James Rubenstein

Chapter 1 Lecture

Contemporary

Human

Geography

3rd Edition

Chapter 1:

This is Geography

Marc Healy

Elgin Community College

Contemporary

Human

Geography

3rd Edition

Chapter 1:

This is Geography


James Rubenstein

1.1 Welcome to Geography

• Geography and History

– Immanuel Kant compared geography to history.

• Geographers identify places and explain why activities

are found near each other.

• Historians identify dates and explain why activities

follow each other chronologically.


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• Geographers Explain Where and Why

– A geographer’s most important tool is a map.

– Place and region explain why every place is

unique.

– Scale, space, and connection explain why

different places are interrelated.


James Rubenstein


• Geographers Explain Where and Why


James Rubenstein

1.2 Ancient & Medieval Geography

• Geography in the Ancient World

– Thales of Miletus applies principles of geometry

to measure land area.

– Anaximander made an early map based on

information from sailors.

– Pythagoras may have been the first to propose a

spherical world.


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– Hecataeus may have produced the first

geography book.

– Aristotle was the first to demonstrate that the

earth was spherical.

– Eratosthenes invented the word geography

and accurately calculated the circumference of

the earth.


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– Ptolemy codified the basic principles of

mapmaking.

– Yu Gong is a book chapter representing the

earliest Chinese geographic writing.

– Pei Xiu is the father of Chinese cartography.


James Rubenstein




James Rubenstein


• Geography’s Revival

– Scientific mapmaking resumed during the

Middle Ages.

– Al-Idrisi built upon Ptolemy’s map.

– Ibn-Battuta wrote a book about travels

throughout much of the known world.


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James Rubenstein



– Waldseemuller produced the first map to use the

label “America.”

– Ortelius created the first modern atlas and

proposed the hypothesis of continental drift.


James Rubenstein




James Rubenstein

1.3 Reading Maps

• Map Scale

– Map scale can be presented as a ratio (fraction),

as a written scale, or as a graphic scale.


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1.3 Reading Maps

• Projection

– Transferring locations on Earth’s surface to a flat

map is called projection.


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1.3 Reading Maps

• Projection

– Drawing the Earth on a flat piece of paper can

cause distortion in shape, distance, relative size,

and direction.


James Rubenstein

1.4 The Geographic Grid

• Latitude and Longitude

– Lines of longitude are humanly-created arcs

known as meridians. [north to south lines]

– Lines of latitude are scientifically-derived circles

known as parallels. [east to west lines]


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• Latitude and Longitude


James Rubenstein

Location

• Absolute location

– Precise location using a coordinate system

– Latitude and longitude most common

– Measured by geographic positioning

systems (GPS)

• Relative location

– Location in relation to something else

– Changes over time with changing

circumstances


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• Time Zones

– Longitude plays an important role in calculating

the time.


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1.5 Contemporary Geographic Tools

• GPS

– Smart phones and computers use Global

Positioning Systems that determine precise

positions on Earth.


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• Mashups

– Mashups are maps that overlay data from one

source on top of data provided by a mapping

service.


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• GIScience

– Geographic Information Science analyzes

data acquired though satellite and other

remote-sensing technologies.

– Geographic Information Systems capture,

store, query, and display geographic data.


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• GIScience


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1.6 Place: A Unique Location

• Place Names

– Toponyms may be derived from the name of a

person, religious names, ancient history, or

earlier inhabitants, among other things.


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• Site

– The physical characteristics of a place, such as

climate, water sources, topography, soil,

vegetation, latitude, and elevation comprise the

concept of site.


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• Situation

– Situation helps us find an unfamiliar place by

comparing its location with a familiar one.

– It also helps us understand the importance of a

location.


James Rubenstein


James Rubenstein

1.7 Region: A Unique Area

• Formal Region

– A formal region is an area within which

everyone shares in common one or more

distinctive characteristics (laws, borders,

government, etc.)


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• Formal Region


James Rubenstein


• Functional Region

– A functional region is an area organized around

a node or focal point.

– It is also called a nodal region.


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• Vernacular Region

– A vernacular region, or perceptual region, is

an area that people believe exists as part of their

cultural identity. Sometimes involves stereotypes.


James Rubenstein

1.8 Scale: From Global to Local

• Globalization of the Economy

– Globalization of the economy has been led

primarily by transnational corporations.

– Every place in the world is part of the global

economy, but globalization has led to more

specialization at the local level.


James Rubenstein

End of Part One

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