AP Human Geography Chapter 1: Thinking Geographically Key Issue 1: How do Geographers describe where things are?

AP Human Geography Chapter 1: Thinking Geographically Key Issue 1: How do Geographers describe where things are?

Studying Human Geography Physical Geography Physical geography deals with Earth s natural processes and their outcomes. Human Geography Human geography reveals how and why geographical relationships are important. A mental map of 2Washington, D.C.

Studying Human Geography Regional Geography Regions have similar attributes distinct from the attributes of other places. Environmental Geography Examines the interactions between the environment and humans Cultural Ecology 3

Cultural Landscape Rubenstein Fashioning of a natural landscape by a cultural group. De Blij The visible imprint of human activity culture on the landscape. The layers of buildings, forms, and artifacts sequentially imprinted on the landscape by the activities of various human occupants. Fellman The natural landscape as modified by human activities and bearing the imprint of a culture group or society; the built environment Barrons fundamental unit of geographical analysis. This landscape results from interaction between humans and the physical environment. Virtually no landscape has escaped alteration by human activities. 4

Map Fundamentals Cartography Art and science of mapmaking Map Two-dimensional or flat-scale model of Earth s surface, or a portion of it ALL maps of some distortion Use and Interpret Maps Maps are used to represent and identify spatial patterns and processes at different scales Two Types of Maps Reference Maps Locating and navigating between places Thematic Maps Display one or more variables across a specific space 5

Important Geographers Greek Aristotle, Plato, and Pythagoras believed the earth was round Eratosthenes first to use word geography determined the circumference of the earth Roman Ptolemy Guide to Geography maps, descriptions of cities and people Middle Ages Al-Idrisi constructed world map (1514) worldwide geographic knowledge China Zheng He Chinese explorer described natural features Age of Exploration Geradus Mercator cartographer first to produce world map showing general outline of continents Modern George Perkins Marsh Man and Nature or Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action Carl Sauer Cultural Landscapes should be fundamental focus of geography W.D. Pattison Four distinct traditions of geography: earth-science tradition, cultureenvironment tradition, locational tradition, and area-analysis tradition 6

Key Concepts and Skills of Geographical Perspective Scale Definition ratio between the distance on a map and the actual distance on the earth s surface Large Scale have large scale ratios and cover much smaller regions (maps of neighborhood or local area) Small Scale have small scale ratios and cover much larger regions (maps of the world or continents) Types of Scales Fraction or Ratio shows the numerical ratio between distances on the map and Earth s surface 1/24,000 and 1:24,000 Written statement describes the relation between map and Earth distances in words 1 inch equals 1 mile Graphic Bar Bar line marked to show distance on Earth s surface Number on the bar line is the equivalent distance on Earth s surface 7

Scale Differences Maps of Washington State Small Scale Map Large Scale Map Which is the small scale map? Which is the large scale map? * Distortion is greatest in small scale (large area) maps! 8

Which illustration above best represents a small scale map? Which illustration above best represents a large scale map? 9

Importance of Scale Scale allows geographers to look at places on a local, regional, national, or global scale Processes operating at different scales influence one another. What is occurring across scales provides context for geographers to understand a phenomenon. People can use scale politically to change who is involved or how an issue is perceived.

Map Projections Map Projection scientific method of transferring locations on Earth s surface to a flat map All maps LIE!!! No perfect map projection depends on your data and the purpose of the map Four major types of map distortions Shape can be distorted appears more elongated or squat Distance between two points becomes increased or decreased Relative Area altered so that one area may appear larger than another, but in reality it may be smaller Direction from one place to another can be distorted Most maps in this course will be equal area projections relative sizes on the landmasses are the same as they are in reality 11

Mercator Projection Preserves accurate compass direction, distorts landmasses relative to each other Landmasses most distorted near the poles (high latitudes) 12

Peters Projection Retains the accurate sizes of all the world s landmasses Distortion near the equator (low latitudes) 13

Mollweide Projection Pseudo cylindrical projection Central meridian and parallels straight, but not other meridians 14

Robinson Projection Minimizes the errors in area, shape, distance, and direction land areas smaller Aesthetically pleasing balance good for displaying information across oceans 15

Azimuthal (planar) Projection Planar (polar) projections Formed when flat piece of paper is placed on top of the globe and light source projects surrounding areas on the map 16

Goodes-Homosoline Interrupted Projection Interrupted equal area map projection used for data representation 17

Fullers Projection Maintains accurate size and shape of landmasses, but completely rearranges direction 18

Key Concepts and Skills of Geographical Perspective Absolute Location exact position of an object or place, measured within the spatial coordinates of a grid system Longitude (meridians) lines that run north/south prime meridian at 0º Begin at 0º and go east and west until 180º Longitude lines never touch each other Latitude (parallels) lines that run east/west equator is at 0º Begin at 0º and go north and south until 90º Time Zones Telling Time Longitude plays an important role in calculating time Telling time using longitude - 360º divided by 24 = 15 15º east/west will enter a new time zone - - moving east turn clock ahead, moving west turn clock backward Greenwich Mean Time - prime meridian at 0º International Date Line - 180º longitude 19

Latitude and Longitude 20

Time Zones 21

Climate Map General information about the climate and precipitation (rain and snow) of a region 22

Economic Map Feature the type of natural resources or economic activity that dominates an area 23

Physical Map Illustrate the physical features of an area, such as mountains, rivers, and lakes. Colors are used to show relief differences in land elevations 24

Graduated Symbol Map Graduated Symbol maps use symbols of different sizes to represent the numerical values of an attribute. The size of the symbol is proportional to the value of the attribute it symbolizes. Graduated Symbol maps are useful for illustrating quantitative information, such as traffic volume, earthquakes of different magnitudes, and population. 25

Political Map Indicate state and national boundaries and capital and major cities 26

Cartogram Map Present statistics in a pictorial way. A cartogram might show countries of the world in their proper map position, but with each country distorted to a size proportionate to its population World Population Cartogram 27

Topographic (Isoline) Map Include contour (isoline) lines to show the shape and elevation of an area. Lines that are close together indicate steep terrain, and lines that are far apart indicate flat terrain 28

Dot Map Use points to show precise locations of specific observations or occurrences Show frequency of events or phenomena Distribution of commercial wireless antennas in the USA. 29

Choropleth Map Use colors or tonal shadings to represent categories of data for given geographic areas (Darker colors usually show higher amount/percentage) 30

Flow-Line Map Typically use arrows to illustrate movement Used often in human geography to illustrate migration movement 31

Cognitive (Mental) Map Inform people s spatial behavior Individuals internal geographic understanding of a place 32

Use and Interpret Geospatial Data Remote Sensing Capturing image of earth s surface from airborne platforms Use of satellites and airplanes (single one at a time) Acquisition of data about Earth s surface from a satellite orbiting Earth or from other long distance methods is known as remote-sensing Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers determine precise locations Use latitude/longitude to determine exact location on Earth Used primarily for navigation Applications Turn-By-Turn directions in vehicles Navigational aid to pilots and ship captains Provide location for social media applications in a smartphone Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Computer system that captures, stores, analyzes, and displays data Information stored in layers, which will be combined to present an overall image Thematic layers Online Mapping Google Maps - Mapquest 33

Remote Sensing GIS GPS 34

Layers can be compared to show relationships among different kinds of information. Data can be overlaid in one GIS from a variety of different sources through a process known as a mashup. 35

Geographic Information System Thematic Layers!! 36