INTRODUCTION

Thinking Geographically

An Introduction to Human GeographyThe Cultural Landscape

WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY?

Geography, as a discipline does claim to be a valid and revealing approach to

contemporary questions of political, economic, social, and ecological concern.

Themes of geography include:

Humans and environmental interactionDistribution of natural phenomena affecting

the human use of the earthThe Cultural patterns of settlement and

exploitation of the physical world

To best understand geography is to understand the questions geographers ask.

• What is it?• Where is it?• How did it come to be what and where it is?• Where is it in relation to other physical or

cultural realities that affect it or are affected by it?

• How is it part of a functioning whole? • Who does its location affect peoples lives?

THE TRUTH

There is a fundamental truth answered by geography: things are rationally organized on the earth’s surface and that interpreting spatial

patterns is an essential starting point for understanding how humans live on earth.

HOW DO WE FIND PLACES?

• The location of the place may be described in both absolute and relative terms.

• ABSOLUTE LOCATION: records a precise position on the surface of the globe, usually in terms of a mathematically based reference system.

• RELATIVE LOCATION: Describing the position of a place or thing in relation to other places or things.

• Indicate whether the following are examples of absolute or relative location.• a. terminal of the Erie Canal• b. 221 B Baker Street• c. lower California• d. along the Potomac River• e. 42° 30’N, 90°43’W• f. south of the border• g. Township 2 West, Range 3 North• h. 1600 Pennsylvania Ave

PHYSCIAL AND CULTURAL ATTRIBUTES

• All places have physical and cultural attributes. In Geography we study the relationship between the two.

• Physical characteristics refer to: climate, soil, water supplies, and resources.

• Everything we do leaves an imprint and this visible imprint is called the Cultural Landscape.

HOW DO PLACES INTERACT?

• Spatial interaction—how places interact with each other.• To be able to understand how places interact with each other

we must understand distance. • Distance affects everything humans do. Distance affects

humans on different scales. • Small scale—personal• Large scale—U.S. History-settlement patterns of the U.S.• How has technology helped us reduce distance?• Distance Decay—as everything is related to everything else,

relationships are stronger when things are near one another.• To get a better understanding of distance and technology think

about the history of the delivery of news.

REGIONS

• To study larger areas of land geographers are able to divide places into regions. Regions are areas divided because there is a similarity. This could be political, physical, cultural, or because of the climate.

Types of Regions• 1. Formal—essential uniformity in or on

limited geographic features.• 2. Functional—parts are interdependent

w/each other and forms an organized system.

How Geographers Address Location

• Maps– Early mapmaking– Map scale– Projection– Land Ordinance of 1785

• Contemporary Tools– GIS– Remote sensing– GPS

World Political Boundaries (2004)

Fig. 1-1: National political boundaries are among the most significant elements of the cultural landscape

Maps of the Marshall Islands

Fig. 1-2: A Polynesian “stick chart” depicts patterns of waves on the sea route between two South Pacific islands. Modern maps show the locations of these Marshall Islands.

Scale Differences: Maps of Florida

Fig. 1-3: The effects of scale in maps of Florida. (Scales from 1:10 million to 1:10,000)

Township and Range System in the U.S.

Fig. 1-4: Principal meridians and east-west baselines of the township system. Townships in northwest Mississippi and topographic map of the area.

Layers of a GIS

Fig. 1-5: A geographic information system (GIS) stores information about a location in several layers. Each layer represents a different category of information.

Site: Lower Manhattan Island

Fig. 1-6: Site of lower Manhattan Island, New York City. There have been many changes to the area over the last 200 years.

Uniqueness of Places and Regions

• Place: Unique location of a feature– Place names– Site– Situation– Mathematical location

• Regions: Areas of unique characteristics– Cultural landscape– Types of regions– Regional integration of culture– Cultural ecology

Situation: Singapore

Fig. 1-7: Singapore is situated at a key location for international trade.

World Geographic Grid

Fig. 1-8: The world geographic grid consists of meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude. The prime meridian (0º) passes through Greenwich, England.

World Time Zones

Fig. 1-9: The world’s 24 standard time zones are often depicted using the Mercator projection.

Election 2000: Regional Differences

Fig. 1-10: Presidential election results by county and state illustrate differences in regional voting patterns.

Formal and Functional Regions

Fig. 1-11: The state of Iowa is an example of a formal region; the areas of influence of various television stations are examples of functional regions.

Vernacular Regions

Fig. 1-12: A number of factors are often used to define the South as a vernacular region, each of which identifies somewhat different boundaries.

Spatial Association at Various Scales

Fig. 1-13: Death rates from cancer in the U.S., Maryland, and Baltimore show different patterns that can identify associations with different factors.

World Climate Regions

Fig. 1-14: The modified Köppen system divides the world into five main climate regions.

Environmental Modification in the Netherlands

Fig. 1-15: Polders and dikes have been used for extensive environmental modification in the Netherlands.

Environmental Modification in Florida

Fig. 1-16: Straightening the Kissimmee River has had many unintended side effects.

Similarity of Different Places

• Scale: From local to global– Globalization of economy– Globalization of culture

• Space: Distribution of features– Distribution– Gender and ethnic diversity in space

• Connections between places– Spatial interaction– Diffusion

Globalization of the Economy

Fig. 1-17: The Denso corporation is headquartered in Japan, but it has regional headquarters and other facilities in North America and Western Europe.

Density, Concentration, and Pattern

Fig. 1-18: The density, concentration, and pattern (of houses in this example) may each vary in an area or landscape.

Density and Concentration of Baseball Teams, 1952–2000

Fig. 1-19: The changing distribution of North American baseball teams illustrates the differences between density and concentration.

Space-Time Compression, 1492–1962

Fig. 1-20: The times required to cross the Atlantic, or orbit the Earth, illustrate how transport improvements have shrunk the world.

Airline Route Networks

Fig. 1-21: Delta Airlines, like many others, has configured its route network in a “hub and spoke” system.

AIDS Diffusion in the U.S., 1981–2001

Fig. 1-22: New AIDS cases were concentrated in three nodes in 1981. They spread through the country in the 1980s, but declined in the original nodes in the late 1990s.