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Unit One Key Issue #2

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How do we make these maps? GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Remote Sensing uses satellites or planes to take still pictures of the earths surface GPS uses multiple satellites and a person on the ground to convey absolute location

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The Township and Range System was created by the US Land Ordinance of 1785. Each township is divided into 36 sections each 1 mile by 1 mile and numbered 1 in the NE and 36 in the SE. The Homestead Act of 1863 encouraged the settlement of the West by giving each settler a quarter section or 160 acres of land.

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Key Issue #2: Why is Each Point on Earth Unique? Place: Unique Location as a Feature Regions: Areas of Unique Characteristics Spatial Association

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Place: Unique Location as a Feature Geographers think about where particular places are located & the combination of features that make each place or region distinct. 4 Ways to Identify LOCATION (the position that a place occupies on Earths surface) Place Names Toponym- the name given to a place on earth Site Situation Mathematical Location

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PLACE NAMES Toponym- the name given to a place on the earths surface Any ideas to the origin of some local Toponyms? El Dorado City of gold sought by Spanish explorers Cerro Gordo From the Battle of Cerro Gordo in the Mexican American war MacArthur, Eisenhower, Stephan Decatur

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Site The physical characteristics of a place Important site characteristics? Climate, water sources, soil, vegetation, latitude & elevation Why do you think Decatur was a good site for settlement in the early 1800s?

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Situation The location of a place relative to other places, knowing this helps us in 2 ways 1. situation helps us find an unfamiliar place by comparing it to a familiar one. Examples? 2. situation also helps us understand the importance of a location What are some important cities throughout World History? Why are they important? Constantinople, Paris, London, New York, Beijing, Tenochtitlan, Rome, Hong Kong, New Dehli, Alexandria, Mecca, Timbuktu What makes Decaturs Situation unique? Why is it here?

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Mathematical Location Absolute location of any place can be described precisely by meridians and parallels Meridians (lines of longitude) Prime meridian (Int Date Line) Parallels (lines of latitude) The equator

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Bell Work 1/22 What is the difference between a places site and a places situation? Does the physical geography of a place completely control its destiny?

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Regions: Unique Characteristics Cultural Landscape a unique combination of social relationships and physical processes (language, religion, agriculture, industry, climate, vegetation, etc.) Each region = a distinctive landscape People = the most important agents of change to Earths surface Culture is the agent, the natural area the medium, the cultural landscape is the result. Carl Sauer, proponent of Regional Studies approach

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Types of Regions Anything larger than a point and smaller than the entire planet Formal Regions (uniform/homogenous region) A region where everyone shares in common 1 or more distinct characteristics Examples? Japan, Tibet, The United States Within the U.S Corn & Rust Belts

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Types of Regions Functional (nodal) regions An area organized around a node or focal point connected by transportation, communication or economic systems Examples? the circulation area of a newspaper, or the reach of a radio or television station Functional Region: TV Markets

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Types of Regions Vernacular or Perceptual Regions A place that people believe exists as part of their cultural identities Examples? East and West end of Decatur, the Deep South, the Southside or North side of Chicago, the middle east Activity -Mental Mapping

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Culture Origin from the Latin cultus, meaning to care for Two aspects: What people care about Beliefs, values, and customs What people take care of Earning a living; obtaining food, clothing, and shelter

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Cultural Ecology The geographic study of humanenvironment relationships Two perspectives: Environmental determinism Argued that the general laws sought by human geographers could be found in the physical sciences. Geography was therefore the study of how the physical environment caused human activities. Possibilism Modern geographers generally reject environmental determinism in favor of possibilism The physical environment may set limits on human actions but that people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives.

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