In this lesson we will look at some basic concepts in geography -
specifically
1. A definition of human geography
2. Cultural Ecology
3. The Five Themes of geography
4. Location
5. Maps
6. Distributions
1. A definition of geography
What is Geography?
Geography literally means 'description of the Earth' - geography was first
used by the Greek scholar Eratsothenes in the 3rd century BC
READING THE FOLLOWING LINK IS OPTIONAL
Our definition of human geography for the purpose of this lesson is as follows:
The study of location of people and activities across the Earth's
surface and reasons for that distribution.
The basic questions geographers ask are 'where' and 'why'.
2. Cultural Ecology
In human geography we are interested in studying many spatial aspects of
human activity.
Human beings cannot be studied in isolation from the environment, and for centuries
there have been a variety of ideas about how people relate to their environment
This relationship between human beings and the environment is called 'Cultural
Ecology".
At one time the prevailing opinion about this relationship was called
'environmental Determinism'.
Environmental determinists believed that the physical environment
(particularly climate) CAUSES and totally controls social development.
e.g. People from cool climates are smart, energetic and inherently superior, while
people from warm climate are slow, stupid, and inherently inferior
These ideas were used by the Nazis to support ideas of Aryan superiority.
This approach, of course, has been rejected.
The cultural ecology approach accepted today is called "possibilism".
Possibilism accepts that the environment may influence or limit human activities
but people can adjust to the environment, or even change their environment, by the
use new technology, migration etc.
3. The Five Themes of geography
The 'Five Themes' of geography were formulated to give a sense of what geography studies.
They were specifically developed as a guide for public school teachers.
The Five Themes are
a. Location
Includes both absolute and relative location.
Answers the basic question 'where'
b. Place
The human and physical characteristics that distinguish a place
from other places
c. Human-Environment interaction
The relationships within places
How humans interact with the environment and the consequences for both
people and the landscape
d. Movement
The mobility of people, goods and ideas
e. Regions
Areas on the Earth's surface that are defined by unifying characteristics
These characteristics may be physical or human
4. Location
Location is fundamental to geography.
There various ways to identify location, and we will look at the four basic types
a. Toponym
A toponym is simply the name of a place name. e.g. Edwardsville .
Place names can give a some information about the origin
of people (Germantown) or the physical setting (Cedar Rapids).
READING THE FOLLOWING LINKS IS REQUIRED - YOU WILL BE TESTED LATER
ON THE LATITUDE-LONGITUDE SYSTEM
b. Site
Not a name but the actual ground a place is built on.
Includes climate, topography, soil, vegetation.
Often important when selecting a settlement location.
c. Relative location or situation
Location with respect to other places.
For example 'Edwardsville is 15 miles northeast of St. Louis'
This kind of location depends on prior knowledge (to be useful you must
know where St. Louis is) and gives only a general location.
Land descriptions in the original 13 colonies use a system of
relative location called 'metes and bounds'.
e.g. My land extends 100 yards due west from the big oak, along the
creek 1 perche (19ft). One problem with using such a system is that the
lanmarks referred to may no longer be there, or may have shifted position.
d. a. Absolute location
Involves precise location using a grid system.
The best known example is the latitude/longitude system.
READING THE FOLLOWING LINKS IS REQUIRED - YOU WILL BE TESTED LATER
ON THE LATITUDE-LONGITUDE SYSTEM
b. Another grid system is used for land description outside the
original colonies.
This is called the Township/Range system.
The system uses base lines and principal meridians.
Six mile strips of land surveyed north and south of a baseline are called townships.
Six mile strips surveyed east and west of a principle meridian are called ranges.
The result is that a six mile square called a township-range can be identified.
- for example T3N, R5E
Each township-range is divided into 36 sections each 1 sq mile (640 acres) in area.
Sections are numbered from 1 in top right (NE) corner to 6 in top left corner (NW),
to 31 in the bottom left (SW) corner and 36.
- an example of a land description of a particular section might be
Sect 19, T3N, R5E
Sections are divided into quarter sections (160 acres) and into quarters of quarters
(40 acres).
Quarter sections or quarters of quarter sections are identified as NE, NW, SE, or SW
- an example of a land description of a particular 40 acres might be
NE 1/4, NW 1/4, Sect 19, T3N, R5E
160 acres, a quarter section, was often given to pioneers as a homestead.
READING THE FOLLOWING LINK IS REQUIRED - YOU WILL BE TESTED LATER
ON THE TOWNSHIP-RANGE SYSTEM
5. Maps
The definition of a map: A two dimensional (flat) representation of the Earth's surface or a
portion of it.
The science of map making is cartography.
Scale is the relationship between the length of an object on the map and it's
actual length on the Earth's surface.
a. Written scale one inch to one mile.
b. Graphic scale - shows a bar with distance indicated
c. Fractional scale (representative fraction), for example 1:24,000.
Fractional scale are a ratio and, unlike the other two types of scale,
can use any units unlike the other two.
For instance in the example above
1 inch on the map represents 24,000 inches in the real world.
1 centimeter on the map represents 24,000 centimeters in the real world.
1 pencil length on the map represents 24,000 pencil lengths in the real world.
READING THE FOLLOWING LINKS IS REQUIRED - YOU WILL BE TESTED LATER
ON THE CONCEPTS CONCERNING MAP SCALE
The first two kinds of scale are often used on things like road maps because
fractional scale is not understood by the general public.
You should be able to convert written scales to fractional scales
For example if 1 inch represents 10 feet - what is this in fractional form.
To do this just make sure the same units are on both sides of the ratio
1:(10 feet expressed in inches) = 1:120
More examples:
1 inch represents 2 yards = 1:72
1 inch represents 12 feet = 1:144
Small versus large scale maps:
The smaller the scale the larger the area represented.
A small scale map shows a large area but cannot show much detail.
A large scale map shows a more limited area but can show more detail.
When looking at fractional scales, the larger the number on the right hand side,
the smaller the scale of the map.
1:36,000,000 is a smaller scale than 1:24,000 (think of fractions).
Map Projections:
The system used to transfer information from a sphere to a flat surface is called a
projection.
Projections ALWAYS involve distortions.
It is not possible to draw an accurate flat picture of something that was originally
on a curved surface.
Either the shape or size (or both) of an area are distorted.
a. Equal area or Equivalent projections retain correct relative size
- coin placed anywhere on the map covers same area.
Shape is distorted.
b. Conformal map retains correct shape, but area is distorted.
eg Greenland/S America on the Mercator projection.
One example of a conformal projection is the Mercator projection
This projection is often used in school and is responsible for misconceptions.
On this projection Greenland looks bigger than South America, although the
shape looks fine
In reality South America has an area of 6,900,000 sq mi; Greenland has an
area of 840,000 (1/8th the size of South America)
READING THE FOLLOWING LINKS IS REQUIRED - YOU WILL BE TESTED LATER
ON THE CONCEPT OF MAP PROJECTIONS
Types of Maps:
Information can be presented on maps in different ways.
Maps that present a specific category of data are called
'thematic maps' eg population, land use, climate.
A. Dot map - each dot represents a certain quantity of occurrence
in it's approximate location.
B. Choropleth map - average value in a given area; shaded or
colored to suggest magnitude.
C. Isoline map - Connect points registering equal values.
eg Isotherm (temperature), Isobar (pressure),
Isohyet (precipitation), Contour (elevation).
6. Distributions
Across the Earth's surface there are spatial distributions of countless phenomenon.
Distrubutions have three properties geographers are often interested in
a. Density - frequency in a given area.
e.g. people per square mile.
There are three different types of density I want to mention.
A. Arithmetic density - people per unit area
To calculate you divide total population by total land area
B. Physiological density - People per unit area suitable
for agriculture.
To calculate you divide total population by agricultural land area
C. Agricultural density - number of farmers per unit area of
farmland.
To calculate you divide population of farmers by agricultural land area
More developed countries (MDCs) like the United States can be expected to have
low agricultural density (not many people farm).
Less developed countries (LDCs) like Bangladesh can be expected to have
high agricultural densities since most people farm.
b. Concentration - spread over a given area.
A. Clustered - bunched up into tight groups; not evenly spread.
B. Dispersed - spread out and not in groups.
Not the same thing as density - two areas may have identical density
but in one people may be clustered and in the other dispersed.
3. Pattern - geometric arrangement of objects. e.g. Linear, as in
streets; circular
GLOSSARY
LESSON 1 ASSIGNMENT e-mail your answers to your instructor using the form provided.
Be sure to specifically indicate what question you are answering, for example
for question a. type in something like " My first example of a toponym is _____
and the information this toponym contains is _________.
a. Give two examples of a toponym, and tell what information THE ACTUAL toopnym
provides (avoid using prior knowledge).
b. Select two locations and describe them using relative location (situation).
c. Select two places, name them, and desribe their location using a system of
absolute location.
d. Explore the internet and provide the URL for sites that illustrate the following
1. A site that displays a small scale map
2. A site that displays a large scale map
3. A site that displays a choropleth map
4. Find sites that pertain to each of the five themes of geography (total
five sites) and briefly explain why you think they illustrate the
particular theme
NOW GO AND TAKE THE LESSON TEST.
You must contact me to schedule a time and date to take a quiz.
You will be allowed 30 minutes to take each quiz.
You will only have one opportunity to take each quiz.
E-mail: Wendy Shaw
WSHAW@SIUE.EDU
URL: http://www.siue.edu/~wshaw/
