Aug-01 HG, Chapter 1 1

Chapter One

Human Geography

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What is Geography?

1. ge·og·ra·phy (jē-ŏg'rə-fē)n., pl. ge·og·ra·phies. (Abbr. geog.)

2. Etymology: Latin geographia, from Greek geOgraphia, from geOgraphein to describe the earth's surface, from geO- + graphein to write -- Date: 15th century

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Definition from Dictionary

1. The study of the earth and its features and of the distribution of life on the earth, including human life and the effects of human activity. - The American Heritage® Dictionary of the

English Language, Third Edition 2. a science that deals with the description,

distribution, and interaction of the diverse physical, biological, and cultural features of the earth's surface - WWWebster

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Human Geography Provides ways of understanding places,

regions, and spatial relationships at the products of a series of interrelated forces that stem from nature, culture, and individual human action.

Urban, Religion, Population, Medical, Economic, Political, Marketing, Behavioral, Linguistic, Human Environmental, Cultural and Social Geography. (Figure 1-1)

Spatial Perspective – shared by Physical and Human Geography

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The Structured Content of Place

How things are distributed? relational location to the objects?

Spatial distribution - the arrangement of things on the earth’s surface - common elements:Density, Dispersion, and pattern

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Four Traditions of Geography – W.D. Pattison, 1964

Earth-Science(Physical Geog)

report the processesthat modify the natural world

Culture-Environment-Interaction bet/w human

and environmentEnv. Determinism

Locational- heart of All geography.

Spatial focus of all geography

Area-Analysis-Regional science

-best location for a shopping center

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Five Themes – GENIP from National Geographic Society (Geography Education National Implementation Program)

Earth-Science(Physical Geog)

Culture-Environment-Interaction bet/w human

and environment

Locational- heart of All geography

Area-Analysis-Regional science

Place Movement

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What’s important is …perspectives not focus on either human or physical Geography

Three key perspectives

Integration in placeInterdependencies

between places

Interdependencies among scales global/local scales

NYSE,Kuwait

Cook

evill

e - f

ruit,

dairy

/wor

kers

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Uniqueness/Influences of Places dynamic/changing environment leads to

perspectives,values, attitudes, behaviors, and viewpoints toward the neighborhood, community, city, society, state and the world.

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And. AAA maps, if you’re a member of it.

Trip maps Internet maps (www.mapquest.com) City bus maps NYC subway maps BART maps …...

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GIS/GPS and Remote Sensing GIS - Geographic Information

System GPS - Global Positioning System Remote Sensing- Satellite/Radar to

measure the information from the surface of the earth

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Remote Sensing - gathering info from great distance using instrument on aircraft/satellite which measure the electromagnetic energy emitted from the surface

Active RS Sys(Radar)Spotlight on a dark night

Short-wave (microwave)returned by water dropletDopper Radar

Passive RS Sys (Satellite Images)Camera(Aerial Photo)

Color-infrared images

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Geographic Information Systems

Points, Lines and Polygons

Data Acquisition

Preprocessing

Data Management

Data Manipulationand Analysis

Product Generation

Conservation layer

Well layer

Road layer

Vegetation layer

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Applications of GIS

•Where is the Next McDonald Site Selection•Marketing GIS•Environmental Planning•Hydrology of the surface and groundwater,•Non-point sources pollutions,•Watershed applications, wetland management,•Air pollution modeling and•Environmental health•Demographic modeling of population change.•Resources Management and•Emergency Response System, and •many others

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Regions on the Map Characteristics of regions -

area, location and boundaries.

Formal Region

FunctionalRegion

PerceptualRegion

Deserts, Mountains,

Little HavanaUrban areas - spatial

systems

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Maps in the Mind Mental Maps - your image of the

locations Environmental Perception Mental

Maps - also called cognitive maps, impression generates our mental map. (Figure 1-9)