Human GeographyIt’s Nature and Perspectives

what is geography?• Essential Questions: How can

geography be used to shape our view of the world?

• Learning Target: IWBAT explain the importance of geography as a field of study

• Formative Assessment(s): We use GPS on a daily basis. How does using GPS cause you to look at the world differently?

BellworkHow do you use geography on a daily basis?

what is geography?

• “description of the earth”• a study of spatial variation

– the how and why of physical & cultural differences

– location, location, location– observable patterns that have evolved

through time

-interaction of physical environment and human activity (Marsh, Sauer) -cultural landscape can alter the natural environment

evolution of the discipline- mapping/human interpretation

• Aristotle (384-322 BC)• Erathosthenes (276 BC)• Strabos (63BC-24AD)/Herodotus (484-

423BC)

Ptolemy (2nd century AD)

outside the western world

• Chinese Scholars• Muslim Scholars

human geography

• Where are people?• What are they like?• What is their interaction over space?• What kinds of landscapes do they erect?

physical geography

• attention towards natural landscape– landforms and their distribution– atmospheric conditions and climatic

patterns– soils / vegetation associations

modern geography…..

• 1. Climates, patterns, processes of physical environment

• 2. Rapid development of natural sciences

• 3. Accurate mapping• 4. Data collection / statistics

academic geography

• Earth science• Man-land relations• Areal differentiation• Spatial organization

– location– processes– patterns– interactions/relations– distributions

Formative AssessmentWe use GPS on a daily basis. How does using GPS cause you to look at the world differently?

what is geography?• Essential Questions: How can

geography be used to shape our view of the world?

• Learning Target: IWBAT use and understand maps.

• Formative Assessment(s): Give an definition of absolute location and relative location. Give an example of each.

BellworkWhat labels are important to include on a map?

three concepts about space

• Location• Direction• Distance

absolute location

• Mathematical location– Latitude & Longitude

• degrees, minutes, seconds

– Township & Range (1785 Land Ordinance)• Subdivision: parallels & meridians• Topographic quadrangle, US Geological Survey

– Metes & Bounds

latitude & longitude

(22° 15' N, 114° 10‘ E)

relative location

• “place” in relationship to surroundings

• Site– absolute location concept– physical & cultural characteristics

• Topography, vegetation, water, physical characteristic

• Situation– external relations of locale– relative location concept– dynamic

absolute directions

• Based on cardinal systems– north, south, east, west– from solar system

relative directions

• Based on cultural & local perceptions– no absolute boundaries or definitions– “down south”, “out west”, “up north”, “down

south”, “Near East”, “Far East”– Left, right, forward, backward

absolute distance

• Absolute mathematical mileage, or measurement of distance

relative distance

• Refers to a more regional spatial relationship– how distance is described

MILES MINUTES

$$$ & TIME

psychological distance

• Distance lengthened / shortened– first time traveled– night / day travel– safety / danger / excitement

size & scale

• Size of unit studied• Scale implies degree of generalization

– broad or narrow– Varying sizes

• local • regional• global

Formative Assessment(s)• Give a definition of absolute location

and relative location. Give an example of each.

what is geography?• Essential Questions: How can

geography be used to shape our view of the world?

• Learning Target: IWBAT define regions and evaluate the regionalization process

• Formative Assessment(s): Give a definition of formal, functional, and perceptual regions. Give an example of each.

BellworkAnswer the questions below:• Where do your clothes come from?• Where do your cell phones come

from?• Where does your food come from?• Where do your shoes come from?

landscapes

• Natural• Cultural• Dynamic

multi-varied landscapes

process of change

Before 1970 After development

Long Island, New York

spatial interaction

• Accessibility – how easy/difficult to overcome time

& space separation

• Connectivity– how places are connected

• Spatial diffusion– process of dispersion of ideas or items from a

center of origin to more distant points

• Globalization– Increasing interconnection of peoples and

societies worldwide

globalization

• Standardization– $$$$, EU, time, United Nations

• Containerization– movement of products– outsourcing

• Intersection of the ‘haves’ & ‘have nots’– cell phones, internet

spatial distribution

• Arrangement of items on Earth’s surface

• Three concepts

1. density

• Measure of the number/quantity within a defined unit of areas – proportion

• Arithmetic density: total # of people divided by land area

• physiological density: # of people per unit of arable land

2. dispersion (concentration)

• Amount of spread of phenomenon over an area– 1. clustered, agglomerated– 2. dispersed, scattered, random

3. pattern

• Emphasizes design rather than spacing– linear (a) – road, river, rail line– centralized (b) – city & suburbs– random (c)

• Rectangular system of land survey - U.S.– rural: checkerboard, 1 mile squares– cities: grid system

regional concepts

• 1. formal or uniform regions– Areas of essential uniformity

• Physical or cultural• Sahara Desert, “Bible Belt”

2. functional region

• spatial system defined by interactions/ connections

Glendale Galleria

Newspaper Route

3. perceptual regions

• Less structured & more culturally based

The “Valley’China Town

Examples of regions

•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LVXiM_u_UM The “Valley’China Town

Formative Assessment(s)• Give a definition of formal,

functional, and perceptual regions. Give an example of each.

what is geography?• Essential Questions: How can

geography be used to shape our view of the world?

• Learning Target: IWBAT evaluate projections for distortions.

Formative Assessment(s): State one benefit and one limitation of each of the projections below: Mercator, Fuller, Robinson, and Azimuthal

cartography – the science of making maps

• Maps provide a visual tool • Maps are subjective• Map projections transfer locations on a

round surface to a flat surface– some form of distortion always occurs– greater distortion results from larger areas

depicted

global grid system

mathematics of the Earth

• Aristotle (384-322 BC) discovered the earth to be an oblate spheroid

– Equatorial bulge 7926.38 (7924) – Polar shortening 7899.80 (7922)– 23.5° axis (tilt)

seasons and climate

• Earth’s rotation & movement around the sun

• Tilt of the earth’s axis (23.5°)• Receipt of solar radiation• Re-radiation of energy in the form of

heat

the Earth’s divisions

• Latitude lines – Equal distance between lines– Lines become increasingly smaller descending

from the equator to poles

• Longitude lines– Each line is the same exact length– All lines become increasingly close together as

they descend to the poles– Connects the North and South Poles

important lines of latitude

• Equator: 0 degrees• Tropic of Cancer: 23.5 degrees North• Tropic of Capricorn: 23.5 degrees South• Arctic Circle: 66.5 degrees North• Antarctic Circle: 66.5 degrees South

important lines of longitude

• Prime Meridian: 0 degrees (runs through Greenwich, England)

• International Dateline: 180 degrees• Time Zones: every 15 degrees of

longitude equals one hour

maps• Scale

– the smaller the scale, the greater the area

– World map has smallest scale, city map has largest scale (think of scales like fractions)

- for example one inch = one mile is more detailed than one inch = one hundred miles 1:1 or 1:100

• Legend – interprets map information

map projections & distortion

• Shape• Distance• Relative size• Direction

Mercator: preserves direction, distorts landmass, used for navigationFuller’s: preserves shape and size, distorts directionRobinson: minimizes projection errorsPeters: equal-area projection, focus on Africa Azimuthal: oriented to the Poles

Robinson map projection

Fuller’s Dymaxion projection

Topographical map

Thematic maps

Cartogram map

Geographical Information Systems

mental maps

Formative Assessment(s)State one benefit and one limitation of each of the projections below:• Mercator• Fuller• Robinson• Azimuthal