Chapter 1
True Maps, False Impressions:Making, Manipulating, and Interpreting Maps
What is geography?
The spatial perspective:
how human activities are organized
in space and how they relate
to the natural environment.
1) Location
2) Place
3) Region
4) Movement
5) Human-Environmental InteractionTable 1.1 (p. 2)
The Five Themes of Human Geography
Maps
A two-dimensional
graphical
representation
of the surface
of the earth.
Projection
Simplification
Scale
Aggregation
Type of Map (reference / thematic)
Ways that Cartographers Manipulate Maps
Map Projections
Figure 1.1 (p. 4)
Mercator
Mollweide
Figure 1.1 (p. 4)
Van Der Grinten
Robinson
Map Projections
Figure 1.1 (p. 4)
Polar
Polar
Map Projections
Figure 1.1 (p. 4)
varying point of orientation
Dymaxion Map
Map Projections
Map Projections
Figure 1.2 (p. 6)
Lincoln, Nebraska
Map Simplification
Denver International AirportFigure 1.3 (p. 7)
Map Scale
Figures 1.4 (p. 8)
Map Aggregation
Percent of the population age 25+with a bachelor's degree, 1990.
Figures 1.4 & 1.5 (p. 8)
Percent of the population age 25+with a bachelor's degree, 1990.
Map Aggregation
Map Aggregation
Map Aggregation
USGS Southwest Pueblo Quadrangle
Map Type: Reference Maps
Figure 1.2 (p. 6)
Figure 1.6 (p. 9)
Isoline:Average Daily Solar Radiation
Choropleth:Florida Senior Citizens
Map Type: Thematic Maps
Figure 1.6 (p. 9)
Dot:Wisconsin Acerage in Potatoes
Map Type: Thematic Maps
Name That Key Term
The flow of people, goods, money, ideas, or materials
between locations near or far (the fourth theme of geography).
Movement
The local human and physical characteristics that uniquely define a
place and give it meaning to its inhabitants (the second theme of
geography).
Place
An area characterized by similarity or by cohesiveness that sets it
apart from other areas (the third theme of geography).
The absolute position of something on the surface of the earth and its relative proximity to other related things (the
first theme of geography).
Location
Region
The ways in which human society and the natural
environment affect each other (the fifth theme of geography).
Human-EnvironmentalInteraction
The ratio of map distance to earth distance, measured in the same units. Map Scale
A systematic method of transferring a spherical surface to a flat map.
A two-dimensional graphical representation of the surface of
the earth (or of events that occur on the earth).
Map
Map Projection
Elimination of unimportant detail on maps and retention and possibly exaggeration and distortion of important information, depending on the purpose of the map.
Simplification
The level of detail for dividing a thematic map into geographic units, ranging from a coarse division (e.g., countries) to a fine
division (e.g., zip codes).
Aggregation
A thematic map in which a dot represents some frequency of
the mapped variable.Dot Map
A map that demonstrates a particular feature or a single variable.
Thematic Map
A thematic map in which the size of a symbol varies in relation to the frequency or intensity of the
mapped variable.
A general-purpose map that shows recognizable
landmarks, roads, and political units.
Reference Map
ProportionalSymbol Map
A thematic map with lines that connect points of equal value. Isoline Map
A thematic map in which ranked classes of some variable are
depicted with shading patterns or colors for predefined zones.
Choropleth Map
Information obtained indirectly from another source that was previously
collected, processed, and made available to a larger audience.
Secondary Data
Information collected directly by the researchers or their equipment
without any intermediary. This can include surveys, interviews,
observations, or measurements obtained in the field.
Primary Data
A computer hardware and software system that handles geographically
referenced data. A ___ uses and produces maps and has the ability to
perform many types of spatial analysis.
GeographicInformation
Systems (GIS)
Explanatory list of symbols in a map. Usually appears in a box in a lower corner. Legend
The study of the distribution of humans and their activities on the surface of the
earth and of the processes that generate these distributions.
Human Geography
Information that has a geographical or locational component. Spatial Data
True Maps, False Impressions:Making, Manipulating, and Interpreting Maps
Chapter 1
Case Study
After completing this chapter, you will be able to:
• Convert map scale to real-world distances.
• Recognize choropleth, proportional symbol, isoline, and dot maps.
• Recognize that changing the scale and type of a map changes its message.
• Understand the difference between changing scale and changing level of aggregation.
• Use GIS to change the class limits on a choropleth map.
• Describe the geographic distribution of African-Americans in the United States.
(pp. 15 & 16)
Activity 1: Scale
Figures 1.11 & 1.12 (pp. 17 & 19)
Spatial Data & GIS
• Primary vs. secondary data
• Geographic information systems (GIS)
Historical Geog. of African Americans
• Slave trade 1619-1808
• Emancipation in 1863
• Post-World War I — Northward Migration
• Post-1970 Reversal in Migration Flows
• Census treatment of race and ethnicity
• Race and ethnicity as socially constructed variables
Activity 2: Thematic Maps
Which format includes more detail?
Which format can be read more quickly?
Table 1.2 (p. 25)
Online Activity
Online Activity
UnderstandingIsoline Maps
Figure 1.13 (p. 28)
True Maps, False Impressions:Making, Manipulating, and Interpreting Maps
Chapter 1
Case Study
Canadian Examples
Online Activity