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INTRODUCTION TO REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION TO REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY. E.J. PALKA. OUTLINE. Geography: The discipline Geographic Realms Transition Zones Regions Physical Setting. GEOGRAPHY. The study of place and space . The word, “spatial” is a purely Geographical concept. Does NOT refer to “outer space”.

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INTRODUCTION TO REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY

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  1. INTRODUCTION TO REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY E.J. PALKA

  2. OUTLINE • Geography: The discipline • Geographic Realms • Transition Zones • Regions • Physical Setting

  3. GEOGRAPHY • The study of place and space. The word,“spatial” is a purely Geographical concept. Does NOT refer to “outer space”. • Divided into: Physical & Human. Studies human activity, the natural environment, and the relationship between the two. • Studies the location and distribution of features on the Earth’s surface. Answers where and why • Why is Timbuktu where it is, and why did the settlement evolve on this site? (see handouts)

  4. GEOGRAPHIC REALMS Realms are based on Spatial Criteria • The largest geographic units into which the inhabited world can be divided • Based on both physical (natural) and human (cultural) criteria

  5. WORLD GEOGRAPHIC REALMS • Geographic realms change over time. • Where geographic realms meet, transitionzones, not sharp boundaries, mark their contacts.

  6. TRANSITION ZONES • An area of spatial change where peripheries of two adjacent realms or regions join • Marked by a gradual shift (rather than a sharp break) in the characteristics that distinguish neighboring realms

  7. GEOGRAPHICAL CLASSIFICATION CONCEPT OF SCALE The World Realms Regions

  8. REGION • Marked by a certain degree of homogeneity (sameness) in one or more phenomena. In other words, areas of similar characteristics. • Also called a uniform region or homogeneousregion Examples: Corn Belt Megalopolis

  9. REGIONS • Scientific devices that enable us to make spatial generalizations • Based on criteria we establish • Criteria can be: • Human (cultural) properties • Physical (natural) characteristics • or Both

  10. REGIONS • All regions have: • Area • Boundaries • Location

  11. THE PHYSICAL SETTING • Physical Geography • Alfred Wegner • Tectonic plates • Continental drift • Pacific Ring of fire

  12. CLIMATE • Hydrologic cycle • Precipitation patterns • Climate regions

  13. CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY • A wide-ranging and comprehensive field that studies spatial aspects of human cultures • Culture: Shared patterns of learned behavior • Components: Beliefs; Institutions; and Technology

  14. CULTURALLANDSCAPE • The composite of human imprints on the earth’s surface. • Carl Sauer’s definition: “the forms superimposed on the physical landscape by the activities of man”

  15. CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

  16. CULTURE HEARTH • The source areasfrom which radiated ideas, innovations, and ideologies that change the world beyond

  17. POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY • A subfield within the human branch of geography • The study of the interaction of geographical area and political process • The spatial analysis of political phenomena and processes

  18. STATE • A politically organizedterritory • Administered by a sovereign government • Recognizedby a significant portion of the international community. • A state must also contain: • a permanent resident population • an organized economy • a functioning internal circulationsystem

  19. NATION • Some examples of stateless nations: the Cherokee Nation, the Palestinians, the Kurds (see next slide). Must a nation be a place?

  20. KURDISH REGION THE KURDS

  21. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION • 4 major clusters 1) East Asia 2) South Asia 3) Europe 4) Eastern North America

  22. PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT • Economic geography: Core areas vs. peripheries • Economic conditions (World Bank’s groupings)

  23. PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT

  24. THE GEOGRAPHER’S PERSPECTIVE

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