What is Geography?

1. What is Geography?

2. What is Geography? Spatial Science: examines how, why, and where interaction between humans and the environment occurs.

3. What is Geography? Hurricanes Tornados Earthquakes • Geography: means the “study of the earth.” • Studies natural or human phenomena through space, scale, and time. Natural Phenomenon

4. Space • Geography is the science of place (location) and space. • Place- For place the central issue is the difference relative to other places (relationship). • -Relative location: the location of a place relative to other places. • -Absolute location: the exact location of a place on the surface of the earth. • Space- When we discuss space (cf. place) we are often concerned with movement through space (distance and time). • What kinds of questions can Geographers ask about space and place? • -Where are things located and why are they there? • -How are people and their activities distributed in space? • -How do people perceive space? • -How do people create spaces?

5. Scale • Geographic scale is the dimension of how we examine a physical or human phenomena. • Different social and physical processes operate at different scales. -Global (macro) -Regional -Nation or State -Community, county, city, etc. (micro) • Many processes interact across various scales.

6. Time • Temporal scale- The historian has no exclusive right in the telling of stories in time. But the historian hopes to bring a special understanding to such story-telling. • Equally the geographer can claim no exclusive right to the telling of space stories, space futures, and space legends. • But the geographer should hope to tell such stories with special insight. -Compare two different places at a specific period. -Compare a place throughout history. -Why two cities have evolved differently over time.

7. Tools Remote sensing Cairo San Francisco

8. Washington D.C. (1 meter) Washington Monument

9. Tools • Geographic Information System (GIS)

10. Tools Maps • Cartography

11. Disciplines in Geography • Physical Geography- is concerned primarily with the physical processes and the relationship between humans and the physical environment. Ex. geomorphology, climatology, ecology, biology, etc. • Technique- Cartography, Remote Sensing, and Geographic Information System. • Human Geography

12. Human Geography • Studies the spatial analysis of human population, their culture, and activities. • Examines patterns, distribution, interaction, and location of human phenomenon. • Observes the relationship between the physical environment and humans; how we respond to change, and interact with the physical world. • It is sometimes referred as cultural or social geography, although these terms usually refer to sub-fields.

13. Interaction Between Human and The Physical Environment What aspects of a hurricane would a Physical Geographer be interested in? - Force of the winds - Precipitation - Path of the hurricane - Atmospheric pressure - Water temperature What aspects of a hurricane would a Human Geographer be interested in? - Property damages - Landfall - Fatalities - Migration - Economic effect http://earth.google.com/katrina.html

14. Hurricane Katrina • Timeline • Photos • Photos #2 • Photos #3 • Interactive Satellite Map

15. Sub fields of Human Geography Cultural Geography Population Geography Political Geography Urban Geography Economic Geography Medical Geography Historical Geography Social Geography Anthropology Demography Political Science Urban Studies Economics Medicine and Health History Sociology Check the following website for additional specialty groups http://www.aag.org/sg/sg_display.cfm