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Nature of Geography

Nature of Geography . Geographers ask two basic questions: Where? Why there? Geography is a Greek word first used by a scholar by the name of Eratosthenes. Geo – Earth Graphy – To Write. When answering the question ‘Where’ – 5 Geographical themes have to be considered:

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Nature of Geography

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  1. Nature of Geography

  2. Geographers ask two basic questions: • Where? • Why there? • Geography is a Greek word first used by a scholar by the name of Eratosthenes. • Geo – Earth • Graphy – To Write

  3. When answering the question ‘Where’ – • 5 Geographical themes have to be considered: • LOCATION: …Site • PLACE: …Situation • REGION: …Transition Zone • MOVEMENTS: …Communication and Transportation • HUMAN-ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION: … Possibilism and Determinism

  4. Location

  5. Absolute location- defines a point or place on the map using coordinates Relative location- refers to the location of a place compared to a known place or a geographic feature

  6. Place

  7. Think of place as an area of bounded space of some human importance When human importance is recognized, it is common to assign a toponym (a place name) The attributes of place change over time Sequent occupancy- the succession of groups and cultural influences throughout a place’s history in many places you will find several layers that contribute to a place-specific culture

  8. Movement

  9. Region

  10. Formal Region Sometimes called a uniform region A region that has striking similarities in terms of one or a few physical or cultural features Ex. Linguistic region- everyone speaks the same language Regional boundaries can be very simple or very complex Ex. Political boundaries are finite and well defined, cultural boundaries are fuzzy

  11. Functional Regions Also called nodal regions Areas that have a central place or a node that is a focus or point of origin that expresses some practical purpose Ex. Market areas The influence of this point is strongest in the areas close to the center, and the strength diminishes as distance increases from that point (distance decay) Tobler’s Law- states that all places are interrelated, but closer places are more related than further ones

  12. One more thing about that… When the length of distance becomes a factor that inhibits the interaction of two places, its known as friction of distance

  13. Perceptual Region Also called Vernacular region its based upon the perception or collective mental map of the region’s residents Ex. Dixie (America’s south) What is America’s south? -some define it as states of the Civil war, some as the number of country music bands, some as NASCAR races *No matter what is used to spatially define the regional concept, the reason tends to be a point of pride for residents ***Be careful with your vernacular definitions (there’s country music and NASCAR everywhere)

  14. Human- Environment Interaction

  15. Scale

  16. Scale – the relationship of an object or place to the earth as a whole Scale can be thought of in 2 ways 1) map scale- describes the ratio of distance on a map and distance in the real world in absolute terms 2) relative scale- also known as scale of analysis; this describes the level of aggregation, which is the level at which you group things together for examination

  17. Map Scale Large Scale Small Scale

  18. Regional Scale Local City County State Regional National Continental International

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