Geography: its Nature and Perspectives

1. Geography: its Nature and Perspectives Review

2. Scale! • Remember: With scale, it’s opposite of what you’d think • Large scale is a small space with great detail • Small scale is a large space with less detail • How can I remember? • How big are the individual features on the map? If Bluffdale was really LARGE, then it’s a LARGE scale map. If Bluffdale is just a tiny dot (SMALL), it’s a SMALL scale.

3. SCALE • Scale is represented in fractions • 1/10,000 is a larger number than 1/100,000,000 so the first number would be a larger scale • To put it in easier terms, ½ is a larger number than 1/8. So the math with ½ would be a large scale. • Aggregation is the size of the geographic units we’re studying • There are different levels of aggregation • State level? Country? County? City?

5. Types of maps

6. Types of Maps

7. Polar Projection

8. Types of maps • Thematic Maps or Special Purpose Maps • Dot Distribution Map • Isoline map • Usually altitude or temperature • Contours or isotherms • Choropleth map • Proportional symbol map

15. GIS: Global Information Systems • Geographic information on computers • Used in many areas of study • Military operations • Urban planning • Very fast growing job • Always changing • It allows multiple “layers” to merge • Compare and contrast data

16. GPS: Global Positioning System Satellite based Shows location Should work in any weather conditions Originally used for military The U.S. Department of Defense put up 24 satellites that communicate with one another and GPS devices

17. Regionalization • “The geographer’s equivalent of scientific classification is regionalization, with individual places or areal units being the objects of classification.” (Knox and Marston) • Formal: Homogeneity or uniformity is key • Functional: • overall coherence to the structure and dynamics of economic, political, and social organizations • Organized around a note or focal point • Has a core and a periphery • Vernacular: Based on perceptions

18. http://book2thepowerofplace.blogspot.com/2011/01/basics-of-maps-and-regions.htmlhttp://book2thepowerofplace.blogspot.com/2011/01/basics-of-maps-and-regions.html

19. Absolute v. Relative Location • Absolute: Specific coordinates • Latitude and longitude • Townships and range • Relative • Where is it located relative to other things?

20. Site and Situation • Site • Absolute location concept • Attributes of the place itself- what is there? Who is there? • Situation • Relative location concept • Reference to other significant places

21. Spatial Distributions • Density: Quantity within a defined area • Not just a number, but how much is in a space • People per square miles- different than just people or just square miles • Dispersion: How far are things spread out? • Close together = agglomerated or clustered • Far apart = dispersed or scattered • Opposite of dispersion is concentration • Pattern: Geometric arrangement • Linear, centralized, random, grid, hexagonal?

22. Sources Used Rubenstein, Jame M. The Cultural Landscape. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011. Fellmann, Djelland, Getis and Getis. Human Geography: Landscapes of Human Activities. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Knox, Paul and Marston, Sallie. Human Geography. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2004. Kuby, Harner and Gober. Human Geography in Action. Wiley, 2010