Unit One: Intro to Geography and Physical Geography

1. Unit One: Intro to Geography and Physical Geography Themes of Geography & Maps

2. Five Themes of Geography • These are used to describe patterns and connections in the use of space

3. Theme 1: Location • Where is it at? • Place Names • labels for locations – toponym • ex: Georgia, New York City • Relative Location • location relative to other locations • ex: Go west on Highway 53, turn right at the Rome Bypass • Absolute Location • geographic grid (38 °N 120 °W) • latitude & longitude • site

4. Theme 2: Place • What is it like? • The physical and cultural characteristics of a location

5. Theme 3: Region • How are places similar and different? • Places near each other have common features. This makes a region • Formal Region – • Designated by official boundaries or names • Continents, Countries, States, Cities • Functional Region • organized around a set of specific actions or connections • Cities located on I-75 for example • Perceptual Region • Region that has certain characteristics, but people define those characteristics in different ways • Where does Atlanta begin?

7. World Culture Regions

8. Predominant Languages by Region

9. Predominant Religions by Region

10. Theme 4: Movement • How do people, goods and ideas move from one location to another? • Distance is key to movement. Distance can be defined in three ways • Linear distance • Time Distance • Psychological Distance

11. Theme 5: Human-Environment Interaction • How do people relate to the physical world? • People change the environment • The environment changes people

12. Assignment • Small groups (3 is ideal) • Use the five themes to describe your environment/community • What is your location? (use multiple descriptions) • What is this place? (specific or general features) • What regions is this place a part of? (formal, functional or perceptual) • What patterns of movement are a significant part of this community? (Why and how do people move?) • How have people changed the environment in our surroundings?

13. Brain Teaser • Where can you walk one mile south, one mile east and then one mile north and end up where you started?

14. MAP ACTIVITY – BUILDING A SCHOOL • The interpretation of a map changes depending on the information it gives • Additional information can change the way one interprets a map

15. Reading a Map • Title • Compass Rose • Labels • Legend • Lines of Latitude • Lines of Longitude • Scale • Symbols

16. Geographic Grid • Latitude or Parallels • Longitude or Meridian • Using a coordinate system, latitude is listed first, followed by longitude

17. Latitudes • Are always written first • Are always equidistant from each other • Run east-west (horizontally) and measure distance from the equator • Location is measured in terms of degrees of latitude north or south of equator • The equator is 0° • 69.7 miles between every degree of latitude

18. Longitude • A meridian or line of longitude is a half circle from one pole to the other • Run north-south and measure distance from Prime Meridian • Are not equidistant from each other, except at the equator • Meet at the North and South poles • The length of a meridian is 20,003.93 km

19. The Poles • The convergence of longitude

20. Important Facts • The Earth spins on its axis • The ends of this axis are the geographic north and south poles • The compass needle points to the magnetic north pole, which is in northern Canada • The axis of the Earth is tilted 23.5°, and wobbles a bit • Tilt is called inclination • Inclination and variation in sunlight cause seasons • The equator divides the world into two hemispheres, Northern and Southern

22. Foucault’s Pendulum

23. Lines of Reference • The Equator is 0° latitude • The Prime Meridian is 0° longitude

24. The Equator • The ancient Greeks knew the equator existed, but it was not located exactly until the 16th century • The sun is directly overhead at 12:00 noon on the March and September Equinoxes • The equator divides the world into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres

25. The Prime Meridian • The Prime Meridian is the reference line longitude • Located at 0° longitude, passing through Greenwich Observatory, London • In October of 1884, international delegates met in Washington DC and agreed to its current location

26. The International Date Line • On Wednesday, July 9 1522, the survivors of Magellan’s expedition to circle the globe returned to Spain • However, they found that it was Thursday • This phenomenon caused many a great distress but it was soon solved.

27. The International Date Line • When it is 12:00 noon in Greenwich, England, it is 12:00 midnight at the IDL. (page A16) • Lose a day when travelling westward (the same direction as Magellan); Gain a day when travelling eastward. • If one crosses the date line at precisely midnight, going westward, one skips an entire day; while going eastward, one repeats the entire day.

28. Cartography • The art and science of map making • The map is the most important tool of geography

31. Types of Maps • Topographic – map that quantitatively shows relief (altitude) Uses?

32. b. Thematic Map • Dot map • Choropleth map • Isoline map • Cartogram –

33. Dot Map • Dot represents a piece of data, dots may vary in size • Uses, advantages?

34. Choropleth Map • shaded colors represents degrees of data • Uses, advantages?

35. Isoline Map • Also called a contour line map • Lines divide areas of different data sets • Uses, examples?

36. Cartogram • (not a cartogram)

37. Cartogram • The geometry or space of a map is distorted to convey the data • Uses?

38. Cartogram – people living with AIDS

39. c. Physical Map show terrain, climate, vegetation. Cities or borders are not a major feature

40. d. Political Maps • represent political units (cities, counties, states, countries)

41. Map Projections • Projection is representing the curved Earth on a flat surface

42. a. Cylindrical Projection • Longitudes are equally spaced • This distorts land sizes near the poles • Good for ocean navigation • Mercator

43. b. Compromise Projection • Find a balance between distortion and scale • Less distortion, visually appealing • Robinson

44. c. Conic Projection • Minimal distortion • Shows part of the Earth • Lambert

45. d. Azimuthal Distortion of land size and distance – but a straight line shows the shortest route between two points (navigation by air)

46. Check What You’ve Learned • What is this type of map?

47. Check What You’ve Learned • Is this a large scale or small scale map?

48. Check What You’ve Learned • What is this type of map?

49. Check What You’ve Learned • What is this type of map? • What is the projection used?

50. Development of Geographic Thought