Introduction to AP Human Geography

Introductory Questions

1) Why do students study geography? (3 examples)

2) How does geography affect your life? (3 examples)

3) How would your life be different if you lived in Japan? (3 examples)

Intro. Cont..I. In this course, we will examine why different areas

have developed differently in terms of culture, economics, politics, and urban development.

II. Geography is a means to understand why certain areas are similar to and different from each other. Human geography in particular, helps us to focus on “how the world is and how it might be.”

III. Geography is a means to understand why certain areas are similar to and different from each other. Human geography in particular, helps us to focus on “how the world is and how it might be.”

Intro. Cont…I. Human geography is different from other branches of geography because its

primary focus is people. It studies human groups and their activities, such as language, industry, and the building of cities; it is a social science. (It looks at how people modify their environment, how they interact over space, as opposed to with space).

II. Other Fields of Geographyi. Population geography – The study of the distribution of humankind across the earthii. Cultural geography – The study of the geography of human culturesiii. Political geography – The study of the interaction between political processes and the

distribution of all other activities iv. Economic geography – The study of how various people make their living and what they

tradev. Urban geography – The geographic study of citiesvi. Physical Geography – The study of the characteristics of the physical environmentvii. Historical Geography – The study of the geography of the past and how geographic

distributions have changed.

Are You a Geo-Genius1) Which state is bordered on the southwest by the Savannah River- South Carolina or Indiana?

2) Which state produces more gold than any other state- Nevada or Nebraska?

3) Which state is located closer to the Tropic of Cancer – Louisiana or Wyoming?

4) Which state has a longer border with Canada – Alaska or Idaho?

5) Which state does not have a coastline New Mexico or New Hampshire?

Chapter 1

Introduction to Geography

History of GeographyClassical Western World

(1) Erastosthones (275-195 B.C.) Director of library in Alexandria, calculated circumference of the EarthHipparchus (180-127 B.C.) – Alexandria library director, first two place a grid on the earth(2) Ptolemy ( 127 A.D. – 150) – Wrote Guide to Geography

Non-European WorldMuslim Scholars - Al-Edrisi (1099-1154), Ibn-Battuta (1304-1378), and Ibn-Khaldun (1332-1406) produced textsThe Tribute of Yu 5th Century B.C. describes geogrpahy of Chinese EmpirePhei Hsiu – father of Chinese cartography(3) Kangido – Korea 1402, included East Asia, India, Islamic World, Africa, and Europe, far more extensive than knowledge of the Roman World

Since the 1400’s…General geography (1650)

Bernhard Varen – German professor• (4) Special geography = regional geography, begins with explanation of

local physical env. and then analyzes places in terms of categories, such as local population, customs, and politics.

• (5) General geography = topical/systematic geography, examines topics of universal application, basic approach for the outline of your textbook

Human-environment tradition(6) Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859)

• Cosmos – enormous intellectual impact in the United States, statue central park

(7) George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882)• Man and Nature (1864) – U.S. ambassador to several Mediterranean

countries, precursor of today’s env. movement

“The information that any citizen needs in order to make an informed decision on an

important question of the day is largely geographic.”

Geography TodayAssociation of American Geographers

(8) 55 topical specialtieswww.aag.orgWhere?, What?, When?, Why?, and Why there?

Four approachesArea analysis – examines site, situation, and region.Spatial analysis – examines patterns in the distribution of human actions, movements and env. processes across Earth’s surface(9) Physical System Analysis – use models to analyze physical env.Geographic information systems analysis – use computer based GIS and GPS systems

Area Analysis

Site(10) Exact location of a place

Situation or relative locationLocation of a place relative to other places

Accessibility

(11) Constant change

Scale

Regions

Formal regionsExhibit uniformity across a cultural or physical characteristic

Functional regionsDefined by interactions among places

Vernacular regions(12) Widespread popular perception of existence

Spatial Analysis

Distribution – the distribution of a phenomenon means its position, placement or arrangement throughout space

Three properties of distribution(13) Density – describes the frequency of occurrence of a phenomenon in relation to a geographic area (fig. 1-11)

Concentration – refers to the distribution of a phenomenon within a given area

(14) Pattern – geometrical arrangement of objects in an area

MovementDistance – Interaction of people and places across distance

Measurements (several ways to measure)• (15) Absolute – measured in terms of miles or kilometers• Time – i.e. something is 20 minutes away• Cost – monetary amount required to overcome a distance (explains

importance of water to growth of cities)

(16) Friction of distance – effort to overcome distance when we transport items

Distance decayAs distance increases, importance of a particular phenomena decreases

• Ex. Newspaper circulation

Three Types of Diffusion(17) Relocation diffusion – i.e. a nomadic tribe relocatingContiguous diffusion – occurs from one place directly to another place(18) Hierarchical diffusion – upward or downward in an organization (Roman Catholic Church)

Barriers to diffusionCultural barriers

• Oceans, deserts, distance, time• Political boundaries, cultural differences

4 Physical SystemsAtmosphere (air) –surrounding Earth to an altitude of less than 300 miles (lower atm. pure air is 78% N and 21% O)

(19) Lithosphere (Earth’s solid rocks) – consists of Earth’s crust and a portion of upper mantle directly below the crust, extending down 45 miles

Hydrosphere (water) – surface water, vapor in the atmosphere, ice in glaciers, and groundwater in soil and rock

(20) Biosphere - living organisms on Earth

Human-Environmental Interaction

(21) Reciprocal interaction – env. affects human life and cultures and humans alter the env.Culture

Everything about the way people live: language, food, religion, social ceremonies

(22) Natural landscapesWithout evidence of human activity

Cultural landscapesReveals how humans modify local environment

The Geographic GridLongitude

Measures distance east to west around the globe beginning at the Prime MeridianPrime Meridian – 0 DegreeInternational Date Line – see figure 1-19 0-180 degrees East or West(23) Greenwich Mean Time

LatitudeLocation on the Earth’s surface between the equator and either the north or south pole(24) Parallels – lines connecting all points at the same latitude0-90 degrees North or South

Map MakingCartographyScale

Fraction 1/24,000Ratio 1:24,000Written statement “1 inch equals 1 mile”Bar style

Detail and area(25) Small scale map = less detail, large denominator (1:1,000,000)(26) Large scale map = more detail, small denominator (1:100,000)

0 1 2 43

Projection

Scientific method of transferring locations on Earth’s surface to a flat map4 types of distortion – (see page 30)

(27) Shape – objects are stretched more in some parts so that their shape changesDistance – latitude and longitude lines(28) Relative size – items become larger or smallerDirection – lat. & long. orientation changes

Geographic Information Technology

Automated cartographyManual techniques - expensive

(29) Computer Assisted Drawing (CAD)• Sophisticated, specialized digital cartography

systems

• Easier, cheaper editing

• Also used for product design, i.e. Cannondale

Natural Landscape – w/o evidence of human activity

Cultural Landscape - Reveals how humans modify local environment

Questions:1) When does an area become a cultural

landscape and stop becoming a natural landscape?

2) Are all landscapes cultural landscapes?

3) How much of land in the U.S. should be preserved?

Accessibility – can be as valuable as mineral deposits or fertile soil

Accessibility Survey1. How accessible is NYC? Philadelphia? Tanzania?

2. How accessible are your teachers?

3. How accessible are you, can your friends easily contact you?

4. How might your answers have been different

50 years ago?

5. What are the positives and negatives of increased accessibility?

Remote Sensing

Acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or from high-flying aircraft

Satellites

(30) Landsat – see page 35First launch 1972; most recent launch 1999

Sensors measure radiation of colors of visible light

Pixel size at first (resolution): 59 x 59 meters

IKONOS resolution now: 1.5 x 1.5 meters

Weather satellitesVery large pixels – cover several kilometers on a side

Remotely Sensed Data

Human activities Changes in plant growth

Drainage patterns

Erosion associated with agriculture

(31) Logging and forest management

Wetland monitoring

Wartime applications

GIS – (32) Geographic Information Systems

Database software for digital informationContains same information as regular databasePLUS

• Spatial characteristics such as boundary information or coordinates

• An identifying characteristic that locates the item in space (i.e., address)

LayersInformation with specific characteristics

• Soils, hydrology, land ownership

Can be combined for analysis

Digital Geographic Information

(33) RasterGrid cells of data

• Remote sensing images• Pixels

(34) VectorPoint, line, polygon dataX and Y coordinates

Different uses and spatial accuracies

Digital DataConversion of paper to digital formatsDigital database creation

Remote sensing imagesDigitizing

• Tracing lines

Available types of data(35) Topographic maps

• DRG and DLG

US Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands InventoryCensus Bureau TIGER files

GIS Spatial Analysis

Calculating densities and distribution of population

“Counting” lakes

Monitoring environmental changes with satellite images

Analyzing changes in (36) food production and land use

End of Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Vocab.Space-time compression – the reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another placeHearth – the place where an innovation originatesExpansion diffusion – spread of features from one place to anotherContagious diffusion – rapid widespread diffusion throughout a population, for example a diseaseStimulus diffusion – spread of an underlying principle, like the use of WindowsUneven Development – Increasing economic gap between regions in the core and periphery as a result of globalization

Chapter 1 Vocab. Cont..Transnational Corporation – multinational corp. operates factories and sells products in many factoriesPolder – piece of land created from draining waterCultural Ecology – geographic study of human-environment relationshipsEnvironmental Determinism – Human environment causes social developmentPossibilism – People have the ability to adjust to their environmentMDCS and LDCsCulture – body of customary beliefs, material traits and social forms that constitute a distinct group

Chapter 1 Vocab. Cont..

RegionsFormal

Functional

Regional