AP Human Geography

Notes- Unit 1IntroParts taken from the 2012

AP Princeton Review Human Geography

Geographythe scientific study of the location of people and activities across Earth, and the reasons for their distribution. it is the study of space and place

PlaceSpace refers to the geometric surface of the earthPlace is an area of bounded space that is viewed as significant

When this is recognized, we assign a toponym (place name)Places change over time

Sequent occupancy- the succession of groups and cultural influences throughout a place’s history

Place specificityEX: the place specificity of Santa Fe, New Mexico, is a complex mix of multiple Native American, Spanish colonial, and modern American influences based on past and current societal influences

Geography vs. HistoryGeographic Questions: Geographers ask where things are and why they are there. Just like how historians ask when. Historians organize information by time and geographers organize information by place. Historians study human activities through time (chronology), whereas geographers study the arrangement of human activities in space.

Geography’s Sub DisciplinesPhysical geography studies where and why natural forces occur (e.g. climates, landforms and types of vegetation)human geography is the study of where and why human activities occur (e.g. religions, businesses, cities).

ScaleScale is the relationship of an object or place to the earth as a whole

Two types of scaleMap Scale

The ratio of distance on a map to actual distanceRelative Scale

Also known as the scale of analysisDescribes the level of aggregation

The level at which you group objects together for examinationExample: 1:54,000; 1 cm equals 3,000 m

Maps

Map: a two-dimensional model of Earth’s surface.Cartography: the science of map making.Early Maps:

The earliest known maps were drawn on Babylonian clay tablets 2300 BCE. Aristotle first demonstrated that the Earth was round. The Greek Ptolemy made numerous maps that weren’t improved on for more than a thousand of years.

Map TypesSee PDF and Pwpt quizReference and Topographic MapsThematic Maps

Choropleth MapsIsoline MapsDot Density MapsFlow-line (aka Isoline) MapsCartograms

Mental MapsQuickly draw a map of Tainan.Then compare your map with your neighbors.Would you be able to navigate using your map? What about with your neighbor’s map?Can you make scientific measurements with your map?

Topographic MapsShow the contour lines of elevationHighly accurate in location and topographyUsed for engineering surveys and land navigation

Title: is there a label describing what the map shows?Orientation: which way is north? Does the map have an orientation symbol such as a compass rose? Date: is there a date? Is the map still accurate? Author: is there an author listed? Why was it made?Legend: Is there a legend (key) to aid in reading the map? What symbols are included? Scale: Is there a scale to read distances? What distance does a unit of measure represent on the map? Index: Is there an alphabetical list of places shown on the map and a grid to help locate them? Grid: Does the map have a set of intersecting lines that aid in identifying locations? What are they? Source: Where did the information contained in the map come from?

Map Analysis: TODALSIGS

ProjectionsAlso see the map projections PDFWhy do maps distort the Earth’s surface? A map projection's level of accuracy is based upon four concepts

Area preservationShape preservationDistance preservationDirection preservation

Why do maps distort the Earth’s surface?

Unfolding the Earth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1xXTi1nFCo

Goode Homolosine projection orange peel map

Conformal ProjectionsAttempt to maintain the shape of polygons on the map

Downside= distorts the relative area from one part of the map to anotherEX: Mercator projection

Distorts Greenland’s size (area)

Equal-area ProjectionsAttempt to maintain the relative spatial science and the areas on the map

These projections can distort the shape of polygonsEX: Lambert Projection

Distorted size of northern Canadian islands

Other ProjectionsSome map projections attempt to balance area and form

EX: Robinson Projection (top) balanced distortionsEX2: Goode’s homolosine projection (bottom) minimizes distortions, but creates a disjointed map

Absolute Location

Relative Location

Location..(Location, Location)

Absolute LocationAbsolute location describes a place using coordinates such as latitude and longitudeLatitude and longitude degrees can be divided into 60 minutes (‘), and minutes can be divided into 60 seconds (“).

Example: Mt Everest summit is at 27° 59' 18'' N; 86° 55' 31'' E (latitude, longitude; right and up).

Equator is 0O LatitudeNorth and South Poles are 90O latitude Prime Meridian is 0O longitude and runs through the royal observatory in Greenwich, England. The development of a method to determine longitude overcame the greatest obstacle to sea navigation and exploration.

Latitude and Longitude LabGoogle Earth: virtual globeDownload topo maps from:

http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/maps/TopoView/Handout: physical globe, atlas and maps

Time ZonesDivided up into 15 time zones around the world

Because 360(degrees in a rotation)/24(hours in a day)= 15o of longitudeDividing lines between time zones often follow political boundaries, and can occasionally follow local area divisions

Were created during the era of transcontinental railways in the 19th century to standardize time across long east-west train lines.

Site and SituationSite: is the physical characteristics of a place (e.g. climate, water sources, topography, soil, vegetation, latitude, and elevation).

Example: Singapore is a good defensive site, because it is an island with a central hilltop.

Situation: is the location of a place relative to other places. Example: because of Singapore’s location at the Strait of Malacca, which is the major passageway for ships travelling between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, Singapore has become a center for trading.

Distance part 1Distance can be regarded in both absolute and relative terms like scale and location

Linear absolute distance can be measured as Euclidean distance, the straight line of distance from one point to another

Geographers often use the concept of distance decay to explain relative distance

Distance part 2Distance decay is a concept that states the further away different places are from a place of origin, the less likely interaction will be with the original placeRelative distance is expressed by the principle of Tobler’s Law which states that all places are interrelated, but closer places are more related than further onesfriction of distance is based on the notion that distance usually requires some amount of effort, money, and/or energy to overcome distance. Because of this "friction," spatial interactions will tend to take place more often over shorter distances; quantity of interaction will decline with distance.

EX: When the time and cost of moving a product prevents it from being sold in far away locations

Space-Time CompressionSpace-Time Compression is the decreased time and relative distance between places

Technology can reduce the relative distance between placesTransportation such as airplanes or trains can reduce travel time between two distant points and, as a result, increase their interactionThe Internet can also influence space-time compression. I am able to communicate with my friends in Australia via Facebook. Without Facebook, my interaction with these friends would be limited

Spatial Interactions:

when places are connected through a network e.g. roads, phones, etc.

Pattern

Diffusion PatternsDensity

Central Places

Core and Periphery

Landscape AnalysisMt St Helens Landsat imageshttp://changematters.esri.com/compare

PatternVarious Terms

Cluster- objects are grouped together on the earth’s surfaceAgglomeration- when clustering occurs purposefully around a central point or an economic growth poleRandom pattern- no reason for a particular distribution of a spatial phenomenonScattered- objects that are normally ordered but appear dispersed

If a pattern is in a straight line it is linear and if it is wavy it is sinuous(think sine curve)

Land Survey PatternsHave an effect on the property lines and political boundaries of states and provincesDifferent types of land survey patterns

Metes and BoundsTownship and RangeLong lots

Metes and Bounds Developed in Europe centuries before the US used this method.land surveys (until the 1830s) used natural landmarks and compass bearings to divide the land into metes and bounds.

Township and RangeAfter the 1830s, new technology allowed surveyors to divide the land based on lines of longitude and latitude

This produced the geometric shape to many western states of the United States

Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming etc…

Long LotsFormer French colonial areas such as Quebec and Louisiana have long-lot patterns

These have a narrow frontage along a road or waterway with a long lot shape behind

Diffusion Patterns

There are various ways and patterns in which human

phenomena diffuse spatially or spread across the

earth’s surface

Most often we examine how culture, ideas, or

technology spread from a point of origin to other

parts of the world.

That point of origin or place of innovation can be

called a hearth.

Relocation DiffusionBegins at a point of origin and then crosses a significant physical barrier, and later relocates on the other side

Can often influence and modify the items being diffused

Expansion DiffusionOriginates in a central place and expands outwards in all directions.Distance does not have to be equal in all directionsThree types of expansion diffusion:

HierarchicalContagiousStimulus

Hierarchal DiffusionOriginates in a first-order location and later moves to second-order locations, which move to tertiary-order locations, which move to…

Endless cycle

Contagious DiffusionBegins at a point of origin, then moves outward to nearby locations, especially on adjoining transportation lines

Stimulus DiffusionA general or underlying principle diffuses and then stimulates the creation of new products or ideas even if the characteristic itself doesn’t diffuse.

Diffusion Web InquiryThe Olympic Games handouthttp://www.olympic.org/

DensityNumber of objects (e.g. people, houses, cars, etc.) in a given area (square unit of distance, e.g. km2 or square miles) is known as arithmetic densityAgricultural density is the people per square unit of land actively under cultivationPhysiologic density measures the number of people per square unit of arable land

Central PlacesCentral Places are any node of human activity

Most often the centers of economic exchangeMarkets are often located at transportation nodes

Central Place TheoryDeveloped in the 1930s by a German geographer Walter ChristallerIn the model, city location and the level of urban economic exchange could be analyzed using central places within hexagonal market areas which overlapped each other

Core and PeripheryMany different regional, cultural, economic, political, and environmental phenomena and human activities display some sort of core and periphery relationship

A country’s capital is the core of its political landscapeThe core does not have to be in the center of the peripheral landscape

ModelsA model is an abstract generalization of reality. Geographers use models to explain patterns, make informed decisions, and predict future behaviors. Models give us a way to picture geographical patterns that are normally not visible to the human eyeSpatial models attempt to show the commonalities in pattern among similar landscapes

Urban models try to show how different cities have similar spatial relationships and economic or social structures

Non-spatial modelsDemographic transition model uses population data to construct a model of dynamic growth in normal scale populations without reference to space

Gravity ModelUsed to calculate transportation flow between two points, determine the area of influence of a city’s businesses, and estimate the flow of migrants to a place.locationA’s population x locationB’s population

distance2

Geographic TechnologyGeographical Information Systems(GIS)Global Positioning Systems(GPS) Remote SensingAerial PhotographyOnline maps (Google Maps, Google Earth, etc.)

Geographical Information Systems (GIS)

Uses one or more data layers in a computer program capable of spatial analysis and mapping

Data layers are numerical, coded, or textual data that is attributed to specific geographic coordinates or areasData between layers can be analyzed spatially

Used when calling 911

Global Positioning Systems(GPS)

Utilizes a worldwide network of satellitesA GPS receiver is able to triangulate a coordinate location and display map data for the userUsed for navigation (where?)

Remote SensingAerial photography and satellite-based remote sensing make up a large amount of the geographic and GIS data used today

Aerial photographs have been used since the 1800sRemote sensing satellites have been used since the 1970s

Remote sensing can record data from the earth’s surfaceData not only includes visual light wavelengths, but infrared and radar information

Commonly used by local governments to record property data and set tax assessments

Aerial photographs can also be used to revise topographic map data without sending out a survey team to gather new data

Infrared satellite imagery is commonly used to determine the health of vegetation on the earth’s surface

Helps to maintain stable prices for farm goods such as milk, eggs, and bread

Sources of Geographical Data

The field (surveying)Census data (and other polls, surveys and questionnaires)Online databasesRemote sensing (aerial photos, satellite images, weather balloons, etc.)

The Geospatial Revolution

http://geospatialrevolution.psu.edu/episode1/complete

“Why of Where”The “why of where” refers to the idea that the explanation of a spatial pattern is crucialGIS helps analyze geographical data to answer this question.“Sense of Place”