CHAPTER 1Finding Our Place in the World

I. WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY? History:

Study of events in timeWhat happened and when

Basic Tool of History:Timeline

Geography:Study of space and placeWhere things happen

Basic Tool of Geography:Map

BRANCHES OF GEOGRAPHY Physical Geography-

the study of the earth and its resources

Human Geography- the study of man as he lives on the earth

and uses its resources

THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY Mr. Lip Movement- of people, goods, ideas,

diseases Region- defined by formal boundaries Location- either specific or relative to

the surrounding area Interaction-among people and their

environment Place-physical characteristics and

human characteristics

HISTORY OF GEOGRAPHY

Ancient Views of the Earth Earliest surviving map: 2300 BC,

Babylonian Empire

THE GREEKS Alexander the Great- rose to power in 336 BC

4 year march to unexplored areas- central Asia and India

Expanded Greeks knowledge of world geography Erathosenes- lived 276- 195 BC

Wrote a book titled Geography, first to use the word

Thought world was a sphere and calculated the circumference at 25,000 miles

Hipparchus- 200 BC Made a grid system to locate places easily

Ptolemy- 200 AD Geocentric theory

AGE OF EXPLORATION Christopher Columbus

Wanted a shortcut to the Orient, instead he….

Nicolaus Copernicus 1543Heliocentric Theory

Gerhardus MercatorPublished map that became the standard in

1569His system still used today

MODERN AGE Kings want survey of their land Topography

Details land features and elevation United States joins the map race

WWII increased efforts Airplanes and Satellites

Made it possible for more detailed mapsMaps of the ocean floor

GPS- global positioning system What remains unexplored?

Mountain peaks, caves, ocean floor

II. THE GEOGRAPHIC GRID Apollo 13 return trip Dividing the globe into smaller sections Hemispheres

North, South, East, West Latitude and Longitude

HEMISPHERES Two halves Equator Prime Meridian

LATITUDE Latitude– imaginary lines that run east

to west around the earth Lines are parallel to the Equator Numbered 0* at the Equator and 90* at

the North and South poles Distance from one degree of Lat. To the

next is about 69 miles– still not precise enough

Broken down into minutes (60 minutes in each degree) then minutes into seconds (60 seconds in a minute)

LONGITUDE Lines called Meridians Run North and South The “equator” of longitude is called the

Prime Meridian– located in Greenwich, England.

Measured in degrees, minutes and seconds

Highest degree is 180*-- Why? Opposite meridian from PM creates the

Great Circle

III. MAP PROJECTIONS Globes- great model of the earth, but… Any method used to show the earth’s

round surface on a flat map is called a Map Projection

PROBLEM OF DISTORTION Earth’s surface is not flat like a piece of

paper Gores Mapmakers try to reduce distortion in 4

areasAreaShapeDistance Direction

SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM 3 basic types of maps

CylindricalPlanarConic

Get their names from the geometric surface onto which the globe is projected

Each try to address the weaknesses in the other

CYLINDRICAL PROJECTIONS

Most common kind Mapmaker rolls a sheet of paper around

the globeMercator’s Projection1st important cylindrical mapPublished 1569Directions: consistentShape:accurateAreas and Distance: distorted the further away from the Equator

Goode’s Interrupted Projection

Useful because…Areas:accurateShape: goodDistances and N/S Directions: distorted

Robinson’s Projection

Popular for textbooksCombines best from other 2Minimizes all distortionsEverything IS distorted, but just a little

PLANAR PROJECTIONS Work better on smaller scale… not world

maps Uses flat plane instead of cylinder Touches globe only at 1 point

Most accurate in the center, becomes distorted at the edges

CONIC PROJECTIONS Mapmaker places a cone-shaped piece

of paper on the globe, then opens and flattens the paper

Touches an entire line of latitude Most useful for showing wide regions

BUILDING A ROAD…

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

IV. RELIEF MAPS Physical maps that show changes in

elevation “Relief” refers to the height and depth

of land features

3D EARTH

Technology now depicts elevation with colorGreen- sea levelYellow or light brown- slight rise in landDark brown, gray or white- mountains

Contour Lines separate the colors Each line shows all the points on the

map with the same altitude

READING RELIEF MAPS Page 13 in Textbook