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World Regional Geography
Instructor: Jessica Douglas Lecture 1 Introduction
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Introduction to World Geography
Census Syllabus Ch. Introduction Lecture Intro Activity Video Student Questions
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A World on Maps World Geography IN THIS CHAPTER The power of maps
The spatial order of the world Global climate change Dangerous places Globalization and its discontents The power of place World Geography
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INTRODUCTION A World on Maps Geography’s Perspective
Maps in Our Minds Mental Maps Maps in our minds of our activity spaces The Map Revolution Cartography—the making of maps Remote Sensing—scanners and cameras on satellites send information to computers on Earth Geographic Information System (GIS)—programs allow presentation and analysis of spatial data Spatial Perspective—spatial patterns are crucial to how we live and how we organize our societies Space on the Earth’s surface Organization of that space
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Geography’s Perspective
Environment and Society Spatial Patterns Relationships between human societies and the natural (physical) environment Humans transforming natural surroundings Humans dependent on the natural environment, behavior a product of that dependence The intersection of social and natural sciences and integrated perspectives from both Knowledge of location and distribution of significant features of Earth’s surface Human and natural worlds Temporal (historical) perspective
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Scale and Scope Scale and Scope
Scale—relationship between distance on a map and distance on the ground expressed as a ratio Small-scale map—ratio between map distance and real-world distance is very small Operational scale—scale at which social or natural processes operate
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WORLD GEOGRAPHIC REALMS
Geographic Realms—global neighborhoods possessing particular combinations of environmental, cultural, and organizational properties Criteria Physical and human Functional—interaction of human societies and natural environments Historical—interaction over time
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WORLD GEOGRAPHIC REALMS
Boundaries and Transition Zones Natural boundaries—oceans and seas Transition zones—where two geographic realms meet, no sharp boundaries
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WORLD GEOGRAPHIC REALMS
Two Varieties of Realms Monocentric—dominated by a single major political entity, in terms of territory and/or population Example: United States, Mexico, China, India, Russia, Australia Polycentric—appearance, functioning, and organization of the realm are dispersed among a number of more or less equally influential regions or countries Example: Europe, North Africa/Southwest Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Pacific Realm
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Regions REGIONS WITHIN REALMS Criteria for Regions
Regional concept—refined level of spatial classification requiring more specific criteria Region—device that allows making spatial generalizations, based on selected criteria to construct them Criteria for Regions Area—space occupied on Earth’s surface Boundaries—nature’s sharp divisions or divisions determined by using specific criteria Location—region’s name may give a clue Absolute location—latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates Relative location—location with reference to other regions
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Regions Interconnections Homogeneity—sameness
Criteria for Regions Homogeneity—sameness Formal regions—display measurable and often visible internal homogeneity Regions as systems—functional integration (the way they work) Spatial systems—formed by the areal extent of the activities that define them Core—heart, center of activity Hinterland—surrounding zone of intersection Functional region—forged by a structured, urban-centered system of interaction with a core and a periphery Interconnections All human regions are interconnected Globalization—Paradoxical effect Regions and places become more alike, more homogeneous Contrasts can become stronger
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Physical Landscapes THE PHYSICAL SETTING Natural (Physical) Landscapes
Natural landscapes—mountain chains to coastal plains Influence human activity and movement
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Geology and Natural Hazards
THE PHYSICAL SETTING Geology and Natural Hazards Continental drift Pangaea—supercontinent that broke up and continues to drift apart Tectonic plates—lighter rock continents rest on slabs of heavier rock plates that move by magma circulation cells within the Earth Collision of tectonic plates causes earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
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Geology and Natural Hazards
THE PHYSICAL SETTING Geology and Natural Hazards Pacific Ring of Fire Zone of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters that completely encircle the Pacific Ocean
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Compare Tectonics with Natural Hazards
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Climate THE PHYSICAL SETTING CLIMATE
Ice age—periods when average temperatures were low, allowing glacial ice to expand toward the equator Cyclical periods Glaciations—cold phases with glaciers expanding Interglacials—warm phases with ice receding
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Climate Change THE PHYSICAL SETTING Global Climate Change
Natural and anthropogenic (human-source) causes or warming or cooling Greenhouse effect Sun’s radiation becomes trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere, leading to climate changes Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Predicts a global temperature increase of several degrees with significant regional variability Natural vs. Anthropogenic Climate Change: How has Earth’s climate changed over time? What causes climate to change? Which form is most relevant to the world now? What can people do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow global warming?
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Climate Classifications
Climatic Regions Weather—immediate state of the atmosphere in a certain place at a given time Climate—aggregate, total record of weather conditions at a place or a region over an entire period during which records have been kept Classifications: Köppen’s Climatic Regions A climates—equatorial and tropical B climates—dry C climates—temperate D climates—cold E climates—frigid, polar H climates—highlands
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Climate Regions Climatic Regions A—Humid Equatorial Climate
High precipitation and temperatures Three A Climates Af—tropical rainforest Aw—tropical savanna Am—tropical monsoon Climatic Regions C—Humid Temperate Climate Mid-latitudes with no temperature extremes Three C Climates Cf—no dry season Cw—dry season in winter Cs—dry season in summer Climatic Regions B—Dry Climate Low precipitation with varying temperature averages Two B Climates BS—semiarid BW—arid
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Climate Regions Climatic Regions D—Humid Cold Climate Two D Climates
Continental with temperature extremes Two D Climates Df—no dry season Dw—dry season in winter Climatic Regions E—Cold Polar Climate High latitude, large temperature ranges Two E climates ET—tundra EF—ice H—Highland Climate High altitude, large temperature ranges
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Population Realms REALMS OF POPULATION World population—7.1 billion
Occupies less than 30% of Earth’s surface Major Population Clusters Population distribution—every dot represents 100,000 people Population density—number of persons per unit area Urbanization—percentage of the total population living in cities and towns Major Population Clusters South Asia—became world’s largest cluster in 2010 Centered on India, Pakistan and Bangladesh East Asia Centered on China Europe Europe including western Russia Three clusters account for almost 4 billion people
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Cultural Realms REALMS OF CULTURE
Cultural landscape—distinctive attributes of a society imprinted on its portion of the world’s physical stage The Geography of Language Language—essence of culture Language families 15 language families—shared but distant origins - Indo-European—most widely distributed language family - ex. English, French, Spanish, Russian, Persian, Hindi Lingua franca—common second language used in government, commerce, and higher education English primacy a result of colonization and globalization
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Religions Landscapes of Religion
Crucial influence on world civilizations and history Strong connection between realms and religion
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World Countries A WORLD OF STATES 200 countries (states) in the world
Sovereignty—government of a state rules supreme within its borders European state model—assumed that state and nation were ideally conterminous Nation-state would enclose an ethnically and culturally homogeneous people within a national boundary
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World Countries A WORLD OF STATES
Ideal state—defined as a clearly and legally defined territory inhabited by a citizenry governed from a capital city by a representative government Modern state—challenged “From below” by ethnic minorities and regional secessionist movements “From above” through increasingly powerful international organizations
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Countries, Realms, Regions
A WORLD OF STATES States, Realms, and Regions Realms—assemblage of states Realm boundaries Coincide with boundaries between states Can cut across a state Consist of groups of states whose boundaries mark the limits of the realm
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Politics A WORLD OF STATES Political Geography
Shapes world-scale geographic regions Global boundary framework continues to change
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Economies and Development
GEOGRAPHIES OF DEVELOPMENT Economic Geography—focuses on spatial aspects of ways people make their living and the patterns of production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services Development—gauges a state’s economic, social, and institutional growth
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Development GEOGRAPHIES OF DEVELOPMENT Core-Periphery World
Core areas—places of dominance whose inhabitants exerted their power over their surroundings near and far Periphery—sustained the core Spatial networks—nodes of variable centrality and importance
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Globalization GLOBALIZATION
Globalization—geographical process in which spatial relations (economic, cultural, political) shift to ever broader scales World is getting ever more interconnected
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Globalization Global Challenges, Shared Interests
Global warming—threat to world Conference on Climate Change (2011) Governments from around the world committed themselves to preparing a comprehensive global agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions Developed (including United States) and developing countries included Target date for completing all agreements is 2015 Actual reductions commence in 2020 Global migration—flows create global cultural interaction Transnational migrants
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Globalization +/- Winners and Losers Win Lose
International capitalism, open markets, free trade Globalization breaks down barriers to foreign trade, stimulates commerce, brings jobs to remote places, and promotes social, cultural, political, and other kinds of exchanges Lose Uneven development, inequality
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Globalization and Income
Gross National Income—GNI Total income earned from all goods and services produced by the citizens of a country within or outside its borders during a calendar year Emerging markets World Trade Organization (WTO) Countries must agree to open their economies to foreign trade and investment 154 member-states
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Global Framework and Perspective
REGIONAL FRAMEWORK AND GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE Geography is both a social and physical science Types of study: Regional geography—borrows information from many sources to create an overall image of the world Systematic geography—topical study with a spatial perspective
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Homework/Activity Read Textbook Introduction Chapter
Intro Activity in class (Orientation using campus map, Latitude/Longitude assignment) Sign-in sheets will be provided for all future activities; attendance is required for activity credit. Website: Homework: Choose one the Field Notes” subsection topic in Ch.0 textbook; summarize (1 page) and search the ‘ link to learn more.
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