Skills you need to study Geography! Methods of Geographic Inquiry Skills you need to study Geography!

Geography’s Basic Tools Let us begin with: What is a map? What are the essential features of a map? How do we read maps?

What is a Map? Definition: When the features of a globe are transferred onto a flat surface. The globe is in 3D and a flat surface is in 2D. All maps are created by projecting the 3D globe onto a 2D surface. Therefore all 2D maps have some “distortion”.

Map Projections There are many types of map projections that try to deal with distortion. A 2D map can never eliminate ALL of the distortion. A cartographer selects a map projection depending on which properties of the earth are to be kept in the flat map: 1. DIRECTION 2. AREA 3. SHAPE 4. DISTANCE

Used for navigation charts Thank you Introduce self Intro ESRI Canada - Subsidiary of ESRI International ESRI is a software company specializing in Geographic Information System software In addition to duties as ESRI’s Schools and Libraries program manager, I am also a part time instructor at Sir Sandford Fleming college in Lindsay, Ontario where I teach computer programming I was pleased to be invited to give this address to you today, and I do so as much a fellow educator as a facilitator of technology in the school system. I’m thrilled to see the level of enthusiasm for introducing technology into all levels of education that today's session demonstrates Gives true direction Used for navigation charts

Used to map small regions Thank you Introduce self Intro ESRI Canada - Subsidiary of ESRI International ESRI is a software company specializing in Geographic Information System software In addition to duties as ESRI’s Schools and Libraries program manager, I am also a part time instructor at Sir Sandford Fleming college in Lindsay, Ontario where I teach computer programming I was pleased to be invited to give this address to you today, and I do so as much a fellow educator as a facilitator of technology in the school system. I’m thrilled to see the level of enthusiasm for introducing technology into all levels of education that today's session demonstrates Tries to preserve area Used to map small regions

Tries to preserve shape Thank you Introduce self Intro ESRI Canada - Subsidiary of ESRI International ESRI is a software company specializing in Geographic Information System software In addition to duties as ESRI’s Schools and Libraries program manager, I am also a part time instructor at Sir Sandford Fleming college in Lindsay, Ontario where I teach computer programming I was pleased to be invited to give this address to you today, and I do so as much a fellow educator as a facilitator of technology in the school system. I’m thrilled to see the level of enthusiasm for introducing technology into all levels of education that today's session demonstrates Tries to preserve shape Distorts water to make the shape of the land accurate

Pacific-centred World Map

Sinusoidal Equal Area Projection Tries to preserve distance Serious distortion of shape Good for Africa and South America

Goode’s Projection Distortion of each land area is minimized Used to show world patterns

Only map that shows the true area of each continent Thank you Introduce self Intro ESRI Canada - Subsidiary of ESRI International ESRI is a software company specializing in Geographic Information System software In addition to duties as ESRI’s Schools and Libraries program manager, I am also a part time instructor at Sir Sandford Fleming college in Lindsay, Ontario where I teach computer programming I was pleased to be invited to give this address to you today, and I do so as much a fellow educator as a facilitator of technology in the school system. I’m thrilled to see the level of enthusiasm for introducing technology into all levels of education that today's session demonstrates Only map that shows the true area of each continent Distort distances east to west 

Map Types We need different types of maps to portray different information. The four most common types are: 1. General Purpose Maps 2. Thematic Maps 3. Topographic Maps 4. Digital Maps

Alphanumeric Map: uses letters and numbers to locate places General Purpose Maps Alphanumeric Map: uses letters and numbers to locate places

Thematic Maps

World Map by Population

Topographic Maps – Contour Lines

Digital Maps – from Google http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&tab=wl http://www.bing.com/maps/?FORM=Z9LH3

How do we read maps? We can use grid systems to locate places on a map. The 3 grid systems used today are: 1. Latitude and Longitude 2. Military Grid 3. Alpha-numeric Grid

1. Latitude and Longitude Grid work of lines extending north-south and east-west. Measured as angles Latitude is measured north and south of the equator Longitude is measured east and west from the prime meridian.

Latitude and Longitude

Latitude and Longitude Picture latitude and longitude as an angle measured from the centre of the earth.

2. Military Grid A grid of blue lines on a map (eastings and northings) is used to identify squares in a grid pattern. This grid system is used mainly on topographic maps.

Why was the military grid system introduced? It was easier to place a grid system on a map then to use degrees, minutes and seconds from a globe. With the increasing range in artillery in WWI, latitude and longitude was too cumbersome.

Reading a Military Grid Easting: vertical line running from top to bottom on a topographic map Northing: horizontal line running across the topographic map. By combining the digits from the easting and from the northing, we are able to identify a point on the map.

893 – Find the horizontal 89 line and then go up 3/10 of the space. Example: 567893 567 – Find the vertical 56 line and then go to the right 7/10 of the space. 893 – Find the horizontal 89 line and then go up 3/10 of the space. 90 567893 89 88 87 56 57 58 59 60

3. Alphanumeric Grid This system uses LETTERS and NUMBERS to identify squares in a grid pattern. This grid system is used mainly on Road Maps.

Reading an Alphanumeric Grid The LETTERS represent the horizontal lines. The NUMBERS represent the lines running from the top to the bottom of the map. The Alphanumeric Grid system is not as accurate as the Military grid system or Latitude and Longitude.

A B C D E F G H 1 2 3 4 5

Scale Three ways to show scale: Linear Scale 2. Ratio or Representative Fraction 1:10 000 000 Statement One cm on the map is equal to 100 Km in real life. Note : You need to learn how to convert back and forth between the different scales.

A map with a scale of 1:17 500 000 shows the entire earth as if you are high up in space. Since things appear small on this map, this type of scale is called a ‘small-scale’. As you approach the earth and get closer, you can see more things in detail (things get larger). This type of scale is called a ‘large scale’. An example would be 1:500. Remember 1:1 is real life size!

Large Scale Small Scale

Essential Features of a Map Title Legend Scale Direction: compass or lat./long. Date of publication Border

Essential Features of a Map Title – must make sense and stand out Legend – if required, describes units Scale – usually Linear Direction – North Arrow Date Border – Map and/or Frame border Balance!! Very little white space

Other Geographic Tools: G.P.S. – Chapter 3 G.I.S. – Chapter 5 Aerial Photos – Chapter 6 Remote Sensing – Satellite Imagery – Chapter 7 Graphs – Circle (Pie), Bar, Line – Chapter 8

G.P.S.

G.I.S.

Remote Sensing Perth, Australia

Graphs Bar Graph Line Graph Pie Graph

Aerial Photos

Google Streetscape http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

The End!