1. INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY: Chapter 1 The “spheres” of Earth
Hydrosphere
Lithosphere
Atmosphere
Biosphere

2. The earth is elliptical. Which shape type is correct, and why?
note: ellipticity exaggerated in photos!

3. Earth’s dimensions
Figure 1.8

4. Geodesy: Earth Division
Latitude “parallels”:
1 degree = 69 miles
60 minutes = 1 degree
(1 minute = 1.15 miles)
1 nautical mile = 1.15 miles
1 second = 1/60 of 1 nautical mile
Longitude: lines are not parallel, are called "meridians”
-At equator only:
1 degree = 69 miles,
but declines to zero at the poles

5. Latitude
Figure 1.10

6. Longitude
Figure 1.12

7. Lines of latitude to know:
Equator (O°) starting point to number parallels
Tropic of Cancer (23.5° N)
Tropic of Capricorn (23.5° S)
Arctic Circle (66.5° N)
Antarctic Circle (66.5° S)

9. Important Meridians to know
Greenwich or “Prime” (goes through England). Is starting point (0°) for numbering longitude
International Date Line: (180° E&W) the place where new days start; is halfway around the world from Greenwich Meridian

10. Distance on a Globe
Question: The shortest distance between two points is:
a straight line
A Great Circle Route
All of the above
Answer: c)
A Great Circle Route is a circle formed by passing a plane through the exact center of a perfect sphere. Cuts earth into two equal sized pieces.

11. Great Circles and Small Circles
Figure 1.13

12. MAPS The “perfect map” representation of the earth is a globe
True maps are two dimensional: problem of representing a round earth surface on a flat one.
The problem with globes is one of scale (example: how large would a globe have to be to include details of Monmouth, Oregon on it?)

13. Maps and Projections  
Map – a generalized view of an area, as seen from above and reduced in size
Projection – process of transforming the spherical Earth to a flat map

14. Properties of Maps
Scale: ratio of the distance on the map to the actual distance of the transect that it represents. Examples 1: :10,000 Which shows more detail?
Area
Shape
impossible to preserve area and shape over an entire map

15. Skip Examples of Map Projections
Read Chapter 1; see Appendix A.
Ones to be able to recognize:
Mercator (true shape), areas exaggerated at higher latitudes, useful for navigation
Polar

16. Isoline Mapping uses lines of equal value
Examples:
Topographic maps: lines of equal elevation (appendix A-4)
Isotherm maps: lines of = temperature (p. 94)
Isohyet maps: lines of = precipitation (p. 191) mon.
Isobar maps: lines of = pressure (p. 122)

17. Theoretical number of time zones of 1 hr. each: 24
Figuring out how many degrees of longitude should be in each time zone:
Theoretical number of time zones of 1 hr. each: 24
Number of degrees in a circle: 360
360/24 ≈ 15 degrees average per zone
Figure 1.23

18. The International Date Line: Where all New Days Begin
Moving through time zones to the west, subtract 1 hour for each. (If it is 5 am in Wyoming, what time is it in the next time zone to the west?)
As it turns midnight in the time zone of the IDL, the new day begins. At first, the new day is just in the 1st time zone, but 1 hr. later it spreads to the next zone to the west, and so on.

19. Prime Meridian and Standard Time
Figure 1.14

20. Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
GIS is defined as any system which facilitates the analysis of multiple layers of spatial data (maps of specific themes)

21. GIS System
Figure 1.23