1. Introduction to Geography
The Basics

2. What is your definition of Geography?

3. Geography - study of where things are found on Earth’s surface and the reasons for the location
Human geographers ask: Where are people and activities found on Earth? Why are they found there?

4. Geography offers fundamental insights into the world in which we live through its concern with the spatial organization and character of the Earth’s surface.

5. Two categories of Geography
Human geography - study of where and why human activities are located where they are
Physical geography - study of where and why natural forces occur as they do
Human geography - for example, religions, businesses, and cities
Physical geography - for example, climates, landforms, and types of vegetation

6. Our focus for the year
This year we will focus on human geography, but we must never forget about Earth’s atmosphere, land, water, vegetation, and other living creatures. We need to understand the interactions between people and their environment.

7. Five themes of Geography
Geography’s spatial perspective promotes a focus on:
Location
Place
Human-environment interaction
Regions
Movement

8. Opening question
How do people describe location? How do people tell others where something is?

9. Location
"Where are we?” is the question that the theme Location answers. Location may be absolute or it may be relative.
These locations, whether relative or absolute, may be of people or places.

10. Relative Location
Relative locations are described by landmarks, time, direction or distance from one place to another and may associate a particular place with another.

11. Minnesota is west of Wisconsin, north of Iowa, south of Canada, and east of both North and South Dakota.

12. Absolute location
Absolute location is a precise location on the Earth’s surface.
Parallels and meridians are two sets of imaginary arcs drawn in a grid pattern on Earth’s surface.
The location of any place on Earth’s surface can be described precisely by meridians and parallels.

13. Parallels
A parallel is a circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator.
The numbering system to indicate the location of a parallel is called latitude. The equator is 0O latitude. The North Pole is 90O north latitude and the South Pole is 90O south latitude.
San Diego - 33O north latitude and Santiago, Chile is 33O south latitude

14. Meridians
A meridian is an arc drawn between the North and South pole. The location of each meridian is identified on Earth’s surface according to a numbering system known as longitude.
The longitude that passes through Greenwich England is 0O longitude and is called the prime meridian.

15. Meridians
The meridian on the opposite side of Earth is 180O longitude (also called the International Date Line).
All other meridians have numbers between 0O and 180O east or west, depending if they are either east or west of the prime meridian.
New York City: 74O west longitude and Lahore, Pakistan: 74O east longitude

16. Minutes
The precise location (mathematical location) of a place can be designated more precisely by dividing each degree into 60 minutes (“)
Minneapolis is 45o53” North latitude and 93o13” West longitude
Paris, France is 48o51” North latitude and 2O20” East longitude
Marshall Islands are 10o00” North latitude and 165o00” East longitude

18. Opening Questions
How does the environment influence our daily activities?
What ways do we change our environment?

19. Place
What kind of place is it? What do you think of when you imagine China? Japan? Russia? Saudi Arabia?
Places have both human and physical characteristics.
What do you think is the difference between human and physical characteristics?

20. Physical Characteristics
Physical characteristics include mountains, rivers, soil, beaches, wildlife, etc.

21. Human characteristics
Places have human characteristics also.
These characteristics are derived from the ideas and actions of people that result in changes to the environment, such as buildings, roads, clothing, and food habits.
The image people have of a place is based on their experiences, both intellectual and emotional. People's descriptions of a place reveal their values, attitudes, and perceptions.

22. Question????
What are the physical and human characteristics of Minneapolis or Minnesota? How do these shape our lives?

23. Human-environment Interaction
How do humans and the environment affect each other?
We change the environment and then sometimes Mother Nature changes it back..
For example, floods in the mid-West, Hurricane Katrina, and earthquakes and mudslides in California

24. There are three key concepts to human/environmental interaction:
Humans adapt to the environment.
Humans modify the environment.
Humans depend on the environment.
People depend on the Mississippi River for our water and transportation. People modify our environment by heating and cooling buildings for comfort. People adapt to the environment by wearing clothing that is suitable for summer and winter; rain and shine.

25. All places on Earth have advantages and disadvantages for human settlement. One person's advantage may be another person's disadvantage.
Environment is not just trees, spotted owls, and rain forests. Environment is a feeling.
Some like the excitement of large cities whereas others prefer remoteness.
What is the environment of a big city? Boston? Los Angeles? Dallas?

26. Questions????
How do physical features affect us? How have we adapted to or changed our landscape?
Given the choice, where would you live? Why? What is the environment? How do people interact with the environment?

27. Homework – If you could live anywhere
Pick three states that you would like to live in and tell me why.
Pick three countries that you would like to live in and tell me why.
Please type. Use as many details as possible to tell me why sentences on why.

28. Opening Question
What are different ways that people communicate with each other?
Name as many forms of transportation as you can.

29. Region
The “sense of place” that humans possess may apply to a larger area of Earth.
A region is an area defined by one or more distinctive characteristics.
Regions are human constructs that can be mapped and analyzed.

30. Region
A region derives its unified character through the cultural landscape - a combination of cultural features such as language and religion, economic features such as agriculture and industry, and physical features such as climate and vegetation.

31. Carl Sauer
Carl Sauer ( ) was a geographer who defined cultural landscape as an area fashioned from nature by a cultural group. “Culture is the agent, the natural area the medium, the cultural landscape is the result.”

32. Three basic types of regions
Formal regions are those defined by governmental or administrative boundaries (i. e., United States, Minneapolis, Brazil). These regional boundaries are not open to dispute, therefore physical regions fall under this category (i. e., The Rockies, the Great Lakes States).

33. The last two types of regions
Functional regions are those defined by a function (i. e., a newspaper service area).If the function ceases to exists, the region no longer exists.
Vernacular regions are those loosely defined by people's perception or cultural identity(i. e., The South, The Middle East).

34. Questions???? What region do we live in?
What type of region is it? What are its characteristics? The Midwest, The Twin Cities, the Southwest community?
What states do you define as the South? The Northeast? The West? What characteristics and perceptions go along with these regions?

35. Opening
Write examples of how Minneapolis relates to the 5 themes.

36. Movement
The movement of people, the import and export of goods, and mass communication have all played major roles in shaping our world.
People everywhere interact. They travel from place to place and they communicate. We live in a global village and global economy.

37. Movement
People interact with each other through movement. Humans occupy places unevenly on Earth because of the environment but also because we are social beings. We interact with each other through travel, trade, information flows ( ) and political events.

38. Movement
Not only do humans move but also ideas move; fashions move; fads move.
What is an example of an idea that moves? Fashion? Fad? How do we depend on people in other places? How would our lives change if our movement options changed? What would happen if we traveled by camel or horse? How do we move from place to place? How do we actually get food? 


39. Opening Question
What types of things can be shown on a map? Name as many things as possible.

40. Maps
Map - a two-dimensional or flat-scale model of Earth’s surface, or a portion of it
Geography has a reliance on maps to display and analyze information
Cartography - science of mapmaking

41. Two purposes of maps
Tool for storing reference material - helps us find the shortest distance to a place and helps us learn where in the world something is found
Tool for communication geographic information - distribution of human activities or physical features

42. What is this map’s purpose?

43. What is this map’s purpose?

44. Maps are used to portray the distinctive character of places; their relationship to environmental issues; the movements of people, goods, and ideas; and regions of various types.

45. What are some problems with maps?
Opening question
What are some problems with maps?

46. Name 5 things that should be included all maps
Title
Map scale
Compass rose
Key or Legend
Labels

47. Map Scale
The level of detail and the amount of area covered on a map depend on its scale.
Scale - the relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth’s surface.
Scale can be presented in 3 ways: fraction(1/100) or a ratio (1:100), a written statement (“1 inch equals 100 miles”) or a graphic bar scale

48. Projections
Earth is very nearly a sphere and therefore accurately represented in the form of a globe.
A globe is a limited tool. Why is this?
The Earth’s shape poses a challenge, since flat maps will have some distortion.
The scientific method of transferring locations on Earth’s surface to a flat map is called projection.

49. How does this projection create a distorted image?

50. How does this projection create a distorted image?

51. The problem of distortion
The shape of an area can be distorted, so that it appears more elongated or squat than in reality.
The distance between two points may become increased or decreased.

52. The problem of distortion
The relative size of different areas may be altered, so that one area may appear larger than another on a map but is in reality smaller.
The direction from one place to another can be distorted.

53. Opening
What are some tools that geographers use?

54. Contemporary Tools
GIS (geographic information system) - a computer system that can capture, store, query, analyze, and display geographic data.
The position of any object on Earth can be measured and recorded with mathematical precision and then stored in a computer. A map can then be created by asking the computer to retrieve a number of stored objects and combine them to form an image.

55. Contemporary Tools
Remote Sensing - the acquisition of data about the Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting Earth or from other long-distance methods.
GPS ( Global Positioning System) - a system that accurately determines the precise position of something on Earth
Remote Sensing -Images are transmitted in digital form from a satellite to a receiving station on Earth