Unit 1 Thinking Geographically

Unit 1: Thinking Geographically Geographic and Spatial Information ● Latitude: Measurement of distance north or south of the equator (vertical) ● Longitude: Measurement of distance west or east of the prime meridian (horizontal) ● Global Positioning System (GPS) : used for navigation and shows accurate location ● Remote Sensing: Satellites orbit Earth and send back data to Earth ● Geographic Information System (GIS): a computer system that stores information about locations in layers Absolute vs. Relative Location ● Absolute Location: coordinates for a location, doesn’t change ○ Ex. I live at 123 Woodward Dr ● Relative Location: location in relation to the objects around it ○ Ex. I live by Mcdonalds and Walmart Place ● Unique characteristic of a location Time-Distance Decay ● The further sources are from each other, the less they will contact each other Diffusion ● How characteristics spread across space from one place to another ○ Relocation Diffusion: When people emigrate, they take with them their culture and knowledge ○ Hierarchical Diffusion: Spreads from an important figure, leader, or group ■ Contagious Diffusion: Quick spread of a characteristic throughout the population ● Think of it like a disease, it is contagious and spreads very quickly ■ Stimulus Diffusion: Main idea is spread but some changes are made Early Maps vs Contemporary Maps ● Early Maps ○ Simple Navigation Tools ○ Shows how to get from point A to B ● Contemporary Maps ○ Communication tool ○ Geographic informations explained Map Scales and Projections ● Map scale shows the features in relation to the actual size on the earth ○ Ratio Scale ■ 1:10,000 ■ The number on the left will always be the units of distance on the map ■ The number on the right will always be the units of distance on the Earth’s surface ■ Every 1 inch represents 10,000 actual inches on Earth’s surface ○ Written Scale ■ 1 inch equals 10 miles ■ Explains the relationship in words ○ Graphic Scale ■ Bar line on the map to show how much distance is covered ● Projection Types ○ Robinson Projection ■ Used to focus on oceans ■ Land masses are smaller ○ Mercator Projection ■ Accurate shape and direction ■ Map is rectangular ■ Size of poles are distorted Types of Maps ● Topographic Maps ○ Detailed, graphic representations of features that are on Earth’s surfaces ■ These features are cultural, hydrography, relief, vegetation ● Cultural: international and state borders, buildings, airports, names of places ○ ● ● Hydrography: lakes, rivers, streams, swamps ● Relief: Mountains, Valleys, Cliffs ● Vegetation: wood and clear areas, orchards, vineyards Used for various reasons such as hiking, hunting, surveying, resource management, etc. Thematic Maps ○ Also known as a statistic map, Special purpose, Single-topic map ○ Shows the distribution of one or more specific data themes for the geographical areas shown ○ All types have two things: Base map and statistical data ○ Different types of thematic maps: Choropleth, Isoline, Dot-Density, Cartograms Choropleth Maps ○ Uses color variations to indicate quantitative values across geographical areas ○ Look at the color legend and make sure to interpret it properly before associating that with the map Isoline Maps ○ The isoline is a line that connects the points with equal values and can be used with gradient colors to show the different areas. ● ○ Isolines should have equal intervals ○ Help to recognize patterns between the geography of an area and the data collected DotMaps Density ○ Show density differences in geographic distributions across a landscape ○ Must be drawn on an equal map area projection ■ Using a map projection that doesn’t keep the size of the areas will mess up the density of dots ○ Can map raw data such as number of farms or ratios such as number of farms per square km ○ Work perfectly fine with black and white when color can’t be used ○ Combines statistical information with geographical locations ○ Distorted with what the cartographers wants to display the information ○ Area and distance cartograms Cartograms ■ Area Cartograms: alters the entire physical location by scaling a chosen factor, could be environmental, physical, social, economic, political. ● ■ Ex. Total Population Distance Cartograms: displays the relative time and distance within a chosen network ● Exact time and distance from one location to another location is distorted, can still be used for moving about. Ex. Subways Region Types and other information ● Toponym: name given to a place on Earth ○ ● Site: Characteristics of a place ○ ● (vegetation, hills, streams and other bodies of waters) Situation: Location that is in relation to something ○ ● 158 woodwards dr is the house address My apartment is between walmart and kroger Formal Region ○ Everyone shares a common characteristics ■ ● ● Same language, climate and other environmental factors, religion Functional Region ○ Often organized around a central point (Node) ○ Center of the city that attracts people Vernacular Region ○ Also known as perceptual region ○ Reflect a sense of place, normally emerges from culture ■ Ex. South America