Advantages?

Disadvantages?

Globes

Projection:Systematic representation of all or part of the three-dimensional Earth surface on a two-dimensional flat surface.

Common Map Projections

Conical

Common Map Projections

Cylindrical

Planar

Common Map Projections

Conformality vs. Equivalence

Map Properties

• Conformality– Shapes of

areas are correct

(size of areas are incorrect)

– Conformalprojection

• Equivalence– Size of areas are correct

(shapes of areas are incorrect)

– Equal-area projection

• Compromise Projection– Neither equivalent nor equal-area property– Example: Robinson Projection

Families of Projections

• Cylindrical – Mercator Projection

• The most famous projection

• Plane Projections – Azimuthal or Zenithal

projections (correct direction from point of tangency)

– One-hemisphere view

• Conic Projections – Small-area maps

• Pseudocylindrical Projections– aka elliptical or oval projections

• Interrupted Projections

Map projections Youtube

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8zBC2dvERM&feature=PlayList&p=9DF42BD3AD0FB8ED&index=0&playnext=1

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The most basic map that everyone carries with them…A Mental Map

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Computer Cartography

• Mainframe computers– Symap

• Desktop computers

• Incredible improvements

• Demand for skilled cartographers

The Global Positioning System (GPS)

• Satellite-based• Accuracy

– Commercial/private users

– Military

Global positioning satellites

Remote Sensing• Collecting, storing, and extracting environmental

information using devices not in contact with what’s being studied

• Limits of human vision– Inexact storage and recall– Our non-vertical perspective– Small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that

our eyes can discern

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) 

• GIS systems combine spatial and attribute data 

• Maps can contain multiple data layers:– Physical features– Cultural features

• Layers can be added to create composite overlay

GISystem

GIS work involves layers of data

GIS Example

Land Use on Cape Cod

A GIS map of the island of OAHU

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A GIS Map and a Google Mapof Oahu, Hawaii

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Another View of Geography

The Role of the Geographer

• Maps, globes, map projections, the GIS, remote sensing, GIS are merely TOOLS of the geographer

• They provide various ways the geographer can portray and study Earth’s surface

• To use them properly, must be trained in spatial thinking and understand place

Summary

• Geographers can portray Earth’s surface in many ways, each method has its advantages

• Geography is increasingly more valuable to government and business, as technological advances in computer mapping, imaging, and satellite remote sensing continue to occur

Resources

• De Blij, Harm, J. (2007). Human Geography People, Place and Culture. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

• Domosh, Mona, Neumann, Roderic, Price, Patricia, & Jordan-Bychkov, 2010. The Human Mosaic, A Cultural Approach to Human Geography. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.

• Fellman, Jerome, D., Getis, Arthur, & Getis, Judith, 2008. Human Geography, Landscapes of Human Activities. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

• Pulsipher, Lydia Mihelic and Alex M. and Pulsipher, 2008. World Regional Geography, Global Patterns, Local Lives. W.H. Freeman and Company New York.  

• Rubenstein, James M. (2008). An introduction to human geography The cultural landscape. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

• Benewick, Robert, & Donald, Stephanie H. (2005). The State of

• China Atlas. Berkeley: University of California Press.

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