UNIT ONE: THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY

1. Introduction to Maps Learning Target: Identify types of maps, the types of information presented in maps, and different kinds of spatial patterns and relationships portrayed in maps.

● Reference maps are designed for people to refer to for general information about absolute and relative location. The two main types of reference maps are political and physical

● Thematic Maps are used as a communications tool – they show us how variables are distributed across space.

Cartogram Choropleth Dot Density Isoline Proportional Symbol

Spatial Patterns Represented on a Map

absolute and relative distance and direction

Clustering: Grouped/bunched together

Dispersal: appears to be distributed over a wide area

Elevation: using levels of how high/low something is located on the land

Map Projections (distortion in shape, size, distance, and direction are always preset to some degree)

Mercator MapShape and directions of countries are fairly accurateGreatly distorted toward poles

Robinson MapEverything is distorted in small amounts

GoodeContinent sizes are accurately portrayedDirections and distant aren’t accurate

Gall PetersShape of countries especially near the equator are distorted

2. Geographic DataLearning Target: Identify different methods of geographic data collection and how data can be used.Geospatial Data: all information including physical features and human activitiesGeographic information system (GIS) is a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth's surfaceGPS stands for Geographic Positioning System: This system uses data from satellites to pin-point a location on earth and help people find their way to a destination. Remote sensing: refers to the process of taking pictures of the Earth's surface from satellites (or airplanes) to provide a greater understanding of the Earth's geography over large distances.

● Spatial information can come from written accounts in the form of field observations, media reports, travel narratives, policy documents, personal interviews, landscape analysis, and photographic interpretation. Remember the KSU Professor who literally walked around and noted where she saw power poles?

3. The Power of Geographic DataLearning Target: Explain the geographical effects of decisions made using geographical information.Geospatial Data: all information including physical features and human activitiesCensus data: an official count of individuals in a population (in the USA, it happens every 10 years). The Census Bureau conducts this.

4. Spatial ConceptsLearning Target: Define major geographic concepts that illustrate spatial relationships.Absolute location: The precise spot where something is located. Given with latitude and longitude coordinates. Relative Location: where something is in relation to other things. Harrison is NEAR Atlanta. Jasper is BETWEEN Atlanta and Chattanooga. Space: extent of an area. Can be in a relative and absolute sensePlace: refers to the specific human and physical characteristics of a location.Distance Decay: a geographical term which describes the effect of distance on cultural or spatial interactions. The further away things get the less impact they have on each other. BUT, this is changing due to ….Time Space Compression, as seen below.Time-Space Compression: is the increasing sense of connectivity that seems to be bringing people closer together even though their distances are the same. Created by increased travel opportunities and efficiencies like airplanes and mass transit like buses or trains, as well as the increased person to person connectivity that cell phones create. Meetings like our Zoom meetings happen in a server somewhere in Ireland, probably, yet here we sit talking to each other like we’re in the same room!Pattern: The arrangement of something in an area. Patterns include linear, random, dispersed (meaning spread out) clustered, or even nucleated (which is another word for clustered).

5. Human-Environmental InteractionLearning Target: Explain how major geographic concepts illustrate spatial relationships.Sustainability: the goal of the human race reaching equilibrium with the environment; meeting the needs of the present without while also leaving resources for future generations. Los Angeles sucks up all the water that agricultural areas of CA need, for example. That’s not sustainable. Jungle is being converted to farmland for cattle in Brazil at an alarming rate. That’s not sustainable. Cars clog the interstates around the busiest cities in the world every day. That’s not sustainable. Natural Resources: a physical material constituting part of Earth that people need and value: oil, wind, sunlight, soybeans, etc.Environmental Determinism: How the physical environment caused (determined) social development. Nobody lives in Antarctica, for example. Few people live is desert climates because agriculture is difficult there. Possibilism: the physical environment may limit some human actions, but mostly people shape the environment to fit our needs. Terracing to create rice fields on mountainous land in Southeast Asia is common. People who live in warm climates like Sub-Saharan Africa use natural mud bricks. People who live in flood prone areas like the Philippines build houses on stilts. The Dutch wanted more agricultural land, so the build polders and windmills to “reclaim” land from the North Sea.

6. Scales of AnalysisLearning Target: Define scales of analysis used by geographers explain what scales of analysis revealScale: the relationship between the distance on the ground and the corresponding distance on a specific map - also a concept describing how "zoomed in" you are while studying a geographic trait (Globalization), Regional, National, State, and Local).Map Scale: the ratio of a map to the real world. 1:24,000 is common, meaning for every inch on the, 24,000 inches are covered in the real world. This is different than generic “scale” and “scale of analysis.”Scale of Analysis: the level at which you are analyzing data. Could be a map of the US, depicting county’s voting patterns. That map would have a county-level scale of analysis.

7. Regional Analysis

Learning Target: Describe different ways that geographers define regions.Region: a place larger than a point and smaller than a planet that is grouped together because of a measurable or perceived common featureFormal Region: a region that is based quantitative data (that can be documented or measured) - all government areas are this because they share a government and borders (Example: Georgia)Functional Region: a region based around a node or focal point - terrestrial radio broadcasts are an example of this, as are mass transit/bus network maps, or trade routes like the Silk Road or the TrianVernacular (Perceptual) Region: an area that shares a common qualitative characteristic, it's only a region because people believe it's a region (example: midwest)

Note: This unit and its concepts will be combined with various topics from across the course, so be prepared to take these concepts/ideas and apply them to other topics from Units 2-5.