Thinking Geographically

•4 types of maps•5 themes of geography•3 types of regions•Site vs. Situation

Mercator Projection - 1569

• Low distortion on land shape• Distortion is greatest at the poles

Robinson Projection - 1963

• Distorts shape, size, distance, and direction evenly, but preserves all four the best at the Equator

Goode Projection - 1923

• Land masses are true• Distances are distorted

Lambert Projection - 1772

• Direction is true from center point• Distorted shapes and direction at the edges• Views one hemisphere of the world

5 Themes: Place

• A specific point on Earth

5 Themes: Region

• An area on Earth distinguished by a combination of culture and physical features

5 Themes: Scale

• Relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and the Earth as a whole

5 Themes: Space

• Refers to the physical gap between objects

5 Themes: Connections

• Relationships among people and objects across space

Types of Regions: Formal (Uniform)

• An area within everyone shares one or more distinctive characteristics

Types of Regions: Functional (Nodal)

• An area organized around a node or focal point, diminishes in importance as it grows outward

Types of Regions: Vernacular (Perceptual)

• A place that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity

Site vs. Situation

Site• The physical

characteristic of a place• Example: Marion

County’s site characteristics include knobs, rivers, and a high percentage of agricultural land

Situation• The location of a

place in relation to others

• Example: Lebanon is approximately 60 miles south of Louisville

Latitude and Longitude

• Latitude – runs flat and are parallel

• 0⁰ Latitude is the Equator

• Latitude lines go from 90⁰ South Latitude to 90⁰ North Latitude

• Longitude – runs up and down, meet at the poles

• 0⁰ Longitude is the Prime Meridian, 180⁰ Longitude is the International Date Line

• Longitude meridians go from 0⁰ to 180⁰ and are measured east to west in relation Greenwich, England

Map Distortions

•Shape•Size•Direction•Distance

Types of Diffusions

• Relocation – physical movement of people• Expansion – snowball effect• Hierarchical – spreads from nodes of

authority• Contagious – rapid and widespread

diffusion• Stimulus – as an idea spreads, part of its

concept is lost, the rest continues to be spread