CHAPTER 1 Finding Our Place in the World
Dec 25, 2015
I. WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY? History:
Study of events in timeWhat happened and when
Basic Tool of History:Timeline
Geography:Study of space and placeWhere things happen
Basic Tool of Geography:Map
BRANCHES OF GEOGRAPHY Physical Geography-
the study of the earth and its resources
Human Geography- the study of man as he lives on the earth
and uses its resources
THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY Mr. Lip Movement- of people, goods, ideas,
diseases Region- defined by formal boundaries Location- either specific or relative to
the surrounding area Interaction-among people and their
environment Place-physical characteristics and
human characteristics
THE GREEKS Alexander the Great- rose to power in 336 BC
4 year march to unexplored areas- central Asia and India
Expanded Greeks knowledge of world geography Erathosenes- lived 276- 195 BC
Wrote a book titled Geography, first to use the word
Thought world was a sphere and calculated the circumference at 25,000 miles
Hipparchus- 200 BC Made a grid system to locate places easily
Ptolemy- 200 AD Geocentric theory
AGE OF EXPLORATION Christopher Columbus
Wanted a shortcut to the Orient, instead he….
Nicolaus Copernicus 1543Heliocentric Theory
Gerhardus MercatorPublished map that became the standard in
1569His system still used today
MODERN AGE Kings want survey of their land Topography
Details land features and elevation United States joins the map race
WWII increased efforts Airplanes and Satellites
Made it possible for more detailed mapsMaps of the ocean floor
GPS- global positioning system What remains unexplored?
Mountain peaks, caves, ocean floor
II. THE GEOGRAPHIC GRID Apollo 13 return trip Dividing the globe into smaller sections Hemispheres
North, South, East, West Latitude and Longitude
LATITUDE Latitude– imaginary lines that run east
to west around the earth Lines are parallel to the Equator Numbered 0* at the Equator and 90* at
the North and South poles Distance from one degree of Lat. To the
next is about 69 miles– still not precise enough
Broken down into minutes (60 minutes in each degree) then minutes into seconds (60 seconds in a minute)
LONGITUDE Lines called Meridians Run North and South The “equator” of longitude is called the
Prime Meridian– located in Greenwich, England.
Measured in degrees, minutes and seconds
Highest degree is 180*-- Why? Opposite meridian from PM creates the
Great Circle
III. MAP PROJECTIONS Globes- great model of the earth, but… Any method used to show the earth’s
round surface on a flat map is called a Map Projection
PROBLEM OF DISTORTION Earth’s surface is not flat like a piece of
paper Gores Mapmakers try to reduce distortion in 4
areasAreaShapeDistance Direction
SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM 3 basic types of maps
CylindricalPlanarConic
Get their names from the geometric surface onto which the globe is projected
Each try to address the weaknesses in the other
CYLINDRICAL PROJECTIONS
Most common kind Mapmaker rolls a sheet of paper around
the globeMercator’s Projection1st important cylindrical mapPublished 1569Directions: consistentShape:accurateAreas and Distance: distorted the further away from the Equator
Goode’s Interrupted Projection
Useful because…Areas:accurateShape: goodDistances and N/S Directions: distorted
Robinson’s Projection
Popular for textbooksCombines best from other 2Minimizes all distortionsEverything IS distorted, but just a little
PLANAR PROJECTIONS Work better on smaller scale… not world
maps Uses flat plane instead of cylinder Touches globe only at 1 point
Most accurate in the center, becomes distorted at the edges
CONIC PROJECTIONS Mapmaker places a cone-shaped piece
of paper on the globe, then opens and flattens the paper
Touches an entire line of latitude Most useful for showing wide regions
IV. RELIEF MAPS Physical maps that show changes in
elevation “Relief” refers to the height and depth
of land features
3D EARTH
Technology now depicts elevation with colorGreen- sea levelYellow or light brown- slight rise in landDark brown, gray or white- mountains
Contour Lines separate the colors Each line shows all the points on the
map with the same altitude