Geography%20Basics

1
Think Like a Geographer
2
Geographers ask the questions...
Where? and Why There?
3
What tools do you need to Think Like a
Geographer?
4
Early mapmaking

• Most of the first known maps are of the heavens,
  not the earth.
• Dots representing the stars, dating to 16,500
  B.C., are found on the walls of caves in both
  Spain and France.
• The earliest surviving world maps were drawn by
  the Babylonians on clay tablets about 2,300 B.C.

5
The first map???Approx. 6,300 B.C. (Cave
Painting in Turkey)
6
Early mapmaking

• The word geography was invented by Eratosthenes
• (air a- tos - theens)
• It is based on two Greek words
• Geo Earth
• Graphy Write

(276?-194? B.C.)
7
Early mapmaking

• Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) was the first person to
  demonstrate that the Earth was spherical.
• Matter falls toward a common center
• Earths shadow on the Moon is
  circular during an
  eclipse
• Visible group of stars change
  as one travels north or
  south
• He was a student of Plato
• Teacher of Alexander the Great

(student of Socrates)
8
Early mapmaking

• Ptolemy (A.D. 100?-170?) wrote an eight-volume
  Guide to Geography

9
Early mapmaking

• The father of Chinese Cartography, Phei Hsiu (or
  Fei Xiu) produced elaborate maps of China in 267
  A.D.
• Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi (1100-1165?)
  prepared both a world map and a geography text in
  1154, building on Ptolemys long neglected work.

10
Early mapmaking

• After the fall of the Roman Empire maps became
  less mathematical and more mythical, showing
  Earth surrounded by fierce animals and monsters
• It wasnt until the Age of Exploration
  Discovery that Geography and mapmaking enjoyed a
  revival.

11
Age of Exploration

• Columbus, Magellan, and other explorers required
  accurate maps to reach their desired destinations
  safely.
• In turn, cartographers like
• Gerardus Mercator (1512-94)
• Abraham Ortelius (1527-98)
• took information collected by the explorers to
  create even more accurate maps.
• By the 17th Century, maps accurately displayed
  the outline of most continents and the position
  of oceans

12
Mental Map

• The concept of a mental map refers to a person's
  personal perception of their own world.

wimps
13
Projections
Projections are the transformation of a spherical
object to a flat object
All maps lie flat, and all flat maps lie
14

• Earths spherical shape poses a challenge for
  cartographers because drawing Earth on a flat
  piece of paper unavoidably produces some
  distortions.

15
Lets Review

• There are four main types of distortions
• The shape of an area can be distorted, so that it
  appears more elongated or squat than in reality
• The relative size of different areas may be
  altered, so that one area may appear larger than
  another on a map but in reality be smaller
• The distance between two points may become
  increased or decreased
• The direction from one place to
  another can be distorted.

16
Composite image Geosphere Project of Santa
Monica, CA. Thousands of images of the Earth
were taken over a ten-month period.The images
were then electronically assembled. Jigsaw
Puzzle
17
INTERMISSIONCheck out this scene from the West
Wing. Why does it matter what type of map
projection Americans use?
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vn8zBC2dvERM
18
All Good maps have 5 parts!

• Title
• Date
• Compass
• Key / Legend
• Scale

19
Map Scale
How large of an area is being shown here? Whats
missing from this map?
DONT WRITE THIS DOWN
20
Map Scale

• The level of detail the amount of area covered
  on a map depends on its scale.
• Scale refers to the relationship of a features
  size on a map to its actual size on the Earth.

21

• Map scale is presented in three ways
• A fraction or ratio 1/24,000 or 124,000
• 1 unit on the map represents 24,000 of the same
  unit
• 1 on the left always refers to a unit of distance
  on the map
• Number on the right always refers to the same
  unit of distance on the Earths surface
• Written statement 1 inch 1 mile
• Graphic bar

22
Small Scale less detail Larger number on right
Large Scale more detail Smaller number on right
23
Types of Maps

• Reference Maps
• Political
• Physical
• Historical
• Road

24
Types of Maps

• Thematic Maps
• Isoline
• Topographic
• Choropleth
• Proportional symbol
• Dot Density

25
Types of Maps

• Cartogram

26
Types of Maps

• Pictoral

27
Thinking Like a Geographer has not changed but
our tools have!
28
GPS (Global Positioning System)

• GPS is a system that determines accurately the
  precise position of something on Earth using
  several satelittes.
• GPS is most commonly used in navigation of
  aircraft and ships, and newer models of motor
  vehicles.

29
Remote Sensing

• The acquisition of data about Earths surface
  from a satellite orbiting Earth or from other
  long-distance methods is known as remote sensing.
• Geographic applications of remote sensing are
  primarily environmental
• Vegetation
• Ice Cover
• Weather Pattern changes
• Deforestation
• Urban Sprawl

30
GIS (geographic information system)

• GIS is a computer system that can capture, store,
  query, analyze, and display geographic data.
• GIS is used in part to produce maps, that are
  more accurate and attractive than those drawn by
  hand.

31
GIS (geographic information system)

• Each type of information can be stored in a
  layer.
• Multiple layered maps are possible.
• GIS enables geographers to calculate whether
  relationships between objects on a map are
  significant or merely coincidental.

32
GIS (geographic information system)

• FATHER OF GIS
• Scottish environmentalist Ian Mc Harg set forth
  the basic concepts that would later develop into
  GIS.
• (before computers)

33
Google Map Chicago pizza restaurants
34
Once we know...
Where?
We can ask...
Why There?