02/01/2015

5 Themes of Geography
Location: Absolute: where a place is specifically, based on latitude or
longitude (Paris, France is located at 48.86 degrees N, and 2.35 degrees E)
or Relative: where a place is in relation to other things (Chipotle is next to
Buffalo Wild Wings)
Place: An area that is defined by everything in it. Its features
distinguish it from other places. (Target, which includes products, shelves,
carts, checkout counters, employees and customers, etc)
Region: Area defined by certain similar characteristics (The Midwest is
a region of the United States)
Movement: The way people and information move from one place to
another (Americans need to fly in order to get to China)
Human/Environment Interaction: The relationships between
people and the environment, how they depend on, adapt to, and modify it.
(Because of the lack of rainfall in some of the Western states, people have
built pipes to bring water into these states from rivers in other states)
What is Geography? The study of physical features of the earth, and
how human activity affects and is affected by the earth. (Studying how
humans use fossil fuels)
Geographic Method: Geographic method includes acquiring
geographic information, and summarizing and analyzing the information in
order to answer a question. (Taking a survey to see how many people in
Minnesota drink tap water, making a map that shows the number of people
in each area who drink tap water, and drawling conclusions from the map as
to which areas drink the most tap water)
Geographic Perspective: How a person interprets meanings of
events, places, people, culture and environments, and provides a reference
for answering questions, solving problems, and evaluating consequences.
(The Ecological Perspective deals with connections and relationships between
ecosystems, animals and humans)
Geographic Investigation Process: Asking basic questions such as
what where and when, identifying patterns, asking deeper questions such as
why and how, and finally making predictions of what youve already learned.
(Asking where there are more French fries in the world, researching and
finding patterns about fries, asking yourself why there are more fries in
certain parts of the world then others, and then making a prediction about
where the most fries will be in ten years)
Geographic Questions: Where things are, why they are important,
how the places are connected, and how are humans affected by/affecting the
places. (Asking how humans have impacted the size and amount of the
worlds rainforests)

Physical Geography vs. Human Geography: Physical is the study

of the actual, tangible pieces of Earth (ex. the weather, oceans, plant life,
and rocks) while Human is the study of humans interactions, existence and
what they do on the plant. (ex. population, wars, migration and societal
interactions)
GPS (Global Positioning System): satellite navigation that gives
location information to users on Earth. (You can use GPS to determine how
long it will take to get from Chanhassen to Duluth, and it will give directions
of which roads to take)
GIS (Geographic Information System): Computer system that is
used to store, manage and analyze spatial information which shows multiple
layers of data and can be represented on paper maps (Use GIS to look at
where there is the most pollution in the world, and compare that areas
surroundings to areas with less pollution)
Remote Sensing: Scanning the earth via a satellite (Google Earth
uses satellites to map images of the world)
Cartography: The process of making maps (Cartographers may travel
to undocumented places and draw a map of this place for others to see)
Types of Maps
Political: Shows the borders of separate land areas and nations (A
map that shows only the state boundaries in the US)
Physical: Shows the geographical features of a place (A map that
shows the mountain ranges, lakes, rivers, roads and railroads in the US)
Thematic: Shows a theme that connects a geographical area (A map
that is colored differently for regions based on the number of people in each
region that live in poverty)
Choropleth: A type of thematic map where the regions are shaded
different shades of a similar color (Using different shades of pink/red to
show the population density of counties in Minnesota)
Dot distribution: A type of thematic map that shows the presence of
a feature using dots (A map that uses dot distribution to show population
density will have a large concentration of dots in places such as New York
City, and Chicago, but will have smaller concentrations in areas in North
Dakota)
Isoline: A type of thematic map that uses lines to connect points of
equal value (A map of the united states with lines across it that connect
areas where the populations are the same)
Statistical: A type of map that shows the variation in amount of a
factor (A dot distribution map that shows rainfall in certain areas compared
to others)

Cartogram: A map in which a variable is substituted for land area

which distorts the shape of the map (A population map of the United States
with state shapes distorted so larger population states look larger than
states with smaller populations)
Proportional Arrow: Shows some sort of movement in a map, with
arrows that are sized proportionally to the amount of thing being moved (A
map of immigration from Europe to the US, with larger arrows showing areas
where more people immigrated)
Map Projections distortion in shape, distance, relative size &
direction: Representing Earth on a plane surface because of a spherical
shape being transferred onto a flat object, land mass shapes and sizes are
distorted and areas between things are manipulated due to an inability to
perfectly translate from spherical to flat (due to a distortion in map
projections, Antarctica appears much larger on a map than it is in reality)
Map Scale - how scale can be used to manipulate information,
large vs. small scale: Map scale is the relationship between the distances
between objects on a map, and the distance between them in real life. Large
scale refers to the distance on the map representing a smaller distance in
reality, while small scale is when a distance on a map represents a much
larger difference in reality. Using a scale can make places appear much
closer to one another than in reality (In a 1 inch to 1 mile (large) scale
Chanhassen and Duluth look further away then if the map had a 1 inch to
300 miles (small) scale)
Toponyms: The name of a place especially one that comes from the
features of the place (The Grant Canyon is named so due to the fact that its
a very large canyon)
Site vs. Situation: Site is the physical location of a thing on earth,
and includes the physical characteristics of the land, while situation is the
location of something relative to the surroundings, including accessibility and
connection to raw materials. (ex. Duluth is located in Northwestern
Minnesota, on Lake Superior and also near gooseberry falls, and near an
area with many mines. Ex. Duluth is a popular travel destination due to its
spot on the lake and its tourist opportunities located close by, such as
gooseberry falls. It also has a high volume of traffic due to the mining
industry located close by)
Geographic Coordinate Systems (Grid System, Latitude &
Longitude): The grid system is a series of vertical and horizontal lines
known as lines of latitude and longitude that can be used to find exactly
where a place is on Earth. The lines of latitude run vertically (North to
South) and the lines of Longitude run horizontally (East to West).
(Chanhassen is located at 44.86 degrees North and 93.53 degrees West)

Meridians & Parallels: Meridians are another way of saying latitude,

and parallels are another way of saying lines of longitude. (The division
between North and South Korea is the 38th parallel)
Prime Meridian: The line that is considered 0 degrees longitude (The
Prime Meridian passes through Greenwich, England)
International Date Line: Imaginary line that runs North to South,
and marks where one day changes into the next (Crossing the International
Date Line means moving forward or backward one day)
GMT Greenwich Mean Time: The time in Greenwich England,
which is where the prime meridian is located, and is used to compare time
zones around the world (If its 12:00 in Greenwich, its 6:00 in Minnesota)
Regions Formal, Functional, Vernacular: In a formal region
everyone shares one or more common traits, a functional region is an area
that is centered around a focal point, and a vernacular region is a place
where the people in it believe it exists as part of their identity. (A formal
region is a place like China town, where everyone shares a similar culture, a
functional region is a place like New York City, with its important business
and trade centers, surrounded by restaurants, entertainment venues, and
communities, an example of a vernacular region is the Midwest, which is
defined as a region because of the people in it who consider it so)
Cultural landscape: A land area the includes not only natural
resources, but factors that are human-made and exhibit cultural significance
(The Matopo Hills in Zimbabwe are considered a cultural landscape due to
the naturally occurring rock formations that exist there, which have been
painted with cave drawings and have historical significance as shelter for
humans as well)
Spatial interaction: Flow from one location to another, referring to a
movement of people but also the movements associated with trading goods,
and how different places interact with each other (Europeans immigrating to
America in the 17th century is an example of special interaction)
Diffusion Relocation, Expansion, Contagious Hierarchical,
Stimulus
Hearth: Relocation diffusion is when ideas are spread by people
physically moving, expansion diffusion occurs when an idea spreads by
snowballing from place to place, hierarchical diffusion is where an idea is
spread by people who have authority, contagious is a rapid spread of an idea
through many places, stimulus diffusion is when the underlying principal of
the idea spreads although the full idea itself does not and hearth is where
the idea originated (A bill that originates in Washington D.C. (hearth) could
be spread by hierarchical diffusion due to the President promoting it, but
could also experience stimulus diffusion where Americans accept some ideas
associated with the bill, but not the bill itself)

Space-time compression: The time it takes to diffuse an idea is

reduced due to improvements in technology (Students used to have to wait
for a letter in the mail to learn their college decisions, but now, with email,
they can hear back much quicker)
Distance decay: The further two places are from each other, the less
the interact with/influence one another (Many American people concern
themselves with American celebrities, but dont know or care much about
celebrities from other countries)
Spatial Distribution Concentration, Density, Pattern: Spatial
distribution is the arrangement of something across the surface of the earth.
Concentration refers to the extent of the features spread, density refers to
the frequency in which it occurs (similar but not exactly the same as
concentration) and pattern is the regular arrangement of something in an
area. (The concentration of homes in an area is 3 square miles, in which
there are 12 homes, in a pattern of 4 homes across and 3 down)
Environmental determinism vs possibilism: Determinism refers to
how the environment caused social development, while possiilism discusses
how the environment may limit human activity, but people can adjust to the
environment (A determinist would say that humans living near the coast
have to eat fish because that is what is easily available, but a possilist would
say that humans living near the coast may eat fish but also eat a wide
variety of other foods that are slightly more difficult to get because they are
not limited by their surroundings)
Earths Physical Systems
Atmosphere: The gases surrounding the earth (Ex. Ozone)
Hydrosphere: all the waters on the earths surface, and the waters
over the surface (The Pacific Ocean, clouds)
Lithosphere: the outer part of the earth (crust/upper mantle)
Biosphere: regions of earth that are occupied by living things (the
surface, atmosphere and hydrosphere are all part of earths biosphere)
Ecosystem: A community of organisms that interact with each other,
including the environment in which they live (The rainforests are a large
ecosystem)
Globalization: When businesses and technology spreads throughout
the world (When the iPhone was first introduced in America, it spread to
other parts of the world and is now used worldwide)
Transnational Corporations: Businesses that operate in more than
one country at a time (Cargill is a transnational corporation with locations in
multiple places around the world)