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Introduction To Geography: Edward F. Bergman William H. Renwick

Geography is the study of the interaction between humans and their physical environment at different locations. It involves analyzing areas, spatial relationships, and movement between places. Key aspects of geography include physical systems, human-environment interactions, maps, and geographic information systems (GIS) using digital data. GIS allows analysis of geographic data by combining different data layers for studying patterns. Remote sensing acquires data about Earth's surface from satellites and aircraft.

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118 views

Introduction To Geography: Edward F. Bergman William H. Renwick

Geography is the study of the interaction between humans and their physical environment at different locations. It involves analyzing areas, spatial relationships, and movement between places. Key aspects of geography include physical systems, human-environment interactions, maps, and geographic information systems (GIS) using digital data. GIS allows analysis of geographic data by combining different data layers for studying patterns. Remote sensing acquires data about Earth's surface from satellites and aircraft.

Uploaded by

svickery
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Introduction to Geography

People, Places, and Environment, 3e


Edward F. Bergman
William H. Renwick

Chapter 1: Introduction to Geography

Holly Barcus
Morehead State University
Geography
The study of the interaction of all physical and
human phenomena at individual places and of
how interactions among places form patterns and
organize space.
What Is Geography?
Physical
Human
Cultural

Cartography
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
History of Geography
Classical Western World
Erastosthenes (275-195 B.C.)
Hipparchus (180-127 B.C.)
Non-European World
Al-Edrisi (1099-1154)
Ibn-Battuta (1304-1378)
Ibn-Khaldun (1332-1406)
The Tribute of Yu
Phei Hsiu
Kangido
Since the 1400’s…
General geography (1650)
Bernhard Varen
Special geography = regional geography
General geography = topical/systematic geography
Human-environment tradition
Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859)
• Cosmos
George Perkins Marsh (1801-1882)
• Man and Nature (1864)
“The information that any citizen
needs in order to make an
informed decision on an
important question of the day is
largely geographic.”
Geography Today
Association of American Geographers
55 topical specialties
www.aag.org
Where?, What?, When?, Why?, and Why there?
Three approaches
Area analysis
Spatial analysis
Geographic information systems analysis
Area Analysis
Site
Exact location of a place
Situation or relative location
Location of a place relative to other places
Accessibility
Constant change
Scale
Globalization
Regions
Formal regions
Exhibit uniformity across a cultural or physical
characteristic
Functional regions
Defined by interactions among places
Vernacular regions
Widespread popular perception of existence
Spatial Analysis
Distribution
Three properties of distribution
Density
Concentration
Pattern
Movement
Distance
Measurements
• Absolute
• Time
• Cost
Friction of distance
Distance decay
As distance increases, importance of a particular
phenomena decreases
• Ex. Newspaper circulation
Three Types of Diffusion
Relocation diffusion
Contiguous diffusion
Hierarchical diffusion

Barriers to diffusion
Cultural barriers
• Oceans, deserts, distance, time
• Political boundaries, cultural differences
4 Physical Systems
Atmosphere (air)

Lithosphere (Earth’s solid rocks)

Hydrosphere (water)

Biosphere (living organisms)


Human-Environmental
Interaction
Reciprocal interaction
Culture
Language, food, religion, social ceremonies
Natural landscapes
Without evidence of human activity
Cultural landscapes
Reveals how humans modify local environment
The Geographic Grid
Longitude
Measures distance east to west around the globe beginning at
the Prime Meridian
Prime Meridian
International Date Line
0-180 degrees East or West
Latitude
Location on the Earth’s surface between the equator and
either the north or south pole
Parallels
0-90 degrees North or South
Map Making
Cartography
Scale
Fraction 1/24,000
Ratio 1:24,000
Written statement “1 inch equals 1 mile”
Bar style
Detail and area 0 1 2 3 4
Small scale map = less detail, large denominator
(1:1,000,000)
Large scale map = more detail, small denominator
(1:100,000)
Projection
Scientific method of transferring locations
on Earth’s surface to a flat map
4 types of distortion
Shape
Distance
Relative size
Direction
Geographic Information
Technology
Automated cartography
Manual techniques expensive
Computer Assisted Drawing (CAD)
• Sophisticated, specialized digital cartography
systems
• Easier, cheaper editing
Remote Sensing
Acquisition of data about Earth’s
surface from a satellite orbiting the
planet or from high-flying aircraft
Satellites
Landsat
1972; 1999
Sensors measure radiation of colors of visible light
Pixel size (resolution): 59x59 meters
IKONOS resolution: 1.5x1.5 meters

Weather satellites
Very large pixels
Remotely Sensed Data
Human activities
Changes in plant growth
Drainage patterns
Erosion associated with agriculture
Logging and forest management
Wetland monitoring
Wartime applications
GIS
Database software for digital information
Contains same information as regular database
PLUS
• Spatial characteristics such as boundary information or
coordinates
• An identifying characteristic that locates the item in space (i.e.,
address)
Layers
Information with specific characteristics
• Soils, hydrology, land ownership
Can be combined for analysis
Digital Geographic Information
Raster
Grid cells of data
• Remote sensing images
• Pixels
Vector
Point, line, polygon data
X and Y coordinates
Different uses and spatial accuracies
Digital Data
Conversion of paper to digital formats
Digital database creation
Remote sensing images
Digitizing
• Tracing lines
Available types of data
Topographic maps
• DRG and DLG
US Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory
Census Bureau TIGER files
GIS Spatial Analysis
Calculating densities and distribution of
population
“Counting” lakes
Monitoring environmental changes with
satellite images
Analyzing changes in food production and
land use
End of Chapter 1

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