Why are we changing maps? (West Wing) LINK Daily Overview LINK Google Maps:
Key Skills & Concepts:
Reading maps and understanding geographic data
Describe spatial pattern and practice spatial reasoning and geographic data
Understand how geographic data is collected
Recall and apply the five themes of geography
Apply the "SPEEDS" analysis to news and case studies
Understand how human-environment interaction will be viewed from the geographic perspective
Unit Vocabulary
"Gotta Knows" are underlined: Accessibility - the quality of being easy to obtain or use; transportation networks improve accessibility. It is also affected by the topography of the land (mountains, rivers, etc.) Space-time compression has improved accessibility of places. Cartography - the science of making maps Cartogram - a map in which some thematic mapping variable (Population, Income) is substituted for land area. The geometry or space of the map is distorted to convey the information of this alternate variable Choropleth Map - shows the level of some variable (with shadings or colors) within predefined areas such as counties, states or countries Climate - the long-term average weather condition at a particular location Concentration - similar to a cluster, the geographic location of a dense group (buildings, trees, people) Cultural landscape - The human imprint on the physical landscape. Carl Sauer first used the term. An approach to geography that emphasizes the relationships among social and physical phenomena in a particular study area. Examples Connection - the relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space Culture - the body of customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits that together constitute a group's distinct tradition Density - the frequency with which something exists within a given unit of space Diffusion - the process of spread of a culture trait or trend from one place to another over time, there are types Distance decay - the diminished importance and eventual disappearance of interaction, or a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin Distribution - the arrangement of something across Earth's surface Dot Maps - use a dot to represent the occurrence of some phenomenon in order to depict variation in density in a given area Ecology - the scientific study of ecosystems Environmental Determinism - A nineteenth and early twentieth century approach to the study of geography which argued that the general laws sought by human geographers could be found in the physical sciences. Geography was therefore the study of how the physical environment caused human activities. Fieldwork - Field work is the process of observing and collecting data about people, cultures, and natural environments. Field work is conducted in the wild of our everyday surroundings rather than in the semi-controlled environments of a lab or classroom. Formal Region - a region with one or more shared characteristics, such as a language region or a political entity like a city or state Functional Region - based on an activity, a functional region has a node or starting point for the activity. The activity will decrease in frequency as you move away from the node (soda bottling, newspaper delivery, pizza delivery, commuting) Geographic Information Science - the development and analysis of data about Earth acquired through satellite and other electronic information technologies Geographic Information Systems (GIS) - a computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data Global Positioning System (GPS) - a system that determines the precise position of something on Earth through a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers. Globalization - actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope Hearth - the region from which innovative ideas originate Hierarchical Diffusion- The spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places. (something spreads down a hierarchy, like large cities to small ones, celebrities to everyone else) Isolines - connect points of equal value on maps with the same name Latitude- The numbering system used to indicate the location of parallels drawn on a globe and measuring distance north and south of the equator. Location- The position of anything on Earth's surface. One of the five themes of geography. Longitude - The numbering system used to indicate the location of meridians drawn on a globe and measuring distance east and west of the prime meridian (0 degrees). Map scale - The relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth's surface. Mental map- a representation of a portion of Earth's surface based on what an individual knows about a place that contains personal impressions of what is in the place and where the place is located. Meridian - An arc draw on a map between the north and south poles (known as longitude lines). Networks - Connections that have a linear pattern and nodes, which are connecting points (indicated by dots on diagrams) or places of intersection, changing direction, etc. A transportation network refers to the framework of routes within a system of locations, identified as nodes. A route is a single link between two nodes that are part of a larger network that can refer to tangible routes such as roads and rails, or less tangible routes such as air and sea corridors. Communication networks can be drawn with similar diagrams. Nonrenewable resources - something produced in nature more slowly than it is consumed by humans. Parallel - A circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians (latitude lines). Place - What is like, qualitatively, as opposed to just explaining its location. People infuse places with meaning and emotion. Possibilism - The theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives. Reference maps- maps that contain a lot of information about the physical or cultural features of a place. Often used when traveling. Region - Areas with shared processes or characteristics. The way geographers group places with similar characteristics. These can be based on culture, physical geography, agriculture or any activity, such as industry. Relocation diffusion - The spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another. Remote sensing - The acquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or from other long-distance methods. Renewable resource - Something produced in nature more rapidly than it is consumed by humans. Scale - Generally, the relationship between the portion of the Earth being studied and Earth as a whole. Changing scale means to study something at more than once scale (local, regional, global). Sequent Occupance - the sequential imprints of occupants, whose impacts are layered one on top of the other so that these are seen in the cultural landscape Site- the physical characteristics of a place Situation- the location of a place relative to another place (relative location) Space-time compression - The reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distance place as a result of improved communications and transportation systems. Spatial association - the relationship between the distribution of one feature and the distribution of another feature (industry and wealth; language and religion, for example). Spatial pattern: placement, or arrangement of objects on Earth. It also includes the space in between those objects. Patterns may be recognized because of their arrangement; maybe in a line or by a clustering of points. Stimulus diffusion - The spread of an underlying principle even though a specific characteristic is rejected. Sustainability - The use of Earth's renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that do not constrain resource use in the future. The ability of something to go on as is, in the future. Thematic Maps- maps that communicate data around a theme, or for a specific purpose. Types include Cartograms, Choropleth maps, Isoline (Contour), proportional symbol maps, flow or direction maps, etc. Toponym- The name given to a portion of Earth's surface. Place name. Strongly indicates culture. Vernacular (or perceptual) region - An area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity. Characteristics may be hard to define or inconsistent between people. General rule, if people define their home that way, believe them. These regions exist as a conceptualization or an idea.