Geography Core Concepts Overview

Geography: Core Concepts

• Geography studies Earth's features, shaped by both natural forces and human activities.
• Eratosthenes is considered the 'Father of Geography' for first using the term.
• Geography is divided into Physical Geography (natural processes) and Human Geography (human impact).

Five Themes of Geography

• Developed in 1984 to streamline geographic study.
• Location: Absolute (precise coordinates) and relative (position to other places).
• Place: Physical (landforms, climate) and human (culture, settlements) characteristics.
• Human-Environment Interaction: Study of how humans adapt and change the environment.
• Movement: How people, goods, and ideas travel across the globe.
• Region: Dividing the Earth into manageable units (formal, functional, vernacular).

Macrogeographic Regions

• World is divided into five main macrogeographic regions: Oceania, The Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe.

• These regions are further divided into subregions, ultimately into political entities.

• Macro-regions are not fixed; these are true locations as opposed to perceptions.

Metageography

• Metageography examines culturally-influenced perceptions of East/West and other geographic concepts.
• These perceptions are more influenced by culture than by absolute positions.
• Coined by Martin Lewis in 1997.

Geography as a Science

• Geography combines natural and social sciences (physical aspects & human phenomena).

• Cartography, the art and science of mapmaking, is very ancient.

• Tools like GPS use satellites to determine precise locations, replacing relying on maps. GIS systems integrate this data with other information.

Thematic Maps

• Thematic maps display data related to a specific topic within a geographic area.
• Cartography uses geospatial data to show spatial patterns and relationships.

Seven Common Types of Thematic Maps

• Isoline: Lines for continuous data (like elevation).
• Cartogram: Distorted areas representing data (e.g., population size).
• Choropleth: Color/shade to represent data amounts (e.g., political affiliation).
• Graduated Symbol: Size/shape varies according to data amount (e.g., city size).
• Heat Map: Shaded areas to display density (e.g., weather patterns).
• Dot Distribution: Dots represent data points (e.g., disease incidence).
• Flow-line: Lines show quantified movement (e.g., goods transport).

Geographic Regions

• Mapmakers categorize regions for clarity,
• Regions include administrative, formal, functional, and vernacular types.
• Seven primary world regions: North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica. Eurasia blends Europe and Asia; Antarctica has no permanent human settlements.

Finding Locations on Maps

• Continents, countries (nations), states/counties, and cities are used to locate specific places.
• Start with broad locations (continent, country) before narrowing to the desired location.