Nature of Geography

Geographers ask two basic questions:1. Where?2. Why there?Geography is a Greek word first used by a

scholar by the name of Eratosthenes.Geo – EarthGraphy – To Write

When answering the question ‘Where’ – 5 Geographical themes have to be considered:1. LOCATION: …Site2. PLACE: …Situation3. REGION: …Transition Zone4. MOVEMENTS: …Communication and

Transportation5. HUMAN-ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION: …

Possibilism and Determinism

Location

Absolute location- defines a point or place on the map using coordinates

Relative location- refers to the location of a place compared to a known place or a geographic feature

Place

Think of place as an area of bounded space of some human importance

When human importance is recognized, it is common to assign a toponym (a place name)

The attributes of place change over timeSequent occupancy- the succession of groups

and cultural influences throughout a place’s history

in many places you will find several layers that contribute to a place-specific culture

Movement

Region

Formal Region

Sometimes called a uniform region A region that has striking similarities in terms

of one or a few physical or cultural features Ex. Linguistic region- everyone speaks the

same language

Regional boundaries can be very simple or very complex

Ex. Political boundaries are finite and well defined, cultural boundaries are fuzzy

Functional Regions

Also called nodal regions Areas that have a central place or a node that is a

focus or point of origin that expresses some practical purpose

Ex. Market areas

The influence of this point is strongest in the areas close to the center, and the strength diminishes as distance increases from that point

(distance decay) Tobler’s Law- states that all places are

interrelated, but closer places are more related than further ones

One more thing about that…

When the length of distance becomes a factor that inhibits the interaction of two places, its known as friction of distance

Perceptual Region

Also called Vernacular region its based upon the perception or collective mental map

of the region’s residents Ex. Dixie (America’s south) What is America’s south? -some define it as states of the Civil war, some as the

number of country music bands, some as NASCAR races

*No matter what is used to spatially define the regional concept, the reason tends to be a point of pride for residents ***Be careful with your vernacular definitions (there’s country music and NASCAR everywhere)

Human- Environment Interaction

Scale

Scale – the relationship of an object or place to the earth as a whole

Scale can be thought of in 2 ways 1) map scale- describes the ratio of distance

on a map and distance in the real world in absolute terms

2) relative scale- also known as scale of analysis; this describes the level of aggregation, which is the level at which you group things together for examination

Map Scale

Small Scale

Large Scale

Regional Scale

Local City County State Regional National Continental International