Chapter One

Thinking Geographically

How Geographers Address Location

Maps
Early mapmaking Map scale Projection U.S. Land Ordinance of 1785

Contemporary Tools
GIS Remote sensing GPS

New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina

Fig. 1.1: Most of the area of New Orleans flooded after Hurricane Katrina was majority African American. Physical and political geography intersect in analyzing the impacts of the natural disaster

World Political Boundaries (2007)

Fig. 1-2: National political boundaries are among the most significant elements of the cultural landscape

Scale Differences
Maps of Washington State

Fig. 1-3: The effects of scale in maps of Washington State. (Scales from 1:10 million to 1:10,000)

Washington State
(1:10 million scale)

Western Washington
(1:1 million scale)

Seattle Region
(1:100,000 scale)

Downtown Seattle, Washington

(1:10,000 scale)

Township & Range System in the US

Fig. 1-4: Principal meridians & east-west baselines of the township system. Townships in northwest Mississippi & topographic map of the area.

Principal Meridians & Baselines

U.S. Land Ordinance of 1785

Tallahatchie River, Mississippi in Township Sections

The Tallahatchie River is located in the southeast and southwest quarter-sections of Section 32, T23N R1E.

Tallahatchie River, Mississippi

The topographic map of the U.S. Geological Survey has a scale of 1:24,000

Layers of a GIS

Fig. 1-5: A geographic information system (GIS) stores information about a location in several layers. Each layer represents a different category of information.

Google Map Chicago pizza restaurants

Maps of the Marshall Islands

A Polynesian stick chart depicts patterns of waves on the sea route between two South Pacific islands. Modern maps show the locations of these Marshall Islands.

Polynesian Stick Chart

Marshall Islands depicted in stick chart

Marshall Islands in the South Pacific

Uniqueness of Places & Regions

Place: Unique location of a feature
Place names Site Situation Mathematical location Cultural landscape Types of regions Spatial association Regional integration of culture Cultural ecology

Regions: Areas of unique characteristics

Site:
Lower Manhattan Island

Fig. 1-6: Site of lower Manhattan Island, New York City. There have been many changes to the area over the last 200 years.

Situation: Singapore

Fig. 1-7: Singapore is situated at a key location for international trade.

Downtown Singapore

World Geographic Grid

Fig. 1-8: The world geographic grid consists of meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude. The prime meridian ( 0) passes through Greenwich, England.

World Time Zones

Fig. 1-9: The worlds 24 standard time zones each represent about 15 of longitude. They are often depicted using the Mercator projection.

Presidential Election 2004

Regional Differences

Fig. 1-10: Presidential election results by county & state illustrate differences in regional voting patterns.

Presidential Election, 2004 Results by County

Presidential Election, 2004 Results by State

Formal and Functional Regions

Fig. 1-11: The state of Iowa is an example of a formal region; the areas of influence of various television stations are examples of functional regions.

Vernacular Regions

Fig. 1-12: A number of features are often used to define the South as a vernacular region, each of which identifies somewhat different boundaries.

Spatial Association at Various Scales

Fig. 1-13: Death rates from cancer in the US, Maryland, and Baltimore show different patterns that can identify associations with different factors.

Cancer Death Rates in the U.S.

Cancer Death Rates in Maryland

Cancer Death Rates in Baltimore

World Climate Regions

Fig. 1-14: The modified Kppen system divides the world into five main climate regions.

Environmental Modification in the Netherlands

Fig. 1-15: Polders and dikes have been used for extensive environmental modification in the Netherlands.

Environmental Modification in Florida

Fig. 1-16: Straightening the Kissimmee River has had many unintended side effects.

C-38 Canal Florida

The canal has carried water with agricultural runoff and pollution into Lake Okeechobee

Similarity of Different Places

Scale: From local to global
Globalization of economy Globalization of culture

Space: Distribution of features

Distribution Gender and ethnic diversity in space

Connections between places

Spatial interaction Diffusion

Globalization of the Economy

Fig. 1-17: The Denso corporation is headquartered in Japan, but it has regional headquarters and other facilities in North America and Western Europe.

Distribution: Density, Concentration, & Pattern

Fig. 1-18: The density, concentration, and pattern (of houses in this example) may vary in an area or landscape.

Density and Concentration of Baseball Teams, 1952 & 2007

Fig. 1-19: The changing distribution of North American baseball teams illustrates the differences between density and concentration.

U.S. Baseball Teams, 1952

Fig. 1-19: Baseball teams were highly concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest in 1952.

U.S. Baseball Teams, 2007

Fig. 1-19: By 2007, U.S. baseball teams were much more dispersed than in 1952, and their number and density at a national level had increased.

Space-Time Compression, 1492-1962

Fig. 1-20: The times required to cross the Atlantic, or orbit the earth, illustrate how transport improvements have shrunk the world.

Airline Route Networks

Fig. 1-21: Continental Airlines, like many others, has configured its route network in a hub and spoke system.

AIDS Diffusion in the US, 1981-2002

Fig. 1-22: New AIDS cases were concentrated in three nodes in 1981. They spread through the country in the 1980s, but declined in the original nodes in the late 1990s.

New AIDS Cases, 1981

(per 100,000 population)

New AIDS Cases, 1993

(per 100,000 population)

New AIDS Cases, 2002

(per 100,000 population)

Cumulative AIDS Cases, 1981-2002

The AIDS Memorial Quilt

Big Mac Geography