Transcript Name of Your Country

Thinking Geographically
AP Human Geography
Mr. Larkins
Why is each point on Earth unique?
A. Place: Unique Location of a
Feature
1. Toponym is the name given
to a place on Earth
2. Site is the physical character
of a place. Includes climate,
water sources, topography,
soil, vegetation, latitude, and
elevation
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.
Why is each point on Earth unique?
3. Situation is the location of a
place relative to other places.
Situation helps us find an
unfamiliar place by comparing
its location with a familiar one.
Situation, also, helps us
understand the importance of a
location.
Situation: Singapore
Fig. 1-7: Singapore is situated at a key location for international trade.
Downtown Singapore
Why is each point on Earth unique?
4. Mathematical
location or in other
words latitude and
longitude.
World Geographic Grid
Fig. 1-8: The world geographic grid consists of meridians of longitude and parallels of
latitude. The prime meridian ( 0º) passes through Greenwich, England.
World Time Zones
Fig. 1-9: The world’s 24 standard time zones each represent about 15° of longitude.
They are often depicted using the Mercator projection.
Why is each point on Earth unique?
B. Regions: Areas of Unique
Characteristics
1. A region derives its character through
the cultural landscape- a
combination of cultural features such
as language, and religion, economic
features such as agriculture and
industry, and physical features such
as climate and vegetation.
Why is each point on Earth unique?
2.Types of Regions
a)Formal, also called a
uniform region or
homogeneous region, is an
area within which everyone
shares in common one or
more distinctive
characteristics.
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.
Why is each point on Earth unique?
b) Functional Region- also called a
nodal region, is an area
organized around a node or focal
point.
c) Example: Richmond City;
Henrico, Chesterfield
Why is each point on Earth unique?
c) Perceptual region, or
vernacular region is a place
that people believe exists as
part of their cultural
identity.
Ex: The South, The Middle
East, “Hokie Nation”
Perceptual 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.
Why are different places similar?
1. Scale: From Local to Global
2. Space: Distribution of features
a) Density is the frequency with
which something occurs in space
b) Concentration is the extent of a
feature’s spread over space
c) Pattern is the geometric
arrangement of objects in space
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
Why are different places similar?
3. Connections between places
a) Spatial Interaction
*distance decay-the farther away one
group is from another, the less likely the
two groups are to interact
Distance decay
`
a) Diffusion
*relocation-the spread of an idea through
physical movement of people from one place to
another
*expansion-the spread of a feature from one
place to another in a “snowballing” process
*hierarchical-the spread of an idea from
persons or nodes of authority or power to other
persons or places
*contagious-the rapid, widespread diffusion of
a characteristic throughout the population