GEO 102 Exam 1 study guide

The Grid system

(series of lines of latitude and lines of longitude). Latitude measures distances north south but the lines run east west. The beginning of latitude is the EQUATOR. It is located at 0 degrees latitude. The highest you can go in latitude is 90 degrees North and South. The ancients used geometry to make the grid system work. Latitude was easier to develop because there were reference points in nature (Northern and Southern Hemispheres, etc).

Graticule

360 degree pattern along the earth

GPS

A GPS unit can receive signals from orbiting satellites and calculate an exact location in latitude and longitude, which is helpful for determining where one is located on the earth or for verifying a point on a map.

Latitude/parallels

Angular distance north or south of the equator Measured in degrees 0 -90 degrees north or south of the equator each degree of latitude 111 kilometer= 69 miles Further measured in minutes and seconds

Surveys systems

Another important reason people need maps are for survey systems. We all care about how land is laid out and how people gain ownership of territory. In order to gain ownership, there has to be maps indicating who owns what. Surveying is an important mechanism used to determine ownership of land

Understand how climate change occurs and the relationship between greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide and the planet's temperature regulation.

Climate change is a phenomenon whereby gases such as carbon dioxide and methane increase in the troposphere and restrict long-wave radiation from escaping the planet, which can result in warmer temperatures on Earth. Trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which may reduce climate change.

Understand the dynamics of the core-periphery spatial relationship and determine whether a country is a part of the core or periphery by its respective attributes

Core areas are usually urban with high levels of industrial and economic development. Peripheral areas are typically suppliers of food and raw materials used in the core. Political and economic power is held in the core, while the periphery suffers from lower incomes and brain drain.

Remote sensing

Determining the nature of an object from a distance Thermal scanners Radar Satellites

Comprehend the patterns illustrated in the index of economic development—especially in terms of how it illustrates a country's development status in regard to family size and economic indicators. Learn the relationship between the concepts of rural-to-urban shift, core-periphery spatial relationships, opportunity and advantage, and haves and have-nots

Development and population models can help one understand a country's socioeconomic dynamics. Family size and economic income are two indicators that can be tracked to assist in understanding the industrialization or urbanization levels of a country or demographic region. • Globalization has prompted a greater understanding of how opportunities and advantages relate to haves and have-nots. Whether it is individuals or countries, some have greater levels of opportunity and advantage than others. Human migration patterns usually coincide with the push-pull forces of opportunity or advantage levels.

Who was the first person to use the word geography

Eratosthenes of Cyrene (modern-day Libya in North Africa), an early Greek scholar who lived between 276 and 194 BCE.

The 11 major world realms

Europe (Eastern Europe and Western Europe) 2. The Russian Realm (Russian republic of the former Soviet Union) 3. North America (United States and Canada) 4. Middle America (Caribbean, Mexico, Central America) 5. South America 6. North Africa, the Middle East and central Asia 7. Subsaharan Africa (Africa south of the Sahara Desert) 8. Southern Asia (India and its neighbors) 9. Eastern Asia (China, Mongolia, Japan, and the Koreas) 10. Southeast Asia (mainland region and the islands region) 11. Australia and the Pacific (including New Zealand)

What does a map need

Every map needs to have a directional indication (in other words, it needs to indicate "North." Every good map needs a clear title and a readable legend. It also needs to indicate SCALE. There are three types of scale. Most formal maps have all three types of scale visible on their maps

Longitude

It was harder to develop lines of longitude (which is the SUN line) because there were no reference points in nature. Lines of Longitude measure EAST/WEST distances but run north/south.

Large vs small scale maps

Large scale maps show a small area that is very detialed Small scale maps show large areas and provide very little detail

Longitude/meridians

Longitude/MeridiansMeasures East to West distances Prime Meridian (0 degrees longitude) passes through the Royal observatory at Greenwich, England. Selected at an international conference in 1884. -International Date line (180) degrees Time depends on longitude Each time zone=15 degrees of longitude

How can maps lie?

Maps are the most important tool of the geographer. But keep in mind, it's just a tool. It is also important to remember that all maps have authors, and maps can and often do lie. For example, during WWII, the allies would purposely release inaccurate maps in order to trick the enemy

Point out where the rain shadow effect takes place and explain why it occurs in those places and how it may influence human activit

Mountains or high elevation relief can restrict the passage of rain clouds and cause the clouds to lose their precipitation as the air mass increases in elevation. The other side of the mountain or range does not receive any precipitation and is reduced to a more arid or drier region, creating desert conditions

Determine how countries gain national income and which activities are renewable or have value-added profits. Understand the vital roles that labor and resources play in the economic situation for each country.

National income methods are based on standard economic practices and value-added principles. Agricultural activities are renewable, but extractive activities are not. Manufacturing has historically provided the highest value-added profits and has been the main means of the core economic regions of the world to gain income. The service sector provides a high number of jobs but might not contribute to national income at the same levels as agriculture, extraction activities, or manufacturing.

dot and circle maps

Often used to measure population

Two main branches of geography

Physical geography- he spatial study of natural phenomena that make up the environment, such as rivers, mountains, landforms, weather, climate, soils, plants, and any other physical aspects of the earth's surface. Human geography-ncorporates studies of human culture, spatial relationships, interactions between humans and the environment, and many other areas of research that involve the different subspecialties of geography.

scale

Ratio between the measurement of something on a map and the corresponding measurement on the earth.Represented in three ways: Verbally Graphically Representative fraction (RF) 1:25,000 or 1/25,000

demographic transition model

Stage 1: High birth and death rates; rural preindustrial society traditional rural societies, which are usually based on agriculture and not as dependent on the outside world. • Stage 2: Declining death rate; developing country,uring this stage, young people from rural areas often migrate to the cities looking for employment. Rural stage 2 regions are starting to urbanize and integrate their economic activities with the outside world. • Stage 3: Declining birth rate; high urbanization rate • Stage 4: Low birth and death rates; stabilized population • Stage 5: Declining population; urban postindustrial societ

township and range system

Survey based on lines oriented in the cardinal directions: base lines run east-west and meridians run north-south Land Ordinance of 1785••First Used in Eastern Ohio••36 square miles divided in 36 squares of 1 square mile (640 acres) Divided into quarter sections of 160 acres, which was the standard size farm (originally the minimum that could be purchased for settlement.

Who were the first cartographers

The Greeks were the first cartographers. They had to figure out how to represent the surface of the earth accurately.

International date line

The International Date Line (180 degrees longitude) is opposite the prime meridian and indicates the start of each day (Monday, T uesday, etc.). Each day officially starts at 12:01 a.m., at the International Date Line. Do not confuse the International Date Line with the prime meridian (0 longitude).

Explain how the concepts of opportunity and advantage create a stronger rural-to-urban shift and fuel migration in various regions of the world.

The concepts of opportunity and advantage provide a means to understand the attractiveness or unattractiveness of a place to immigrants or economic activities. Opportunities and advantages drive rural-to-urban shift, migration, and movement of corporate activity.

Explain the dynamics of tectonic plates and their relationship to earthquakes and volcanic activity.

The earth's crust consists of a number of separate plates that move, creating earthquakes and volcanic activity. Most mountain ranges on Earth are a product of tectonic plate activity.

Recognize that globalization has been a human activity since the era of European colonialism and that more recent globalization has been evident in the post-Cold War era through an increase in global activities by multinational corporations

The search for cheap labor and resources drives the need for profits by multinational corporations that fuel the global economy. This activity is creating a second major wave of globalization, often referred to as neocolonialism or corporate colonialism

Cartogrpahy

The study of the science and art of map making

Understand the difficulty in determining the number of languages and religions existing on Earth

There are about six thousand languages in the world today, with about thirteen of them spoken by over one hundred million people or more. Of the main language families, nine include at least 1 percent or more of the human population.

what are the main religions of the world

There are thousands of religions or variants of them in the world. Religious geographers recognize three main types of religions: universal, ethnic, and traditional. The four main religions of the world are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism

Map projections

Transforming a globe surface to a flat surface always results in distortion.

Type A climate

Tropical or Equatorial Climates: The humid tropical type A climate, usually found in the tropics, has warm temperatures year round with a high level of precipitation, typically in the form of rain. Type A climates have various subgroups that indicate how variably the rainfall is distributed throughout the year.

Metes and boundes

Uses natural boundaries. Common method of surveying in England

Spatial and temporal relationships

While cartography continues to be an extremely important part of geography, geographers also look at spatial(space) and temporal(time) relationships between many types of data, including physical landscape types, economies, and human activity.

weather

a term usually used to define conditions on a short-term or even daily basis.

Greenwich Mean Time

all four terms can be defined as local time at 0 degrees longitude, which is the prime meridian (location of Greenwich, England). This is the same time under which many military operations, international radio broadcasts, and air traffic control systems operate worldwide. UTC is set in zero- to twenty-four-hour time periods, as opposed to two twelve-hour time periods (a.m. and p.m.).

Properties of map projections

area, shape, distance, direction

Landslides

can be a more severe component of the soil erosion problem. After heavy rainfall, entire hillsides saturated with water can slide downward, causing serious structural damage to buildings, homes, and agricultural plots. Tree roots help hold hillsides together and therefore help prevent landslides.

Type D climates

cold or continental climates : often found in the interiors of continents away from the moderating influence of large bodies of water. They are often farther north than type C regions, resulting in colder winters. Seasonal variations exist, with cool to hot summers and cold winters. Precipitation is usually in the form of rain in summer and snow in winter. Regions with type D climates can be found in the Great Lakes region of the United States, much of Canada, and a large portion of Russia.

Type B climates

dry or arid: he dry type B climate is exemplified by the earth's desert regions. Temperatures can be extreme, with little precipitation. Type B climate regions experience low rainfall and high temperatures during the day and cooler temperatures at night or during the winter season. Terrain in type B climates can range from sand deserts to prairie grasslands or steppes. Type B climates have fewer trees than most other climate areas.

formal region

has a governmental, administrative, or political boundary and can have political as well as geographic boundaries that are not open to dispute or debate. Formal boundaries can separate states, provinces, or countries from one another. Physical regions can be included within formal boundaries, such as the Rocky Mountains or New England

functional region

have boundaries related to a practical function within a given area. When the function of an area ends, the functional region ends and its boundaries cease to exist. For example, a functional region can be defined by a newspaper service or delivery area. If the newspaper goes bankrupt, the functional region no longer exists.

vernacular region

have loosely defined boundaries based on people's perceptions or thoughts. Vernacular regions can be fluid—that is, different people may have different opinions about the limits of the regions. Vernacular regions include concepts such as the region called the "Middle East."

tropic of capricorn

he parallel at 23.5 degrees south of the equator and is the most southerly location on Earth, receiving direct sunlight during the Southern Hemisphere's summer.

Topographic maps

hese show all types of information: where the roads are located, what type of roads they are, overpasses, churches, schools, etc. These maps are called LARGE SCALE MAPS because they show LARGE AMOUNTS OF DETAIL.

Type H

highland climates: Type H highland climates are usually listed as a subcategory of type E climates. Mountain ranges can create a variety of climate types because of the change in elevation from the base of the range to the summit. Different climate types can be found on the same mountain at different elevations. Type H climates designate highlands or mountain terrain.

The standardization of time

historically, everybody pretty much operated on their own sun time, so nothing across the globe was standardized with lines of longitude. It wasn't necessary to standardize prior to great technological change. However, with speed of transportation, (such as massive continent-wide RR in the U.S) it became necessary to standardize longitude. In the mid 1800s, an international conference was held to standardize longitude. It was agreed that ZERO DEGREE LONGITUDE (also called the PRIME MERIDIAN) would run through Greenwich, England, which was a subdivision of London. East of the Prime Meridian would be labeled "east longitude" and west of the Prime Meridian would be labeled "west longitude." Every fifteen degrees of longitude (also referred to as the STANDARD MERIDIAN LINES) equals ONE HOUR OF TIME.

family size

indicates the number of living children raised by a parent or parents in the same household

ethnicity

indicates traits people are born with, including genetic backgrounds, physical features, or birthplaces

culture

indicates what people learn after they are born, including language, religion, and customs or traditions.

The equator

largest circle of latitude on Earth. The equator divides the earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and is called 0 degrees latitude.

artic circle

line of latitude at 66.5 degrees north. It is the farthest point north that receives sunlight during its winter season (90 N − 23.5 = 66.5 N). During winter, the North Pole is away from the sun and does not receive much sunlight. At times, it is dark for most of the twenty-four-hour day.

climate

long-term average weather pattern evident in a particular region of the world

Type c climate

moderate or temperate: Often described as moderate in temperature and precipitation, type C climates are the most favorable to human habitation in that they host the largest human population densities on the planet. Type C climates are found mostly in the midlatitudes bordering the tropics. Seasonal changes are pronounced, with a distinct winters and summers. Winters are cool to cold and summers are usually warm. Precipitation varies from low to high, depending on location. In the United States, C climates dominate the southeast and the West Coast.

rain shadow effect

occurs when one side of a mountain range receives abundant rainfall while the region on the other side of the mountain range is a desert or has more arid climate conditions. This phenomenon is evident wherever there is terrain with enough elevation to restrict the movement of precipitation-bearing clouds.

deforestation

occurs when they are removed faster than they can be replenished. Most people in rural areas in developing countries rely on firewood to cook their food. Many of these areas are experiencing a fast decline in the number of trees available. People living in mainly type B climates may not have access to a lot of trees to start with; therefore, when trees are cut down for firewood or for building materials, deforestation occurs

demographic transition.

or most of human history, relatively few people lived on Earth, and world population grew slowly. Only about five hundred million people lived on the entire planet in 1650 (that's less than half India's population in 2000). Things changed dramatically during Europe's Industrial Revolution in the late 1700s and into the 1800s, when declining death rates due to improved nutrition and sanitation allowed more people to survive to adulthood and reproduce. The population of Europe grew rapidly. However, by the middle of the twentieth century, birth rates in developed countries declined, as children had become an economic liability rather than an economic asset to families. Fewer families worked in agriculture, more families lived in urban areas, and women delayed the age of marriage to pursue education, resulting in a decline in family size and a slowing of population growth. In some countries (e.g., Russia and Japan), population is actually in decline, and the average age in developed countries has been rising for decades

Type E climate

polar or extreme climates:Type E is an extreme climate type found in the polar regions near or to the north of the Arctic Circle and near or to the south of the Antarctic Circle. Regions with type E climates are cold with permanent ice or permafrost year round. Vegetation is minimal, and there are no trees. Temperatures may warm slightly during the short summer months but rarely rise above 50 degrees

Chorolopleth map

probably the kind of map you are most familiar with (in the PP it is the map that compares number of females vs male population). CHOROPLETH maps use different shades of color to represent some type of data point

Absolute location

refers to an exact point on the earth's surface without regard to how that point is related to any other place. Absolute location is vital to the cartographic process and to human activities that require an agreed-upon method of identifying a place or point.

Prime meridian

sits at 0 degrees longitude and divides the earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. The prime meridian is defined as an imaginary line that runs through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, a suburb of London.

cutover

term indicating the systematic deforestation of the eastern and central forests. Michigan and Wisconsin saw their trees removed in a systematic deforestation.

fertility rate

the average number of children a woman in a particular country has in her lifetime, whether or not they all live to adulthood

anartic circle

the corresponding line of latitude at 66.5 degrees south. It is the farthest location south that receives sunlight during the winter season in the Southern Hemisphere (90 S − 23.5 = 66.5 S). When it is winter in the north, it is summer in the south.

population geography

the examination of the spatial distribution of human populations

ethnic cleansing

the forced removal of a people from their homeland by a stronger force of a different people

Relative location

the location on the earth's surface with reference to other places, taking into consideration features such as transportation access or terrain. Relative location helps one compare the advantages of one 6WorldRegionalGeographylocation with those of another.

tropic of cancer

the parallel at 23.5 degrees north of the equator, which is the most northerly place on Earth, receiving direct sunlight during the Northern Hemisphere's summer. Remember that the earth is tilted 23.5 degrees, which accounts for seasonal variations in climate

Geography

the spatial study of the earth's surface (from the Greek geo, which means "Earth," and graphein, which means "to write"). Geographers study the earth's physical characteristics, its inhabitants and cultures, phenomena such as climate, and the earth's place within the universe.

demography

the study of how human populations change over time and space

Physical landscape

the term used to describe the natural terrain at any one place on the planet. The natural forces of erosion, weather, tectonic plate action, and water have formed the earth's physical features.

Cultural landscape

the term used to describe those parts of the earth's surface that have been altered or created by humans. For example, the urban cultural landscape of a city may include buildings, streets, signs, parking lots, or vehicles, while the rural cultural landscape may include fields, orchards, fences, barns, or farmsteads.

Flow line maps

these can be as simple as a family migration map—see PP). Flow Line maps can also be import/export flow line maps.

Geospatial Techniques

tools used by geographers to illustrate, manage, and manipulate spatial data. Cartography is the art and science of making maps, which illustrate data in a spatial form and are invaluable in understanding what is going on at a given place at a given time.

Map

two-dimensional representation of Earth's surface. Maps are the most important tool of the geographer.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

uses a computer program to assimilate and manage many layers of map data, which then provide specific information about a given place Five major componets Data input Data management Data manipulation Analysis functions Data output

Cartograms

very useful maps that are often used to compare population sizes). Th

The Mercator projection

was developed during the age of exploration. During this period, it was more important that sailors got direction correct...shape and area didn't matter nearly as much. As such, the Mercator projection was used for centuries. The problem with this projection, however, was that it greatly distorted shape in the northern Hemisphere. For example, it made Greenland look much larger than it really is. So depending on what you want your map to portray, projection matters

Equionoxes

when the line of direct sunlight hits the equator and days and nights are of equal length, occur in the spring and fall on or around March 20 or 21 and September 22 or 23.