AP Human Geography Unit 1

• Geography


  The science that analyzes spatial patterns and relationships, both historical and modern
• Cartography


  The science of mapmaking
• Types of maps


  • Reference maps
  • Thematic maps
• Reference maps


  • Show the location of human and physical objects
• Thematic maps


  • Show the spatial arrangement of features or data
• Spatial patterns shown on maps


  • Absolute location
  • Relative location
  • Distance
  • Direction
  • Elevation
  • Dispersal
  • Clustering
• Types of maps


  • Physical
  • Political
  • Choropleth
  • Symbol
  • Dot
  • Topographic
  • Isoline
• Map distortion


  Shape, Area, Distance, Direction (SADD)
• Map projections


  • Mercator
  • Robinson
  • Winkel Tripel
• Geospatial data


  Information pertaining to a location of Earth
• Types of data


  • Quantitative
  • Qualitative
• Quantitative data


  • Income
  • Census information
  • Birthrates
• Qualitative data


  • Interviews
  • Travel narratives
  • Visual observations
• Geospatial technologies


  • GPS (global position system)
  • GIS (geographic information system)
  • Remote sensing
  • Online mapping
• Geospatial data is used for personal, business, and governmental purposes
• Personal use of geospatial data


  • Using a GPS receiver on a cell phone for directions
• Business and government use of geospatial data


  • Determining the optimal location for a new restaurant, school, or professional sports stadium
• Cultural ecology


  The study of human culture and its relationship to the environment
• Environmental determinism


  The belief that human behavior is caused by the environment
• Possibilism


  The belief that the environment may limit or influence human behavior, not cause it
• As humans continue to modify, adapt, and depend on the environment, issues over sustainability, natural resource use, and land use emerge
• Sense of place


  The human and physical characteristics that make up a location and can arouse emotions
• Toponyms


  Names given to a location that can reflect important people or physical features
• Placelessness


  A location absent of any strong emotional ties
• Types of regions


  • Formal
  • Functional
  • Perceptual/vernacular
• Formal region


  Characterized by one or more common features
• Functional region


  Organized around a central point
• Perceptual/vernacular region


  Based on how humans perceive it to exist
• The boundaries of regions are constantly changing, overlapping, and are often disputed
• Globalization


  The process of people and places becoming more connected through migration and the diffusion of ideas and products
• Time-space compression


  The ability of humans to travel larger distances over shorter time periods
• Scales of analysis in geography


  • Global
  • Regional
  • National
  • Local
• Local


  Immediate surroundings, such as neighborhood, city, county, and state
• National


  A country
• Regional


  A collection of other units, such as a collection of U.S. states or a collection of countries
• Global


  The context of most or all of Earth