Notes for Class 2
Absolute Location
Locates a place using Lat & Long or by address eg.
◦ St. Louis is 38°43' N 90°14’ W
◦ St. Louis City Hall is 1200 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103
Toponym = unique name of specific place
Site and Situation
Site = absolute location eg of a city
• Location often chosen cos of trade, defence, or relig
• Eg. Singapore good defensive site cos island with central hilltop
Situation = location of place relative to other places
• City’s place in the region & world
• Eg. Singapore major centre for trade cos location at Strait of Malacca, main route for shipping
bet S China Sea & Indian Ocean
• Satellite image shows why the narrow Strait of Gibraltar strategic import for centuries
Distance: Absolute & Relative
◦ Absolute – actual dist bet 2 places ( mls or kms)
◦ Relative – how much soc/cult/econ connection bet 2 places regardless of their absolute
distance from each other
◦ Tobler’s Law of Spatial Interaction
◦ and Distance decay
Distance Decay Model
◦ Distance and interaction are inversely proportional
◦ Shorter the dist => more likely interaction
◦ Greater the dist => less likely interaction
◦ The “friction of distance” increases w dist
◦ Relative dist = time & cost of travel
◦ ″Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant
things, as a consequence of accessibility."
Space-Time Compression
◦ Decreased time & relative dist bet places
◦ Technology reduces relative dist bet places
◦ eg. planes/trains =>less travel time bet 2 dist points => gtr interaction
◦ Internet also =>space-time compression eg. talking w friends in China via WeChat
◦ => rapid change as ppl in dist regions see & copy trends of other places
◦ = cultural diffusion
◦ No need for physical movmt now cos of networks, transportn & media
Time Zones
• 360 degrees in 1 rotation
• 24 hrs in day
• So 1hr = 15o of longitude
• = 15 global time zones
• Dividing lines bet time zones often follow polit boundaries (but sometimes local variations)
MAP SCALE
= relationship of size on map to actual size on Earth
3 ways to present map scale:
1. ratio (ex. 1:1,000,000)
2. written (ex. one inch equals one mile)
3. graphic
◦ A map scale: relationship between distances on a map and the actual distances on the
ground.
◦ Map scales vary depending on size and purpose of the map
◦ Large-scale maps, eg. for city or street maps have small scale & show lot of detail
◦ Small-scale maps, eg. world or regional maps, have large scale & show less detail but cover
larger area
3 most common forms:
1. Ratio
1. 1 : 25,000
2. left shows units of distance on map
3. right shows unit of distance on Earth’s surface
4. Every 1cm = 25,000 actual cms on Earth’s surface (ie. 25kms)
2. Written scale
◦ “1 cm equals 1 km”
3. Graphic Scale
◦ bar line marked on map to show actual distance
WE WILL BEGIN HERE NEXT CLASS (#3) ON SEPTEMBER 28
Types of Maps
Thematic Maps
• Single-topic maps that focus on specific themes eg.
◦ pop density
◦ rainfall
◦ vegetation distribution
◦ poverty
• good for analyzing spatial distribution or finding patterns and trends
• + to find correlations between data in different locations
Thematic Map types
1. Choropleth Maps
2. Isopleth Maps
3. Dot Density Maps
4. Flow Line Maps
5. Cartogram Maps
Choropleth Maps
◦ Use diff colours & patterns to show diffs in an area
◦ Data grouped into classes w diff colour or pattern for each
◦ Eg. darker colour = more ppl
Isopleth Maps
◦ Use colours & shades to show data
◦ Diff from choropleth cos contour lines divide map into diff areas & show where data levels
change
Dot Density Maps
• Show density diffs across an area
• Pop cos easy to see where things cluster or spread out
• Egs:
◦ # of ppl (1 dot = 100,000 ppl)
◦ distrib of McDonalds (1 dot = 1 restaurant)
◦ Ethnic origin of pop (1 coloured dot = 1 person of a specific group)
Flow Line Maps
◦ Show movmt eg. migration or trade
◦ Thicker line = bigger flow
◦ Top map shows US exports
◦ Bottom shows Australia’s internatl trade
Cartogram Maps
◦ Combine statistical info & geog location
◦ Show area/dist/terrain but no info on ppl
◦ Look at measurable variable eg. total pop, age of pop, votes, GDP, etc + relative size of area
◦ Shows size of area in proportion to value of 1 specific variable
2 main types:
◦ area cartograms
◦ distance cartograms
Distance Cartogram
◦ Eg. transit maps
◦ Not accurate for time & dist bet locations but still useful for moving about
◦ On Washington, DC, metro map dist bet stops looks uniform but it varies
Graduated symbol map
◦ displays symbols that change in size according to the value of the variable
Sources of Geographical Data
◦ The field (surveying)
◦ Census data (and other polls, surveys and questionnaires)
◦ Online databases
◦ Remote sensing incl.
o aerial photos
o satellite images
o weather balloons
New Technology
Global Positioning Systems(GPS)
o Uses satellites
o Gives exact position of something on Earth
o GPS receivers show map data for navigation
Geographic Information Science (GIS)
◦ Software to store & display geog data
◦ Gets data from satellite & other electronic info technologies
◦ Used when calling 911
Photogrammetry
◦ Science of taking measurements of Earth’s surface from photographs
◦ Used since 1800s
◦ Used to revise topographic map data without sending survey teams
◦ Used by local govts to record property data and set tax assessments
Remote sensing satellites
o Satellites - used since the 1970s
o Can create maps without physical contact with surface
o Provide info for Google Maps, Google Earth & other online maps
o Infrared satellite imagery shows health of vegetation
Environmental Determinism & Possibilism
◦ Determinism:
-human actions, cults & activities scientifically caused by enviro conditions
◦ Possibilism:
-human actions, cults & activities influenced by enviro conditions
Enviro conditions may limit some human actions but people can adjust their enviro