Introduction to World Regional Geography

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Introduction to WorldRegional Geography

• Study of Geography
• Evolution of Geography
• Contributions of the Greeks/Romans
• geo (the earth) graphos (to write about/describe)
• Herodotus-Father of Geography who explained the
  physical and human geography of his day
• Aristotle- explained processes of the earth,
  influence of temperature, wind, soils and
  vulcanism
• Eratosthenes- measured circumference of the earth
  from angle of the sun at two points
• Construction of earth grids- longitude and
  latitude

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• Established the science of cartography
• Ptolemy-Greek astronomer who designed early map
  of the world.
• Strabo- description of Roman World, spatial
  perspective of the known world
• Middle Ages
• Geography falls into disrepute in Middle Ages
• Golden Age of Islamic Civilization
• Arabs were outstanding geographers, continued
  tradition of map-making
• Ibn Batuta travels throughout Middle East,
  observations of peoples and lands
• Avicennas understanding of physical geography,
  creation of mountains

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• Ibn Khalduns Muqaddimah provides an account of
  the influence of man physical environment on
  social and political institutions
• observations are model of scientific research on
  history and geography
• traveled extensively throughout North Africa and
  Middle East
• importance of cities and urbanization on the
  level of civilization.

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Ptolemy's World Map, circa 150 A.D.
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Ibn Battutas travels 1300 A.D.
Ibn Battutas Travels 1300 AD
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• Renaissance and Age of Discovery
• Resurgence of geography as a science
• Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal, new more
  accurate maps
• Early explores question old concepts in light of
  discovery
• Scientific travelers, Alexander von Humbolts
  description of the earth
• Karl Ritter- understanding of the human dimension
  of the world
• Geography is respected branch of knowledge in
  European university, particularly in Germany
• Importance of the National Geographic Society in
  US founded in 1888
• Chinese contributions to geography

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• World Regional Geography
• Different fields of Geography
• Physical Geography, study of the environment,
  location of terrain, physical features of the
  land
• Human Geography, study of human occupation of
  the land
• Regional Geography, analysis of environmental
  and human patterns within an area or region

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• Regions of the World
• (1) Europe
• (2) Russia
• (3) North America
• (4) Middle America
• (5) South America
• (6) North Africa/Southwest Asia
• (7) Subsaharan Africa
• (8) South Asia
• (9) East Asia
• (10) Southeast Asia
• (11) Australia
• (12) Pacific Realm

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• Format of course
• background/historical factors
• physical features
• climate
• population
• cultural features
• social and economic factors
• agriculture
• industry
• environmental problems

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Basic Geographical Factors

• Climate
• Climatic differences are result of differences in
  the processes by which earths atmosphere is
  heated and cooled
• Radiation and absorption of heat energy determine
  climatic variations
• Lower the latitude, the more solar energy
  received
• Suns rays strike earth at vertical angles in
  lower latitudes

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• heat dissipated by air currents and ocean
  currents
• Higher the elevation, the less dense is air and
  less the air can hold water vapor. Air temps
  decrease 3.6 degrees F per 1000 feet of elevation
• Precipitation
• What causes rainfall? Physical process of how
  air is cooled is the cause of rainfall
• When water vapor in atmosphere is cooled to point
  that it condenses, it changes from a gaseous
  state to liquid state
• Warm air can hold more water vapor than cold air

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• Types of precipitation
• Convectional precipitation- equatorial latitudes
  with land mass warming, as hot air rises it
  precipates
• Orthographic precipitation- air force up over
  mountains, cooling rapidly and producing rain
• Cyclonic/Frontal precipitation-cold front pushes
  up under war air front or warm front rises over
  cold front. Found in mid latitudes

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Types of Precipitation
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• Types of Climate
• Type A Climate (Humid Equatorial Climate
• High temperatures all year
• High precipitation
• Subtypes (Af)high rainfall every month
  (Am) monsoon (Aw) savanna with
  unpredictable rainfall
• Type B Climate (Dry Climate)
• lower and higher altitudes
• (Bw) true desert (Bs) semi-arid steppe
• soils thin and poor
• high range of temperatures (140-48 degrees F)

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• Type C Climate (humid temperature climates)
• found above and below tropic of cancer and
  tropic of capricorn
• US (Kentucky-Florida) Europe southern
  Brazil/northern Argentina South Africa,
  Australia, China, and Japan
• Subtypes (Cf) No drive season i.el Marine West
  Coast (Cw) dry winter Cs) dry summers,
  Mediterranean climates
• Type D Climate (humid cold continental climates)
• great annual range of temperatures
• very cold winters cool summers
• total precipitation not high, much snow
• found in interiors of North America/Eurasia
• best soils in world with high levels of humus

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• Type E Climates
• vary from true ice-cap conditions to tundra with
  4 months/year of temps above freezing
• high mountain areas
• near arctic conditions with limited vegetation

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• Population
• Questions (1) What factors responsible for
  growth of human population? (2) What is density
  and distribution of the worlds population? (3)
  What models of population explain change?
• Growth of population
• 5 million from 5,000 BC to 2,000BC
• 250 million at beginning of Christian era
• 500 million in 1650 AD
• 1 billion in 1850 AD
• 2 billion in 1950 AD
• 5.7 billion in 1998 AD
• 7 billion estimated by 2010 AD

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• Models of Population Change
• Demographic transition
• Stage I
• preindustrial agrarian economy
• high birth rate and high death rate
• relatively stable population that grows slowly
• large of children useful for work in fields and
  social security
• life expectancy low security dependent on family
• Stage II
• high birth rates, falling death rates
• improvements in public health, sanitation, and
  medicine
• productivity of agriculture improves
• opportunity for employment in cities
• industrialization , urbanization, specialization
  of labor

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• Stage III
• birth rate declines
• smaller families due to urbanization and demands
  for education
• children more of a liability in an urban,
  industrial environment
• population growth declines dramatically
• Stage IV
• birth rates and death rates very low
• population growth stabilizes or grows very slowly
• Amount of time to go through demographic
  transition?
• Western Europe/US 150 years
• Soviet Union40 years
• Japan25 years

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Demographic Transition
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Demographic TransitionMDCs vs. LDCs
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• Human Cultural Hearths
• Most cultural hearths established from 5,000BC to
  1,000 BC
• Primary cultural hearths
• Middle East (Tigris, Euphrates and Nile Rivers)
• Indus Valley (Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa)
• China (Yellow River and North China plain)
• Secondary cultural hearths
• Mesoamerican civilization (Mayans and Aztecs)
• Bantu civilization in Africa (Central/South
  Africa and the Ethiopian highlands)
• European civilization

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• Economic factors
• Sectors of the Economy
• primary sector (fishing, extracting natural
  resources, forestry, agriculture)
• secondary sector (processing basic commodities,
  manufacturing)
• tertiary sector (services provided by government
  and private sector)
• quarternary sector (institutions that provide
  information to make decisions, computers, data
  analysis)
• Modernization and development brings about
  changes in nature of the economy

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• Economic indicators of modernization and
  development
• level of GNP and GNP per capita
• per capital consumption of inanimate energy
• percentage of labor force in agriculture