Class notes
Physical Geography (geo-environmental sciences 124)
- Course
- Institution
- Book
Physical Geography (geo-environmental sciences 124), covers everything done in term 2 that you need to your June/July exam xx
[Show more]
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
- Edition:
- ISBN:
- Edition:
More summaries for
-
Geography
Seller
Follow
Daryanvdw
Reviews received
Content preview
Geo-Environmental sciences 124Physical Geography
Introduction to physical geography
What is geography?
• Knowing where things are
• More important to know why things occur where they do
o Study of spatial variation – how and why things differ across the earth
o Development of spatial patterns over time
• Interaction of people and groups with their environment
o Different environments: urban, rural, physical, cultural, political
o Understanding the relationships between phenomena
Decolonized Geography
• Alternative viewpoints to Eurocentric discourses and theories (pluriversality vs
universality)
o Instead of everything being universal for everyone there are now multiple
perspectives that are equally valid
o Pluriversality expands on universality
o Pluriversality is about multiple perspectives coming together to create a new
moral future for ourselves
• Critique of Eurocentric discourses
• Deconstruction of structures and systems of oppression
• Europe continues to benefit from the colonial legacies of expropriation and violence
Evolution of Geography
• Greek geographers gave structure to the discipline:
o Eratosthenes (276 BC- 195 BC)
§ Coined the word “geography” – Geo (earth) and Graphein (to write)
§ Invented a system on latitude and longitude, calculated circumference
of the earth
o Strabo (64 BC – 20 AD)
§ Travelled widely in Egypt, Italy, Ethiopia, Asia Minor (Turkey)
§ Wrote a description of the people and places he visited
, § 17-volume work Geographica
o Herodotus (484 BC – 425 BC)
§ Wrote about lands, people, economies, customs
§ To understand the Persian empire and Persian wars
o From 3 to 1200 Chinese geographers were pre-eminent
§ More complex geographical methods and thought than in Europe at
the time
o Shift in the evolution of geography from Europe to Islamic world
§ Al Idrisi (1099 – 1165/66)
• Witten accounts of his journeys
• Wrote Kitab Nuzhat al-mushtāq (recreation of the desirer in the
account of cities, regions, countries, islands, towns, and distant
lands)
• Modern geography started around the 1600s
• Geography had become a fully-fledged discipline by the end of the 1800s
• Courses were offered at universities in Europe and then around the world
• Results was the development on inter-related specialized sub-disciplines
• Three dominant sub-divisions:
o Spatial differences of physical and human phenomena on earth and the
relationships between human societies and the natural environment
o Focus on systems which link physical and human activities
o Regional analysis
Core Geographic Concepts
• Recognizing spatial patterns is essential in geography
• Geography is a spatial science:
o Spatial distribution of phenomena
§ How and where things are placed in relation to other phenomena
(how they are located)
o Spatial extent of regions
o Spatial behavior of people
o Spatial relationships between places on earth
o Spatial processes that underlie behaviors and relationships
• Location of places and things is the root of all geographic study
o Absolute location
, § Identification of a place by precise and accepted system of co-
ordinates
• 33º 55’ 57.67” S, 18º 51’ 44.86” E
§ Global coverage of parallels and meridians (latitude and longitude)
§ Absolute location is unique to each place
§ Site: absolute location concept referring to attributes and
characteristics of a place
• For example: a church, a mine, a school, a hospital etc.
o Relative location
§ Position in relation to other places or things
§ Expresses spatial interconnection and interdependence
§ Situation: relative location concept referring to external relations of a
place
• Direction is the universal spatial concept together with
location
o Absolute direction
§ Based on cardinal points of the compass:
north, south, east, west
o Relative direction
§ These are culturally based and locationally
variable
§ Where you are based and what you refer to
things around you
§ For example: “up north”, “far east”
• Distance is the universal spatial concept together with location and direction
o Absolute distance
§ Two points in earth measured by an accepted unit such as kilometers
§ For example: from Johannesburg to Cape Town is 1397,8km
o Relative distance
§ Transformation of linear units into another more meaningful unit
§ For example: time distance – 5-minute walk or 20-minute drive
§ Also, a late-night walk in an unknown location may seem longer
• Size and Scale
o Scale is the relationship between the size of an area on a map and the size in
reality
, o Scale implies degree of generalization of earth’s phenomena (so what is
grouped/categorized together to form patterns)
• Physical and Cultural characteristics/attributes of places give them potential,
meaning and individual character
o Human action happens withing the physical (natural) landscape
o Humans always modify the physical attributes of a place – they use soil, water,
plant and animal resources, etc.
o Cultural landscape is the observable marks left by human activities
o Place attributes are always changing
• Interactions between places
o Relationships between phenomena are stronger when they are near to each
other – spatial interaction
o Distance decay – accessibility (closer - more related, further – less related)
o Connectivity
§ Ways in which places are connected: roads, telephone lines, sewers
§ Mobile technology (Whatsapp, Instagram, emails) has erased time
and distance barriers
o Spatial diffusion is the process of dispersion of an idea or thing from a point
of origin
§ Think about how a new song is diffused (spread) by mobile
technology such as YouTube or TikTok
o Increased global connectivity – Globalization
o Geographers study the dynamics of spatial relationships of places and regions
• Place similarity and regions
o No two places on earth are exactly the same
o But the natural and cultural characteristics of places show similar patterns in
some areas
o Allows us to see and define regions based on spatial distributions of
phenomena
o Types of regions:
§ Formal Regions: area of uniformity
regarding a single feature or a limited
number of features
• For example: map of south
African climate regions or a map
that outlines boarders
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller Daryanvdw. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $6.54. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
81113 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now