Unit 1 Geography and

Culture
Topic 1: Maps
“Exploring Map Projections and Categories”
Compelling Question 1 to answer
at the end of topic 1:
“Why do people organize space and
place through different types of
maps?”
 Quick Write your answer to the
following question:
What is the meaning of culture?
Page: Unit 1 Topic 1
Terms
Cultural geography: study of the
relationship between culture and
place
 Question for task: “Why do
geographers use different types of
maps to organize space and place?”
 Question:
What are maps?
 Question:
Why and how do we use maps?
 1st Supporting Question:
“Why do geographers use maps to
depict relationships of time, space,
and scale?”
 Terms to know:
Map- a representation of a place
Cartography- the study and the practice of using maps
Distortion-the misrepresentation of shape, area,
distance, or direction of or between geographic features
when compared to their true measurements on the curved
surface of the earth
Scale- the ratio of a distance on Earth compared to the
same distance on a map
Projection- any method used to show the Earth’s round
surface on a flat map
North America Atlantic
Page: Continents, Oceans, and
Tropic of Cancer Major
Lines
South America Pacific
Equator
Europe Arctic
Prime Meridian
Asia Indian
Tropic of Capricorn
Africa Southern
Arctic Circle
Australia
Antarctic Circle
Antarctica
organization of space
Maps….
during a specific time and
through the perspective of
the creator of the map.
Maps are constantly
changing as the
organization of space
changes and as people’s
perceptions change. Today
you will create maps that
capture the spatial
organization of your
community and world
through your perspective.
How does your world map compare to
this one?
 Discussion Question:
“Why do geographers use maps to
depict relationships of time, space,
and scale?”
Page: Geographic Tools
MAP vs Globe

flat 2d drawing that stretches and round 3d model surface that shows
twists the Earth’s surface out of the shape of the Earth as it is
shape
+ portable + accurate size and shape of the
+ see whole world at one time Earth

- distortion of size and shape of - not portable

land and water - can only see part of the Earth
Cartographer
map maker reduce distortion with
different types of map projections
1.Planar
2.Conical
3.Compromise
Science of map making
1.survey/collect data using aerial
photography of satellite
2.computers analyze and convert data
into an image
3.layers of info are stored into a
computer database
4.cartographers select layers of info to
create maps
Best known satellite- landsat or
GOES used for weather/hurricanes
1.Geographic information system- a computer
technology that helps map makers combine
geographic data about a location from several
sources
2.global positioning system- a series of satellites
that beam location info to Earth (used for tracking
2nd Supporting Question:
“Why are all maps wrong?”
 3rd Supporting Question:
“Why are some maps better suited to
display information than other
maps?”
Page: Map Projections
Map Projections:
Globe: 3d model of the earth. Provides info
with almost perfect accuracy but hard to carry
around
Flat maps able to be carried and show more
detail than a globe.
Map projection: any method used to show the
 A.The Problem of Distortion
Distortion occurs when transfering a globe to a map.

Reduce distortion using 4 features:

1. Area
2. Shape
3. Distance
4. Direction

Usually a map distorts two or three features while minimizing others

Typical globe is covered by twelve paper stripes called gores. Accurate if you
were to lay out in three respects but not very useful.
 B. Solution to the Problem
Three types of projections:

1. Planar: also called azimuthal uses a flat plane instead of a

cylinder
2. Conic:places a cone-shaped piece of paper on an imaginary
wire globe and traces the shadow onto the cone
3. Cylindrical/Compromise: mapmakers rolls a sheet of paper
into the shape of a cylinder around the wire globe. He then
traces the shadows cast by the light and unrolls the paper to
get a flat map.
 1.Cylindrical
1.Mercator’s projection: 1st
cylindrical projection used in
1569

• All lines of latitude and

longitude look straight.
• Directions constant.
• Shapes accurate.
• Area and distance
distorted.
2. Homolosine/ Goode’s Interrupted
Projection: cuts and flattens the earth
just like an orange peel

• Remains in one piece but the

image is “interrupted” with gaps or
cuts.
• Area remain accurate
• Shapes less distorted
• Distorts distances and all north-
south directions
3. Robinson’s projection:
popular for textbooks
• Combines the best
elements from other
projections.
• Minimizes all four
distortions
 4. Azimuthal Projects
• Better for smaller scale
maps
• Most accurate in center
becomes distorted near
edges
• Useful for compact areas
How maps can be deceiving?
1.How does scale affect the
information presented on a map?
2.How does the perspective and
preferences of the mapmaker influence
the information presented on a map?
3.How does the intended purpose of a
map affect the information presented?
Boston Students Get A Glimpse
Of A Whole New World, With Di
fferent Maps
Discussion Question:
“Which projection should
schools use in their
classrooms?”
Page: Types of Maps and
features
Using your knowledge how many types of
maps can you name?

Types of
maps.

Why do you think there's lots of

different types?
What is a map?-
reading
What is a map?
Maps are pictures or
representations of the Earth's
surface. They show how
places are related to each
other by distance, direction,
and size.

Maps are a way of showing a

The
part world
of thecontains
Earth's lots of different
surface on features, so there are
many types of
a flat piece of paper.
maps to show these.

Maps have titles, keys, scale bars, cities,

capitals, boundary lines, and a compass rose.
Thematic Maps
• Maps that emphasize a single idea or
a particular kind of information
about an area are called thematic
maps.
• There are many kinds of thematic
maps, such as dot density,
choropleth, isolene, flow line, and
cartograms.
Reference maps….
Political map
A political map does not
show any physical
features.

It shows countries
boundaries and their
cities both large and
small depending on the
detail of the map. What is the capital (shown with
a star) of Tunisia?
The sea’s and oceans
are also labelled as
theses show the political
Human Made Feature: What you can
learn from map:
Austin:
El Paso:
Texas State Boundary:
 Physical
map
A physical map
shows you the
physical landscape
features of a place.
They generally show
you things like
mountains, rivers, What is the name of the mountain range
and lakes. Water is on this physical map? How do you know
always shown in this area is high in height?
They also show you the heights (topographical/relief) of the
blue.
land. As the land gets higher the colour shade gets darker.
For example light green shows the flat land, and the darker
Physical Feature What
can I learn?
Davis Mountain:
Red River:
Gulf Coastal Plain:
Resource
map
An economic or
resource map shows
the type of natural
resources that can
be found in an area.
They also show the
economic activities
that take place in
that area (ways of
making money).

For example it will

show where Name one place diamonds can
 Road map
A road map is one of the
most used maps.

These maps show all the

major and minor roads
depending on the detail of
the map.
What is the name of the main
They also show airports, city road that runs from
locations and points of
interest like parks,
Major roads are usually shown with dark colours like red and
campgrounds and
are thicker lines. Whereas minor roads are thin lines and
monuments.
 .

This map is based on regions in North America.

1. What are these regions based on?
2. How do you know this?
Climate map
A climate can show things
like the specific climatic
zones of an area based on
the temperature, the
amount of snow an area
receives or average number
of cloudy days.

These maps normally use

colours to show different What is the climate of Western
climatic areas. Australia?
Ordnance survey map
An ordnance survey
maps are leisure
maps. They are
mainly by people who
are doing activities
such as walking.

They show many

features such as the
height of the land
using contour lines
(orange lines), main
Time Zone Map
A time zone map
helps people know
the time in the area.
They are mainly used
by people who are
doing traveling,
making a phone call,
or buying an item. If
you move east, you
add an hour for each What timezone do we live in?
zone you pass. If you
move westward, you
Name these maps……
A C

D
B
 Which is the most appropriate
map……
• You need to identify some physical features.
• You want to identify the best area of a place to go for a sunny
holiday.
• You want to go on a long walk in a place you have never been
and stop off at various sights.
• You are planning a road trip.
• You are trying to find the capital city of a country.
• You are doing some geography homework and need to know
the kinds of resources an area has.
• You want to know locate the mountains in an area.
Thematic Maps
• Maps that emphasize a single idea or
a particular kind of information
about an area are called thematic
maps.
• There are many kinds of thematic
maps, such as dot density,
choropleth, isolene, flow line, and
cartograms.
 Map Features
What features can be found on maps?

The
features
found on
maps.

Why do you think there's lots of

different types?
Map Features
Thematic Maps
• Maps that emphasize a single idea or
a particular kind of information
about an area are called thematic
maps.
• There are many kinds of thematic
maps, such as dot density,
choropleth, isolene, flow line, and
cartograms.
Page:Thematic Maps
• Qualitative Maps
• Qualitative maps use
colors, symbols, lines, or
dots to show information
related to a specific idea.
Such maps are often used to
depict historical information.
 1. Isolene Map
● Isoline maps are some of the most daily used maps.
● They are commonly shown on TV through weather reports, as they
can show the average temperatures, humidity levels and other
weather statistics in an organized fashion.
● To understand isoline maps, know that they use contour lines to
connect the same data point across a map.
● If you still don't catch my drift, let me explain further! In some isoline
maps, we can see contour lines being used to separate differently
colored regions and each color has a unique value associated to it.
● For instance, a red-shaded region could mean 95 degrees Fahrenheit
is the average temperature while a green-shaded region could mean
80 degrees Fahrenheit is the average temperature there.
● This thus means that the contour lines have been used to help
connect the different regions of an area while also separating them to
show each region's own distinct value(s) for the focused theme.
● In other maps, though, the contour lines can be the actual feature that
has a data point associated to it.
2.Choropleth Map
A choropleth map represents data
values with different colors and patterns.
Data is categorized into classes, each
assigned a specific color/pattern.
Example datasets appropriate for choropleth maps:

● Measuring Population Density and Total Population

● Visualizing Sales Volume and Revenue
● Measuring Demographics (Education, Housing, Per Capita
Income, Labor, etc.)
● world map of income tax rates by country
● map showing number of births per 100,000 in 2009, reported by
U.S. county
● map showing the percentage change in skin cancer from 1990 to
2010 by Australian state.
● world map of percentage of population under 18 years old,
reported by country
● map showing the percentage increase in home value from 1980
to 1990 by Canadian province
3. Flow Line Maps
Flow-line maps illustrate
the movement of people,
animals, goods, and
ideas, as well as physical
processes like hurricanes
and glaciers. Arrows are
usually used to represent
the flow and direction of
movement.
4.Dot Density Map
A dot density map simple yet highly effective way to show
density differences in geographic distributions across a
landscape.

There are two basic types: one-to-one dot density maps (one
dot represents one object or count) and one-to-many dot
density maps in which one dot stands for a number of
things or a value (e.g., 1 dot = 1,000 acres of wheat
production).

Example datasets appropriate for dot density maps:

● the distribution of car dealerships in Belgium (1 dot =

1 dealership)
● earthquake epicenters across the Pacific for the past

10 years (1 dot = 1 epicenter)

● number of people, by county, USA, 2010 (1 dot =
 5. Cartograms
a cartogram does is that it takes some statistical data
and then combines it with the given area by distorting it
to reflect the data. This usually results in a very different-
looking map whereas other thematic maps preserve the
shape of the area.

Also there are two different types of cartograms. The first

type is called an area cartogram. These maps alter the
entire geographic location to represent the given data,
which can be population, GDP growth and more.

The second type is called a distance cartogram and

you'll have already seen it if you've ever travelled
through the NYC subway.

Subway maps are also examples of distance

cartograms, which show the travel time and distance of
each vehicle in a network of transportation. While the
travel time may be inaccurate at times, the data is still
used to distort the network to fit the data shown.
Discussion Question:
“Why are some maps better suited to
display
information than other maps?”
Compelling Guiding Question
2: ‘How has technology
changed the study of
geography?’
Discussion Question: When is it better to use
absolute location instead of relative location
and when is it better to use relative location
instead of absolute location?
Relative Better Absolute Better
Page: Geographic Grid
(Latitude/Longitude)
Objective: Locate Places on a map using
latitude and longitude
Latitude and Longitude
 Latitude Longitude

Direction East-west, parallel to North- south

the equator
Range 0 to 90° North and 0 to 180° East and
South West
Parallels Yes No

Denotes Distance Equator Prime Meridian

From
Notable Lines Equator, Tropic of Prime (Greenwich)
Cancer, Tropic of Meridian
Capricorn
B. Latitude and Longitude
Latitude: run east and west (parallel to the
equator= parallels)
Longitude: imaginary lines called meridian that run
north and south and stretch from pole to pole (Long
like a ladder)
Prime meridian: line from which all other meridians
are numbered extended through Greenwich,
England. Highest degree is 180.
Great circle: the 180 degree meridian lies directly
 A.Hemispheres
Hemisphere: divide earth
into two halves
Equator: divides earth into
Northern and Southern
hemispheres
Prime Meridian: divides
earth into eastern and
western hemispheres.
Locate points using
Do now: Latitude and longitude
practice
1.Use atlas of textbook pages A4-A5 to help
you find the locations
2.Turn into class drawer when you are
finished
3. play SE Africa map game for quiz Friday
Your turn…
Use google maps to identify the site and
situation of a well-known city (e.g., New
Orleans, New York, London, Paris, Beijing)
you would like to vacation to.
Note:
Site is the exact location of a settlement on the globe.
Situation is where a settlement is in relation to its surrounding
features, which could be natural surroundings, the location of
nearby settlements, or transportation routes. Situation is the
Your turn…
Use google maps to complete the community
exploration chart assignment google doc on
google classroom. Research our community
to fill in the chart.
Supporting Question 2:
“How do geographers use technology to solve
real world problems?”
Page: Geographic Technology
Surveying - observing, measuring, and
recording data through the use of
satellites and technology
Landsat - a series of satellites that
orbit more than 100 miles above earth
Page: GPS v GIS
GPS uses satellites to find the site or
absolute location of places.
Page: GPS v GIS
GIS is used to record and communicate
geographic information on maps. GIS maps
use layers to overlay data from one source on
top of another source.
google classroom when you
finish submit and play SE Africa
map game for quiz tomorrow
Read
Predicting and Managing Chaos: How GIS Has Tra
nsformed Natural Disaster Relief
and answer the following questions:
a. How are geographers using GIS to transform
natural disaster relief?
b. How can GIS information assist with natural
disasters in our region?
Discussion Question:
“How do geographers use technology to solve
real world problems?”
Supporting Question 3:
“How have advances in technology affected
the geography of my community and the
world?”
Question

1.How does Google Maps address

international differences? 2.How has
technology changed the way people
understand borders?
Page:Distance Decay and Time
Space Compression
Distance decay: the decrease or decay in
interaction between two phenomena, places,
or people as the distance between them
increases
time space compression: the reduction in
the time it takes to spread something to a
distant place as a result of improved
communications and transportation systems.
Distance decay: the decrease or decay in
interaction between two phenomena, places,
or people as the distance between them
increases
time space compression: the reduction in
the time it takes to spread something to a
distant place as a result of improved
communications and transportation systems.
Question: How are these terms
different from each other?
Discussion Question Time:
“How have advances in technology affected
the geography of my community and the
world?”
 Terms to know:
Map- a representation of a place
Cartography- the study and the practice of using maps
Distortion-the misrepresentation of shape, area,
distance, or direction of or between geographic features
when compared to their true measurements on the curved
surface of the earth
Scale- the ratio of a distance on Earth compared to the
same distance on a map
Projection- any method used to show the Earth’s round
surface on a flat map
 Terms to know:
Reference map: emphasize the location of spatial phenomena, such countries,
cities, rivers, etc.
Thematic map:Maps that emphasize a single idea or a particular kind
of information about an area
Relative Location: a description of how a place is related to other
places.
Absolute Location: describes the location of a place based on a fixed
point on earth. The most common way is to identify the location using
coordinates such as latitude and longitude or by the use of a street
address when available
Latitude: run east and west parallel to the equator; lines that run
horizontally labeled North or South of equator
Longitude:imaginary lines called meridian that run north and south
and stretch from pole to pole (Long like a ladder)
lines that run vertically
GIS:used to record and communicate geographic
Terms to know:
information on maps. GIS maps use layers to overlay
data from one source on top of another source.
GPS:uses satellites to find the site or absolute location
of places.
Distance decay:the decrease or decay in interaction
between two phenomena, places, or people as the
distance between them increases
Time space compression: the reduction in the time it
takes to spread something to a distant place as a result
of improved communications and transportation
systems.
Review Questions:
1. How do we locate and describe places?
2. How do geographers use technology to solve real world
problems?
3. How have advances in technology affected the geography
of my community and the world?
4. How has technology changed the study of geography?