Introduction to Geography

¶ … William Renwick. The content of the book is constructed around three central themes: the belief in the interrelationship between humans and their natural environment; the philosophy that many basic principles of geography can be demonstrated and studied on a local levels; and the idea that geography is a dynamic field. The book presents readers with the tools they need to understand current events, decide where to live, seek or build a career, and inform their own political opinions.

The first section of the paper will present and discuss basic ideas that form the foundation of geography; how it is a discipline and what kind of discipline it is, as well as how the concepts inherent to it are measured and studied. The second part will apply those concepts and principles to the geography of North America, then compare it with the geography of South America. The final section of the paper will consist of a survey of scholarly journals pertaining to the discipline, and will include examinations of the evidence and principle contentions of the article, as well as the significance of the research.

Part 1: Fundamental Concepts of Geography.

Geography qualifies as a scientific discipline because it involves the collecting of data of various forms, and methods of analyzing that data to come to logical conclusions. As defined in the text, geography is the study of the interaction of all physical and human phenomena of individual places and of how interactions among places form patterns and organizes space.

There are two main branches of geography, classified as physical geography and human geography. Physical geography studies the characteristics of the physical environment. It is considered a natural science because it deals with topics such as soil, climate and vegetation. Human geography studies human groups and activities, including linguistics, industry and urbanization. This branch is a social science because it concerns itself with the activities of people. Both branches rely on similar approaches to their respective fields, and share information back and forth. The two branches are intrinsically interconnected and one cannot be fully understood without drawing upon the sphere of knowledge encompassed by the other. In this way, geography is a discipline that bridges the gap between the physical sciences and the social sciences.

Area analysis integrates the geographic features of an area or place. Area analysis is a method of organizing the study of people and environments through the identification of regions and descriptions of similarities and differences among them. Each place in the world occupies a unique location, and is imbued with a particular character through a combination of this location and other factors, such as human behavior and environmental processes.

Important to the application of area analysis is the concept of regions. A region is an area defined by one or more distinctive features or characteristics, such as climate, soil type, language or economics. Geographers recognize three types of regions. Formal regions exhibit essential uniformity in one or more physical or cultural features, such as a country or a mountain range. Functional regions are defined by interactions among places, such as trade or communication. Vernacular regions are defined by widespread popular perception of their existence by people within or outside them.

Each place occupies a unique location in the world, and geographers study the factors that contribute to making each place unique. Geographers measure location in an absolute sense and in a relative one. Absolute location is called a site, and is plotted on what is known as the geographic grid. Geographers measure and mathematically represent the site on the globe through measurements for latitude and longitude. Latitude measures distance north and south of the equator, the imaginary middle line that surrounds the earth. The measurements are in degrees, minutes and seconds. The degrees begin with the equator as 0 degrees and the north and south poles at 90 degrees. In other words, the distance from the equator to either pole is divided into 90 equal degrees. The lines formed by all the points at the same degree are called a parallel. This name is derived from the fact that the lines never touch one another- they are always equidistant. The degrees are further subdivided; there are sixty minutes in each degree and sixty seconds in each minute. Longitude measures east and west distances from the prime meridian, located in Greenwich, England. It is also divided into degrees, minutes and seconds. The degree lines are named meridians. Unlike the parallels, they are not equidistant; they are at the furthest distance from one another at the equator and converge as the meridian approach the poles.

The same conference that established the geographic grid also established the twenty-four standard time zones and the International Date Line. The 24 time zones correspond with the number of hours it takes the sun to travel around the earth (360 degrees). Therefore the time zones each represent 15 degrees of longitude and each zone tracks time as one hour ahead or behind of the zones adjacent to it. The time at the prime meridian is established as Greenwich Mean Time.

The International Date Line runs along the 180th meridian, although it deviates slightly to accommodate specific areas and their needs.

Geographers also measure relative location, meaning where a place is located in relation to other places. Knowledge of the relative location of a place helps to understand how it interacts with the world. Relative location is also known as situation. Situation has an influence on accessibility and is indicated in relative terms, such as nearer or farther, or hard to reach or easy to reach. Accessibility is as valuable as natural resources in the potential thriving of a place. Changes in transportation and communication routes cause a change in relative location and redistribute accessibility.

Spatial analysis emphasizes interactions among places. It seeks to identify patterns in the distribution of human activities and environmental processes, as well as movements across the surface of the Earth. Distribution is defined as the position, placement or arrangement of phenomena throughout space. Geographers define distribution in three seperate ways. Density is the frequency of occurrence of the phenomena over a geographic area (usually expressed in ratio to square miles or square kilometers). Concentration is distribution within the given area. An area with close proximity of occurrences is said to be concentrated, whereas an area where occurrences are scattered far apart from each other is said to be dispersed. Pattern refers to the arrangement of objects within the area. It describes the geometrical arrangements of objects.

Geographers also study movement to further spatial analysis. Movement implies covering distance. Distance can be measured absolutely, by miles and kilometers, but is also measured in time increments or cost (known as cost distance). Geographers call the effort or cost of moving people or goods over a given distance as friction of distance. Friction of distance imposes practical limitations on movement over long distances.

The impacts and effects of phenomena diminish as the distance from the point of origin increases. Geographers call this distance decay. Geographers use mathematical formulas to create models in the same way that physicists do. Models serve as idealized and simplified representations of reality that can be used as a standard to compare individual cases in the real world.

Another important aspect of spatial analysis is the concept of diffusion. Diffusion is the process of an item or feature spreading through time. The place of origin of any innovation is called a hearth. Tracing diffusion offers insight into how groups of people interact and influence one another. Geographers have identified three primary methods of diffusion. Relocation diffusion is widely separated from point to point. Groups that relocate to another place tend to settle in terrain that is similar to their old homes, and they bring their culture with them.

Contiguous diffusion takes place between nearby or neighboring locations. Studies of cultural similarities in an area can reveal the contiguous diffusion of generations past. Hierarchical diffusion occurs upward or downward in a hierarchy of organization. Generally, information travels up and down the chain more than between places on the same level. There are barriers to diffusion, ranging from topographical and terrain, to political reasons, to a tense or unfriendly state between cultural groups in the same area.

Geography studies physical and human systems. A system is an interdependent group of items that interact in a regular way to form a unified whole. Geography places a particular emphasis on the interactions between humans and the environment. The four physical systems of the Earth that geographers study are the atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water), lithosphere (earth and rock), and the biosphere (living things). The atmosphere is a thin layer of gases surrounding the Earth to an altitude of less than 300 miles, and is composed mostly of nitrogen. The hydrosphere is the collective water realm of the planet, with the vast majority being in liquid form in the world's oceans. The lithosphere is the solid earth, made up of rocks and sedimnets overlying them, to a depth of roughly 45 miles. The biosphere consists of all living organisms on the planet. The atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere function collectively to provide he environment which sustains the biosphere. These four spheres interact to create ecological systems. These ecosystems, as they are called, are groups of organisms and the nonliving environment which they exist in.

In the process of living and working in an area, people modify the landscape to suit their purposes or tastes. These are called cultural landscapes. Many geographers maintain that the entire surface of the earth constitutes a cultural landscape, as humans have changed the face of the planet to such a great degree. Some geographers also put forth environmentalist theories, which emphasize the role of the environment in human life. The interaction between humans and the environment is a circular effect- environment affects human life and culture, while humans alter and transform the environment. Geographers have studied the ways that societies adapt to the environment- this is known as cultural ecology. Environmental determinism is the simplistic belief that human events can be explained entirely as the results of the effects of the physical environment. While these theories are considered interesting, there are always exceptions to be found. A more moderate view promulgated by geographers is possibilism. Possibilism insists that the physical environment itself will neither suggest nor determine what activity people will undertake, but it will limit what people can profitably achieve.

Part 2: A Geographic Comparison of North and South America

In this section we will apply the fundamentals discussed previously to the respective geographies of North America and South America. This will highlight the similarities and differences between the two continents, and provide examples of how and why geographers study the topics particular to the field.

Location can be discussed in an absolute sense or a relative one. To describe either area in absolute location, we must refer to the geographic grid. The recognized demarcation between the two landmasses is the small isthmus nation of Panama. North America extends from just above the equator to the North Pole. In the east-west direction, North America spans from approximately 10 degrees W. (northeastern tip of Greenland) to 170 degrees W. (western tip of Alaska). The northernmost part of North America is also Greenland, which extends well past the 80 degree N. latitude. The southernmost section is Panama, at approximately 8 degrees N. latitude. South America has its northernmost point in Venezuela, at approximately 12 degrees N. latitude. South America traverses the equator, and it southernmost region is the small group of islands of Chile, which end at 56 degrees S. latitude. The easternmost point of South America is in Brazil, at 35 degrees W. longitude, while the wetsernmost point is the west coast of Peru, at 81 degrees W. longitude.

Location can also be portrayed relatively as well. South America lies to the south and slightly east of North America, and conversely, North America can be said to be to the north and slightly west of South America. Similar statmenets can be made about either continent in relation to the other continents of the world- both Americas are west of Europe, but east of Asia, for instance. As can be seen from the example, relative location depends upon where you are at the moment and the location you wish to compare to.

For purposes of geographic study, we divide the world into regions, which are areas defined by one or more distinctive characteristics or features. Area analysis is a method of organizing the study of the world's people and environments through identification of regions and descriptions of the similarities and differences among them. Probably the most familiar of all maps of regions is the political map.

Map 1

In the preceding map, we see the political demarcations of North America. The main countries of this region are the United States, Canada, and Mexico. In addition, we can see the country of Greenland in the northern Atlantic Ocean. Within the North American Region, there are two prominent subregions- Central America and the Caribbean. Central America, along with Mexico, provide us with an example of a region based upon cultural considerations, and are known collectively with South America as Latin America. The Caribbeans are a collection of islands situated off the southeastern portion of the United States.

Map 2

In Map 2 (above), we can see the political boundaries of South America. Brazil is by far the largest country in land area. Only two of the countries in the continent are land-locked, Paraguay and Bolivia. Every other nation has long stretches of coastline. While North America is largely a temperate climate, the vast majority of South American lands fall within the tropical zone (as shown by the position of the Tropic of Capricorn).

Other than examining the political boundaries inherent to each continent, we can use maps to describe the topography, or terrain, of the region. Most topographical maps are color coded according to altitude, with browns representing the highlands and mountains and greens representing the lowlands and plains.

Map 3

In Map 3, we can see the topographic features of North America. The high altitudes are shown in red, and the low altitudes in green, with yellow being an intermediary color. The large red area on the west coast of the continent shows the layout of the Rocky Mountains, while the small red area close to the eastern seaboard gives us an impression of the Appalachians. We can see from the map that Greenland is at a relatively high altitude. The coasts are in green, signifying that they are very close to sea level.

Map 4

Map 4 provides us with a similar viewpoint of South America. As with the previous maps, the high altitudes are signified by red, while the lowlands are green. The color scheme clearly shows that the highest altitudes in South America are the Andes Mountains to the west. Brazil has large stretches of relatively high altitude territory as well.

Maps also exist that provide information of both types. These maps outline geopolitical boundaries as well as naming specific topological regions.

Map 5

Here, we can see the national and international borders represented in red. The topographical elements of the map rely on shades of green to imply altitude. The Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians are clearly marked. In addition, we see the region named the Coastal Plains, another example of a region identified with a common terrain and climate.

Map 6

From this map we can gain a new perspective of the Andes. The mountain range provides a natural boundary between the countires of Chile and Argentina in the southern portion of the range, as well as the respective boundaries between Peru and Bolivvia in the central area. Also, we can see the Brazilian Highlands as the high altitude area from the topographical map. The Amazon Basin is another example of a region which has been classified because of a common unifying feature, in this case the Amazon River. To the north of the basin is another area that geographers have delineated as its own region in and of itself, the Guiana Highlands.

Maps are also used by Geographers to study the human population.

Map 7

Map 7 shows us the population density of North AMerica. As shown by the scale, the darker hues represent areas of higher population density. The highest concentration of people in the United States is in the area of New York, on the east coast. Overall, the eastern half of the continental U.S. has a much higher density than the western half. The population density does not rise significantly until the west coast is imminent.

However, when compared to Mexico, it can be seen that the overall population density of the U.S. is lower than the southern regions (including the Caribbean).

Map 8

South America shows the greatest concentration of people near the coasts, which is common. Many people rely on the oceans to support them, through fishing or trade. The area west of the Andes Mountains has a great concentration of individuals, especially in the tropical regions. The coast of Brazil boasts a large number of people, as the coasts represent the center of urbanization for the country. The Amazon Basin, by contrast, has the lowest population density of the entire continent, even at the mouth of the river. This fact is significant, for it is common for civilizations to center around the mouths of rivers, such as in China and India. The Amazon River seems to lack any serious concentrations of people that would normally accompany such terrain. The Mississippi River in North America, by comparison, is home to historical port of New Orleans.

Map 9 is another example of a map that combines several features. It has marked international boundaries. It shows the location of cities, which are centers of population. It also shows topographical features and regions, which are named as well. Maps of this variety allow geographers to study the relation of human population with the surrounding environments. For instance, most cities are located where they are for accessibility reasons- the city's inhabitants need access to the outside world for resources. An example of this sort of location is the city of Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis is situated on the Mississippi River, like New Orleans, but is further inland.

Being on a major river improves the city's accessibility and contributes to its growth as an urban population center.

The clearest relationship between population distribution and environmental factors is that population densities are low in most of the world's cold areas and dry areas. This accounts for the disparity in population density between the United States and the more southerly regions, such as Mexico and the Caribbean. One would also expect to find the same sort of population density in South America due to the tropical climate, but this is not the case. The population of South America remains condensed at the coasts, and appears not to have diffused throughout the countryside, as is the case in the eastern half of the United States. The reasons for this would appear to be economic; South America is less developed than the United States because of the relative poverty. This prevents people from expanding and cultivating more land- they lack the resources.

From map 10 we can see the placement of cities in South America in relation to the geography. There are a few cities on the Amazon River, yet we do not see a correspondingly high population density that is expected for urban areas. The territory surrounding the amazon basin has a dispersed population, showing that the urban centers on the Amazon River are not expanding or attracting immigrants from elsewhere in Brazil or abroad. Instead, the concentration is found in the highlands and coasts of Brazil, which is also a famous tourist destination. The Andes provide a natural barrier to expansion from the west, therefore we see a great concentration on the west coast of the continent as well.

One of the major factors of both human geography and physical geography is climate. Both continents are home to a wide range of climates and temperatures, ranging from arctic to tropical. The Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America are warm tropical regions in North America, whereas the mainland of the continent is temperate. The northern sections of Canada are home to subarctic and arctic regions. South America, by comparison, has a much larger proportion of its territory in the tropical region. However, the southern tip of the continent reaches within a short distance of Antarctica. While the vast bulk of the continent is in the tropics, this fact shows that South America is home to a wide range of climates, as well.

Part 3: Literature Review.

America's Startling New Urban Geography by Fred Siegel (American Enterprise, July 2000). In this article, the author presents and applies the principle of diffusion to the urban landscape of the United States. The particular emphasis of the paper is on the effects of innovations in technology and communications on the dispersal of urban populations into suburban districts. Several excellent examples of diffusion through technological means are presented. The author also examines the effect that the dispersal of urban populations has on the politics of the city. The role of mayors has changed due to the shrinkage of the population within city limits. Whereas mayors of the past could rely on heavy federal subsidies, this is no longer the case. Modern mayors are faced with a fleeing populace, resulting in reduced tax revenues. In the wake of this migration of people and resources, mayors are left to think of ways to make their cities more attractive to immigration. Some cities have accepted the decreasing population, and are using it as an opportunity to tear down vacant lots and replace them with better suburban style housing and parks.

NAFTA and the Geography of North American Trade by Howard J. Wall (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, March-April 2003): This paper estimates the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on the geographic pattern of North American trade. Specifically, it looks at the effects of NAFTA on aggregate trade flows between sub-national regions within North America and between North American regions and the non-NAFTA world. The importance of a regional analysis of the effects of NAFTA is evident from the variety of regional post-NAFTA experiences. The research examined in this paper is significant because it deals with international trade and its effects on the human geography of an area.

Between 1993 and 1997, real trade between Canada and the United States increased by more than 50%. Over the same period, Central Canadian exports to the Southwest and Rocky Mountain regions of the United States and Eastern Canadian exports to the Southeast of the United States all increased by more than 110%. In contrast, Eastern Canadian real imports from the Great Lakes, Plains, and Southeast regions of the United States were actually lower in 1997 than they were in 1993. Further, although real Canadian exports to Mexico increased by 46% over the period, those from Western Canada rose by over 90% while those from Eastern Canada rose by less than 1%. In this manner, we can see a shift of relative position between the United States and Canada.

The article also discusses the merits and flaws of joining a preferential trade agreement like NAFTA. Viner (1950) established the general principle that the welfare effect of joining a preferential trading area such as NAFTA is ambiguous. This is because PTAs create a distortion between the trading conditions that member and nonmember countries face. For example, in a simple partial-equilibrium model under perfect competition, a PTA will increase trade between members, whether countries or regions, because the tariff between them has been eliminated (trade creation). If the most efficient producer of a good is outside the PTA, the effect is to import more from the less efficient member-producer (trade diversion). The net effect of a PTA on trade volume (as a proxy for welfare) would depend, therefore, on the relative sizes of trade creation and trade diversion. In other words, PTA members gain benefits in the form of reduced tariffs in trading with other members, but must continue to patronize those members even when they could get a better value for their money outside of the trade group.

In Defense of Geography by Norman Berdichevsky (Contemporary Review, Nov. 1998): This article concerns itself with popular misconceptions about the science of geography in regards to popular culture. Geographers still complain (legitimately) that their discipline is misunderstood by the general public. Largely, it remains a hangover from primary and secondary schools where it meant the rote memorization of inventories and facts about places. Geography is not a static inventory of unrelated facts. It explains and analyses why things are where they are and not somewhere else. Nothing can be understood apart from the place where it occurs. No event, situation, problem in nature or human history has much meaning until it is examined against its geographical background.

This article introduces and explains several of the fundamentals of geography that have been presented in this paper and serves as an excellent introduction for laymen.

It also provides several examples of the benefits of expanded geographic knowledge.

Geography Seen as Factor in Siting Steel Plants - Cesar Mendoza's Forecast by Gail W. Brown (American Metal Market, June 4,1986): This article discusses efforts in the world steel industry to improve the competitive position of steel vs. other materials and to promote increased consumption of steel. These goals need to be accompanied by consideration of the geography of steel, according to the president of the Latin American Iron and Steel Institute, Cesar Mendoza. Mendoza recommended that steel manufacturers, in weighing how to reduce their costs, consider locating the primary phase of integrated steel-making as near to the raw material sources as possible. Latin America is a prime site for such facilities since it has an abundance of coke and coal, he pointed out. Also, he added, new primary facilities should be built inland, not in the coastal regions as has been the practice in Latin America and elsewhere in the previous two decades. Mendoza maintained that the trend is for international trade of semi-finished and finished steel to increase rather than the trade of raw materials, and the necessity of reducing the cost of steel production will bring an examination of energy costs. Since most of the energy consumed in the steel-making process -- as much as two-thirds -- occurs in the primary phase of processing the raw materials, he said, it makes sense to locate blast furnaces and coke ovens near the source of the materials. Mendoza said that as older, inefficient capacity is shut down, some of the primary phase of steel-making will have to be replaced incorporating new technology, and locations for the new facilities should be considered near raw materials. The question of what constitutes sufficient world capacity is also a question of geography, in Mendoza's view. He pointed out that Latin America is still a net importer of steel with production close to 35 million metric tons last year and internal consumption of about 28 million to 29 million tons after exporting 7 million tons and importing 3 million tons. On the capacity issue -- of which there is the widely held view that the world as a whole has about 200 million excess tons of raw steel capacity -- Mendoza said that there is "a deficit of capacity in the developing countries." In Latin America, he said, consumption will rise as infrastructure is built up and in the 1990s that region could have a steel deficit if capacity is not built.

Mendoza's commentary shows the value of calculating cost distance. In recommending that processing facilities be close to the source of natural resources, he shows that it can reap higher profits for the steel industry. In addition, he examines the relative location of Latin America in the steel industry.