Slide 1We need a mental picture of the whole world, not just certain parts of it. This is “big geography.”Slide 3Slide 4Slide 5Three World Map Projections Mercator, Peters, and RobinsonOn a Mercator projection, invented by Gerardus Mercator in 1569, any straight line is a line of constant compass bearing. This enables a navigator to plot a straight-line course.Slide 8Human beings inhabit the biosphere.The lithosphere is in constant, though slow motion.The scene of history is continuously moving land masses. Notice in the left column the names of distinct land masses that no longer exist. The red dot represents the location of the Grand Canyon. The largest context of human history is the entire planet.70.9 % of the surface of the earth is water. Human beings, however, are a land-dwelling species. We call the biggest land areas continents.Slide 14Slide 15Conventional definition of a continent A large mass of land surrounded, or nearly surrounded, by water.Since the nineteenth century, most scholars have accepted the Ural Mountains as part of the dividing Line between “Europe” and “Asia” as continents.Slide 18Slide 19Slide 20Slide 21Slide 22So, why is Europe a continent?Slide 24Slide 25Slide 26Slide 27Think of Afroeurasia as having some seas “inside” it.One of the big geographical features of Afroeurasia is the Great Arid Zone. This is the belt of arid or semi-arid land that extends nearly across Afroeurasia.Scenes in the Great Arid Zone of AfroeurasiaHistorically, peoples who herd animals as a way of life have inhabited many parts of the Great Arid Zone. These herders are pastoral nomads, that is, they move with their herds or flocks from pasture to pasture.Slide 32Slide 33Slide 34Slide 35Another feature of big geography is the earth’s great mountain chainsThe major winds and currents of the oceans Until the coming of steamships in the 19th century, sailors had to know winds and currents to have confidence that they could sail from one place to another in an approximate amount of time. These winds and currents follow large global patterns. It was a matter of discovering what those patterns were.The wind cycle in the North Atlantic helped Christopher Columbus sail both ways across the ocean.So, how many continents?Slide 40Slide 41Big GeographyThe Geography of Global HistoryWe need a mental picture of the whole world, not just certain parts of it. This is “big geography.”South AmericaAfricaHi. I’m Mundo.Did you know that how we “see” the world depends on how we project the world?Hi. I’m Mundo.Did you know that how we “see” the world depends on how we project the world?The Earth is a sphere. Therefore, it cannot be projected on a flat map without distortion. The question is, which kind of distortion?The Earth is a sphere. Therefore, it cannot be projected on a flat map without distortion. The question is, which kind of distortion?Three World Map ProjectionsMercator, Peters, and RobinsonOn a Mercator projection, invented by Gerardus Mercator in 1569, any straight line is a line of constant compass bearing. This enables a navigator to plot a straight-line course.Despite the values of theMercator Projection, itdistorts the size and shapeof land areas.Fact: South America is 8 times as large as Greenland.Fact: Africa is 14 times as large as Greenland.The Peters Projection is an“equal area” map. It represents areas accurately,but it seriously distorts shapes.Compare the size of Europe to Africa on the two maps.Compare the size of the former USSR to China on the two maps.Human beings inhabit the biosphere.The biosphere is made up of three layers. •The lithosphere: The solid earth, or outer crust of rock, sand, and soil. •The hydrosphere: The watery realm. About 97 percent of it is the oceans. •The atmosphere: The thin layer of gasses, mainly nitrogen and oxygen.The lithosphere is in constant, though slow motion.The surface of the earth and the location of its land masses have therefore had a continuously changing history. The surface of the earth and the location of its land masses have therefore had a continuously changing history.The scene of history is continuously moving land masses.Notice in the left column the names of distinct land masses that no longer exist.The red dot represents the location of the Grand Canyon. PangaeaLaurasiaGondwanalandIndiaSouth America550 Million Years Ago220 Million Years Ago190 Million Years Ago130 Million Years Ago65 Million Years AgoTodayThe largest context of human history is the entire planet.70.9 % of the surface of the earth is water. Human beings, however, are a land-dwelling species. We call the biggest land areas continents.How many continents are there?Nine? One?Seven? Five?Four?The conventional map of seven continentsBut what IS a continent?But what IS a continent?Conventional definition of a continentA large mass of land surrounded, or nearly surrounded, by water. If that is the conventional definition, why are Europe and Asia separate continents?Since the nineteenth century, most scholars have accepted the Ural Mountains as part of the dividing Line between “Europe” and “Asia” as continents.The Urals as a border between continents? They are not that impressive.Ural Mts.Another part of the dividing line:Bosporus and Dardanelles(Straits)EUROPE ASIABosporusIstanbulDardanellesWhat significance have the Bosporus and Dardanelles had as a line dividing peoples from one another in history?Almost none!Almost none!The Ottoman Turkish Empire about 1550. Its territory cut straight across the Bosporus and Dardanelles.Here’s a highway bridge across the Bosporus. Today, you can drive from “Asia” to “Europe” in a few minutes.So, why is Europe a continent?European scholars of the nineteenth century decided that it should be one.One of the benefits of having power in the world is that you get to name things!European scholars of the nineteenth century decided that it should be one.One of the benefits of having power in the world is that you get to name things!The dividing line between “Europe” and “Asia” is not something that is “natural.” That is, it does not exist as a fact of the natural world. Many geographers have therefore been willing to unite the two regions as a single continent called “Eurasia.”Asia + Europe = EurasiaE U R A S I ABut is Africa separated from Eurasia by a wide ocean?No! Why not think of Eurasia and Africa together as a single