WVU GEOG 102 - What Is Scale (2 pages)

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GEOG 102 1st Edition Lecture 1 Outline of Last Lecture I Introduction and Syllabus Outline of Current Lecture II What is scale III What s a region IV Why geographers use regions V 7 ways we study each world region VI Why be careful when comparing world regions Current Lecture Scale refers to the relationship between the size of things on the map and the actual size of things on the Earth s surface The global scale The entire world is treated as a single area ex Earth The world regional scale Largest division of the globe ex North America Subregional ex Appalachia Local scale ex Morgantown Region A unit of the Earth s surface with distinct physical and human features Boundaries can be drawn in different ways because their definitions are fluid World Region Subregion Local These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute Characteristics used to define regions Physical features Political boundaries Cultural characteristics History Self definition Future possibilities Regional boundaries are rarely crisp Provide a practical way of discussing the world US Mexico border is a blend of Native America Spanish colonial Mexican and AngloAmerican cultural features We will use the regional concept to guide us 7 Ways we explore regions Physical patterns Landforms Climate Population pattern Human patterns over time Economics issues Political issues Sociocultural issues Environmental issues The Danger of a single story is that you only get one perspective of a story or one version of the truth This is important when studying world regional geography because we do not want to generalize and devalue a group of people