AP Human Geography: Understanding Maps

Introduction

• Presenter: Steve Heimler
• Audience: AP Human Geography students
• Importance of maps in human geography
  • Maps depict spatial patterns
  • Essential for understanding Earth's geographic features

Key Concepts in Human Geography

Spatial Patterns

• Spatial: Related to space
• Spatial patterns: How and where geographic features occur
• Examples of spatial questions:
  • Why are the largest U.S. cities located as they are?
  • Geographic distribution of cities and population

Types of Spatial Patterns

1. Absolute Distance
   • Measured in units like miles or kilometers
   • Example: Yosemite to Rocky Mountain National Park
2. Relative Distance
   • Social, cultural, political differences
   • Example: Income disparity in Brooklyn, NY
3. Absolute Direction
   • Cardinal directions: North, South, East, West
4. Relative Direction
   • Directions related to landmarks or other familiar points
   • Example: Directions within a school
5. Clustering and Dispersal
   • Clustering: Close phenomena (e.g., NYC apartments)
   • Dispersal: Spread out phenomena (e.g., Midwest farms)
6. Elevation
   • Height relative to sea level

Features of Maps

• Map Scale: Relates map distance to real-world distance
• Compass Rose: Indicates direction (cardinal and intermediate)
• Scale of Map: Shows how much of the world map covers
  • Large scale: Zoomed-in, detailed
  • Small scale: Zoomed-out, less detail

Categories of Maps

1. Reference Maps
   • Show geographic locations (e.g., road maps, political maps)
2. Thematic Maps
   • Display geographic data and information
   • Types:
     • Choropleth Map: Data with color variations
     • Cartogram: Size distortion based on data
     • Graduated Symbol Map: Symbols proportional to data
     • Dot Distribution Map: Data points represented by dots
     • Isoline Map: Lines for changes in data (e.g., elevation)

Common Map Projections

1. Mercator Projection
   • Useful for direction
   • Distorts size near poles
2. Peter's Projection
   • Accurate land size
   • Distorted land shape
3. Good Homolosine Projection
   • Accurate land shape
   • Breaks up oceans
4. Polar Projection
   • Accurate near poles
   • Distortion away from center
5. Robinson Projection
   • Minimal distortion
   • Compromise between Mercator and Peter's

Conclusion

• Call to action for students to review more
• Promotion of review guide for AP exams