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Library of Congress Control Number: 2022931558
ISBN: 978-1-119-86712-8 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-86713-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-86714-2 (ebk)
Contents at a Glance
Part
Part 3: Peopling the Planet
Part 4: Putting the Planet to Use
Part 5: The Part
Truthiness in Mapping
PART 3: PEOPLING THE PLANET
Introduction
Has there been a better teacher of geography than COVID-19? I don’t mean that as a joke. That deadly serious disease showed how interconnected our world has become. Within a matter of months, people worldwide were exposed to something that they could not see that up-ended everything else that they could.
I was in Sweden in March 2020 when the world was shut down. I was traveling with colleagues to several universities to explore partnerships, discuss joint research opportunities, and so on. Being in charge of 14 other people is a challenge by itself, but managing them after being forced home by one’s government as airlines cancel flights is quite another. Gothenburg to Charlotte via Frankfort was the original plan. Then Frankfort fell out. Agents suggested routes home via Brazil (!) and then Canada. Finally, an option opened through Brussels, but a stop in Washington D.C. was necessary as the government declared only a few airports could accept international travelers. How we organize travel networks across space — and what can happen when links within them fail — is of crucial geographic importance, as you can see.
Later we learned of the intricacy of spatial business connections as supply chains were stressed, and then political scale (who is responsible for public health decisions? The state or federal government?), and then spatial ethics as well-off countries secured vaccine supplies in numbers far greater than their poorer neighbors. COVID-19 laid bare how understanding where, why there, and why should I care — the essence of geographic thinking — is paramount in living on 21st century Earth.
Even at its worst — such as in the middle of a global pandemic — Earth is a very fascinating place. The purpose of geography is to convey the wonderment of it all and to explain how the world works. In this book I emphasize the interactions between the various things that characterize Earth’s physical and human features and how they relate to everyday life.
Hopefully, the chapters that follow will instill in you some measure of the excitement I have for understanding our home, and whet your appetite for more.
About This Book
Introductory books on geography generally come in two varieties. This one takes a topical approach to the subject. That means the chapters focus on topics of interest to geography, such as maps, climate, population, and culture. I wanted this book to focus on the key concepts of geography and introduce you to a wide range of geographic information. Basically, I thought those goals could best be achieved by taking a topical approach.
The alternative was to take a regional approach to geography, which is like a world tour. You know what I mean, right? Chapter 4: Europe. Chapter 5: Africa. And so forth. In all candor, I didn’t think I could give you a decent world tour in the allotted pages. Besides, books like that are already on the market, so why reinvent the wheel?
More importantly, I wanted Geography For Dummies to emphasize geography rather than the world per se. That may cause you to say, “Wait a minute! Isn’t geography all about the world?” The answer is yes, but in a larger sense, geography is about a whole lot more. Specifically, it’s about concepts and processes and connections between things, plus maps and tools and perspectives that combine individual “world facts” and give you big pictures that are so much more meaningful than their myriad components.
Parenthetically, there’s a curious thing about those geography-as-world-tour books. They all seem to start by telling you geography is so much more than facts about the world, and then spend 350 pages telling you facts about the world.
Foolish Assumptions
I’m going to assume that you are an average person who is curious about the world but who just happens to have a limited background in geography. And I firmly believe “average” means intelligent, so nothing is out of bounds because of the gray stuff between your ears. Instead, in my view, you are completely capable of digesting the stuff of geography. You may be 14, or 44, or 84. It doesn’t matter. As far as I am concerned, you’re ready for prime-time geography. Please understand I’m not talking wimpy stuff like “What’s the capital of Nevada?” No way. I’m talking big league stuff like how you can have a rainforest on one side of a mountain range and a desert on the other; or how to choose a good location for a wind farm; or how ocean currents help to determine the geography of climates.
I’m also going to assume that, generally speaking, you know your way around the world. Thus, when you see terms like Pacific Ocean, Nile River, Europe, or Japan, some kind of mental map pops up inside your head and allows you to “see” where they are located. On the other hand, when you meet up with terms like Burkina Faso or Myanmar, you may need some outside help. For that reason, it will be helpful to have an atlas or online reference handy.
Finally, if this book were a beer, then I’m assuming you went to your bookstore to pick up some Geography Lite. That is, you want the real thing, but figure you don’t need all the calories. One of my goals is to make this book a painless — and indeed a pleasurable — experience. A lite-hearted read, if you will, that also communicates some serious geography and leaves you with a well-rounded exposure to the subject. If that sounds about right, then I invite you to keep reading.
Icons Used in This Book
From time to time you will encounter icons in the margin of the text. The purpose of these icons is to alert you to the presence of something that is comparatively noteworthy amidst the passing prose. That may be something I regard as particularly important, or something you may wish to take your time to think about, or something you may wish to skip. In any event, here are the icons and their meanings.
This icon identifies a major concept or helps to make sense of something. Likewise, you will sometimes come across a sentence or phrase that captures the essence of a principle or the theme of a chapter or of the entire book. Those kinds of tidbits are especially worth remembering and are identified by this icon. If you take away from this book only the information flagged with this icon, you’ll have the basics of geography in your pocket.
Like many subjects, geography contains some specialized and perhaps arcane vocabulary terms that cause normal, well-adjusted people like you to scratch their heads. I could bypass this geo-jargon altogether, but then you really wouldn’t be discovering more about geography, would you? In addition, geography involves elements of math, science, technology, ecology, modeling, and other technical stuff. Some will show up in this book because they are relevant to a well-rounded geographic education even at this introductory level. I do appreciate, however, that some people may find these a bit too complicated, so this icon alerts you to the presence of such technical stuff. You can skip it if you wish.
Some aspects of geography are a little involved, so it’s always nice to encounter information that helps you simplify a process or make things easier to comprehend. Those are the kinds of items this icon pinpoints.
Beyond the Book
In addition to the abundance of information and guidance related to geography that we provide in this book, you get access to even more help and information online at Dummies.com. Check out this book’s online Cheat Sheet. Just go to www.dummies.com and search for “Geography For Dummies Cheat Sheet.”
Where to Go from Here
I recommend you read this book from start to finish as you would a novel. To some extent, geographic knowledge is cumulative. That is, there are basic concepts and information that provide a foundation for understanding other concepts and information.
Accordingly, the parts and chapters of this book follow a certain logical progression. In short, I do believe the content of this book will make more sense to you if you read this volume from start to finish.
However, if you wish, you can dive into chapters at random — each chapter is set up to be self-contained. The choice is yours!
1 Getting Grounded: The Geographic Basics
IN THIS PART . . .
Each and every academic discipline has its own particular and peculiar subject matter. Geography is no exception, but my, how things have changed!
For the longest period, geography was concerned primarily with mapping the world and acquiring facts about places. It has since become a much more analytical pursuit. Thus, the time-honored imperative to know where things are located is complemented by an equally strong (if not stronger) desire to know why they occur where they do. Geography is an applied discipline, seeking to identify the best, efficient, and fair locations for all sorts of human activities. Importantly, geography also works to understand places of difference and inequity with an eye toward making life better there — for people and the environment.
In this part, you will discover the key concepts and methods of contemporary geography as well as the principal tools and techniques of the trade. Among other things you will see how exciting technologies are giving geographers unprecedented perspectives on where and why.
IN THIS CHAPTER
» Contemplating a complex planet
» Unearthing myths
» Tracing the ancient roots of geography to the modern discipline
» Finding a new way to look at geography
» Going over some basic concepts
Chapter 1
Geography: The Why of Where and Why You Should Care
“
We should cross here.”
Staring at the broad expanse of the Galana River in southern Kenya, my response to our guide was to tilt my head to the side and say incredulously, “Are you sure?”
After all, I could look further upstream and see that the river was narrower and there were some rocks we could use to hop across. Why on Earth should we cross at the widest and deepest part? I don’t mind getting wet, but a chest-deep slog just didn’t make sense to me.
“Well, we could cross up there,” our guide said while pointing toward the rocks, “but that’s also where the crocodiles hang out. We will do better down here to walk in a group, splashing as we go to mimic a large elephant.” And so we did, and no one in our group became a croc’s lunch.
What we discover from this anecdote is that what makes sense in one place — say, something as simple as crossing a river on a set of rocks — is a really bad decision somewhere else. Place matters. In this case, it really was a life-or-death situation.
That short story should also make it quite plain that you live on a very interesting planet. Earth is a world of never-ending variety — mountains and plains, deserts and forests, oceans and croc-infested rivers. If, as Shakespeare once wrote, “All the world’s a stage,” then one could hardly imagine a greater range of sets and scenery than exists on planet Earth.
You are an actor on that stage, and you are not alone. The entire cast numbers nearly 8 billion, and they are as diverse as their Earthly stage. They practice dozens of religions, speak many hundreds of languages, and display thousands of cultures. They live in scattered farmhouses, large cities, and every size settlement in between. They practice every kind of livelihood imaginable and, in innumerable ways great and small, have interacted with and changed the natural environment forever.
So “interesting planet” and “never-ending variety” turn out to be code for “complex.” Truly, this is a complex world in which no two areas are exactly alike. On the one hand, this complexity makes for a very fascinating planet. But on the other hand, the prospect of learning all about this complexity can be overwhelming, or at least sometimes seems to be. Fortunately, one subject seeks to make sense of it all and, usually, does a pretty good job: Geography.
Geography: Making Sense of it All
People are fascinated by the world in which they live. They want to know what it’s like and why it is the way it is. Most importantly, they want to understand their place in it. Geography satisfies this curiosity and provides practical knowledge and skills that people find useful in their personal and professional lives. This is nothing new.
From ancient roots . . .
Geography comes from two ancient Greek words: ge, meaning “Earth,” and graphe, meaning “to describe.” So, when the ancient Greeks practiced geography, they described Earth. Stated less literally, they noted the location of things, recorded the characteristics of areas near and far, and used that information in matters of trade, commerce, communication, and administration.
Disputed paternity
A Greek named Eratosthenes (died about 192 B.C.) is sometimes called the “Father of Geography” since he coined the word “geography.” The Greeks themselves called Homer the “Father of Geography” because his epic poem, Odyssey, written about a thousand years before Eratosthenes was born, is the oldest account of the fringe of the Greek world. In addition to these gentlemen, at least two other men have been named “Father of Geography,” all of which suggests a very interesting paternity suit. But I digress. That the story goes back to the days of the Greeks tells us that geography is a very old subject. This is not to say that others, say Arabs or the Chinese, were not also thinking about how to describe Earth. People of every age and culture have sought to know and understand their immediate surroundings and the world beyond. They stood at the edges of seas and imagined distant shores. They wondered what lies on the other side of a mountain or beyond the horizon. Ultimately, of course, they acted upon those speculations. They explored. They left old lands and occupied new lands. And as a result, millennia later, explorers such as Columbus, Magellan, and others found humans almost everywhere they went.
Links to exploration
Geographers from ancient Greece through the 19th century were largely devoted to exploring the world, gathering information about newly found (to them!) lands, and indicating their locations as accurately as possible on maps. Sometimes the great explorers and thinkers got it right, and sometimes they did not (see the sidebar called “Measuring the Earth”). But in any event, geography and exploration became intertwined; so, “doing geography” became closely associated with making maps, studying maps, and memorizing the locations of things (see Chapters 3 through 5 for information on locating things and creating and reading maps).
. . . To modern discipline
During the past two centuries, and especially during the past several decades, geography has blossomed and diversified. Old approaches that focused on location and description have been complemented by new approaches that emphasize analysis, explanation, and significance. On top of that, satellites, computers, and other technologies now allow geographers to record and analyze information about Earth to an extent and degree of sophistication that were unimaginable just a few years ago.
MEASURING THE EARTH
In the third century B.C., the Greek scholar Eratosthenes made a remarkably accurate measurement of Earth’s circumference. At Syene (near Aswan, Egypt), the sun illuminated the bottom of a well only one day every year. Eratosthenes inferred correctly this could only happen if the sun were directly overhead the well — that is, 90° above the horizon. By comparing that sun angle with another one measured in Alexandria, Egypt, on the same day the sun was directly overhead at Syene, Eratosthenes deduced that the distance between the two locations was one-fiftieth (1/50th) of Earth’s circumference. Thus, if he could measure the distance from Syene to Alexandria and multiply that number times 50, the answer would be the distance around the entire Earth.
There are diverse accounts of the method of measurement. Some say Eratosthenes had his assistants count camel strides (yes, camel strides) that they measured in stade, the Greek unit of measurement. In any event, he came up with a distance of 500 miles between Syene and Alexandria. That meant Earth was about [500 x 50 =] 25,000 miles around (“about” because the relationship between stade and miles is not exactly known). The actual circumference is 24,901 miles at the equator, so Eratosthenes was very close.
Interesting fact: The circumference is 41 miles less pole to pole; more on that in Chapter 4!
About a century-and-a-half later, another Greek named Posidonius calculated Earth’s circumference and due to differences in the lengths of Roman versus Greek stadia, others reported his measurement as 18,000 miles. Posidonius’ measurement became the generally accepted distance mainly thanks to Strabo, the great Roman chronicler, who simply did not believe that Earth could be as big as Eratosthenes said it was. About 18 A.D. Strabo wrote his Geography, which became the most influential treatise on the subject for more than a millennium. Geography credited the calculations of Posidonius and rejected those of Eratosthenes. And that leads to an interesting bit of speculation. Columbus was familiar with Geography, so he was aware of the official calculation of Earth’s circumference — 18,000 miles. Had he known the true circumference was 25,000 miles, like Eratosthenes said, Columbus would have known that China was thousands of miles farther to the west than Strabo suggested. And if he had known the true distance to China, would Columbus ever have set sail?
As a result, modern geographers are into all kinds of stuff. Some specialize in patterns of climate and climate change. Others investigate the distribution of diseases, or the location of health care facilities. Still others specialize in urban and regional planning, or resource conservation, or issues of social justice and equality, or patterns of crime, or optimal locations for businesses — the list goes on and on. Certainly, the ancient ge and graphe still apply, but geography is much more than it used to be.
Exposing Misconceptions: More Than Maps and Trivia
Geography is a widely misunderstood subject. Many people believe it’s only about making maps, studying maps, and memorizing locations. One reason is that polls and pundits occasionally decry the “geographic ignorance” of Americans, which usually means the average person doesn’t know where important things are located. Presumably, therefore, if you memorize the world map, then you “know geography.” Another reason is that on many TV quiz shows, contestants are occasionally asked “geography questions.” Almost always, the answer is a fact that can be understood by studying a map and/or memorizing the locations of things or events.
Knowledge of the location of things is important and useful. Everything happens somewhere; and if you know the where, then the event has meaning that it otherwise would not. So map memorization is cool, but you need to keep it in perspective. Memorizing locations is to geography what memorizing dates is to history, or what memorizing the multiplication table is to mathematics. Namely, it’s a foundation — a base — upon which you can build and develop deeper understandings.
Have you ever asked an English professor if they know the 26 letters of the alphabet? Of course not! It’s silly. But care to guess how many times I have been asked to rattle off a list of state or country capitals? It’s equally as silly. Just as letters build words, and then words build sentences, and then those sentences become ideas to share, so too are places. For a geographer, places are like our alphabet, a starting point to explain the complexity of Earth. The bottom line is: There is more to geographic awareness than where something is. As other geographers have stated, we need to think about where, why there, and why we should care.
The Geographic Advantage
Geographers still make maps and study them, and certainly, geography still consists of subject matter that cries out to be memorized. But map memorization and descriptive studies take a back seat to analysis, explanation, and significance. Geographers have a unique lens by which they try to understand Earth, and this approach comes with several advantages.
Geographer Susan Hanson described the Geographic Advantage as a focus on the
» relationships between people and the environment
» importance of spatial variability
» processes operating at multiple and interlocking geographic scales
» integration of spatial and temporal analysis
What this means is that geographers, more than other scholars, look at how people interact with the natural world, appreciate how interactions vary from place to place and from the local to the global, and link those processes and changes over time.
A favorite definition of mine for geography encapsulates much of this and comes from Chinese–American geographer Yi-Fu Tuan. He stated quite simply and elegantly that “Geography is the study of Earth as the home of people.” That says it all, doesn’t it? If geography is just the study of Earth, well then isn’t also geology or oceanography? If geography is just the study of the home of people, we then isn’t also anthropology? It is the combination of the two together, understanding physical and social systems jointly operating in this one space — Earth — that makes all the difference.
What is the capital city of Indonesia?
To highlight the difference between old, descriptive geography (what far too many studied as “geography” in school) and analytical geography, first consider this question: What is the capital city of Indonesia? Do you know? The question is classic “old geography,” and the answer is Jakarta. Right?
Why is Jakarta the capital of Indonesia?
Now consider this question: Why is Jakarta the capital city of Indonesia? That’s right, “Why?” This question involves analysis and explanation. The capital of Indonesia could be any number of cities. Indeed, several cities have been over its history with Jakarta finally assuming the role in 1949. But there’s a catch to this question now. Indonesia has a plan in place to create a new capital city farther east in East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. This is serious business as a country doesn’t just decide to move its capital every day. But this has been done before (just ask Brazil or Nigeria). So why are Indonesians considering moving theirs? Here are a couple of reasons:
» An unpleasant setting: Jakarta is densely populated, has overburdened infrastructure, is sinking due to over withdrawal of groundwater, and floods frequently. A new location would allow growth and it would be generally free from environmental hazards such as volcanoes and earthquakes.
» In the middle of it all: Jakarta is on the western edge of the country. East Kalimantan is in the middle. Having the capital in the center of the country is important because Indonesia is flung across thousands of miles. A central location does more to integrate the citizenry and a central location also maximizes access to the seat of power.
To sum up, I asked two questions: “What is the capital of Indonesia?” and “Why is Jakarta the capital of Indonesia?” Nothing is wrong with either question. But I trust you agree that the second is the more profound of the two. It calls for a deeper, more analytical brand of thinking and it leaves you with a more penetrating perspective on the geography of Indonesia and the significance of a number of factors. It can also lead us to other questions such as “What would it take for Indonesia to consider moving its capital? And if it did, what geographic conditions would be necessary in deciding on a new location?” Chapter 2 expands on how to “think” geographically.
Getting to the Essentials
To get you accustomed to thinking geographically, this volume makes use of unifying concepts that will help you to understand the breadth and structure of the discipline. But what are these unifying concepts? Yogi Berra once supposedly ordered a pizza pie and was asked if he wanted it cut into four slices or eight. He opted for four and explained, “I don’t think I can eat eight.” Whether or not the story is true, a pizza pie is a pizza pie, no matter how you slice it up. The same is true of geography. In a manner of speaking, it’s a very big pizza pie. Over the years, geographers have devised different ways to cut it up in order to help people like you grasp its breadth and content. If you are a school teacher, you may have heard of the Five Themes of Geography or maybe even the Four Traditions. As I said, there have been many attempts to do this!
The “geography pizza slices” I’m going to introduce you to are The Six Essential Elements. They were developed by several professional geography organizations as part of the (United States) National Geography Standards, which describe in detail “what a geographically informed person knows and understands.” The National Geography Standards were written with the advice and input of professionals who specialize in diverse aspects of geography and, accordingly, represent
a broad consensus of its scope and structure. Specifically, therefore, I have chosen The Six Essential Elements, which are:
» The world in spatial terms
» Places and regions
» Physical systems
» Human systems
» Environment and society
» Uses of geography
These may sound somewhat imposing, but rest assured, they refer to simple concepts that you encounter in your everyday life. Indeed, you are already familiar with each of them, though perhaps not by their formal titles. I can prove it to you.
Where things are in the world: The world in spatial terms
You probably have a preferred grocery store, clothing store, and restaurant, plus a map in your head that tells you where they are and how to get to them. What’s more, you could probably conjure up a route to visit all three in a single excursion and draw me a sketch map of the itinerary. If so, then you are already familiar with the world in spatial terms.
Spatial refers to the location and distribution of things and how they interrelate. Accordingly, the world in spatial terms responds to geography’s most fundamental question: Where? Getting a handle on this element involves:
» Knowing how to use and read maps and atlases, whether paper or digital, and identify how they can lie to you (yes, you read that correctly).
» Acquiring a general understanding of the tools and techniques that geographers use to accurately locate things.
» Being able to indicate the location of something using the system of latitude and longitude, or plain language.
» Seeing relationships that explain the locations of things.
» Recalling from memory the location of things on Earth’s surface.
These are basic skills to build on. On top of that, you’ll never have to worry if somebody tells you to “Get lost!”
