CHAPTER OUTLINE What Is Geography? Evolution of the Disc c Core Geographic Concepts s KEY WORDS Location, Direction, and Dista THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY2 CHAPTER ONE Introduction rn January 12, 2010, the world’s attention tumed to JHhait, where a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck near the capital city of Port-au-Prince (Figure 1.1). The quake occured along the Enriquillo-Plaintain Garden. fault, which had been locked for decades, building up stress as the Caribbean plate shifted 20 mm eastward each year relative to the North American plate. With an epicenter just 25 km (16 mi) west-southwest of the capital city of Port-au-Prince and rela- tively shallow at just 13 km (8.1 mi) below the surface, the quake affected the country’s most populated areas. By overlaying: maps of population and maps of earthquake intensity, it was estimated that 3.5 million of Haitis 9 million people experienced powerful shaking capable of moderate to very heavy damage. In the capital city, the devastation was astounding. As bodies were pulled from the rubble, the estimated death tol climbed to over 250,000, while the true number will never be known. After the quake, inadequate food supplies, untreated injuries, and disease outbreaks raised the death toll even highes. Key structures were destroyed or seriously damaged, including the presidential palace, the national assem- bly building, the national penitentiary, the main cathedral, the United Nations headquarters for Haiti the airport control tower, pport docks and cranes, hnury hotels, hospitals, and schools. The ‘destruction and loss of life hit rich as well as poor. Near the epi- center in the fishing village of Leogane, nearly every building was destroyed. Long.after the world’s media attention moved on, Hai- tians continue to work resiliently to rebuild their country’s govern- ‘ment buildings, schools, churches, businesses, homes, roads, and utilities, as wel as to rebuild their lives, institutions, and economy. News reports often refer to catastrophes such as these as “natural disasters,” but the devastating; human consequences of the earth- quake were not due to nature alone. The study of geography, by combining the study of earth systems and human societies, sheds important fight on such events. Natural disasters, such as husri- canes, floods, landslides, and earthquakes, that hit poor, develop- ing countries have death tolls many times higher than those that hic rich, developed counties. While the Haitian earthquake was powerful and hitin a highly populated area, poverty and its conse- {quences were also to blame forthe earthquake's huge toll and the ensuing problems encountered during rescue, relief, and recovery ‘work Haiti is the poorest country in the Westem Hemisphere and like other developing countries has undergone a massive migration fiom rural areas to the crowded city of Port-au-Prince. Haiti is ‘burdened by lane international indebtedness for loans taken out by previous, comupt governments but, in the years prior to the earthquake, had made substantial progress in stabilizing govern- ment institutions and renegotiating its international debts. At academic conferences, geologists had wamed ofthe extreme earth: quake risk in Haiti as seismic pressures built up along the fault But in a poor, indebted country where many houses are makeshift slum dwellings and day-to-day survival is a challenge for much of the population, updating and enforcing building codes, creat ing disaster preparation plans, and earthquake proofing even key public buiklings were not a priority The earthquake was a tragic setback fora country with few resources to draw upon. FIGURE 1.1 A street scene in Port-au-Prince, Hatt after the January 12, 2070, eerthquake, shoving the destruction and dlsplacement of people. © Damion Wins The Now Yerk Times Rec. Partly to blame for the many deaths were the lack of build ing codes specific to Haiti’ earthquake hazards and poor con- struction materials and techniques that could not withstand the forces of earthquakes. Limited financial resources meant litte for no government inspection and the temptation for builders to skimp on the amount of cement in their conerete and reduce or leave out the expensive reinforcing steel bars that are neces~ sary to enable masonry (brick or concrete block) and concrete buildings to resist the sideways forces of earthquakes. Ironically, the traditional rural dwelling constructed with a wood frame and tin roof was usually safer than newer concrete or masonry buildings. Ralief and recovery efforts were complicated by poor infra~ structure eystems, the lack of backup or alternate infrastructure systems, and tht lack of emergency services. Damaged port facili~ ties and roads, inadequate water systems, and a lack of reliable lectricity hindered recovery efforts. Extreme poverty meant there ‘wasno insurance claim or bank account to fall back upon for many Haitians who had lost homes, jobs, and family members. The ‘Hastian earthquake is a tragic reminder that human actions take place within the context of the environment. Its also a reminder that, just as maps and satellite images were essential tools in the rescue relief and recovery processes, many ofthe world’s pressing problems require a geographic understanding that takes in earth systems, the locational aspects of human activities, and the rela- tionships between human societies and their environment—all important themes in the discipline of geography: WHAT IS GEOGRAPHY? Many people associate the word geography simply with know- ing tobere things are: whether they be countries, such as Myan- mar and Uruguay; cities, such as Timbuktu or Almaty; or deposits of natural resources, such as petroleum or iron orc. Some people pride themselves on knowing which rivers are the longest, which mountains are the tallest, and which des- cts are the largest. Such factual knowledge about the world thas value, permitting us to place current events in their properspatial setting. When we hear of an earthquake in Turkey or an assault in Chechnya, we at least can visualize where they occurred, Knowing why they occurred in those places, how- ever, is considerably more important. Geography is much more than place names and locations. Is the study of spatial variation, of how and why things differ from place to place on the surface of the earth. It is, further, the study of how observable spatial patterns evolved through time, Just as knowing the names and locations of organs in the human body does not equip one to perform open-heart surgery, knowing where things are located is only the frst step ‘toward understanding why things are where they are, and what ‘events and processes determine or change their distribution, Why are earthquakes common in ‘Turkey but not in Russia, and why is Chechnya but not Tasmania wracked by insur gency? Why are the mountains in the exstern United States rounded and those in the western states taller and more rug ged? Why do you find a concentration of French speakers in Quebec but notin other parts of Canada? Tn answering questions such as these, geographers focus con the interaction of people and social” groups with ‘their eavironment—planet Earth—and with each other; they seek to understand how and why physical and cultural spatial patterns evolved through time and continue to change. Because geog- raphers study both the physical environment and human use ‘of that environment, they are sensitive to the variety of forces affecting a place and the interactions among them. To explain why Brazilians bum a significant portion of the tropical ran for~ cst each year, for example, they draw on their knowledge of the climate and soils of the Amazon Basin; population pressures, landlessness, and the need for more agricultural area in rural Brazil the country’s foreign debe status; midlaticude markets for umber, beef, and soy beans; and Brazil’s economic development objectives. Understanding the environmental consequences of the burning requires knowledge of, among other things, the oxy gen and carbon balance of the earth the contribution of the fires to the greenhouse effect, acid rain, and depletion of the ozone layer; and the relationships among deforestation, soil erosion, and floods. Geography, therefore, is about earth space and the con- tent of that space. We think of and respond to places from the standpoint of not only where they are but, what is more important, what they contain or what we think they contain, Reference to a place or an area usually calls up images about its physical nature or what people do there, and this often suggests to us, without our consciously thinking about it, how those physical things and activities are related. “Banglades,” “farm ing,” and “flooding” or “Colorado,” “mountains,” and “skiing’ are examples. The content of an area, that is, has both phy and cultural aspects, and geography is always concerned with understanding both (Figure 1.2). EVOLUTION OF THE DISCIPLINE Geography’ combination of interests was apparent even in the work of the early Greek geographers who first gave structute to the discipline. Geography’s name was reputedly coined by Intoduction CHAPTER ONE 3 FIGURE 1.2 Aspen, Colorado, demonetates changing Interactions between physical environment and huren actiaty, [Mineral resouross, mountainous tera, and abundant snowfall have made dlrent specialzed human uses attractwe and possible, The brick buildings in the foreground are the legacy ofits original sattiement as a siver mining town, peaking with aver 5000 residents in 1890 but decining to about 700 by 1930, The groomed ski slopes in the backround represent the town's current identity a a premier 84 resort, year-round tourist destination, anc home to ceebties, B Punchetcek FE the Greek scientist Eratosthenes over 2200 years ago from the words geo, “the carth,” and graphein, “to write.” From the beginning, that writing focused both on the physical structure cof the earth and on the nature and activities of the people who inhabited the various lands of the known world. To Strabo (c.64 CAD, 20), the task of geography was to “describe the several parts of the inhabited world, ...co write the assessment of the countries of the world [and] to treat the differences between countries.” Even carlics, Herodotus (c, 484-425 nc) had found it necessary to devote much of his writing to the lands, peoples, economies, and customs of the various parts of the Persian Empire as necessary background to an under standing of the causes and course of the Persian wars