D:\pb48633\geo201\chap2-98.htm

GEOG 201

STUDY NOTES

SECTION, TOWNSHIP, RANGE SYSTEM

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CHAPTER 2

 

 

Two things are provided in this set of notes, first to remind you of the purpose behind the development of the Section, Township, Range method of surveying U.S. land I've listed five major points (note in considering the class lecture I've added one more that we talked about but wasn't in the summary list). Second, I've provided you with some sample notes on the first section of Chapter 2. These are a bit more detailed than were given for Chapter 1. The reason for this additional detail is to demonstrate the degree of care you should exercise in reading each of these chapters and making notes in class. If your current work is equal to or superior to these notes, then you should have no difficulty with this class. If, however, your notes are not this good then you will find it quite beneficial to spend more time polishing your study skills. Realize that these same analytical skills will be very useful in your future career regardless of what field you eventually choose. This means that the time invested now in developing good note taking skills will result in high pay-offs in the future.

 

PUBLIC LAND SYSTEM: SECTION, TOWNSHIP, RANGE SYSTEM (click here for more notes)

 

Chapter 2 (Before reading the chapter be sure to skim the Key Issues and the Key Terms -- together these are like a road map and decoder telling you where you will be going and key new "buzz" words to describe your journey)

I. INTRODUCTION

Demography -- definition -- the scientific study of population characteristics.

A. Examples of characteristics:

1) Sex characteristic -- more males are born, but more females survive to old age, the cause of this is speculative but may relate to the tradition of males taking more risks or working in more hazardous professions. (BUT remember what was pointed-out about China, and click here to find out an opposite condition in Japan)

2) Age pyramids -- a tool we discussed in class describing the relationship between age, gender and the proportion of total population.

3) Growing countries versus stable or declining countries and reasons for these variations.

B. Important results Demographers have found:

1) More people are alive today then ever -- over 5 billion

2) Most rapid increase since WWII

3) Population growth concentrated in Poor Countries

C. Overpopulation -- relates population to available resources (carrying capacity).

-this chapter describes distribution and growth patterns of population

-other chapters discuss resource location.

-note overpopulation is not a universal number but a relationship developed for a particular location (i.e. 1 person/sq mile might be overpopulation in the Sahara, but not in Bellingham)

 

II. Where is the World's Population Distributed?

A. Population Concentrations

1) 3/4ths world pop. on 5% of total world surface

2) Most people live near Oceans (80% within 800km)

ECUMENE -- def. -- portion of the earth's surface occupied by permanent human settlement.

3) Approximately 3/4th of world pop. located in 5 clusters(all but SE Asia between 10 & 50 degrees N latitude):

1. East Asia -- PRC, Japan, Korea

2. South Asia -- India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal...

3. Southeast Asia -- Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia...

4. Europe -- UK to Russia, Sweden to Greece

5. North America -- NE U.S. and SE Canada

4) East Asia 1.5 billion???, 25% world total

PR China -estimates from 1.2 to 1.4 billion

-75% rural mostly agriculture

-coastal concentration, sparse interior

Japan 125 million (and declining)

-75% urban

-84% of country is hill/mountains

-need to import food

-about the size of Idaho

5) Review book for details on other four regions

B. Sparse Regions

1) Based on Physical characteristics:

1. Dry

2. Wet

3. Cold

4. High

2) Simple rule on wet and dry regions:

DRY(1) from 50 degrees N latitude to 15

WET from 20 N latitude to 20 degrees S latitude

DRY(2) from 20 S latitude to 50 degrees

--close to a 50-20-20-50 rule of thumb

3) Investigate Fig 2-1 for desert areas, be able to find them in N. Africa (Sahara), U.S. (Southwest), Asia (Arabian, Gobi,...), and Australia in south -- 20% of land surface.

4) Again use Fig 2-1 for Wet Tropical areas, be able to find Amazon, Central Africa, & center of SE Asia.

5) For high altitude areas be able to locate the Himalayas north of India and Rocky Mountains in US and Canada.

C. Density -- Population measure/ Resource measure

1) Arithmetic Density = People/Area

-simple, easy to find, but not very useful

2) Physiological Density = People/Arable Land

-demonstrates a measure of carrying capacity of a country (how much food might be produced locally)

-Carrying Capacity is key

3) Agricultural Density = # of Farmers/Arable Land

-demonstrates a measure of economic development, more developed countries tend to have few very large farms, underdeveloped have many small ones.

-Agriculture Efficiency (development level) is key

4) Investigate Table 2-1,

-note that India and UK have nearly identical Arithmetic Densities (India little denser, more people per acre)

-for Physiological density India is better-off than UK (more arable land per person)

-but for Agricultural density no similarity, UK obviously the developed country, India a subsistent agricultural one.

-look also at % farmers and % arable.

I hope this example is of use to you. This is the level of detail that you should be obtaining from your notes, review them and make sure that in fact you are.

III. Where has the World's Population Increased

A. Tools used in answering the question:

 

B. Know what doubling time is and how it has been changing and why that is important

C. Total Fertility Rate -- this relates to the number of children per woman -- a value of just over 2 (2.1) means a society is able to replace itself (one new for every man and woman already alive), under means decline, over means growth. Japan is at about 1.3tfr what does that mean? Look at Figure 2.9, spatially where is growth greatest?

D. Mortality -- what does infant mortality and life expectancy mean? Is it quiet different for developed and developing countries?

 

IV. Why is population increasing at different rates in different countries?

 

V. Why might the world face an overpopulation problem?