Geography
Geography
This domain tests physical and human geography: map reading, regions, climate, migration, urbanization, and human-environment interaction. Expect map interpretation, projection distortion, and regional comparisons.
Core concepts
- Location: latitude and longitude; absolute vs. relative location.
- Maps: scale, projection, and distortion. Mercator preserves direction but exaggerates high-latitude area; equal-area projections preserve size but distort shape.
- Physical systems: plate tectonics, erosion, climate zones, biomes. New England's glaciated landscape includes thin soils, drumlins, and the Connecticut River valley.
- Human systems: population density, push-pull migration, demographic transition, urbanization, and economic globalization.
- Regions: formal, functional, and perceptual regions; site vs. situation.
Worked example
Why does Greenland look larger than Africa on a Mercator map? Mercator is a conformal projection designed for navigation: it keeps angles and compass directions locally accurate, but stretches area toward the poles. Africa straddles the equator, where distortion is minimal; Greenland sits at high latitude, so its area is greatly exaggerated. On an equal-area projection, Africa's true size-about 14 times Greenland's-is visible. The map is not 'wrong'; it serves a purpose, but its distortion matters for area comparisons.
Traps
- Confusing weather with climate.
- Treating a map as a neutral photograph.
- Mixing site (local physical setting) with situation (regional location).
- Assuming population growth is uniform across regions.