Fall 2014 Introduction to Geography

Turmaganbetov Azat ID 20122082

Final Exam
1) Formal Region - (or uniform or homogenous region). An area in which everyone shares in
one or more distinctive characteristics. A formal region is defined as any geographic location
whose boundaries are clear and whose territory is set. There is no disagreement over the relative
area a formal region may occupy. Any country would serve as an adequate example of a formal
region, such as the United States, Russia, or China.
Central Asia: Central Asia is the core region of the Asian continent that include five republics of
the former Soviet Union: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.
Any country is an example of formal region.
Functional Region - (or nodal region). An area organized around a node or focal point. A
functional region is a region whose territory is organized around something central, such as a
newspaper. The distribution of a given local newspaper is limited to a certain area, which is its
functional region. The distribution of a local newspaper would suffice as functional region as
well as the fan base of a sports team.
Central Asia: For example, Air Astana Company has particular fly routes in Central Asia.
Vernacular Region - (or perpetual region). An area that people believe exists as part of their
identity. A vernacular region is nonexistent in a literal sense, and the territory it occupies is not
clearly defined. There is disagreement on the location of a given vernacular region, and stance is
dependent solely upon personal view. An example of a vernacular region in Kazakhstan in
particular would be the South. Any given person may have different beliefs of where the South is
located and what regions it encompasses.

Central Asia: in Almaty city people orients usually up the street or down, an orient is mountains.
People from another cities sometimes do not understand how it is up the Furmanov street.

2) Islam, Buddism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Bahai all of these religion unique, because they are
focus on particular reasoning, unite different people from different part of the world, they shows
the way of life that is more correct in terms of particular religion. They all had centers in
different countries where people are working on different social projects. They are all tolerant to
each other.
A universalizing religion is a religion that attempts to operate on a global scale and to appeal to
all people wherever they reside, compared to an ethnic religion, which primarily attracts one
group of people living in one place. Most universalizing religions are divided into branches,
denominations, and sects. By far the most practiced universalizing religion is Christianity.
Islam and Buddhism are other large universalizing religions. About 62% of the world's
population identify with a universalizing religion, with about 24% adhering to an ethnic religion
and 14% to no religion in particular. Sikhism, Bahai are ethnic religions.

3) Culture the local, customary way of doing things. (Yi Fu Tuan)

Because it shows importance of culture. And it is almost exactly a geographical definition
because it affects local way of doing things.

4) Five unifying themes of geography

I. Location: Position on Earth's Surface

Absolute and relative location are two ways of describing the positions and distribution of
people and places on the earth's surface. Absolute location answers the questions: Where is it?
Absolute location is nothing more than a simple dot--often identified as a grid coordinate on the
surface of the earth. Latitude and longitude can be used to pinpoint a location. For example,
absolute location of Aral Sea is 44-47north, 58-61east. Finding absolute location is the starting
point for geographic research.
Relative location is the relationship of a place to other places. For example, New Orleans is
located at the place where the Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico, which gives it
easy access to ocean and river shipping. Your home has a relative location. Where is it located in
relation to schools, stores, and convenient transportation? Location is only one piece of the
framework of geography, yet it is an important theme because it helps us know and express
where things are. Almaty is located in the foothills of Trans-Ili Alatau (or Zailiysky Alatau)
II. Place: Physical and Human Characteristics
The theme of place addresses this question: What is it like there? This theme considers the
characteristics that make one place different from all other places on earth. Geographers describe
a place by two kinds of characteristics: physical and human. The physical characteristics of a
place make up its natural environment and are derived from geological, hydrological,
atmospheric, and biological processes. They include landforms, bodies of water, climate, soils,
natural vegetation, and animal life. The human characteristics of a place come from human ideas
and actions. They include bridges houses, and parks. Human characteristics of place also
include land use, density of population, language patterns, religion, architecture, and political
systems. The theme of place helps flesh out information about location. Taken together, the
themes of location and place provide a basis for observation in geography. These themes can be
used to help answer the first two questions of geography: Where is it? and Why is it there? With
a sense of physical and human place, we can read the landscape around us and make

observations about what we see. we'll explore more about physical and human places when we
look at the theme of region.
For example, Medeu is an outdoor speed skating and bandy rink. Medeu sits 1,691 metres above
sea level, making it the highest skating rink in the world.
III. Regions:
A region is a basic unit of geographic study, it is defined as an area that has unifying
characteristics. The study of regions helps us answer these questions: How and why is one area
similar to another? How do the areas differ? Most regions differ significantly from adjoining
areas. Basically, there are three major types of regions.
Formal Region - (or uniform or homogenous region). A type of region marked by a certain
degree of homogeneity in one or more phenomena. For example: Central Kazakhstan, Central
Asia
Functional Region - (or nodal region). A region marked less by its sameness than its dynamic
internal structure: because it usually focuses on a central node. A functional region is a region
whose territory is organized around something central, such as a newspaper. The distribution of a
given local newspaper is limited to a certain area, which is its functional region. The distribution
of a local newspaper would suffice as functional region as well as the fan base of a sports team.
Vernacular Region - (or perpetual region). An area that people believe exists as part of their
identity. A vernacular region is nonexistent in a literal sense, and the territory it occupies is not
clearly defined. There is disagreement on the location of a given vernacular region, and stance is
dependent solely upon personal view. An example of a vernacular region in Kazakhstan in
particular would be the South. Any given person may have different beliefs of where the South is
located and what regions it encompasses.
IV. Human/Environment Interaction:

The physical and human characteristics of a place provide keys to understanding the
interrelationships between people and their environments. This geographic theme addresses this
question: What is the relationship between humans and the environment? Three key concepts
underlie human/environment relationships:
Humans depend on the environment: The natural environment is made up of living things and
non-living things. Humans depend on the natural environment for their basic needs: food, shelter,
and clothing. Humans modify the environment: People modify the natural environment to meet
their needs. For example, they build dams, plow and irrigate fields, and dig mines. They build
houses, schools, and shopping centers on land.
Humans adapt to the environment: Humans have settled in virtually every corner of the world by
successfully adapting to various natural settings. For example, people who live in the
northeastern Kazakhstan, particular in Astana use heating units to keep their homes warm in
winter People in the southern part of the country: Kyzylorda, Shymkent, Almaty use air
conditioning much of the year to stay cool in the heat. The ways people choose to adapt to their
settings reflect their economic and political circumstances and their technological abilities.
Studying geography furthers appreciation of our natural environment and of our cultural
differences.
V. Movement:
The theme movement addresses this question: How and why are places connected with one
another? Relationships between people in different places are shaped by the constant movement
of people, ideas, materials, and physical systems such as wind. Our world is in constant motion,
constantly changing. Like blood flowing through our bodies, movement brings life to a place.
There is a huge urbanization in East part of Kazakhstan, people from rural areas trying to migrate
to the city and live there permanently. It may depend on high volumes of heavy industry prevent
people in the villages.

5) Spatial interaction is the flow of products, people, services, or information among places, in
response to localized supply and demand. It is a transportation supply and demand relationship
that is often expressed over a geographical space. Spatial interactions usually include a variety of
movements such as travel, migration, transmission of information, journeys to work or shopping,
retailing activities, or freight distribution.
Edward Ullman, perhaps the leading transportation geographer of the twentieth century, more
formally addressed interaction as complementarity (a deficit of a good or product in one place
and a surplus in another), transferability (possibility of transport of the good or product at a cost
that the market will bear), and lack of intervening opportunities (where a similar good or product
that is not available at a closer distance).
Complementarity
The first factor necessary for interaction to take pace is complementarity. In order for trade to
take place, there has to be a surplus of a desired product in one area and a shortage or demand for
that same product in another area. The greater the distance, between trip origin and trip
destination, the less likelihood of a trip occurring and the lower the frequency of trips.
Transferability
The second factor necessary for interaction to take pace is transferability. In some cases, it is
simply not feasible to transport certain goods (or people) a great distance because the
transportation costs are too high in comparison to the price of the product. In all other cases
where the transportation costs are not out of line with price, we say that the product is
transferable or that transferability exists.

The third factor necessary for interaction to take place is the absence or lack of intervening
opportunities. There may be a situation where complementarity exists between an area with a
high demand for a product and several areas with a supply of that same product in excess of local
demand. In this particular case, the first area would be unlikely to trade with all three suppliers,
but would instead trade with the supplier that was closest or least costly.
Distance decay - is a geographical term, which describes the effect of distance on cultural or
spatial interactions. The distance decay effect states that the interaction between two locations
declines as the distance between them increases. Once the distance is outside of the two locales
activity space their interactions begin to decrease. Related terms include "friction of distance," -It
is easier to go to nearer places. Distance decay is when the interaction between the two places
increases. For example, imagine putting a magnet on your desk and putting an iron nail on it. The
farther you pull the iron nail away from the magnet, the less of a pull effect the magnet has on
the nail. Its the same with distance decay; as the distance between two entities increases, the
effect of their interaction decreases.
Kazakhstan occupies 77th place in the international trade volume rating, this is because
Kazakhstan has no outlet to the sea.

6) What is a centripetal force?

A centripetal force is a force or attitude that tends to unify people and enhance support for a
state. They provide stability, strengthen the state, help bind people together, and create solidarity.
There are several examples of what a centripetal force in a state can be. Religion is a centripetal
force in many states. For example, Hinduism in Nepal and India brings people together as they
feel a sense of unity. Islam in Pakistan and Bangladesh, as well as Buddhism in Bhutan, is
another example of religion as a centripetal force.

The term centripetal force comes from the Latin words centrum, meaning "center", and petere,
meaning "tend towards" or "aim at". They are forces that unite and bind a country together - such
as a strong national culture, shared ideological objectives, and a common faith.
Physical Geography: Kazakhstan is a good example for demonstrating how physical geography
is a centripetal force. Pakistan is isolated by mountains in the south and and the rest of surface
are deserts and semi deserts.
Language: Language acts as a specific centripetal force because it unites people through a
common form of communication. Russian, Kazakh, English and many others languages are in
the Kazakhstan. The Russian language is more unite people in Kazakhstan.

A centrifugal force is the exact opposite of a centripetal force. It is a force or attitude that tends
to divide a state. Centrifugal forces lead to Balkanization (the process by which a state breaks
down through conflicts among ethnicitiesas threat to world peace, not just in a small area), as
happened in the Balkans during WWI. Centrifugal forces are closely related not only to
Balkanization, but also to devolution, which is also the breaking apart of a state. Centrifugal
forces destabilize and weaken a state by disrupting the internal order of the state.
Just as centripetal forces were in abundance, centrifugal forces are as well. Many examples of
centripetal forces can also apply to centrifugal forces because they are in different context within
varying states. For example, the religion of Hinduism in India acts as a centripetal force, but in
Pakistan it is a different situation. Religious Muslims groups of Shiite and Sunni, act as a
centrifugal force because they fight amongst each other and break apart the state rather than
unify it. Other examples of religion as a centrifugal force in a state include Islam and Hindu in
India and Bangladesh, Buddhist and Hindu in Sri Lanka, Islam and Hindu in Kashmir, and Jains
and Hindu in India.

The term centrifugal force comes from the Latin words centrum, meaning "center" and fugere,
meaning "to flee". They are forces that divide a country - such as internal religious, linguistic,
ethnic or ideological differences.
Ethnic groups: According to the latest data, the indigenous ethnic group - Kazakhs constitute
the majority of the population (65%). The next major ethnic groups inhabiting the country are
Russian (21.8%), Uzbeks (3%), Ukrainians (1.8%), Uyghurs (1.4%), Tatars (1.2%) and others.
Physical Boundary: physical boundaries, like mountains and bodies of water, cause an obvious
split within states, In the east, north and north-west Kazakhstan borders with Russia, to the south
- with Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan, and on the south-east - with China.
Kazakhstan border runs along the Caspian Sea, then along the Volga steppes, rises northward to
the southern spurs of the Ural Mountains, then east along the West Siberian Plain to the Altai. On
the east it borders on ridges and Tarbagatai Dzhungaria in the south - the mountains of Tien Shan
and Turan lowland to the Caspian Sea. The total length of the borders of Kazakhstan is 12,187
km.
In other words, a centripetal force is a force which brings people together into a certain place.
High paying jobs in Chicago, for instance, would be a centripetal force which would bring
people from outlying areas into the city.
A centrifugal force, on the other hand, would be something which drives people away from a
certain place. Genocide, for example, might lead to a mass exodus in a country and would be
considered a centrifugal force.

7) Spatial variation is the variation across the landscape that is normally associated with
populations. Factors causing geographic variation include geologic differences that affect soil
type, and thus habitat, and weather patterns, e.g., differences in rainfall across the landscape. If
the immigration and emigration rates are high across the landscape, so that subpopulations that

are depleted because of local conditions, high spatial variation can lead to higher persistence.
This is because the probability of all the subpopulations of a population being affected
simultaneously by some catastrophe is low when high spatial variation exists. In contrast, with
low spatial variation, the likelihood of a bad year affecting the entire population is high. Thus, in
contrast to temporal variation, where increased variation leads to lowered persistence, increased
spatial variation leads to increased persistence given that immigration and emigration are
effectively mixing the subpopulations. If immigration and emigration are negligible, then spatial
variation divides the population into smaller subpopulations, which are more likely to suffer
extinction from the effect of demographic variation on small populations.

8) Semester was great; subject is quite interesting in comparison with the rest. Lots of useful and
interesting information. The most interesting part was discussions and personal opinions of the
professor and our groupmates. Personal experience of the particular situation, photos, videos, all
these interesting parts of this class were awesome. So thanks a lot, Dr. White. Hope You will
have fun holidays! =)