• It is dif fic ult to forward a def in ition acceptable to all
geographers at all times due to the dynamic nature the subject and its scope in its long history. • However, the following may be accepted as a working definition. • Geography is the scientif ic study of the Earth that describes and analyses spatio-temporal distribution, variations, interactions and relationships phenomena( physical, biological and human) over the surface of the Earth 2 2. The Scope, Approaches and Themes of Geography • Geography is a holistic and interdisciplinary f ie ld of study contributing to the understanding of the changing spatial structures from the past to the future • The scope of geography is the interface of the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere, which provides the habitable zone in which humans are able to live. • Geography can be approached by considering a topical- regional continuum • The topical (systematic) –approach takes up particular categories of physical or human phenomena as distributed over the Earth • The Regional approach- focuses on concerns with the associations within regions of all or some of the elements and their interrelationships 3 Themes of geography • Geography has f iv e basic themes namely location, place, human-environment interaction, movement, and region. Location- is def ined as a particular place or position( Absolute and relative) Place refers to the physical and human aspects of a location. This theme is associated with toponym (the name of a place), site (the description of the features of the place), and situation (the environmental conditions of the place). Each place in the world has its unique characteristics expressed in terms physical and human elements The concept of “place” aids geographers to compare and contrast two places on Earth. 4 Cont…. • Human-Environment Interaction – humans as an active element in the ecology of the earth • Thus, human-environment interaction involves three distinct aspects: • Dependency- Dependency refers to the ways in which humans are dependent on nature for a living • Adaptation- Adaptation relates to how humans modify themselves, their lifestyles and their behavior to live in a new environment with new challenges • Modif ication Modif ication allowed humans to “conquer” the world for their comfortable living and desirable end. • Movement - entails to the translocation of human beings, their goods, and their ideas within different spatial and temporal scale. • Region- A region is a geographic area having distinctive characteristics that distinguishes itself from adjacent unit(s) of 5 Cont…, •It could be a formal region or functional/ nodal. 1.2. Location, Shape and Size of Ethiopia and the Horn
•The Horn of Africa, a region of eastern Africa, is a narrow tip that protrudes into the northern Indian Ocean, separating it from the Gulf of Aden. •It includes the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia, whose cultures have been linked throughout their long history. •In terms of size, Ethiopia is the largest of all the Horn of African countries, while Djibouti is the smallest. •The Horn contains diverse physical elements like the highlands of the Ethiopian Plateau, the Ogaden desert, and the Eritrean and Somali coasts as well as the human aspects. •1.2.1. Location of Ethiopia •The location of a country or a place on a map or a globe is expressed in two different ways. These are astronomical and relative locations 6 2 . Astronomical location, also known as absolute or mathematical location, states location of places using the lines of latitudes and longitudes. Astronomically, Ethiopia is located located between • 3oN (Moyale) and 15oN (Bademe - the northernmost tip of Tigray) latitudes and • 33oE (Akobo) to 48 oE (the tip of Ogaden in the east) longitudes. The latitudinal and longitudinal extensions are important in two ways. • First, as a result of its latitudinal extension the country experiences tropical climate • secondly due to its longitudinal extension there is a difference of one hour between the most easterly and most westerly points of the country Relative location expresses the location of countries or places with referen ce to th e location of oth er cou n tries (vicin al), landmasses or water bodies
7 • Thus in relative term, Ethiopia is a landlocked country located in; • East and South East of Sudan • West of Dijbouti • Northeast of south sudan • West and nortwest of Somalia • South and southwest of Eritrea • North of Kenya In relation to other features in the world the location of Ethiopia might be expressed in the following way, • In the Horn of Africa • Southwest of the Arabian Peninsula • South of Europe • Northwest of the Indian Ocean • In the Nile Basin
8 …Cont • The relative location of Ethiopia has implications for its: • Climate • Socio-cultural • Geopolitics • Hydropolitics
9 • 1.2.2. Size of Ethiopia • Ethiopia with a total area of approximately 1,106,000 square kilometers is the 8th largest country in Africa and 25th in the World. • The size of Ethiopia also affects both the natural and human environment of the country. The advantages and disadvantages of the size of Ethiopia are Advantages • Disadvantages •P o s s e s s d i v e r s e a g r o • De m ands gre at e r capit al to ecological zones construct infrastructural facilities •Variety of natural resources • Requires large army to protect its •Own extensive arable land territory •Has larger population size • Difficult for effective administration •Home for diverse cultures • D i f fic u l t f o r s o c i o - e c o n o m i c •G re at e r de pt h in de fe nse integration external invasion • •
10 • 1.2.3. The shape of Ethiopia and its Implication Countries of the World have different kinds of shape that can be divided into f iv e main categories: compact, fragmented, elongated, perforated, and protruded. There are various ways of measuring shape of countries. These measures are known as the indices of compactness. These indices measure the deviation of the shape of a country from a circular shape, which is the most compact shape. Since there is no country with absolutely circular shape, those approximating a circular shape are said to be more 11 compact …cont
• There are four most commonly used measures of
compactness. These are:
1. Area-Boundary(A/B) ratio: The ratio of area of country to its
boundary length. The higher the A/B ratio, the greater the degree of compactness.
2. Boundary-Circumference(B/C) ratio: The ratio of boundary
length of a country to the circumference of a circle having the same area as the country itself. • It measures how far the boundary of a country approximates the circumference of a circle of its own size. • Therefore, the nearer the ratio to 1 the more compact the 12 3. Area-Circumference(A/C) ratio. The ratio of the area of the country to the circumference of the smallest inscribing circle. • I t c o m pa re s t h e a re a o f t h e c o u n t r y w i t h t h e circumference of a circle that passes touching the extreme points on the boundary of the country. • The higher the A/C ratio, the greater the degree of compactness. 4. Area-Area (A/A’) ratio: The ratio of the actual area of a country to the smallest possible inscribing circle • The area of the inscribing circle is the area of the smallest possible circle whose circumference passes through the extreme points on the boundary. • Half-length of the longest distance between two extreme points gives radius of the inscribing circle. • The nearer the ratio to 1, the more compact the country is. 13 …cont Ethiopia’s shape compared to some other countries
Country Area(km2) B o und ar y A / B B / C A/C ratio
14 1.3. Basic Skills of Map Reading A map is a two-dimensional, diminished, simplif ied representation of part or whole of the Earth surface and its elements as viewed vertically from the above. Although many disciplines use maps, they have a special signif icance for Geographers as primary tools for displaying and analyzing spatial distributions, patterns and relations. Importance of maps • Provide the basis for making geographical details of regions • are powerful tools for making spatial analysis of geographical facts of areas represented. • are useful for giving location of geographical features by varied methods of grid reference, place naming etc. • are used on various disciplines like land use planning, military science, epidemiology, geology, economics, history, archaeology, agriculture etc. • make storage of the geographical data of areas represented. • are potentially used to asses’ reliable measurements of the geographical features. The measurements can be of area size, distance etc 15 Types of Map • There are many types of maps according to their purpose and functions. • For the purpose of this course, topographical and statistical maps are considered. a. Topographical maps: • depict one or more natural and cultural features of an area. • Contents of topographical maps depend on • purpose of a map, • scale of a map, • date of compilation, and • nature of the land represented. b. Special purpose/statistical maps: • These are maps, which show distribution of different aspects such as temperature, rainfall, settlement, vegetation etc. 16 Marginal Information on Maps (Elements of Maps) Marginal information •is shown on a map to enable the reading and interpretation of the geographical information of an area represented. •This includes the following major components Title: •It is the heading of the given map which tells what the map is all about. Key (legend): •It is the list of all convectional symbols and signs shown on the map with their interpretation. Scale: •It is the ratio between the distance on the map and the17 …Conti North arrow: •It is indicated with the north direction on a map; •used to know the other important directions of the mapped area like east, west, south, and west. Margin: •Is the frame of the map. •It is important for showing the end of the mapped area. Date of compilation: •It is a date of map publication. •This enables map users to realize whether the map is updated or outdated. 18 Fig: Marginal information of maps
19 1.3.1. Basic Principles of Map Reading • In developing map reading abilities and skills, certain basic principles must be applied by the map-reader to translate map symbols into landscape images. 1. Map Readers must have ideas about the symbol and also the real World (landscapes). 2. Secondly, knowledge of directions is an important principle in reading maps. 3. Next they should learn to read direction on a specific map and the location of the features shown on the map in relation to one another.
20 Understanding Your Map • In Understanding our map the most important concepts are the concept of direction and Location. • Maps are covered in a series of lines that make up a grid. And the grid helps us to understand the direction as well as the location of features. • The lines have numbers accompanying them that allow you to accurately pinpoint your location on a map. Once you have located where you are, the grid system makes it simple to give an accurate description of your location. • This description of location with a series of numbers is known as a grid reference.
21 Grid Referencing • Before you begin to look at grid references it is important to be aware that all the numbers going across the face of the map, for example, left to right, are called eastings (heading eastward), and • similarly, all the numbers going up the face of the map from bottom to top are called northings (heading in a northward direction). • There are two main types of grid reference: • the 4-digit Reference • the 6-digit Reference.
22 The 4-digit referencing • When giving a 4-figure grid reference you should always give the eastings number first and the northings number second.
• For example, the number 2 in the
diagram opposite is 19 across and 45 up and therefore the 4- figure grid reference is 1945. Q: Can you do the same for number 1, 3 and 4? 23 The 6-digit referencing • In this case, a single square given in 4-digit reference is further divided up into tenths. • Using the example, the grey box is in the square 1844. • More accurately it is 7 tenths across and 8 tenths up within the grid square 1844 and therefore has the 6-figure map reference 187448. • The shapes on the diagram would have the following 6-figure grid references: • The gray square = 187448, • The red circle = 185443 24
