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118-835: The Long Hills were mapped by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from surveys and United States Navy aerial photographs, 1958–60. They were named by the United States Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) for William E. Long, a geologist with the Horlick Mountains Traverse , 1958–59, and also a member of the Ohio State University expedition to the Horlick Mountains in 1960–61 and 1961–62. The Long Hills are in

236-474: A "bitter river" ( Oceanus ), with seven islands arranged around it so as to form a seven-pointed star. The accompanying text mentions seven outer regions beyond the encircling ocean. The descriptions of five of them have survived. In contrast to the Imago Mundi , an earlier Babylonian world map dating back to the 9th century BC depicted Babylon as being further north from the center of the world, though it

354-568: A changing world". The agency's previous slogan, adopted on its hundredth anniversary, was "Earth Science in the Public Service". Since 2012, the USGS science focus has been directed at topical "Mission Areas" that have continued to evolve. Further organizational structure includes headquarters functions, geographic regions, science and support programs, science centers, labs, and other facilities. The USGS regional organization aligns with

472-402: A consequence of accessibility ." Geography is a branch of inquiry that focuses on spatial information on Earth. It is an extremely broad topic and can be broken down multiple ways. There have been several approaches to doing this spanning at least several centuries, including "four traditions of geography" and into distinct branches. The Four traditions of geography are often used to divide

590-593: A federal survey agency, in part to inventory the vast lands added to the United States by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the Mexican–American War in 1848. The USGS was authorized on March 3 in a last-minute amendment to an unrelated bill that charged the new agency with the "classification of the public lands, and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products of

708-526: A focus on space, place, time, and scale. Today, geography is an extremely broad discipline with multiple approaches and modalities. There have been multiple attempts to organize the discipline, including the four traditions of geography, and into branches. Techniques employed can generally be broken down into quantitative and qualitative approaches, with many studies taking mixed-methods approaches. Common techniques include cartography , remote sensing , interviews , and surveying . Geography

826-418: A geographic information system). Remote sensing aids in land use, land cover (LULC) mapping, by helping to determine both what is naturally occurring on a piece of land and what human activities are taking place on it. Geostatistics deal with quantitative data analysis, specifically the application of a statistical methodology to the exploration of geographic phenomena. Geostatistics is used extensively in

944-610: A high level of information for Ptolemy to construct detailed atlases . He extended the work of Hipparchus , using a grid system on his maps and adopting a length of 56.5 miles for a degree. From the 3rd century onwards, Chinese methods of geographical study and writing of geographical literature became much more comprehensive than what was found in Europe at the time (until the 13th century). Chinese geographers such as Liu An , Pei Xiu , Jia Dan , Shen Kuo , Fan Chengda , Zhou Daguan , and Xu Xiake wrote important treatises, yet by

1062-493: A history, they also exist in space and have a geography. For something to exist in the realm of geography, it must be able to be described spatially. Thus, space is the most fundamental concept at the foundation of geography. The concept is so basic, that geographers often have difficulty defining exactly what it is. Absolute space is the exact site, or spatial coordinates, of objects, persons, places, or phenomena under investigation. We exist in space. Absolute space leads to

1180-449: A lack of accuracy and detail in comparison to older generation maps based on aerial photo surveys and field checks. As the digital databases were not designed for producing general-purpose maps, data integration can be a problem when retrieved from sources with different resolutions and collection dates. Human-made features once recorded by direct field observation are not in any public domain national database and are frequently omitted from

1298-626: A new way to view their entire digitized collection of over 178,000 maps from 1884 to 2006. The site is an interactive map of the United States that allows users to search or move around the map to find the USGS collection of maps for a specific area. Users may then view the maps in great detail and download them if desired. In 2008 the USGS abandoned traditional methods of surveying, revising, and updating topographic maps based on aerial photography and field checks. Today's U.S. Topo quadrangle (1:24,000) maps are mass-produced, using automated and semiautomated processes, with cartographic content supplied from

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1416-410: A non-metric scale virtually unique to the United States. Each of these maps covers an area bounded by two lines of latitude and two lines of longitude spaced 7.5 minutes apart. Nearly 57,000 individual maps in this series cover the 48 contiguous states , Hawaii , U.S. territories , and areas of Alaska near Anchorage , Fairbanks , and Prudhoe Bay . The area covered by each map varies with

1534-846: A number of water-related programs, notably the National Streamflow Information Program and National Water-Quality Assessment Program. USGS Water data is publicly available from their National Water Information System database. The USGS also operates the National Wildlife Health Center , whose mission is "to serve the nation and its natural resources by providing sound science and technical support, and to disseminate information to promote science-based decisions affecting wildlife and ecosystem health. The NWHC provides information, technical assistance, research, education, and leadership on national and international wildlife health issues." It

1652-565: A product with greater information than a two-dimensional image of places, names, and topography. This approach offers more inclusive strategies than more traditional cartographic approaches for connecting the complex layers that makeup places. Ethnographical research techniques are used by human geographers. In cultural geography , there is a tradition of employing qualitative research techniques, also used in anthropology and sociology. Participant observation and in-depth interviews provide human geographers with qualitative data. Geopoetics

1770-684: A result, some have noted that the U.S. Topo maps currently fall short of traditional topographic map presentation standards achieved in maps drawn from 1945 to 1992. The Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) has four sections within its organizational structure; the Field Services Section which includes the warehouse, repair shop, and Engineering Unit; the Testing Section which includes the Hydraulic Laboratory, testing chambers, and Water Quality Laboratory;

1888-479: A single person from a single location. The European Age of Discovery during the 16th and the 17th centuries, where many new lands were discovered and accounts by European explorers such as Christopher Columbus , Marco Polo , and James Cook revived a desire for both accurate geographic detail and more solid theoretical foundations in Europe. In 1650, the first edition of the Geographia Generalis

2006-434: A structured or semi-structured approach during interviews involving specific questions or discussion points when utilized for research purposes. These questions are designed to extract focused information about the research topic while being flexible enough to allow participants to express their experiences and viewpoints, such as through open-ended questions. The concept of geography is present in all cultures, and therefore

2124-439: A system. The amount of time an individual, or group of people, spends in a place will often shape their attachment and perspective to that place. Time constrains the possible paths that can be taken through space, given a starting point, possible routes, and rate of travel. Visualizing time over space is challenging in terms of cartography, and includes Space-Prism, advanced 3D geovisualizations, and animated maps . Scale in

2242-478: A towing tank, jet tank, pipe flow facility, and tilting flume. In addition, the HIF provides training and technical support for the equipment it stocks. The Engineering Group seeks out new technology and designs for instrumentation that can work more efficiently, be more accurate, and or be produced at a lower cost than existing instrumentation. HIF works directly with vendors to help them produce products that will meet

2360-644: A variety of USGS Report Series that include preliminary results, maps, data, and final results. A complete catalog of all USGS publications is available from the USGS Publications Warehouse. In the mid-1800s, various states set up geological survey institutions; e.g., the Kentucky Geological Survey , established in 1854. In 1879, a report from the National Academy of Sciences prompted Congress to set up

2478-417: A variety of fields, including hydrology , geology, petroleum exploration, weather analysis, urban planning , logistics, and epidemiology . The mathematical basis for geostatistics derives from cluster analysis , linear discriminant analysis and non-parametric statistical tests , and a variety of other subjects. Applications of geostatistics rely heavily on geographic information systems , particularly for

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2596-514: Is a partnership-driven program that teams scientific researchers with natural and cultural resource managers to help fish, wildlife, waters, and lands across the country adapt to climate change . The National CASC (NCASC), based at USGS headquarters in Reston, Virginia, serves as the national office for the CASC network, while eight regional CASCs made up of federal-university consortiums located across

2714-610: Is a systematic study of the Earth (other celestial bodies are specified, such as "geography of Mars", or given another name, such as areography in the case of Mars), its features, and phenomena that take place on it. For something to fall into the domain of geography, it generally needs some sort of spatial component that can be placed on a map , such as coordinates , place names, or addresses . This has led to geography being associated with cartography and place names. Although many geographers are trained in toponymy and cartology, this

2832-750: Is an interdisciplinary approach that combines geography and poetry to explore the interconnectedness between humans, space, place, and the environment. Geopoetics is employed as a mixed methods tool to explain the implications of geographic research. It is often employed to address and communicate the implications of complex topics, such as the anthropocene . Geographers employ interviews to gather data and acquire valuable understandings from individuals or groups regarding their encounters, outlooks, and opinions concerning spatial phenomena. Interviews can be carried out through various mediums, including face-to-face interactions, phone conversations, online platforms, or written exchanges. Geographers typically adopt

2950-436: Is an ongoing source of debate in geography and is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. Several laws have been proposed, and Tobler's first law of geography is the most generally accepted in geography. Some have argued that geographic laws do not need to be numbered. The existence of a first invites a second, and many have proposed themselves as that. It has also been proposed that Tobler's first law of geography should be moved to

3068-414: Is concerned with the study of processes and patterns in the natural environment like the atmosphere , hydrosphere , biosphere , and geosphere . Technical geography is interested in studying and applying techniques and methods to store, process, analyze, visualize, and use spatial data. It is the newest of the branches, the most controversial, and often other terms are used in the literature to describe

3186-479: Is credited to Hipparchus . He employed a sexagesimal system that was derived from Babylonian mathematics . The meridians were subdivided into 360°, with each degree further subdivided into 60 ( minutes ). To measure the longitude at different locations on Earth, he suggested using eclipses to determine the relative difference in time. The extensive mapping by the Romans as they explored new lands would later provide

3304-469: Is impacted by all other locations on Earth. In one of Yi-Fu Tuan 's papers, he explains that in his view, geography is the study of Earth as a home for humanity, and thus place and the complex meaning behind the term is central to the discipline of geography. Time is usually thought to be within the domain of history , however, it is of significant concern in the discipline of geography. In physics, space and time are not separated, and are combined into

3422-483: Is mapped at this scale in quadrangles measuring 1° by 1°. USGS topographic quadrangle maps are marked with grid lines and tics around the map collar which make it possible to identify locations on the map by several methods, including the graticule measurements of longitude and latitude, the township and section method within the Public Land Survey System , and cartesian coordinates in both

3540-417: Is not certain what that center was supposed to represent. The ideas of Anaximander (c. 610–545 BC): considered by later Greek writers to be the true founder of geography, come to us through fragments quoted by his successors. Anaximander is credited with the invention of the gnomon , the simple, yet efficient Greek instrument that allowed the early measurement of latitude . Thales is also credited with

3658-438: Is not their main preoccupation. Geographers study the Earth's spatial and temporal distribution of phenomena, processes, and features as well as the interaction of humans and their environment . Because space and place affect a variety of topics, such as economics, health, climate , plants, and animals, geography is highly interdisciplinary. The interdisciplinary nature of the geographical approach depends on an attentiveness to

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3776-535: Is one of the broadest, is consistent with the naming convention of the other two branches, has been in use since the 1700s, and has been used by the UNESCO Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems to divide geography into themes. As academic fields increasingly specialize in their nature, technical geography has emerged as a branch of geography specializing in geographic methods and thought. The emergence of technical geography has brought new relevance to

3894-454: Is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things." As spatial interrelationships are key to this synoptic science, maps are a key tool. Classical cartography has been joined by a more modern approach to geographical analysis, computer-based geographic information systems (GIS). In their study, geographers use four interrelated approaches: Quantitative methods in geography became particularly influential in

4012-430: Is spherical in shape, with the credit going either to Parmenides or Pythagoras . Anaxagoras was able to demonstrate that the profile of the Earth was circular by explaining eclipses . However, he still believed that the Earth was a flat disk, as did many of his contemporaries. One of the first estimates of the radius of the Earth was made by Eratosthenes . The first rigorous system of latitude and longitude lines

4130-529: Is the agency primarily responsible for surveillance of H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks in the United States. The USGS also runs 17 biological research centers in the United States, including the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center . The USGS is investigating collaboration with the social networking site Twitter to allow for more rapid construction of ShakeMaps. ShakeMaps are an interactive tool allowing users to visually observe

4248-536: Is the study of earth's seasons, climate , atmosphere , soil , streams, landforms, and oceans. Physical geographers will often work in identifying and monitoring the use of natural resources. Human geography (or anthropogeography) is a branch of geography that focuses on studying patterns and processes that shape human society. It encompasses the human, political, cultural , social, and economic aspects. In industry, human geographers often work in city planning, public health, or business analysis. Various approaches to

4366-542: Is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth . Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding of Earth and its human and natural complexities —not merely where objects are, but also how they have changed and come to be. While geography is specific to Earth, many concepts can be applied more broadly to other celestial bodies in the field of planetary science . Geography has been called "a bridge between natural science and social science disciplines." Origins of many of

4484-569: The Earth radius was only 16.8 km less than the modern value of 6,356.7 km. In contrast to his predecessors, who measured the Earth's circumference by sighting the Sun simultaneously from two different locations, al-Biruni developed a new method of using trigonometric calculations based on the angle between a plain and mountain top, which yielded more accurate measurements of the Earth's circumference, and made it possible for it to be measured by

4602-585: The Geological Survey , is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology , geography , geology , and hydrology . The agency was founded on March 3, 1879, to study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources , and the natural hazards that threaten it. The agency also makes maps of extraterrestrial planets and moons based on data from U.S. space probes . The sole scientific agency of

4720-528: The National Council for Geographic Education and the Association of American Geographers in 1984. These themes are Location, place, relationships within places (often summarized as Human-Environment Interaction), movement, and regions. The five themes of geography have shaped how American education approaches the topic in the years since. Just as all phenomena exist in time and thus have

4838-628: The Royal Danish Geographical Society in 1876 and the National Geographic Society in 1888. The influence of Immanuel Kant , Alexander von Humboldt , Carl Ritter , and Paul Vidal de la Blache can be seen as a major turning point in geography from philosophy to an academic subject. Geographers such as Richard Hartshorne and Joseph Kerski have regarded both Humboldt and Ritter as the founders of modern geography, as Humboldt and Ritter were

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4956-664: The Spatial or Locational Tradition, the Man-Land or Human-Environment Interaction Tradition (sometimes referred to as Integrated geography ), the Area Studies or Regional Tradition, and the Earth Science Tradition. These concepts are broad sets of geography philosophies bound together within the discipline. They are one of many ways geographers organize the major sets of thoughts and philosophies within

5074-599: The State Plane Coordinate System and the Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system . Other specialty maps have been produced by the USGS at a variety of scales. These include county maps, maps of special interest areas, such as the national parks , and areas of scientific interest. A number of Internet sites have made these maps available on the web for affordable commercial and professional use. Because works of

5192-634: The UCERF California earthquake forecast. As of 2005, the agency is working to create a National Volcano Early Warning System by improving the instrumentation monitoring the 169 volcanoes in U.S. territory and by establishing methods for measuring the relative threats posed at each site. The USGS also operates five volcano observatories throughout the nation: the Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage, Alaska (on

5310-472: The built environment and how humans create, view, manage, and influence space. Physical geography examines the natural environment and how organisms , climate, soil , water, and landforms produce and interact. The difference between these approaches led to the development of integrated geography , which combines physical and human geography and concerns the interactions between the environment and humans. Technical geography involves studying and developing

5428-470: The first law of geography , "everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things." This law summarizes the first assumption geographers make about the world. The discipline of geography, especially physical geography, and geology have significant overlap. In the past, the two have often shared academic departments at universities, a point that has led to conflict over resources. Both disciplines do seek to understand

5546-607: The interpolation (estimate) of unmeasured points. Geographers are making notable contributions to the method of quantitative techniques. Qualitative methods in geography are descriptive rather than numerical or statistical in nature. They add context to concepts, and explore human concepts like beliefs and perspective that are difficult or impossible to quantify. Human geography is much more likely to employ qualitative methods than physical geography. Increasingly, technical geographers are attempting to employ GIS methods to qualitative datasets. Qualitative cartography employs many of

5664-452: The lithosphere , atmosphere , hydrosphere , and biosphere . Places do not exist in a vacuum and instead have complex spatial relationships with each other, and place is concerned how a location is situated in relation to all other locations. As a discipline then, the term place in geography includes all spatial phenomena occurring at a location, the diverse uses and meanings humans ascribe to that location, and how that location impacts and

5782-570: The magnetic field at magnetic observatories and distributes magnetometer data in real time. The USGS collaborates with Canadian and Mexican government scientists, along with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation , to produce the North American Environmental Atlas , which is used to depict and track environmental issues for a continental perspective. The USGS operates the streamgaging network for

5900-506: The quantitative revolution , and critical geography . The strong interdisciplinary links between geography and the sciences of geology and botany , as well as economics, sociology, and demographics , have also grown greatly, especially as a result of earth system science that seeks to understand the world in a holistic view. New concepts and philosophies have emerged from the rapid advancement of computers, quantitative methods, and interdisciplinary approaches. In 1970, Waldo Tobler proposed

6018-546: The rocks on the Earth's surface and the processes that change them over time. Geology employs many of the tools and techniques of technical geographers, such as GIS and remote sensing to aid in geological mapping . However, geology includes research that goes beyond the spatial component, such as the chemical analysis of rocks and biogeochemistry . The discipline of History has significant overlap with geography, especially human geography. Like geology, history and geography have shared university departments. Geography provides

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6136-461: The "Balkhī school" of terrestrial mapping in Baghdad . Suhrāb, a late tenth century Muslim geographer accompanied a book of geographical coordinates, with instructions for making a rectangular world map with equirectangular projection or cylindrical equidistant projection. Abu Rayhan Biruni (976–1048) first described a polar equi- azimuthal equidistant projection of the celestial sphere . He

6254-442: The 15-minute series, was once used to map the contiguous 48 states at a scale of 1:62,500 for maps covering the continental United States, but was discontinued during the last quarter of the twentieth century. Each map was bounded by two parallels and two meridians spaced 15 minutes apart—the same area covered by four maps in the 7.5-minute series. The 15-minute series, at a scale of 1:63,360 (one inch representing one mile), remains

6372-714: The 17th century advanced ideas and methods of Western-style geography were adopted in China. During the Middle Ages , the fall of the Roman empire led to a shift in the evolution of geography from Europe to the Islamic world . Muslim geographers such as Muhammad al-Idrisi produced detailed world maps (such as Tabula Rogeriana ), while other geographers such as Yaqut al-Hamawi , Abu Rayhan Biruni , Ibn Battuta , and Ibn Khaldun provided detailed accounts of their journeys and

6490-439: The 30 x 60-minute quadrangle series. Each of these quadrangles covers the area contained within 32 maps in the 7.5-minute series. The 1:100,000 scale series is unusual in that it primarily employs the metric system . One centimeter on the map represents one kilometer of distance on the ground. Contour intervals , spot elevations, and horizontal distances are also specified in meters. The final regular quadrangle series produced by

6608-470: The Earth for automatic retrieval by a computer in an accurate manner appropriate to the information's purpose. In addition to all of the other subdisciplines of geography, GIS specialists must understand computer science and database systems. GIS has revolutionized the field of cartography: nearly all mapmaking is now done with the assistance of some form of GIS software . The science of using GIS software and GIS techniques to represent, analyse, and predict

6726-493: The Earth most effectively and behavioural psychology to induce the readers of their maps to act on the information. They must learn geodesy and fairly advanced mathematics to understand how the shape of the Earth affects the distortion of map symbols projected onto a flat surface for viewing. It can be said, without much controversy, that cartography is the seed from which the larger field of geography grew. Geographic information systems (GIS) deal with storing information about

6844-529: The Earth's land surface , ocean, and atmosphere, because it: (a) supplies objective information at a variety of spatial scales (local to global), (b) provides a synoptic view of the area of interest, (c) allows access to distant and inaccessible sites, (d) provides spectral information outside the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum , and (e) facilitates studies of how features/areas change over time. Remotely sensed data may be analyzed independently or in conjunction with other digital data layers (e.g., in

6962-424: The Earth's surface, the activity and use that occurs, has occurred, and will occur at the coordinates, and the meaning ascribed to the space by human individuals and groups. This can be extraordinarily complex, as different spaces may have different uses at different times and mean different things to different people. In physical geography, a place includes all of the physical phenomena that occur in space, including

7080-519: The Horlick Mountains to the east of the Wisconsin Range . Features include McCarthy Valley, Knack Point, Todd Ridge, Peters Butte and Victor Cliff. The Spencer Nunatak , Widich Nunatak and Noble Nunatak are to the west of the hills. The Shimizu Ice Stream drains west-northwest from the area between Wisconsin Range and Long Hills to enter the south flank of Horlick Ice Stream. The features of

7198-980: The Information Technology Section which includes computer support and the Drafting Unit; and the Administrative Section. The HIF was given national responsibility for the design, testing, evaluation, repair, calibration, warehousing, and distribution of hydrologic instrumentation. Distribution is accomplished by direct sales and through a rental program. The HIF supports data collection activities through centralized warehouse and laboratory facilities. The HIF warehouse provides hydrologic instruments, equipment, and supplies for USGS as well as Other Federal Agencies (OFA) and USGS Cooperators. The HIF also tests, evaluates, repairs, calibrates, and develops hydrologic equipment and instruments. The HIF Hydraulic Laboratory facilities include

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7316-675: The Long Hills were mapped by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) from surveys and United States Navy aerial photography, 1958–60. 85°18′S 119°20′W  /  85.300°S 119.333°W  / -85.300; -119.333 . An ice-filled valley, 3 nautical miles (5.6 km; 3.5 mi) long, between Peters Butte and Todd Ridge in the northwest part of Long Hills. Named by US-ACAN for James E. McCarthy, meteorological electronics technician at Byrd Station in 1960. 85°15′S 118°50′W  /  85.250°S 118.833°W  / -85.250; -118.833 . A point at

7434-523: The National GIS Database. In the two years from June 2009 to May 2011, the USGS produced nearly 40,000 maps, more than 80 maps per work day. Only about two hours of interactive work are spent on each map, mostly on text placement and final inspection; there are essentially no field checks or field inspections to confirm map details. While much less expensive to compile and produce, the revised digital U.S. topo maps have been criticized for

7552-725: The U.S. Department of the Interior Unified Interior Regions: USGS operates and organizes within a number of specific science programs, facilities, and other organizational units: The Earthquake Hazards Program monitors earthquake activity worldwide. The National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) in Golden, Colorado , on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines detects the location and magnitude of global earthquakes. The USGS also runs or supports several regional monitoring networks in

7670-662: The U.S. Department of the Interior, USGS is a fact-finding research organization with no regulatory responsibility. It is headquartered in Reston, Virginia , with major offices near Lakewood, Colorado ; at the Denver Federal Center ; and in NASA Ames Research Park in California. In 2009, it employed about 8,670 people. The current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is "science for

7788-473: The U.S. government are in the public domain , it is also possible to find many of these maps for free at various locations on the Internet. Georeferenced map images are available from the USGS as digital raster graphics (DRGs) in addition to digital data sets based on USGS maps, notably digital line graphs (DLGs) and digital elevation models (DEMs). In 2015, the USGS unveiled the topoView website,

7906-726: The U.S., U.S. Pacific Islands, and U.S. Caribbean deliver science that addresses resource management priorities of the states within their footprints. Since 1962, the Astrogeology Research Program has been involved in global, lunar , and planetary exploration and mapping . In collaboration with Stanford University , the USGS also operates the USGS-Stanford Ion Microprobe Laboratory, a world-class analytical facility for U-(Th)-Pb geochronology and trace element analyses of minerals and other earth materials. USGS operates

8024-933: The USGS Center for Coastal Geology) has three sites, one for the Atlantic Ocean (located in Woods Hole, Massachusetts ), one for the Pacific Ocean (located in Santa Cruz, California ) and one for the Gulf of Mexico (located on the University of South Florida's St. Petersburg campus). The goal of this department is to conduct research in geology, mapping, hydrology, biology, and related sciences; evaluate hazards associated with floods, droughts, hurricanes, subsidence, human activity, and climate change; map

8142-474: The USGS is the 1:250,000 scale topographic series. Each of these quadrangles in the conterminous United States measures 1 degree of latitude by 2 degrees of longitude. This series was produced by the U.S.  Army Map Service in the 1950s, prior to the maps in the larger-scale series, and consists of 489 sheets, each covering an area ranging from 8,218 square miles (21,285 km ) at 30° north to 6,222 square miles (16,115 km ) at 49° north. Hawaii

8260-520: The USGS to rely on donations of time by civilian volunteers in an attempt to update its 7.5-minute topographic map series, and USGS stated outright in 2000 that the program was to be phased out in favor of The National Map (not to be confused with the National Atlas of the United States produced by the Department of the Interior , one of whose bureaus is USGS). An older series of maps,

8378-494: The United States under the umbrella of the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS). The USGS informs authorities, emergency responders, the media, and the public, both domestic and worldwide, about significant earthquakes. It maintains long-term archives of earthquake data for scientific and engineering research. It also conducts and supports research on long-term seismic hazards . USGS has released

8496-912: The United States, with over 7400 streamgages . Real-time streamflow data are available online. As part of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984, the State Water Resources Research Act Program created a Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) in each state, along with Washington DC, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Guam. Together, these institutes make up the National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR). The institutes focus on water-related issues through research, training and collaboration. The National and regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs)

8614-507: The art, science, and technology of making maps. Cartographers study the Earth's surface representation with abstract symbols (map making). Although other subdisciplines of geography rely on maps for presenting their analyses, the actual making of maps is abstract enough to be regarded separately. Cartography has grown from a collection of drafting techniques into an actual science. Cartographers must learn cognitive psychology and ergonomics to understand which symbols convey information about

8732-458: The book expanded on these key concepts by adding "Environmental systems," "Social Systems," "Nature," " Globalization ," "Development," and "Risk," demonstrating how challenging narrowing the field can be. Another approach used extensively in teaching geography are the Five themes of geography established by "Guidelines for Geographic Education: Elementary and Secondary Schools," published jointly by

8850-406: The broad discipline of geography by serving as a set of unique methods for managing the interdisciplinary nature of the phenomena under investigation. While human and physical geographers use the techniques employed by technical geographers, technical geography is more concerned with the fundamental spatial concepts and technologies than the nature of the data. It is therefore closely associated with

8968-1200: The campus of Alaska Pacific University ), the California Volcano Observatory in Menlo Park, California , the Cascades Volcano Observatory (covering volcanoes in Idaho , Oregon , and Washington ) in Vancouver, Washington , the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in Hilo, Hawaii , and the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (covering volcanoes in Arizona , Colorado , Montana , New Mexico , Utah , and Wyoming ) in Yellowstone National Park , Wyoming. The USGS Coastal and Marine Science Center (formerly

9086-438: The concept of spacetime . Geography is subject to the laws of physics, and in studying things that occur in space, time must be considered. Time in geography is more than just the historical record of events that occurred at various discrete coordinates; but also includes modeling the dynamic movement of people, organisms, and things through space. Time facilitates movement through space, ultimately allowing things to flow through

9204-424: The concepts in geography can be traced to Greek Eratosthenes of Cyrene, who may have coined the term "geographia" ( c.  276 BC  – c.  195/194 BC ). The first recorded use of the word γεωγραφία was as the title of a book by Greek scholar Claudius Ptolemy (100 – 170 AD). This work created the so-called "Ptolemaic tradition" of geography, which included "Ptolemaic cartographic theory." However,

9322-468: The concepts of geography (such as cartography ) date back to the earliest attempts to understand the world spatially, with the earliest example of an attempted world map dating to the 9th century BCE in ancient Babylon . The history of geography as a discipline spans cultures and millennia, being independently developed by multiple groups, and cross-pollinated by trade between these groups. The core concepts of geography consistent between all approaches are

9440-405: The context of a map is the ratio between a distance measured on the map and the corresponding distance as measured on the ground. This concept is fundamental to the discipline of geography, not just cartography, in that phenomena being investigated appear different depending on the scale used. Scale is the frame that geographers use to measure space, and ultimately to understand a place. During

9558-422: The continental United States, though only for use by members of its defense forces). The next-smallest topographic series, in terms of scale, is the 1:100,000 series. These maps are bounded by two lines of longitude and two lines of latitude. However, in this series, the lines of latitude are spaced 30 minutes apart and the lines of longitude are spaced 60 minutes, which is the source of another name for these maps;

9676-452: The different historical approach theories geographers have taken to the discipline. In contrast, geography's branches describe contemporary applied geographical approaches. Geography is an extremely broad field. Because of this, many view the various definitions of geography proposed over the decades as inadequate. To address this, William D. Pattison proposed the concept of the "Four traditions of Geography" in 1964. These traditions are

9794-399: The discipline during the quantitative revolution of the 1950s and 60s. These methods revitalized the discipline in many ways, allowing scientific testing of hypotheses and proposing scientific geographic theories and laws. The quantitative revolution heavily influenced and revitalized technical geography, and lead to the development of the subfield of quantitative geography. Cartography is

9912-514: The discipline into a section containing content such as cartographic techniques and globes. There are several other terms, often used interchangeably with technical geography to subdivide the discipline, including "techniques of geographic analysis," "Geographic Information Technology," "Geography method's and techniques," " Geographic Information Science ," " geoinformatics ," " geomatics ," and "information geography". There are subtle differences to each concept and term; however, technical geography

10030-518: The discipline of geography is normally concerned with the Earth, the term can also be informally used to describe the study of other worlds, such as the planets of the Solar System and even beyond. The study of systems larger than the Earth itself usually forms part of Astronomy or Cosmology . The study of other planets is usually called planetary science . Alternative terms such as areography (geography of Mars) have been employed to describe

10148-552: The discipline. In another approach to the abovementioned four traditions, geography is organized into applied branches. The UNESCO Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems organizes geography into the three categories of human geography , physical geography , and technical geography . Some publications limit the number of branches to physical and human, describing them as the principal branches. Geographers rarely focus on just one of these topics, often using one as their primary focus and then incorporating data and methods from

10266-420: The distribution and severity of Shaking resulting from Earthquakes. The USGS produces several national series of topographic maps which vary in scale and extent, with some wide gaps in coverage, notably the complete absence of 1:50,000 scale topographic maps or their equivalent. The largest (both in terms of scale and quantity) and best-known topographic series is the 7.5-minute, 1:24,000 scale, quadrangle ,

10384-407: The emerging category. These branches use similar geographic philosophies, concepts, and tools and often overlap significantly. Physical geography (or physiography) focuses on geography as an Earth science . It aims to understand the physical problems and the issues of lithosphere , hydrosphere , atmosphere , pedosphere , and global flora and fauna patterns ( biosphere ). Physical geography

10502-518: The first to establish geography as an independent scientific discipline. Over the past two centuries, the advancements in technology with computers have led to the development of geomatics and new practices such as participant observation and geostatistics being incorporated into geography's portfolio of tools. In the West during the 20th century, the discipline of geography went through four major phases: environmental determinism , regional geography ,

10620-504: The geography of the regions they visited. Turkish geographer Mahmud al-Kashgari drew a world map on a linguistic basis, and later so did Piri Reis ( Piri Reis map ). Further, Islamic scholars translated and interpreted the earlier works of the Romans and the Greeks and established the House of Wisdom in Baghdad for this purpose. Abū Zayd al-Balkhī , originally from Balkh , founded

10738-449: The heights of mountains, depths of the valleys , and expanse of the horizon . He also discussed human geography and the planetary habitability of the Earth. He also calculated the latitude of Kath, Khwarezm , using the maximum altitude of the Sun, and solved a complex geodesic equation to accurately compute the Earth's circumference , which was close to modern values of the Earth's circumference. His estimate of 6,339.9 km for

10856-600: The history of the discipline is a series of competing narratives, with concepts emerging at various points across space and time. The oldest known world maps date back to ancient Babylon from the 9th century BC. The best known Babylonian world map, however, is the Imago Mundi of 600 BC. The map as reconstructed by Eckhard Unger shows Babylon on the Euphrates , surrounded by a circular landmass showing Assyria , Urartu , and several cities, in turn surrounded by

10974-488: The latitude of its represented location due to convergence of the meridians. At lower latitudes, near 30° north, a 7.5-minute quadrangle contains an area of about 64 square miles (166 km ). At 49° north latitude, 49 square miles (127 km ) are contained within a quadrangle of that size. As a unique non-metric map scale, the 1:24,000 scale naturally requires a separate and specialized romer scale for plotting map positions. In recent years, budget constraints have forced

11092-402: The laws of nature and to mark their influences upon man. This is 'a description of the world'—that is Geography. In a word, Geography is a Science—a thing not of mere names but of argument and reason, of cause and effect. Geography as a discipline can be split broadly into three main branches: human geography , physical geography , and technical geography . Human geography largely focuses on

11210-545: The mission needs of the USGS. For instrument needs not currently met by a vendor, the Engineering Group designs, tests, and issues contracts to have HIF-designed equipment made. Sometimes HIF will patent a new design in the hope that instrument vendors will buy the rights and mass-produce the instrument at a lower cost to everyone. USGS researchers publish the results of their science in a variety of ways, including peer-reviewed scientific journals as well as in one of

11328-511: The national domain". The legislation also provided that the Hayden , Powell , and Wheeler surveys be discontinued as of June 30, 1879. Clarence King , the first director of USGS, assembled the new organization from disparate regional survey agencies. After two years, King was succeeded by John Wesley Powell . Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek γεωγραφία geōgraphía ; combining gê 'Earth' and gráphō 'write')

11446-465: The newest generation digital topo maps, including windmills, mines and mineshafts, water tanks, fence lines, survey marks, parks, recreational trails, buildings, boundaries, pipelines, telephone lines, power transmission lines, and even railroads. Additionally, the digital map's use of existing software may not properly integrate different feature classes or prioritize and organize text in areas of crowded features, obscuring important geographic details. As

11564-564: The north part of the Hprlick Mountains, lying 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi) north of Widich Nunatak along the north side of Shimizu Ice Stream. Named by US-ACAN for William C. Noble, meteorologist, Byrd Station winter party, 1958. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Geological Survey . United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey ( USGS ), founded as

11682-469: The onshore and offshore geologic framework; assess mineral resources and develop techniques for their discovery; assess water resources and develop an understanding of the impact of human activities and natural phenomena on hydrologic systems; assess links between biodiversity, habitat condition, ecosystem processes and health; and develop new technologies for collection and interpretation of earth science data. The USGS National Geomagnetism Program monitors

11800-414: The other branches. Often, geographers are asked to describe what they do by individuals outside the discipline and are likely to identify closely with a specific branch, or sub-branch when describing themselves to lay people. Human geography studies people and their communities, cultures, economies, and environmental interactions by studying their relations with and across space and place. Physical geography

11918-402: The prediction of eclipses. The foundations of geography can be traced to ancient cultures, such as the ancient, medieval, and early modern Chinese . The Greeks , who were the first to explore geography as both art and science, achieved this through Cartography , Philosophy , and Literature , or through Mathematics . There is some debate about who was the first person to assert that the Earth

12036-428: The primary topographic quadrangle for the state of Alaska (and only for that particular state). Nearly 3,000 maps cover 97% of the state. The United States remains virtually the only developed country in the world without a standardized civilian topographic map series in the standard 1:25,000 or 1:50,000 metric scales, making coordination difficult in border regions (the U.S. military does issue 1:50,000 scale topo maps of

12154-457: The quantitative revolution, geography shifted to an empirical law-making ( nomothetic ) approach. Several laws of geography have been proposed since then, most notably by Waldo Tobler and can be viewed as a product of the quantitative revolution. In general, some dispute the entire concept of laws in geography and the social sciences. These criticisms have been addressed by Tobler and others, such as Michael Frank Goodchild . However, this

12272-473: The relationship between physical and human phenomena and their spatial patterns. Names of places...are not geography...To know by heart a whole gazetteer full of them would not, in itself, constitute anyone a geographer. Geography has higher aims than this: it seeks to classify phenomena (alike of the natural and of the political world, in so far as it treats of the latter), to compare, to generalize, to ascend from effects to causes, and, in doing so, to trace out

12390-438: The same software and techniques as quantitative cartography. It may be employed to inform on map practices, or to visualize perspectives and ideas that are not strictly quantitative in nature. An example of a form of qualitative cartography is a Chorochromatic map of nominal data, such as land cover or dominant language group in an area. Another example is a deep map , or maps that combine geography and storytelling to produce

12508-533: The second and replaced with another. A few of the proposed laws of geography are below: Additionally, several variations or amendments to these laws exist within the literature, although not as well supported. For example, one paper proposed an amended version of Tobler's first law of geography, referred to in the text as the Tobler–von Thünen law , which states: "Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things, as

12626-584: The south side of McCarthy Valley. Named by US-ACAN for Norman L. Peters, meteorologist at Byrd Station in 1958. 85°20′S 119°12′W  /  85.333°S 119.200°W  / -85.333; -119.200 . An abrupt rock cliff 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km; 1.7 mi) long, which forms the southwest shoulder of Long Hills in the Horlick Mountains. Named by US-ACAN for Lawrence J. Victor, aurora scientist at Byrd Station in 1961. 85°12′S 121°29′W  /  85.200°S 121.483°W  / -85.200; -121.483 . An isolated nunatak in

12744-445: The spatial context within which historical events unfold. The physical geographic features of a region, such as its landforms, climate, and resources, shape human settlements, trade routes, and economic activities, which in turn influence the course of historical events. Thus, a historian must have a strong foundation in geography. Historians employ the techniques of technical geographers to create historical atlases and maps. While

12862-675: The spatial relationships is called geographic information science (GISc). Remote sensing is the art, science, and technology of obtaining information about Earth's features from measurements made at a distance. Remotely sensed data can be either passive, such as traditional photography , or active, such as LiDAR . A variety of platforms can be used for remote sensing, including satellite imagery , aerial photography (including consumer drones), and data obtained from hand-held sensors. Products from remote sensing include Digital elevation model and cartographic base maps. Geographers increasingly use remotely sensed data to obtain information about

12980-538: The spatial tradition of geography while being applied to the other two major branches. A technical geographer might work as a GIS analyst, a GIS developer working to make new software tools, or create general reference maps incorporating human and natural features. All geographic research and analysis start with asking the question "where," followed by "why there." Geographers start with the fundamental assumption set forth in Tobler's first law of geography , that "everything

13098-403: The study of human geography have also arisen through time and include: Technical geography concerns studying and developing tools, techniques, and statistical methods employed to collect, analyze, use, and understand spatial data. Technical geography is the most recently recognized, and controversial, of the branches. Its use dates back to 1749, when a book published by Edward Cave organized

13216-562: The termination of a flat-topped spur which marks the north end of Long Hills. Named by US-ACAN for Joseph V. Knack, meteorologist at Byrd Station in 1958. 85°16′S 119°19′W  /  85.267°S 119.317°W  / -85.267; -119.317 . A narrow, flat-topped rock ridge at the northwest end of Long Hills. Named by US-ACAN for Marion N. Todd, aurora scientist at Byrd Station in 1958. 85°19′S 119°32′W  /  85.317°S 119.533°W  / -85.317; -119.533 . A flat-topped, steep-sided rock butte on

13334-572: The times when geography became recognized as a discrete academic discipline , and became part of a typical university curriculum in Europe (especially Paris and Berlin ). The development of many geographic societies also occurred during the 19th century, with the foundations of the Société de Géographie in 1821, the Royal Geographical Society in 1830, Russian Geographical Society in 1845, American Geographical Society in 1851,

13452-494: The tools and techniques used by geographers, such as remote sensing, cartography, and geographic information system. Narrowing down geography to a few key concepts is extremely challenging, and subject to tremendous debate within the discipline. In one attempt, the 1st edition of the book "Key Concepts in Geography" broke down this into chapters focusing on "Space," "Place," "Time," "Scale," and "Landscape." The 2nd edition of

13570-401: The view of the world as a photograph, with everything frozen in place when the coordinates were recorded. Today, geographers are trained to recognize the world as a dynamic space where all processes interact and take place, rather than a static image on a map. Place is one of the most complex and important terms in geography. In human geography, place is the synthesis of the coordinates on

13688-615: Was finding the latitude and longitude of a geographic location. While the problem of latitude was solved long ago, but that of longitude remained; agreeing on what zero meridians should be was only part of the problem. It was left to John Harrison to solve it by inventing the chronometer H-4 in 1760, and later in 1884 for the International Meridian Conference to adopt by convention the Greenwich meridian as zero meridians. The 18th and 19th centuries were

13806-551: Was published by Bernhardus Varenius , which was later edited and republished by others including Isaac Newton . This textbook sought to integrate new scientific discoveries and principles into classical geography and approach the discipline like the other sciences emerging, and is seen by some as the division between ancient and modern geography in the West. The Geographia Generalis contained both theoretical background and practical applications related to ship navigation. The remaining problem facing both explorers and geographers

13924-523: Was regarded as the most skilled when it came to mapping cities and measuring the distances between them, which he did for many cities in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent . He often combined astronomical readings and mathematical equations to develop methods of pin-pointing locations by recording degrees of latitude and longitude . He also developed similar techniques when it came to measuring

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