What is a Map? Crash Course Geography #2 - Free Educational videos for Students in K-12

What is a Map? Crash Course Geography #2 - By Math and Science

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00:0-1	from espressos and cappuccinos to cafe Ole and plain black
00:02	. There's a coffee out there . For almost everyone
00:04	. We can even visualize it on a map like
00:06	this , where the color of each country represents how
00:09	much coffee they drink per person . So much of
00:11	the world loves coffee and I agree for me there's
00:15	nothing better than a morning latte . But for coffee
00:17	to get to my favorite coffee shop , it first
00:20	has to make it through a pretty long journey .
00:21	We won't go bananas and get into the full geographic
00:24	story of coffee . But in 2020 coffee is mostly
00:26	grown in the bean belt , which is , I'll
00:29	just show you my favorite coffee shop is much closer
00:31	though . Over on Elm Street from my house ,
00:34	take a left at the end of the street ,
00:35	go to the bottom of the hill and take another
00:37	left passed the house with a great cat is always
00:39	sitting on the porch . A few blocks later there's
00:41	that beautiful garden along the side of the yellow house
00:43	, walked past there , take a right at the
00:45	next corner and the cafe is straight ahead at least
00:48	. That's the mental map I follow . Every morning
00:50	we all have maps . We use these tools to
00:51	help us navigate or better understand where we are .
00:53	And in geography we use maps to study , analyze
00:56	and interpret spaces , places and human environment interactions .
01:00	We use maps in all shapes and sizes to tell
01:02	the story of the earth . They're colorful , detailed
01:05	and lots of times difficult to fold . I'm Elise
01:08	a career and this is crash course Geography . Yeah
01:18	. Formerly a map is a symbolic representation of space
01:21	which is all the facts and features about a particular
01:23	spot . Maps can be used to compare spaces and
01:26	places on earth and beyond or shape our sense of
01:29	reality . Like when you search map on the internet
01:31	, this world map is one of the first that
01:32	comes up . A world map is a type of
01:34	reference map . Reference maps can show mountains , cities
01:37	, oceans , elevation , everything people might say ,
01:40	yep , that's there , but the earth is almost
01:42	spheroid or a slightly wonky sphere . So this reference
01:45	map also has to do the hard work of representing
01:47	our three dimensional world in just two dimensions , like
01:50	taking the three D . Earth and squishing it onto
01:52	paper or a flat computer screen . Imagine doing that
01:54	with a tomato , what a mess for cartographers or
01:58	map makers . It's a challenge with many solutions .
02:00	They need to pick which data they want to focus
02:02	on and the type of map they pick often depends
02:05	on what story they want to tell . For example
02:07	, we might want to use these three maps to
02:08	talk about the number of people in each country around
02:11	the world . Their thematic maps which visualize data about
02:13	a particular topic across a space . Instead of being
02:16	something we'd use to navigate on a cross country road
02:18	trip . Thematic maps tackle abstract ideas like average rainfall
02:22	, where voting results by political party and explore how
02:24	frequency concentration and patterns are distributed across a space .
02:28	For example , these three thematic maps are designed to
02:30	visualize population data . First , we have a chloroplast
02:33	map which shows how a theme like population changes over
02:36	a particular space using different colors or shadings of colors
02:39	. This is shown in the maps key or legend
02:41	, which unlocks the map and shows us how to
02:43	get into the map and interpret it . Notice how
02:45	the key moves from a light purple to a deep
02:47	violet . Depending on the population density , the number
02:49	of people per some amount of area . When we
02:51	look at this , we can tell pretty quickly .
02:53	the population density in most of South America is quite
02:56	low . Except for the northern tip of the continent
02:58	, there are between zero and 25 people per square
03:00	kilometer . But wait , as of 2020 Sao Paulo
03:03	in brazil is actually one of the 20 most populated
03:05	cities in the world . So nowhere in brazil has
03:08	more than 25 people per square kilometer . Nowhere chloroplast
03:11	maps are useful because they quickly tell us which countries
03:14	or regions belong in the same category . Overall ,
03:16	with a glance , we see Australia and Canada and
03:18	Russia and most of South America all fit in the
03:21	same population density category . But by shading a whole
03:23	area , chloroplast maps can make things look a little
03:26	too simple , which can be a problem . They
03:29	imply there's an evenness to whatever they're showing , even
03:31	though there are parts of Sao Paulo with way more
03:33	than 25 people per km2 and other parts of Brazil
03:36	with absolutely no people . Let's try a different thematic
03:39	map that will let us be a bit more specific
03:41	. A dot density map uses adopt to represent a
03:43	key feature or attribute . The cartographer decided that each
03:46	dot on this map represents 100,000 people . So while
03:50	the chloroplast map showed the general population spread out over
03:52	an entire country , this dot density map has more
03:55	granularity and shows where within a country , people live
03:59	more or less . We can see the coasts of
04:00	brazil have more dots and more people but take a
04:03	look at the Sahara or Siberia , No one lives
04:06	exactly where those dots are . The cartographer also decided
04:09	where to place each dot to summarize population data ,
04:12	but it's a simplification that could mislead someone if they're
04:14	not paying close attention like we are a dot doesn't
04:18	necessarily mean 100,000 people live exactly . Their cartographers are
04:22	always trying to make maps easily readable but all the
04:24	choices they make can influence accuracy . For example ,
04:27	if we changed , how are dot density map is
04:29	projected or how the three D . Earth was flattened
04:31	into two D . The size and shape of the
04:34	continents would shift and so would the dots . We
04:36	might accidentally imply . Some areas have a closer population
04:39	density while others are more spread out . Our last
04:41	thematic map for today is a card , a gram
04:43	map which uses size to compare data like population density
04:47	regardless of the actual space . These regions take up
04:49	on the Earth's surface with this map , the really
04:52	populous countries are giant . Well ones with smaller populations
04:55	are teeny but it looks weird to us or at
04:57	least to me Because we're used to maps that tell
04:59	us something about the physical space that countries and continents
05:02	take up . India has a much bigger population ,
05:04	but in real life , Australia is a much larger
05:06	country . It's about 7.7 million square kilometers while India
05:10	is less than half the size with 3.28 million .
05:18	Different maps represent data in different ways and the more
05:21	information a geographer has the better interpretations they can make
05:24	about a particular story like human population of course there
05:27	are many , many more stories to tell . So
05:29	there are many , many more maps . And by
05:31	helping us visualize data across space , maps actually shape
05:34	our perception of reality to all right , that sounds
05:37	a bit melodramatic . But every map was made by
05:39	a person making choices and those choices . However thoughtful
05:42	or simple or unintentionally biased have an impact on how
05:45	we imagine the world . Like we're so used to
05:47	seeing north at the top of a map and south
05:49	at the bottom . But why ? Well that's a
05:51	choice made by a cartographer . Other cartographers tried something
05:54	different with a fuller projection that unfolds the earth and
05:57	ends up with a completely different orientation without distorting anything
06:00	. This map doesn't have Greenland at the very top
06:02	of the map , like we might be used to
06:04	. There's more than one way to represent Earth by
06:06	thinking about what a map was supposed to be used
06:08	for . We can spot these obvious or not .
06:10	So obvious choices made by cartographers . For centuries .
06:13	Humans have been using maps as navigational tools to help
06:15	us understand our physical surroundings . Stick charts like these
06:18	are made of fibers from coconuts and shells that were
06:21	developed by Mariners from the marshall islands . These charts
06:23	weren't used to navigate exactly the same way that we
06:25	use maps today . They weren't carried along in the
06:28	boats but studied and memorized to get a better idea
06:30	of the island's waves , winds , and currents in
06:32	the pacific ocean stick charts were personal Mariners had their
06:35	own stick charts that they used to get back to
06:37	the places they've visited , kind of like my mental
06:40	map to my favorite coffee shop . These charts where
06:42	someone's own perception of the space in their individual world
06:44	maps can also be used politically and the choices about
06:47	where to draw borders on a map are giving space
06:49	is a national identity . For example , there's a
06:51	dispute over territory in Antarctica and some nearby islands that's
06:54	currently on pause thanks to a 1959 treaty . Originally
06:57	, the 12 countries who scientists had been conducting research
07:00	on the continent signed and agreed that no activities taking
07:03	place would mean they'd claimed the territory . But in
07:05	the 19 sixties , despite the treaty , Argentina published
07:08	maps claiming territory in Antarctica . So anyone who uses
07:11	those maps would perceive this land as part of Argentina
07:14	, but where to draw borders isn't the only political
07:16	decision a cartographer can make . Let's go to the
07:18	thought bubble , let's say it's the 19 fifties and
07:21	where us cartographers working on a new world map ,
07:23	the Cold War between the United States and the soviet
07:25	Union is nearing its height and the tension can influence
07:28	our map . Making decisions . First , we have
07:29	to choose a kind of projection like the Mercator projection
07:32	first made in 15 69 by the Flemish cartographer .
07:35	Gerard Mercator , This type of map basically turns the
07:38	spheroid earth into a cylinder . The Mercator projection shows
07:41	the lines of longitude or meridians as equally spaced and
07:44	parallel vertical lines traversing pole to pole . The lines
07:47	of latitude or parallels are also parallel lines on this
07:50	map , but get spaced farther apart as we move
07:52	north or south of the equator on a globe .
07:54	Meridians are equally spaced but curved together at the polls
07:57	. With this layout , the scale gets distorted and
07:59	areas farther away from the equator appear bigger than they
08:01	really are . Like , look at Greenland , it's
08:03	essentially the same size as all of africa . It's
08:06	not that this representation is wrong . Every map choice
08:08	comes with its flaws . But by choosing a Mercator
08:10	projection , the USSR looks large and menacing . That's
08:14	just the beginning . So we sketch out country borders
08:16	and now it's time to add color as us based
08:18	cartographers . Red is our first choice for the USSR
08:21	in the west . Red , or the red scare
08:23	are synonymous with fear of communism representing a major foe
08:26	to the United States . And red sends an immediate
08:28	message to the viewer . But for further effect ,
08:30	let's add the hammer and sickle weapons reminiscent of the
08:32	side of death and the symbol of the soviet era
08:34	, which evoked fear in americans . As you can
08:36	see with just a few map making choices . We
08:39	can actually help stir up some major nationalistic emotion .
08:41	Thanks that bubble though . The Cold War is over
08:44	. Our maps still reflect nationalistic fervor in more modern
08:46	times . We like to think of data and numbers
08:48	as being objective , but how data is displayed on
08:51	maps can affect what people believe about the world .
08:53	Like these two maps both show the Hispanic population in
08:55	Florida . Based on the 2000 census , They look
08:57	like very different maps , but it's actually the same
08:59	data maps can even be used to tell stories about
09:02	societal problems on this map . Major chemical accidents ,
09:05	environmental disasters , freak weather patterns and deforestation are all
09:08	included with different symbols . So looking at this map
09:11	might make you feel like the earth experienced great environmental
09:13	stress in the 1980s and 1990s . And that's a
09:16	choice that cartographer made maps can make strong arguments because
09:18	they pull a lot of visual information together , which
09:21	can increase our awareness about certain issues or greatly skew
09:24	our understanding of the world maps are powerful tools and
09:26	there'll be a crucial part of our journey through geography
09:29	. But we can't rely on just one map .
09:31	Every map is telling a particular story with how it's
09:33	visualizing data and it's our job to think critically about
09:36	what's being presented to us . Many maps and borders
09:40	represent modern geopolitical divisions that have often been decided without
09:43	the consultation permission or recognition of the land's original inhabitants
09:47	. Many geographical place names also don't reflect the indigenous
09:50	or aboriginal peoples languages . So we at Crash course
09:52	want to acknowledge these people's traditional and ongoing relationship with
09:55	that land and all the physical and human geographical elements
09:58	of it . We encourage you to learn about the
09:59	history of the place you call home through resources like
10:02	native lands dot C . A . And by engaging
10:04	with your local indigenous and aboriginal nations through the websites
10:07	and resources . They provide thanks for watching this episode
10:10	of Crash Course Geography , which was made with the
10:11	help of all these nice people . If you'd like
10:14	to help keep crash course free for everyone forever ,
10:16	please consider joining our community on Patreon .

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