Chapter 1, Section 1

1.Cartographers must take into account the use of the map, such as being used for sea travel (in which case a Mercator Projection would be the most useful) or for other reasons such as comparing the size and shape of Earth’s landmasses (where Goode’s Interrupted Equal-Area Projection would be appropriate). On most world map projections the Earth’s Poles are greatly distorted but nearer to the equator size is more accurate, this adds to a Cartographers concern of the accuracy of Earth’s distances and sizes of land areas when selecting a map projection.

2. A typical urban-area map should show water features such as rivers, lakes, and streams and land forms such as mountains and valleys to represent physical features. Human-made features could consist of cities, roads, and capitals. The locations of countries and states and their boundaries would be used to show political features.

Creative Writing:
Population rates, earthquake-prone areas, major streets and highways, surrounding neighborhoods and schools would be useful features to show on a map.

Chapter 1, Section 2
1. The major branches of geography are Physical Geography and Human Geography. Physical Geography focuses on climate, land, water, plants, and animal life and their relationships to each other and humans. Human Geography is the study of human activities and focuses on political, economic, social, and cultural factors and their relationship to the cultural and physical environments.

2. Geography is used to provide insight into how things developed in the past, interprets current trends for future planning, and determine whether an area is suitable for humans.

Creative Writing:
Huntington Beach is a seaside city along the Pacific Ocean known for its unique waves and mild climate. Huntington Beach is built upon a natural fault structure containing oil. Near the beach there are wetlands, home to many species of birds, protected by the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. Construction along the beach is prohibited without the vote of the people to keep a natural tie to the ocean.