Notes and News

Abstract

Full implementation of geography standards will require their adoption by all U.S. states and school districts for use in every school. Strategies for achieving this goal include: using the consensus process to its fullest, involving the energy and resources of geography organizations, and reaching out to others to help maximize the standards' influence.     

A proposed base for a geographical information system for India

Abstract

Attempts have been made by different organizations in India to organize data in order to develop a suitable information system. These attempts were oriented towards specific uses, such as natural resources, data management, thematic mapping and the like. In some attempts software has been developed for some specific purpose. It is not an easy task to develop an information system for a country such as India. Its extent in latitude and longitude is well above average. There are federal and state agencies for the collection of data and the preparation of maps. The geographical information concerning India is available from the following sources: the administrative areas of states, union territories, districts, sub-districts and villages; survey sheets; remote sensing images; aerial photographs; and thematic base maps of the National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation. There are other map series available which have been used for socio-economic mapping. By the end of 1987 the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite will be launched and then remotely-sensed data will be readily available. Considering the geographical bases available in the country, five levels can be identified for developing an information system for India. Some of the thematic maps at 1:1000 000 scale can be used for initiating such a geographical information system.     

Climatic Perception

Abstract

Climate plays a strategic role in man's perception of the environment. Man's perception of climate influences his adjustment to the atmospheric environment. This study examines the climatic desirability of the conterminous United States as perceived by in-state college students in North Carolina, Arizona, Minnesota and Vermont. Based on climatic preference, the home states are perceived to be the most desirable states in the conterminous United States. In general, the climatic conditions in those states which are in close geographical propinquity to the sample states are also appealing to the students. In addition, Florida, Colorado and the West Coast states (especially California) are perceived as climatically desirable.     

Assessment of the Enhanced Geothermal System Resource Base of the United States

This paper describes an assessment of the enhanced geothermal system (EGS) resource base of the conterminous United States, using constructed temperature at depth maps. The temperature at depth maps were computed from 3 to 10 km, for every km. The methodology is described. Factors included are sediment thickness, thermal conductivity variations, distribution of the radioactive heat generation and surface temperature based on several geologic models of the upper 10 km of the crust. EGS systems are extended in this paper to include coproduced geothermal energy, and geopressured resources. A table is provided that summarizes the resource base estimates for all components of the EGS geothermal resource. By far, the conduction-dominated components of EGS represent the largest component of the U.S. resource. Nonetheless, the coproduced resources and geopressured resources are large and significant targets for short and intermediate term development. There is a huge resource base between the depths of 3 and 8 km, where the temperature reaches 150–250°C. Even if only 2% of the conventional EGS resource is developed, the energy recovered would be equivalent to roughly 2,500 times the annual consumption of primary energy in the U.S. in 2006. Temperatures above 150°C at those depths are more common in the active tectonic regions of the western conterminous U.S., but are not confined to those areas. In the central and eastern U.S. there are identified areas of moderate size that are of reasonable grade and probably small areas of much higher grade than predicted by this analyses. However because of the regional (the grid size is 5′ × 5′) scale of this study such potentially promising sites remain to be identified. Several possible scenarios for EGS development are discussed. The most promising and least costly may to be developments in abandoned or shut-in oil and gas fields, where the temperatures are high enough. Because thousands of wells are already drilled in those locations, the cost of producing energy from such fields could be significantly lowered. In addition many hydrocarbon fields are producing large amounts of co-produced water, which is necessary for geothermal development. Although sustainability is not addressed in this study, the resource is so large that in at least some scenarios of development the geothermal resource is sustainable for long periods of time.     

LETTERS TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION

Topographic shading curtails the period and complicates the geographic patterns of insolation in mountainous areas. Maps derived from oblique aerial photographs of shadow lines cast by the irregular, mountainous east horizon in Provo, Utah are used as a case study to illustrate an alternative to existing techniques of solar radiation data collection. For study areas of several hundred square kilometers, this method may be superior in resolution and at the same time more error free and economically feasible than other methods. Measurement of solar inputs received at sample stations scattered through the mapped area show that the phenomenon of topographically delayed sunrise has a distinct effect on daily totals of radiation in the manner suggested by the maps.     

Books in Brief

Abstract

Clyde Wahrhaftig. PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS OF ALASKA. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 482. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1965. iv + 52 pages, maps, plates, photographs. $5.50.

Joseph A. Wraight, OUR DYNAMIC WORLD: A Survey in Modern Geography. Philadelphia: Chilton, 1966. Maps, photos, index, figs., ref. 286 pages. $7.95.

Leslie Symonds. AGRICULTURAL GEOGRAPHY. Praeger Surveys in Economic Geography, R. O. Buchanan, General Editor. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1967. 283 pages, maps, diagrams, tables, bibliography, index. $7.00.

John Kirtland Wright. HUMAN NATURE IN GEOGRAPHY. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1966. xx + 371 pages. $10.00.

A. Bekki, ed. JAPANESE GEOGRAPHY 1966: ITS RECENT TRENDS. (Special Publication No. 1). Tokyo, Japan: The Association of Japanese Geographers, 1966. 190 pages. $7.00.     

Geographic j Materials Received

Abstract

Paul F. Griffin, editor. GEOGRAPHY OF POPULATION. A TEACHER'S MANUAL. The 1970 Yearbook of The National Council for Geographic Education. Palo Alto, Calif.: Fearon Publishers, 1969. xiv + 370 pages, maps and charts. $9.50.

George W. Goddard (with DeWitt S. Copp). OVERVIEW, A LIFELONG ADVENTURE IN AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY. Garden City, New York: Doubleday &; Company, 1969. Photographs, index. 402 pages. $8.95.

Ronald U. Cooke and James H. Johnson, editors. TRENDS IN GEOGRAPHY, AN INTRODUCTORY SURVEY. Oxford and New York. The Pergamon Press, Ltd., 1969. xi + 287 pages. $6.25; flexicover, $4.00.

Robert E. Dickinson. THE MAKERS OF MODERN GEOGRAPHY. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Publishers, 1969. Preface, indexes, photographs. 305 pages. $7.50.     

JAMGIS,the first Jamaican Government comprehensive multi-data geographical information system Achievements and problems

Abstract

JAMGIS, the first comprehensive multi-data geographical information system (GIS) in Jamaica, has been developed by the Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with USAID and two universities in the U.S.A. The system and its database are described and a number of problems encountered in its development and practical application are discussed. The most valuable products to date have been the delineation of areas of crop suitability, two series of twelve land use/cover maps at 1:50000 scale and statistical analyses of soil and land resources.     

GEOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE IN JAPAN

This is the third in a series of reports on Japanese geographic research prepared in cooperation with the Association of Japanese Geographers (AJG). Like the two previous reports, which appeared in the August and November issues, it has been modified for the English-speaking readership of THE PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER. However, unlike the previous articles, each of which aimed at providing data regarding Japanese research on specific geographic topics, this paper is intended to supply the reader with an inventory of those materials that will be needed for the conduct of research in Japan. —H. Jesse Walker, Member, U.S. National Committee, IGU.     

Illustrative Materials for Geography

Abstract

Studies dealing with characteristics of housing and settlement have been based almost entirely on field observation or aerial photographs. However, this report uses information from the Department of Census and Statistics of Ceylon to plot the distribution of dwellings with specific construction material characteristics for Ceylon, thus indicating an aspect of rural housing characteristics and settlement. Use of dwelling construction materials such as mud, clay, stone, brick, cadjan, and thatch can be related to physical characteristics of the area involved, availability of building materials, and level of living and culture of the inhabitants. Cost of construction material must also be considered. If similar housing data, but more complete and of greater scope, were available from the census of every nation, much could be achieved rapidly in the geography of settlement.     

A Field Plan for Large-Scale Terrain Mapping

Abstract

Field work in geography often involves an exercise in which the student is required to make some type of map. Although most areas of the United States are well mapped, seldom are extremely large-scale (larger than 1:24,000) relief maps available. A method of contour-line mapping using small contour intervals and a large scale is appropriate in teaching several mapping principles and requires only a few simple tools and the use of elementary mathematics. Percent slope is established at uniform intervals along closely spaced traverses of the area to be mapped. Spot elevations are thus established from which contour lines can be determined. Accuracy in field-data collection and care in cartography will yield a very satisfactory map of terrain characteristics of small areas. Several concepts of maps and mapping are taught through direct student involvement.     

Quantitative assessment of future development of cooper/silver resources in the Kootenai National Forest,Idaho/Montana: Part I—Estimation of the copper and silver endowments

Faced with an ever-increasing diversity of demand for the use of public lands, managers and planners are turning more often to a multiple-use approach to meet those demands. This approach requires the uses to be mutually compatible and to utilize the more valuable attributes or resource values of the land. Therefore, it is imperative that planners be provided with all available information on attribute and resource values in a timely fashion and in a format that facilitates a comparative evaluation.The Kootenai National Forest administration enlisted the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Bureau of Mines to perform a quantitative assessment of future copper/silver production potential within the forest from sediment-hosted copper deposits in the Revett Formation that are similar to those being mined at the Troy Mine near Spar Lake. The U.S. Geological Survey employed a quantitative assessment technique that compared the favorable host terrane in the Kootenai area with worldwide examples of known sediment-hosted copper deposits. The assessment produced probabilistic estimates of the number of undiscovered deposits that may be present in the area and of the copper and silver endowment that might be contained in them.Results of the assessment suggest that the copper/silver deposit potential is highest in the southwestern one-third of the forest. In this area there is an estimated 50 percent probability of at least 50 additional deposits occurring mostly within approximately 260,000 acres where the Revett Formation is thought to be present in the subsurface at depths of less than 1,500 meters. A Monte Carlo type simulation using data on the grade and tonnage characteristics of other known silver-rich, sediment-hosted copper deposits predicts a 50 percent probability that these undiscovered deposits will contain at least 19 million tonnes of copper and 100,000 tonnes of silver. Combined with endowments estimated for identified, but not thoroughly explored deposits, and deposits that might also occur in the remaining area of the forest, the endowment potential increases to 23 million tonnes of copper and 190,000 tonnes of silver.     

Climatic Factors in Railroad Construction and Operation

Abstract

J. Oliver Thomson. Everyman's Classical Atlas. E. P. Button &; Co., Inc., 300 Park Avenue South, New York 10, N.Y., 1961. 195 pages with figures, maps and photographs $5.00.

David Greenhood. Watch the Tides. Holiday House, 8 West 13th St., New York 11, N.Y., 1961. Unpaged (40), with illustrations. Ages 6.10.$2.75.

Datus C. Smith, Jr. The Land and People of Indonesia. J. B. Lippincott Company, East Washington Square, Philadelphia 5, Pa. 1961. 125 pages with photographs and index. $2.95.

Arthur C. Clarke. The Challenge of the Sea. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 383 Madison Ave., New York 17, N.Y., 1960. 167 pages, including illustrations by Alex Schomburg and an introduction by Wernher von Braun. $3.95.

William D. Allen. Africa. The Fideler Company, 31 Ottawa Avenue, N.W., Grand Rapids 2, Mich., 1961. 160 pages with 146 photographs

M. A. Barker-Benfield. The Lands and Peoples of East Africa. The Macmillan Company, 60 Fifth Avenue, New York 11, N.Y., 1960. 104 pages with 21 photographs, one map, table of contents, appendix and index. $1.75.

Loyal Durand, Jr. Economic Geography. Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 432 Park Avenue, South, New York 16, N.Y., 1961. 578 pages with table of contents, maps, illustrations, and index. $7.25.

Phillip O. Foss. Politics and Grass: The Administration of Grazing on the Public Domain. University of Washington Press, Seattle 5, Wash., 1960. 236 pages with notes, appendix, bibliography and index. $4.50.

Glenn T. Trewartha, Arthur H. Robinson, and Edwin H. Hammon. Fundamentals of Physical Geography. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 330 West 42nd Street, New York 36, N.Y., 1961. 409 pages with table of contents, illustrations and index plus nine map plates. $6.95.

Parley M. Pratt. Rice: Domestic Consumption in the United States. Bureau of Business Research, The University of Texas, Austin, Tex., 1960. xxii and 217 pages with table of contents, maps, tables, graphs, and bibliography. $4.00.

Pierre Gourou (translated by E. D. Laborde). The Tropical World: Its Social and Economic Conditions and Its Future Status (Third Edition). Longmans, Green and Co., 119 W. 40th Street, New York 18, N.Y., 1961. xii and 159

Adrian Cowell. The Heart of the Forest. Alfred A. Knopf, 501 Madison Avenue, New York 22, N.Y., 1961. 238 pages with 39 photographs and 3 maps. $5.00.

Henry B. Lent. Men at Work in the Mid-Atlantic States. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 200 Madison Avenue, New York 16, N.Y., 1961. 192 pages with table of contents area map, photographs and index. $3.50.

George W. Hoffman, editor. A Geography of Europe including Asiastic U.S.S.R., 2nd edition. The Ronald Press Co., 15 E. 26th St., New York 10, N.Y., 1961. 815 pages including illustrations, maps, appendices and index. $12.00.

Adriaan J. Barnouw. The Land and People of Holland. J. B. Lippincott Company, East Washington Square, Philadelphia 5, Pa., 1961. 129 pages with table of contents, 1 map, 8 pages of black and white photos and index. Ages 12-up. $2.95.

G. A. Garritt, R. E. McArdle, W. M. Compton, B. Z. Rhodes, and others. Proceedings of the Forest Land Use Conference of September, 1961. American Forest Products Industries, Inc., 1816 N St. N.W., Washington 6, D.C., 1961. 130 pages. Free.

E. H. G. Dobby. Monsoon Asia. Quadrangle Books, Inc., 119 West Lake Street, Chicago 1, Illinois, 1961. 381 pages with table of contents, illustrations, maps, book list and index. $5.95.

Raymond Wohlrabe and Werner E. Krusch. The Land and People of Denmark. J. B. Lippincott Company, East Washington Square, Philadelphia 5, Pa., 1961. 128 pages with, table of contents, one map, plates and index. Ages 12-up. $2.95.

John R. Ray, Jr. and Robert H. Fuson. Laboratory Exercises in Physical Geography. William C. Brown Company, Inc., Dubuque, Iowa, 1961. 160 pages. $2.75.

Washington Irving. The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, U.S.A., in the Rocky Mountains and the Far West. Edited by Edgeley W. Todd. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1961. iv and 424 pages with table of contents, illustrations, maps, appendices, editor's bibliography and index. $7.95.     

Life Geography from the Child's Point of View

Abstract

A second look is taken at “The Geography of the U.S. in the Year 2,000.” A new interplay is seen of the countervailing pressures to disperse and to agglomerate. Polynucleated urban regions are seen, organized within and around a global poly center. There are certain imperatives: those of demographic cycles and of the economic long wave. These will interact with information-age technologies to change family structures, life styles, and locational preferences. The unexpected also should be expected: “catastrophes” in which existing arrangements are transformed and new structures put into place to replace them. A key to understanding is to continually probe the second derivatives: change in the nature of change.     

Certain Persistent Errors in Geography

Abstract

Reform in geography education, as reflected in Geography for Life: National Geography Standards (1994) for the U.S.A., favors a constructivist approach to learning. This study examines the acceptance of this approach among students in two upper secondary schools in China. A lesson was developed to illustrate interactive problem solving methods. The students reacted positively to the lesson. The instructional practices stimulating their response and the potential for problem solving geography educational methods in China are discussed.     

The Photographic Essay in Geographic Instruction

Abstract

Among the many instructional media techniques available for use in geographic education, slides are probably more frequently utilized than most other visual aids. Unfortunately, all too often not enough attention is given to establishing objectives and, then, organizing the slides accordingly for effective learning. In this paper a media technique which has not been generally exploited in geographic instruction, the photograpihc essay, is examined. The procedures for planning and executing a photo essay are explained along with a discussion of some basic principles of photo composition. It is proposed that both students and teachers at the elementary and secondary level will find this learning activity stimulating and fun.     

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY IN JAPAN∗

A regret frequently expressed at International Geographical Congresses concerns the lack of summary information about the nature of geographic research in the host country. During a discussion of this point with members of the Association of Japanese Geographers, the idea of publishing a series of reports on various aspects of Japanese research surfaced. The concept was later enthusiastically supported by the United States National Committee for the International Geographical Union. This first report, “Historical Geography in Japan,” has been modified for the benefit of the English-speaking readers of THE PROFESSIONAL GEOGRAPHER. Although the reports will be of particular interest to those planning to attend the 1980 IGC in Tokyo, they should prove of general interest as well.—H. Jesse Walker, Member, U.S. National Committee, IGU.     

Land Classification Maps of Areas Basic to Agricultural Production

Abstract

Einevoll, O. 1968. Land Classification Maps of Areas Basic to Agricultural Production. Norsk geogr. Tidsskr. 22, 264–270.

In Norway, a detailed land survey, based on photogrammetry, is now proceeding for land classification maps of the scale 1:5,000 (for certain minor areas 1:10,000) covering agricultural areas and including forest land. The areas to be mapped are classified according to land capability and general conditions of management. Containing a great deal of additional information as well, these maps will serve as a valuable aid in land use planning. The survey is designed to be completed in 12–15 year's time.

More roughly designed maps for the entire country on the scale 1:100,000 and 1:250,000, printed in colour, will be produced within two years' time. Intermediate maps of 1:20,000, containing an extended number of land types, will be undertaken gradually, after the appearance of the large scale map series. Property boundaries recorded in connexion with the surveying for the large scale maps will serve as the basis for a complete land register containing exact information about size and land properties of individual holdings.