American Association of Geographers American Association of Geographers

 

American Association of Geographers


ARGUS ACTIVITY TOPICS

Population Geography -- patterns of settlement and population movement
A.
Native Americans. Review physical geography by evaluating environmental conditions on reservations.
AX: Review physical geography by describing the geographic pattern of large urban areas.
B. Colonialism. Judge site and situation on maps in order to select settlement sites in three key regions.
C. Historic immigration. Identify place-names and other ethnic markers on topographic maps.
CX: Flows of Immigrants.
CXX. Local Sources of Immigration Data.
D. The Civil War. Tabulate data from maps to judge links between landforms and antebellum plantations.
E. Modern immigration. Interpret population graphs for various communities in Texas.
F. East-to-west migration. Measure the efficiency of land-division systems in New England and Louisiana.
FX: Use maps to choose land and describe it in the terminology of the Public Land Survey.
G. Rural-to-urban migration. Use choropleth maps and a model to predict population in northwest Kansas.
H. City-to-suburb migration. Measure the growth of suburbs on aerial photos.
HX. Land use change in the suburbs.
I. Migration to boom areas. Use an index of local importance to describe communities in southern California.

Economic Geography -- patterns of production, consumption, and trade
J.
The resource base. Draw isoline maps and match natural hazard maps with a list of descriptions.
JX: Review climate by matching climate graphs with a list of locations.
K. Agriculture. Identify crop regions by allocating land to competing agricultural uses.
KX: Match dot maps with descriptions of major rural land uses.
L. Heavy industry. Choose sites form iron and steel factories at three time periods with different technology.
M. Hi-tech industry. use a weighting method to choose a site for a research center in the Sun Belt.
N. Services. Determine market areas of professional baseball teams and choose a site for an expansion team.
NX: Determine market areas of video stores and choose a site for a new store in upstate New York.
O. Transportation. Examine the influence of transportation connections on income in Alabama.
P. Infrastructure. Draw side profiles of land to evaluate mobility in Maryland.
Q. Trade. Map U.S. imports from and exports to various countries around the Caribbean Sea.

Political Geography -- patterns associated with Constitutional government
R.
A more perfect Union. Evaluate the influence of geographic factors on the "governability" of states.
S. Establish justice. Draw new district boundaries to ensure fair representation for minority populations in East Chicago.
T. Promote domestic tranquillity. Evaluate the geographic pattern of teenage childbearing.
U. Provide for defense. Design maps to persuade where cuts in military spending should be made.
V. Promote general welfare. Understand the geographic pattern of tuberculosis in New York City.
VX. Wilderness as metaphor.
W. Ensure the blessings of liberty. Figure the present value of future income in Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, and Wyoming, in order to choose the best places to make public investment.

Environmental Issues
X.
Resource appraisal. Use map overlay to select sites for a development in Alaska.
XX: Use an environmental model to predict soil erosion in New Jersey and Georgia.
Y. Environmental risk. Predict the flood hazard in Memphis, Tennessee.
Z. A livable country. Review geographic patterns to select disposal sites for nuclear waste.
ZX: Make a preference map to record individual perceptions of various regions.

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