A geographic map is a special source of information. Types of Geographic Information

Using conventional signs, showing objects located on it or processes and phenomena related to it.

Methods for depicting objects on a map

To depict objects on a map, they are used, which show both the geographical location of the object and some of its characteristics. An explanation of how to read the legend is usually included in the map legend.

The method of a high-quality background involves painting an area with a certain characteristic in a certain color. Thus, climate maps, maps of natural zones, etc. are compiled.
The range method also involves painting the territory in a certain color, but in this case the territories can overlap, in which case they are painted with stripes of different colors. This is how maps of the settlement of certain peoples, animal habitats, etc. are depicted.

Cartograms- another way of depicting objects, in which certain territories (most often countries) are painted in different colors depending on the degree of manifestation of a particular feature. At the same time, the map legend contains a diagram indicating which color corresponds to which indicator. This is how maps of the provision of natural resources, energy, land use maps and all similar maps are compiled.

The isoline method involves reflecting information using lines connecting points on the map with the same indicators. The most commonly used isolines are: isotherms (same temperature), isobars (same pressure), horizontals (same height/depth). This method is used on physical and climate maps.

The movement sign method involves reflecting the direction of movement using arrows - for example, movement, currents, etc.

Several methods of displaying information can be used on one map. For example, on a physical map, the method of movement signs is used to show sea currents, the method of isolines and cartograms is used to display absolute heights.

Scale and its types

Any map is drawn using a scale. Scale is the ratio of the length of a segment on a map to its length in reality. Most often, the scale is specified as a fraction, for example, 1/20,000, which means that 1 cm on the map corresponds to 20,000 cm, i.e. 200 m on the map. The smaller the denominator of the fraction, the larger the scale. In general, scale is usually divided into large, medium and small. Large scale -1/200000 and larger, it is used in the preparation of topographic maps and. Medium scale (1/200000 - 1/1000000) is used to create survey topographic maps. Small scale (1/1,000,000 and smaller) is used to create general geographic maps.

Measuring distances on a map

Distances on a map can be measured using a degree grid and a scale. If the points are on the same meridian or parallel, it is convenient to use. The length of an arc of 1° at any meridian and at the equator is known - 111 km. The length of parallels decreases as you move from the equator to the poles; there are tables with which you can find out the length of an arc of 1° on any parallel. Thus, if two points are at the same latitude or longitude, it is convenient to measure the distance between them using a degree grid.

The distance between any two points can be calculated using a scale by measuring the distance on the map with a ruler and multiplying it by the scale value. If you need to measure the length of a curve (for example, the length of a river or road), you can use a measuring compass or wet thread. The thread is laid out on the map along the entire course of the river, repeating all the bends. The thread is then straightened and measured. The compass is set at a short distance, and then they “walk” along all the bends of the river, counting the steps. After this, the distance measured with a compass on the map is calculated, and using a scale, the actual distance between two points is found.

1. What sources of geographical knowledge did you become acquainted with when studying the initial geography course? What are their features?

Textbooks, gazetteers and encyclopedias, maps and atlases.

2. What is a plan and a geographical map?

Plan - a drawing depicting a part of the earth's surface in conventional symbols on a plane. A map is a special source of geographical knowledge; it is an image of a model of the earth's surface, containing a coordinate grid with symbols on a plane in a reduced form. A map is a generalized image of the earth's surface, while a plan is just a drawing on paper, everything is there with the help of conventional signs, and on a map everything is like a photo from space.

3. What is scale.

Scale is the ratio of the length of a line in a drawing, plan or map to the length of the corresponding line in reality.

4. What symbols on maps do you already know?

Scale and non-scale symbols.

Questions and tasks

1. What groups are maps divided into based on territory coverage?

Small-scale, medium-scale and large-scale.

2. What are the characteristics of each of these groups?

The first group includes maps that depict the entire earth's surface. The second group includes maps depicting, as a rule, larger parts of the earth's surface, and the third - smaller ones.

3. What other criteria are used to divide cards in the textbook?

By scale: Large-scale, medium-scale, small-scale. Content: General geographical and thematic. By territory coverage: the World and hemispheres, continents and their parts, oceans and their parts. Purpose: Scientific reference, tourist, technical, educational.

4. For each group of maps, give two examples (except large-scale ones).

Medium-scale – international world map and US aeronautical maps. Small-scale - weather map, map of the distribution of religions.

5. What differences in scale exist among the group of small-scale maps? Support your answer with examples.

Maps have different accuracy and detail. Small-scale maps are created to cover large areas, from large regions to the entire world. But in order to create a map of Eastern Siberia, the scale must be larger than that of the map of the hemispheres. Second example: a wall map of the hemispheres has a scale of 1 cm 100 km or 1: 10000000, but in the atlas the same map will have a different scale (otherwise it will not fit into the atlas), say, 1: 50000000 (1 cm 50 km), and if the same map is placed in a geography textbook, then the scale will be even smaller.

6. Think about where people use geographic maps?

First of all, people use maps as a reliable guide, both on land and by water, to plot the right routes when carrying out hiking trips. The use of maps in military affairs is very important: they play the role of the main source of information about the area. Maps are used as a teaching aid for school teaching. They serve as the basis for drawing up navigation programs for air transport. Used for laying land and sea routes. Explorers and travelers use maps for travel. In meteorology. We use maps to determine our location.

7. Name the methods of geographical research.

Travel, observation, description, characterization, mapping, comparison, statistics, historical and space method, aerial photography.

8. What professions require knowledge of geography?

Geologist, seismologist, sailor, astronomer, tour operator, geophysicist, surveyor, translator, guide, teacher, meteorologist.

Geographic map is a special source of information

Thematic maps

Vegetation maps, for example, depict the distribution and composition of vegetation in different areas. There are also mineral maps, forest maps, relief maps, synoptic maps, industrial maps, which show large cities - industrial centers and their specialization. All these maps characterize geographical objects and phenomena on a specific topic: vegetation, relief, industry. That is why they are called thematic. For example, a political map will first of all give an idea of ​​the location of countries and their borders.

General geographical maps

General geographic maps display various elements of the earth's surface - relief, vegetation, rivers, settlements, transport networks, etc. For example, a physical map of Russia.

Based on the coverage of territory, maps of the world, individual continents, countries and their parts (regions) are distinguished.

A political map of the World

The political map of the world is one of the most important cartographic sources in the world geography course, since this map shows different countries, their capitals, communication routes and other useful information.

Let's look at the political map. In addition to the borders of states, on the political map you see the largest cities and capitals of countries, communication routes and seaports, the largest hydrographic objects (seas, rivers, lakes, bays, straits). Some other geographic features, such as terrain, may also be shown.

On the political map of the world you will find more than 230 countries and territories.

The borders of the state take quite a long time to form. They can change for various reasons: historical, political, economic, cultural, natural.

In order to know the political map of the world or individual continents and their parts, it is necessary to constantly refer to it, train in determining the geographical location of certain countries or regions, and monitor the changes taking place in the world.

The most complex is the political map of Western Europe. Let us together determine the geographical location of the countries in this region (Table 1).

Table 1. Western European countries

The time zone map is an interesting and, most importantly, useful map (Fig. I).

For the convenience of counting time, the entire surface of the Earth was divided into 24 time zones. Each time zone differs by one hour from the next. The belts are numbered from 0 to 23 from west to east from the Greenwich meridian. All points within the same zone are considered to have the same standard time. Moscow, for example, is in the second time zone.

However, in Moscow we live not according to standard time, but according to maternity time (from the Latin decretum - decree, decree). In addition, you know that in Russia the clock hands are moved forward (summer time) or back (winter time) by one hour in order to make the most efficient use of the daylight hours and save energy. Therefore, Moscow, being in the 2nd time zone, practically lives according to the time of the 3rd time zone. In other words, when it is 13 o’clock in Moscow (Moscow time), then in Paris it is 11 o’clock (Central European Time), and in London it is 10 o’clock (Greenwich Time).

Rice. 1. Map of world time zones

Look at the hag of time zones. The boundaries of time zones are not drawn exactly along the meridians. For convenience, the boundaries of states, regions, states and other administrative-territorial entities within one country are taken into account. In Russia, for example, the 11th and 12th time zones are combined into one.

Railroad and air transport, telephone and telegraph communications throughout the country usually operate on the same time. In Russia, for example, it is Moscow time.

If you look closely at a map of time zones, you will notice what is remarkable about the 180th meridian. The conventional date line runs along it. Its zigzag in the region of the Chukotka Peninsula is not accidental. The fact is that on both sides of this line the hours and minutes coincide, and the calendar dates differ by one day. If the international date line crossed Chukotka, its residents would have to maintain their own calendar, one day ahead of the national calendar.

If you ever decide to travel around the world and go east from Cape Dezhnev, crossing the International Date Line, do not forget to count the same day twice. And vice versa, moving from east to west, you miss one day.

Statistical materials are one of the main sources of geographic information

Statistics is a science that studies the totality of mass phenomena in order to take into account and identify patterns of their development using quantitative (statistical) indicators. Population is just such a mass phenomenon. Statistical indicators include absolute and relative values, as well as various coefficients.

Absolute values ​​have informative value and show the size of geographical phenomena. For example, Russia has the largest territory in the world - more than 17 million km2, which is almost twice the territory of countries such as China, the USA or Canada. However, in terms of population, Russia is inferior to many countries. In 2007, the total population was 142 million people. – eighth place in the world.

Table 2. Population of the largest countries in the world (million people)

The relative value expresses the result of comparing (comparing) statistical indicators with each other. They make it possible to detect certain changes in geographical phenomena and their trends.

Coefficients are indicators that reflect the characteristic features of individual phenomena, for example, the coefficient of specialization or natural population growth.

In order to learn how to work with statistical materials, you must first of all imagine how they are organized and constructed (ordered).

A statistical table is a system of vertical and horizontal graphs (columns and rows), equipped with headings and filled in with digital data in a certain order. It contains statistical data necessary to characterize the geographical phenomenon being studied and its components. The headings of the horizontal rows of the statistical table correspond to the statistical “subject”, and the top headings of its vertical columns correspond to the statistical “predicate”.

Let's look, for example, at the statistical table. 3 “Changes in the share of economic regions in the population of Russia according to census data of 1926-2002.”

Table 3. Change in the share of economic regions in the Russian population according to census data for 1926-2002, %

The statistical subject contains a list of those parts and groups of the phenomenon being studied that are quantitatively characterized in the predicate. In this case, these are the economic regions of Russia. The predicate of the table shows the values ​​of the phenomenon being studied - the proportion of the population living in the economic regions of the Russian Federation over a number of years.

Thus, any statistical table includes three required elements:

General table title;

Statistical subject;

Statistical predicate.

Statistical materials can be presented not only in statistical tables, but also in visual form: in diagrams, graphs, maps, maps.

Statistical maps are primarily cartograms and map diagrams. Let us together, using the table. 4, let’s draw up a cartogram on a contour map showing the population density of the economic regions of Russia:

Let's write down the name of the cartogram (“Population density of economic regions of Russia”);

Let’s write down the name of the source on the basis of which we will build a cartogram (statistical table “Population density of economic regions of Russia”);

Let us write down the relative statistical indicators that we will depict, having first rounded their values ​​to whole numbers;

Let's divide the indicators into groups based on the principle of equal intervals. The simplest way of breaking down is to divide the difference between the largest (63) and smallest value (1) indicator by 5. In our case (63 – 1 = 62 ”60: 5 = 12) the interval will be equal to 12, and the groups of indicators will be as follows: 1 – 12; 12-24; 24-36; 36-48; 48-60 and more than 60 people/km2;

Let's compose a cartogram legend in a notebook, where darker tones of color (or denser shading) depict greater intensity of the phenomenon; light shades (or sparse shading) - less. To depict colors, it is better to take shades of the same paint: from lighter to darker;

We will show on a contour map the boundaries of economic regions of Russia;

Let’s transfer the cartogram legend to the contour map in “Symbols”;

Let's make a cartogram.

The construction of graphs and charts based on statistical indicators has a mathematical basis that is well known to you.

Based on their graphs, we can conclude that up to the 90s. XX century In the settlement of the Russian population, the historical trend of developing new lands and Russian outskirts continued.

Since the 1990s There is a reverse trend of population decline in the northern and eastern regions of Russia, primarily the Far Eastern and Northern regions.

Diagrams show the volume and structure of geographical phenomena. They can be circular, point, linear, area, volumetric, etc. (Fig. 2). Let us recall that when constructing pie charts, the initial radius is considered to be the one directed upward on the sheet of paper, i.e. “northern”. It is from this that the indicators (at the rate of I% = 3.6 degrees) characterizing a geographical phenomenon, for example the settlement of the Earth's population depending on the proximity of the seas, are plotted clockwise by eye.

Rice. 2. Distribution of the Earth's population depending on the proximity of the coasts of seas and oceans

The scale of the diagram depends on: a) the size of the sheet; b) the values ​​of the initial indicators; c) the difference between the highest and lowest values ​​of indicators; d) the number of diagram signs.

To determine the scale of a bar chart, for example, you first need to establish what the largest and smallest bars can be. The base of the diagram is determined by the formula X = A: M, where X is the base of the diagram; A is the statistical indicator we use; M is the base of scale, which shows how many units of this indicator are per 1 square. mm area diagram. It is compiled like this. First, the center line is drawn - the base of the diagram, and then the perpendiculars are restored taking into account the scale.

Drawing up a cartodiagram on a contour map comes down to constructing diagrams within the boundaries of a certain territory, for example, within the boundaries of large regions of Russia, economic regions, and constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The age-sex pyramid allows you to visually analyze the sex ratio by age group of the population. It is constructed as follows. Along the vertical axis, age is plotted at regular intervals (in the form of age intervals; for example, 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, etc.), and along the horizontal axis - to the left - the number (or proportion) of men, and to the right – women (on the same scale). For each age group, they build their own linear diagram and, as it were, “string” them one after another from the bottom up - from the base of the pyramid to its top (Fig. 3). Based on the shape of such a pyramid, one can determine the characteristics of the age structure of the population and identify the characteristics of the sex ratio in various age groups. Quantitative data on the ratio of sexes and age groups of the population, read from sex-age pyramids, can be used for further calculations of general demographic indicators (for example, dependency ratios), their analysis and comparison.

Rice. 3. Sex and age pyramids

The question arises of how to update statistical materials, because they soon become outdated. For this purpose, there are statistical collections, reference books, periodicals, and Internet resources.

Geographic information systems as a means of obtaining, processing and presenting geographic information

Geographic information systems (GIS) are a computer database that stores geoinformation in the form of maps of various contents, digital and text information on objects plotted on these maps. Information can be presented on the monitor screen and in the form of printouts of any scale, tables, graphs, diagrams for any of the information blocks.

Based on spatial coverage, global, national, regional, local and city GIS are distinguished. According to their purpose, they are divided into resource cadastral, land, environmental, geological, marine, educational, etc.

Thus, geographic information systems (GIS) are special systems that are capable of collecting, systematizing, storing, processing, evaluating, displaying and distributing data at a new technical level and obtaining new geographic information on this basis. It is very effective, for example, to use educational GIS when comparing thematic maps of different contents for the same territory, be it a country or a region; when establishing various geographical connections.

We would like to draw your special attention to the possibilities and resources of the Internet that can be used by you in the process of studying the course. They include:

Educational resources WWW (World Wide Web);

E-mail (electronic mail);

Teleconferences.

Educational resources on the World Wide Web may be useful:

To search for additional and updated (including statistical) information for lessons during the preparation process;

To search for information in the process of preparing various kinds of creative works (reports, abstracts, business games, educational conferences, etc.).

Email can be used:

To exchange educational creative works with their peers from other schools and regions of our country;

For mutual exchange of information in the process of solving problems of distance learning and telecommunications projects.

Teleconferences may be useful:

By participating in various kinds of educational and cognitive telecommunications projects.

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A geographic map is a reduced generalized image of the earth's surface, showing the location, state and connections of various natural and social phenomena, their changes over time, development and movement in accordance with the purpose of this map.

Geographic maps can naturally be considered as visual figurative and symbolic models. They have the main features of models in general: abstraction from the whole to study a part - a specific territory, specific phenomena and processes; simplification, which consists in refusing to take into account many characteristics and connections and preserving some of the most significant ones; generalization, meaning the identification of common features and properties, etc. These abstractions contribute to a deeper knowledge of the phenomena depicted on the maps.

The first feature of geographic maps is their construction using map projections, which make it possible to obtain from maps correct data on the position, planned dimensions and shape of depicted earthly objects.

The second feature of geographic maps - the use of cartographic symbols as a special language of the map - makes it possible to:

a) depict the earth’s surface with the desired reduction (i.e., on the desired scale) in order to cover at a single glance the necessary part or even the entire earth’s surface, while reproducing on the map those objects that, due to reduction, are not expressed on the scale of the map, but in their own way the value must be shown;

b) show the relief of the earth’s surface on the map (for example, using contour lines), that is, convey the unevenness of the terrain in a flat image;

c) not be limited to displaying the surface of objects on a geographical map, but indicating their internal properties (for example, on a sea map you can show the physical and chemical properties of water, currents, topography and soils of the seabed, and much more);

d) show the distribution of phenomena that are not directly perceived by our senses (for example, magnetic declination, gravity anomalies, etc.), and make visible connections and relationships that are inaccessible to direct perception (for example, between sources of raw materials and enterprises for their processing);

e) exclude less significant aspects, particulars and details characteristic of individual objects, and highlight their general and essential features (for example, characterize settlements by population and administrative significance, refusing to convey their layout), i.e. resort to abstraction.

The third feature of geographical maps is especially important - the selection and generalization of the phenomena depicted, i.e. cartographic generalization.

Geographic maps have been and remain the main source of geographic information. Maps allow a simultaneous overview of space within any limits - from a small area of ​​terrain to the surface of the Earth as a whole. They create a visual overview of the shape, size and relative position of objects, and allow you to find their spatial dimensions: coordinates, lengths, areas, heights and volumes. Maps contain the necessary quantitative and qualitative characteristics of these objects and, finally, show the connections that exist between them: spatial and some others. These properties explain the meaning and value of cards for practice.

Geographic maps, recording the position, condition and spatial connections of specific objects (phenomena), allow not only to economically and expressively present knowledge about the distribution of phenomena, but also to find patterns in this distribution. In some branches of knowledge, maps are used as the main means of research.

Maps serve as a reliable guide on land and in the ocean, during the movement of troops and on tourist trips, for airship flights and for walking routes.

In military affairs, they are the main source of information about the terrain and a mandatory aid for command and control of troops and the organization of their interaction.

In industrial, energy and transport construction, maps are used as the basis for surveys, design and transfer of engineering projects to nature. Now the most advantageous routes for railways, highways and pipelines are not found in the field, but are outlined using topographic maps in the offices of design organizations.

Maps are widely used in agriculture for land management, land reclamation, measures to increase soil fertility, to combat erosion, and in general for accounting and the most correct, effective use of all land funds.

Maps constitute an indispensable aid for school and out-of-school learning. They are not only a repository of accumulated geographical knowledge, but also an effective means for their dissemination and the rise of a common culture. Without exaggeration, it is fashionable to say that maps are used to one degree or another in all spheres of human activity.

Maps have acquired great importance as a means of scientific research, especially geographical research. Each geographical study, in one way or another, proceeds from existing maps and provides materials for their implementation and improvement. The scope of use of maps as a means of scientific research is rapidly expanding as the overall pace of scientific progress increases. In particular, this expansion is facilitated by advances in the development of computer science and in the development of modeling theory.

The study of computer science on the general problems of collecting, storing and transmitting knowledge allows us to more fully appreciate the merits of geographic maps as a special form of processing, presentation and analysis of spatial information. As noted, these advantages lie in the possibility of a one-time, holistic perception of cartographic images, the visibility of territorial differences and the convenience of analyzing spatial combinations, relationships and patterns.

The modeling method in geography, geographic information and remote sensing methods are based on the cartographic method. The vigorous introduction of modeling methods into modern science has revealed, when applied to cartography, the real power of maps as generalized and simplified spatial images of the real world, that is, its models reflecting those aspects, properties and processes of reality that are important for the purposes of specific research. Maps allow us to gain new knowledge, study development processes and predict many phenomena. Developing methods for using maps as a research tool is one of the main tasks of modern cartography.

Despite the introduction of new methods into geography, the cartographic method is one of the main ones when conducting research. And although now maps are often stored in computer memory and are parts of geographic information systems that receive information from satellites and from numerous weather stations, including data banks containing reports on the results of the work of many research teams, the map remains the most advanced way of transmitting spatial information.

Geographic map is a special source of information

Thematic maps

Vegetation maps, for example, depict the distribution and composition of vegetation in different areas. There are also mineral maps, forest maps, relief maps, synoptic maps, industrial maps, which show large cities - industrial centers and their specialization. All these maps characterize geographical objects and phenomena on a specific topic: vegetation, relief, industry. That is why they are called thematic. For example, a political map will first of all give an idea of ​​the location of countries and their borders.

General geographical maps

General geographic maps display various elements of the earth's surface - relief, vegetation, rivers, settlements, transport networks, etc. For example, a physical map of Russia.

Based on the coverage of territory, maps of the world, individual continents, countries and their parts (regions) are distinguished.

A political map of the World

The political map of the world is one of the most important cartographic sources in the world geography course, since this map shows different countries, their capitals, communication routes and other useful information.

Let's look at the political map. In addition to the borders of states, on the political map you see the largest cities and capitals of countries, communication routes and seaports, the largest hydrographic objects (seas, rivers, lakes, bays, straits). Some other geographic features, such as terrain, may also be shown.

On the political map of the world you will find more than 230 countries and territories.

The borders of the state take quite a long time to form. They can change for various reasons: historical, political, economic, cultural, natural.

In order to know the political map of the world or individual continents and their parts, it is necessary to constantly refer to it, train in determining the geographical location of certain countries or regions, and monitor the changes taking place in the world.

The most complex is the political map of Western Europe. Let us together determine the geographical location of the countries in this region (Table 1).

Table 1. Western European countries

The time zone map is an interesting and, most importantly, useful map (Fig. I).

For the convenience of counting time, the entire surface of the Earth was divided into 24 time zones. Each time zone differs by one hour from the next. The belts are numbered from 0 to 23 from west to east from the Greenwich meridian. All points within the same zone are considered to have the same standard time. Moscow, for example, is in the second time zone.

However, in Moscow we live not according to zone time, but according to maternity time (from the Latin decretum - decree, decree). In addition, you know that in Russia the clock hands are moved forward (summer time) or back (winter time) by one hour in order to make the most efficient use of the daylight hours and save energy. Therefore, Moscow, being in the 2nd time zone, practically lives according to the time of the 3rd time zone. In other words, when it is 13 o'clock in Moscow (Moscow time), then in Paris it is 11 o'clock (Central European Time), and in London it is 10 o'clock (Greenwich Time).

Rice. 1. Map of world time zones

Look at the hag of time zones. The boundaries of time zones are not drawn exactly along the meridians. For convenience, the boundaries of states, regions, states and other administrative-territorial entities within one country are taken into account. In Russia, for example, the 11th and 12th time zones are combined into one.

Railroad and air transport, telephone and telegraph communications throughout the country usually operate on the same time. In Russia, for example, it is Moscow time.

If you look closely at a map of time zones, you will notice what is remarkable about the 180th meridian. The conventional date line runs along it. Its zigzag in the region of the Chukotka Peninsula is not accidental. The fact is that on both sides of this line the hours and minutes coincide, and the calendar dates differ by one day. If the international date line crossed Chukotka, its residents would have to maintain their own calendar, one day ahead of the national calendar.

If you ever decide to travel around the world and go east from Cape Dezhnev, crossing the International Date Line, do not forget to count the same day twice. And vice versa, moving from east to west, you miss one day.

Statistical materials are one of the main sources of geographic information

Statistics is a science that studies the totality of mass phenomena in order to take into account and identify patterns of their development using quantitative (statistical) indicators. Population is just such a mass phenomenon. Statistical indicators include absolute and relative values, as well as various coefficients.

Absolute values ​​have informative value and show the size of geographical phenomena. For example, Russia has the largest territory in the world - more than 17 million km2, which is almost twice the territory of countries such as China, the USA or Canada. However, in terms of population, Russia is inferior to many countries. In 2007, the total population was 142 million people. - eighth place in the world.

Table 2. Population of the largest countries in the world (million people)

The relative value expresses the result of comparing (comparing) statistical indicators with each other. They make it possible to detect certain changes in geographical phenomena and their trends.

Coefficients are indicators that reflect the characteristic features of individual phenomena, for example, the coefficient of specialization or natural population growth.

In order to learn how to work with statistical materials, you must first of all imagine how they are organized and constructed (ordered).

A statistical table is a system of vertical and horizontal graphs (columns and rows), equipped with headings and filled in with digital data in a certain order. It contains statistical data necessary to characterize the geographical phenomenon being studied and its components. The headings of the horizontal rows of a statistical table correspond to the statistical “subject”, and the top headings of its vertical columns correspond to the statistical “predicate”.

Let's look, for example, at the statistical table. 3 “Changes in the share of economic regions in the population of Russia according to census data of 1926-2002.”

Table 3. Change in the share of economic regions in the Russian population according to census data for 1926-2002, %

The statistical subject contains a list of those parts and groups of the phenomenon being studied that are quantitatively characterized in the predicate. In this case, these are the economic regions of Russia. The predicate of the table shows the values ​​of the phenomenon being studied - the proportion of the population living in the economic regions of the Russian Federation over a number of years.

Thus, any statistical table includes three required elements:

general table title;

statistical subject;

statistical predicate.

Statistical materials can be presented not only in statistical tables, but also in visual form: in diagrams, graphs, maps, maps.

Statistical maps are primarily cartograms and cartodiagrams. Let us together, using the table. 4, let’s draw up a cartogram on a contour map showing the population density of the economic regions of Russia:

write down the name of the cartogram (“Population density of economic regions of Russia”);

we will write down the name of the source on the basis of which we will build a cartogram (statistical table “Population density of economic regions of Russia”);

Let's write out the relative statistical indicators that we will depict, having first rounded their values ​​to whole numbers;

Let's divide the indicators into groups based on the principle of equal intervals. The simplest method of breakdown is to divide the difference between the largest (63) and smallest value (1) indicator by 5. In our case (63 - 1 = 62 « 60: 5 = 12) the interval will be equal to 12, and the groups of indicators will be as follows: 1 - 12; 12-24; 24-36; 36-48; 48-60 and more than 60 people/km2;

Let's make a cartogram legend in a notebook, where darker tones of color (or denser shading) depict greater intensity of the phenomenon; light shades (or sparse shading) - less. To depict colors, it is better to take shades of the same paint: from lighter to darker;

we will show on a contour map the boundaries of economic regions of Russia;

transfer the cartogram legend to the contour map in the “Symbols”;

Let's make a cartogram.

The construction of graphs and charts based on statistical indicators has a mathematical basis that is well known to you.

Based on their graphs, we can conclude that up to the 90s. XX century In the settlement of the Russian population, the historical trend of developing new lands and Russian outskirts continued.

Since the 1990s There is a reverse trend of population decline in the northern and eastern regions of Russia, primarily the Far Eastern and Northern regions.

Diagrams show the volume and structure of geographical phenomena. They can be circular, point, linear, area, volumetric, etc. (Fig. 2). Let us recall that when constructing pie charts, the initial radius is considered to be the one directed upward on the sheet of paper, i.e., “northern.” It is from this that the indicators (at the rate of I% = 3.6 degrees) characterizing a geographical phenomenon, for example the settlement of the Earth's population depending on the proximity of the seas, are plotted clockwise by eye.

Rice. 2. Distribution of the Earth's population depending on the proximity of the coasts of seas and oceans

The scale of the diagram depends on: a) the size of the sheet; b) the values ​​of the initial indicators; c) the difference between the highest and lowest values ​​of indicators; d) the number of diagram signs.

To determine the scale of a bar chart, for example, you first need to establish what the largest and smallest bars can be. The base of the diagram is determined by the formula X = A: M, where X is the base of the diagram; A is the statistical indicator we use; M is the base of scale, which shows how many units of this indicator are per 1 square. mm area diagram. It is compiled like this. First, the center line is drawn - the base of the diagram, and then the perpendiculars are restored taking into account the scale.

Drawing up a cartodiagram on a contour map comes down to constructing diagrams within the boundaries of a certain territory, for example, within the boundaries of large regions of Russia, economic regions, and constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The age-sex pyramid allows you to visually analyze the sex ratio by age group of the population. It is constructed as follows. Along the vertical axis, age is plotted at regular intervals (in the form of age intervals; for example, 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, etc.), and along the horizontal axis - to the left - the number (or proportion) of men, and to the right - women (on the same scale). For each age group, they build their own linear diagram and, as it were, “string” them one after another from the bottom up - from the base of the pyramid to its top (Fig. 3). Based on the shape of such a pyramid, one can determine the characteristics of the age structure of the population and identify the characteristics of the sex ratio in various age groups. Quantitative data on the ratio of sexes and age groups of the population, read from sex-age pyramids, can be used for further calculations of general demographic indicators (for example, dependency ratios), their analysis and comparison.

Rice. 3. Sex and age pyramids

The question arises of how to update statistical materials, because they soon become outdated. For this purpose, there are statistical collections, reference books, periodicals, and Internet resources.

Geographic information systems as a means of obtaining, processing and presenting geographic information

Geographic information systems (GIS) are a computer database that stores geoinformation in the form of maps of various contents, digital and text information on objects plotted on these maps. Information can be presented on the monitor screen and in the form of printouts of any scale, tables, graphs, diagrams for any of the information blocks.

Based on spatial coverage, global, national, regional, local and city GIS are distinguished. According to their purpose, they are divided into resource cadastral, land, environmental, geological, marine, educational, etc.

Thus, geographic information systems (GIS) are special systems that are capable of collecting, systematizing, storing, processing, evaluating, displaying and distributing data at a new technical level and obtaining new geographic information on this basis. It is very effective, for example, to use educational GIS when comparing thematic maps of different contents for the same territory, be it a country or a region; when establishing various geographical connections.

We would like to draw your special attention to the possibilities and resources of the Internet that can be used by you in the process of studying the course. They include:

educational resources WWW (World Wide Web);

E-mail (electronic mail);

teleconferences.

Educational resources on the World Wide Web may be useful:

to search for additional and updated (including statistical) information for lessons during the preparation process;

to search for information in the process of preparing various kinds of creative works (reports, abstracts, business games, educational conferences, etc.).

Email can be used:

to exchange educational creative works with their peers from other schools and regions of our country;

for mutual exchange of information in the process of solving problems of distance learning and telecommunications projects.

Teleconferences may be useful:

when participating in various kinds of educational and cognitive telecommunications projects.