In
geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
, scale is the level at which a geographical phenomenon occurs or is described. This concept is derived from the
map scale in
cartography
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
. Geographers describe geographical phenomena and differences using different scales. From an
epistemological
Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics.
Episte ...
perspective, scale is used to describe how detailed an observation is, while
ontologically
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exis ...
, scale is inherent in the complex interaction between society and nature.
Scale effect
The concept of scale is central to geography. To study any geographical phenomenon, one must first determine the scale or
resolution
Resolution(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Resolution (debate), the statement which is debated in policy debate
* Resolution (law), a written motion adopted by a deliberative body
* New Year's resolution, a commitment that an individual mak ...
, because different scales or resolutions may result in different observations and hence different conclusions. This problem is called scale effect or scale dependency.
For example, the answer to the famous question "''
How Long Is the Coast of Britain
"How Long Is the Coast of Britain? Statistical Self-Similarity and Fractional Dimension" is a paper by mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot, first published in ''Science'' on 5 May 1967. In this paper, Mandelbrot discusses self-similar curves that ...
''" is highly dependent on the choice of cartographic scales.
In cartography and
spatial analysis, scale effect and zoning effect (different ways of zoning lead to different statistical outcomes) conbimed can lead to
modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP).
Types
In geography, the term "scale" can be spatial, temporal, or spatio-temporal, but often (though not always) means spatial scale in spatial analysis. In different contexts, "scale" could have very different connotations, which could be classified as follows:
* Geographic scale or the scale of observation: the spatial extent of a study. E.g. a spatial analysis of the entire
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
might be considered a large-scale one, while a study on a city has a relatively small scale.
* Cartographic scale or
map scale: a large-scale
map covers a smaller area but embodies more detail, while a small-scale map covers a larger area with less detail.
* Operational scale: the spatial extent at which a particular phenomenon operates. E.g.
orogeny
Orogeny is a mountain building process. An orogeny is an event that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An ''orogenic belt'' or ''orogen'' develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted t ...
operates at a much larger scale than the formation of a river
pothole
A pothole is a depression in a road surface, usually asphalt pavement, where traffic has removed broken pieces of the pavement. It is usually the result of water in the underlying soil structure and traffic passing over the affected area. Water ...
does.
See also
*
Geologic time scale
The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochrono ...
*
Modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP)
*
Modifiable temporal unit problem (MTUP)
References
{{Reflist
Geography terminology