geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

, 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 , '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 imagined reality) can ...

. Geographers describe geographical phenomena and differences using different scales. From an

epistemological Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowled ...

perspective, scale is used to describe how detailed an observation is, while ontologically, 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, 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 The coastline paradox is the counterintuitive observation that the coastline of a landmass does not have a well-defined length. This results from the fractal curve-like properties of coastlines; i.e., the fact that a coastline typically has a f ...

''" is highly dependent on the choice of cartographic scales. In cartography and

spatial analysis Spatial analysis is any of the formal Scientific technique, techniques which study entities using their topological, geometric, or geographic properties, primarily used in Urban design, Urban Design. Spatial analysis includes a variety of techni ...

, scale effect and zoning effect (different ways of zoning lead to different statistical outcomes) combined can lead to

modifiable areal unit problem __NOTOC__ The modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) is a source of statistical bias that can significantly impact the results of statistical hypothesis tests. MAUP affects results when point-based measures of spatial phenomena are Aggregate data, a ...

(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 (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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 A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on ...

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 phenomena operates. E.g.

orogeny Orogeny () is a mountain-mountain formation, building process that takes place at a convergent boundary, convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An or develops as the compressed plate crumples and is tectonic uplift, u ...

operates at a much larger scale than the formation of a river

pothole A pothole is a pot-shaped 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 affecte ...

does.

References

{{Reflist Geography terminology

Scale effect

Types

See also

References