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how does topography affect the human settlements

by Rosina Batz Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Rugged and undulating topography restricts the condensation of human population in any area. Abrupt changes in the density of population can be seen on the world map of population distribution where plains meet mountain ranges. … In the mountainous areas valleys provide suitable locations for human settlements.

The topography of an area was important for early human settlement. Farmers usually settled in flat, open areas such as plains and valleys. Large, flat spaces gave them room to grow crops. Also, the rich soil in coastal plains and river valleys was excellent for growing crops.

Full Answer

How has topography had an affect on human life?

Topography shows elevation and surface features. It has had an affect on human life because now, with topography, we know where elevation is and how high it is. Where did indias earliest human settlements develop how did geography affect the location of those earliest settlements? How did rivers affect human settlements?

How do natural disasters affect human beings?

Diseases are one such natural hazard that affect both the human body (and mind) as well as the animals and plants needed for human survival. Weather (temperature, winds, earthquakes, and so on) is another significant factor that profoundly affects human settlements and settlers alike. How does topography affect soil?

How do natural hazards affect human development and history?

In respect to general human development and history, human settlements are influenced by natural hazards of various kinds. Diseases are one such natural hazard that affect both the human body (and mind) as well as the animals and plants needed for human survival.

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How does topography affect of population?

(3) With the rise of topographic relief, the population density generally shows a downward trend. When the topographic relief is less than 50 m, the population density exceeds 1000 people/km 2. Topographic relief is an important factor affecting population distribution.

How does geography affect human settlement?

Geography is often a major factor in deciding where a group of people settle. People need access to natural resources to build their homes and other infrastructure, to land that can provide food and water, and to places that are easily accessible to those who live in them.

Which factors affect the human settlement?

Factors can be push or pull....Physical FeaturesBody of water (transportation routes, water for drinking and farming)Flat land (easy to build)Fertile soil (for crops)Forests (timber and housing)

Why geography is important to human settlement?

Exploring the relationship between geography and settlements. Students will understand that people settle where there are geographical features that sustain life. They will take away that most major population centers are around water, food, and geographical features that help with safety and life sustaining supplies.

What is human settlement in geography?

A human settlement is defined as a place inhabited more or less permanently. The houses may be designed or redesigned, buildings may be altered, functions may change but settlement continues in time and space. There may be some settlements which are temporary and are occupied for short periods, may be a season.

What geographic factors affect the location of a settlement?

Physical factors that influence the location of a settlement include ; Water suppy - settlements need water, Defence - building on high ground allowed people the chance to look out for enemies and Aspect & shelter and The economic factors include; Communications - settlements often located next to rivers that allowed ...

What was the greatest determining factor of human settlement?

Answer: water was the greatest determining factor of human settlement.

What is the most important environmental factor for human settlement in an area?

waterThe most important environmental factor in early human settlement was water—to drink, bathe, wash, irrigate crops, as a source of food (fish), and as a transportation highway. Topography is the shape and elevation of surface features, such as mountains or deserts, of a place or region.

What factors caused the human settlements to expand?

Early human beings lived on trees and in caves. When they started to grow crops it became necessary to have a permanent home. The settlements grew near the river valleys as water was available and land was fertile. With the development of trade, commerce and manufacturing, human settlements became larger.

How does climate affect human settlement?

The most widespread direct risk to human settlements from climate change is flooding and landslides. Projected increases in rainfall intensity and, in coastal areas, sea-level rise will be the culprits. Cities on rivers and coasts are particularly at risk.

How does geography impact human settlement and development of civilizations?

Geography is the single most important factor that decides if a civilization will prosper and survive throughout centuries. The most revolutionizing factor that caused humans to settle and develop a civilization was the ability to farm. The geographical features of a land will determine if it is suitable for farming.

How does geography impact human settlement and development of civilizations?

Geography is the single most important factor that decides if a civilization will prosper and survive throughout centuries. The most revolutionizing factor that caused humans to settle and develop a civilization was the ability to farm. The geographical features of a land will determine if it is suitable for farming.

How does geography affect culture and human activity?

Culture is largely shaped by geography, by the topographical features of the landscape, the climate, and the natural resources. Geography shapes how cultures interact with each other, what they need for food, shelter, and clothing, and how they choose to express themselves.

How does climate affect human settlement?

The most widespread direct risk to human settlements from climate change is flooding and landslides. Projected increases in rainfall intensity and, in coastal areas, sea-level rise will be the culprits. Cities on rivers and coasts are particularly at risk.

How does geography affect our daily lives?

Geography can help us understand the planet's movement, changes, and systems. Topics that are relevant to today such as climate change, water availability, natural resources, and more are much easier understood by those who know geography well.

What is topographical relief?

Topographical relief is a key factor that limits population distribution and economic development in mountainous areas. The limitation is especially apparent in the mountain- plain transition zone. Taking the transition zone between the Qinling Mountains and the North China Plain (i.e. the mountainous area in western Henan Province) as an example and based on the 200-m resolution DEM data, we used the mean change-point analysis to determine the optimal statistical unit for topographical relief, and thereafter extracted the relief degree. Taking the 1:100,000 land use data, township population and county-level industrial data, population and economic spatial models were constructed, and 200-m resolution grid population and economic density maps were generated. Afterwards, statistical analysis was carried out to quantitatively reveal the impact of topographical relief on population and economy. In addition, the impacts of other topographical factors were discussed. The results showed the following. (1) The relief degree in western Henan is generally low, where 58.6% of the regional topography does not exceed half the height of a reference mountain (relative elevation ⩽250 m). Spatially, the relief degree is high in the west while low in the east, and high in the middle while low in the north and south. There is a positive correlation between relief degree and elevation, and a much stronger correlation between relief degree and slope. (2) The linear fitting degree between the population and economic validation data and the corresponding simulation data are 0.943 and 0.909, respectively, indicating that the spatialized results can reflect the actual population and economic distribution. (3) The impact of topographical relief on population and economy was stronger than that of other topographical factors. The relief degree showed a good logarithmic fit relationship with population density (0.911) and economic density (0.874). Specifically, 88.65% of the population lives in areas where the topographical relief is ⩽0.5 and 88.03% of the gross regional product was from areas where the relief is ⩽0.3. Compared with the population distribution, the economic development showed an obvious agglomeration trend towards low relief areas.

What is the suitability of human settlements?

The comprehensive suitability of regional human settlements is of great significance to the development and spatial distribution of regional human settlements and regional social and economic development. In this study, based on the traditional evaluation of the natural suitability of the human settlements, this study adds humanistic indicators to comprehensively evaluate the suitability of the human settlements in Liaoning, China. In particular, we sought to uncover the spatial differentiation law of the comprehensive suitability of these settlements and its correlations with population density and GDP density and provide a theoretical basis for urban human settlements planning and governance. The main conclusions were as follows: (1) the natural suitability index in Liaoning Province presents the law of longitudinal spatial differentiation from northeast to southwest, which follows the direction of the mountains, (2) the highest to lowest humanistic suitability indexes were as follows: the central, eastern, and western regions, (3) the highest to lowest spatial differentiations of the comprehensive suitability of the human settlements were as follows: the central and coastal, eastern, and western regions, and (4) the spatial distribution of population–economy density in Liaoning Province was basically consistent with the spatial distribution of the comprehensive suitability index of human settlements. The population–economy is concentrated in the areas with the best and moderate human settlements. Ultimately, we found that the distributions of population–economy and human settlement suitability were relatively coordinated and that highly suitable land was already fully utilized. Analyze the natural and humanistic advantages or limitations of the development of the human settlements in each city, and plan the construction of the natural, humanistic and human settlements in each city direction.

How does terrain affect settlements?

Terrain can influence the spatial distribution of settlements. Studies on the terrain characteristics of settlements can help to understand the effects of the environment on human activities. This paper provides a quantitative analysis of the relationship between settlements and topographical factors. A statistically significant sample of residential locations and ASTER GDEM V2 were used to investigate terrain traits and settlements distributions. We selected eight topographical factors and introduced a practical concept, distributive entropy, into assessing the aggregation extent of the settlements’ spatial distribution. The study showed that topography varies within the study area, and distributive entropy indicates that settlements have distinctive distribution tendency in statistic approach. According to the results of this study, mountain inhabitants prefer to settle in valleys. Additionally, with distributive entropy, residential suitability was divided to three levels: suitable, normal, and unsuited. The results showed that suitable area is small in Sichuan Province, accounting for 8.2%~29.9%; however, unsuited area is large, accounting for 33%~63.3%.

What are the three levels of residential suitability?

Additionally, with distributive entropy, residential suitability was divided to three levels: suitable, normal, and unsuited.

Where is Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application located?

Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Nanjing, 210023, China

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