naomi-APHUG Unit 1 Concepts

Cartography

The science and art of making maps, used to represent spatial data and geographic features of the Earth

Concentration

The extent of a feature's spread over space can be clustered or dispersed

Map

A two-dimensional or flat-scale representation of Earth's surface or a portion of it

Cultural ecology

The study of the relationship between a culture and the natural environment; how humans adapt to and modify their surroundings

Density

The frequency with which something occurs in space

Distance decay

The diminishing importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin

Distribution

The arrangement of a feature in space; includes density, concentration, and pattern

Environmental determinism

A theory that the physical environment causes social and cultural development

Formal region

An area where everyone shares one or more distinctive characteristics

Functional region

A region organized around a central node or focal point, with surrounding areas linked by transportation, communication, or economic activity

Geographic Information System

A computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data

Global Positioning System

A system that determines the precise position of something on Earth using satellites, tracking stations, and receivers

Globalization

The process by which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected through economic, political, cultural, and technological means

Greenwich Mean Time

The time at the Prime Meridian; the standard for calculating time worldwide

Possibilism

The idea that the environment sets certain constraints, but humans have the ability ti adjust and choose from many alternatives in dealing with their environment

Latitude

The numbering system used to indicate the location of parallels drawn on a globe and measuring distance north and south of the Equator

Location

The position that something occupies on Earth's surface; can be absolute or relative

Longitude

The numbering system used to indicate the location of meridians drawn on a globe and measuring distance east and west of the Prime Meridian

Map projection

A method of representing the curved surface of the Earth on a flat map

Distorition

Inaccuracies that occur when representing a three-dimensional Earth on a two-dimensional map; affects shape, distance, size, or direction

Scale

The relationship between the size of an object or distance on a map and the actual size or distance on Earth; can be local, regional, national, or global

Mercator Projection

A map projection that preserves direction and shape but distorts size, especially near the poles; often used for navigation

Cartogram

A type of thematic map in which the size of geographic areas is distorted based on a variable rather than actual land area

Site

The physical characteristics of a place, such as its climate, soil, water sources, and topography

Prime Meridian

The meridian at 0° longitude, from which all other longitudes are measured; passes through Greenwich, England

Graduated Symbol Map

A map that uses symbols of different sizes to represent data values

Relative location

A place's position in relation to other locations

Culture

The shared practices, technologies, attitudes, and behaviors of a society, including language, religion, customs, and traditions

Choropleth map

A thematic map where areas are shaded or colored in proportion to the measurement of a variable

Stimulus diffusion

the spread of an underlying idea or principle, even though a specific characteristic is rejected or not fully adopted

Situation

The location of a place relative to other places and human activities