AP Human Geography Unit 1: Mapping, Regions & Spatial Concepts

Location

Latitude & Longitude coordinates

Place

Has meaning to people.

Scale

How much area you're considering.

Regions

Areas with something in common.

Physical maps

Shows Earth's natural features.

Political maps

Shows country borders & capitals.

Thematic maps

Map with one type of information.

Choropleth maps

Maps that use colors/shading.

Dot maps

Map info symbolized with a dot.

Graduated symbol maps

Larger icon equals more of the thing.

Isoline maps

Often show elevation/topography.

Cartograms

Countries appear bloated/shriveled

Mercator projection

Greenland looks enormous

Distortion

Inaccuracy of size/shape/distance…

Polar projection

Map; least distortion at poles.

Distance decay

Interaction lessens the further away.

Friction of distance

Harder to access as distance increases.

Formal region

Uniform region; based on facts.

Functional region

Nodal region; defined by an activity.

Perceptual region

Vernacular region; stereotypes.

GIS

Computer software mapping.

GPS

Comunnicates with satellites

Remote sensing

Gathering data about Earth from afar.

Aerial Photography

Images of Earth taken from plane.

Census data

Government data collection; 10 yrs.