Chapter 1: The Power of Geography and Geographic Thinking

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the notes on geography, spatial thinking, regions, scale, globalization, and sustainability.

Geography

An integrative discipline that studies Earth's surface, the processes that shape it, and the relationships between people and environments.

Spatial perspective

A geographer's view that asks where something occurs and why, focusing on location and spatial relationships.

Ecological perspective

The focus on the relationships among living things and their environments and how ecosystems support human life.

Location

The position that a point or object occupies on Earth; can be expressed as absolute or relative location.

Absolute location

The exact position of a place on Earth, usually given by coordinates of longitude and latitude.

Relative location

A description of where a place is in relation to other places or features.

Place

A location distinguished by its physical and human characteristics, and the emotions or meaning people attach to it.

Sense of place

Emotions and meanings attached to a place based on personal experiences and identity.

Site

A place's absolute location and its physical characteristics, such as landforms, climate, and resources.

Situation

A place's connections to other places, including transportation routes and economic or political ties.

Density

The number of things (people, animals, or objects) in a specific area.

Pattern

The arrangement or distribution of phenomena in a space.

Space

The area between two or more things on Earth's surface.

Distance decay

The diminishing of a phenomenon's interaction with distance.

Time-space compression

Technology and connectivity that effectively shrink the distance between places by speeding travel and communication.

Flows

The movement of people, goods, and information across space.

Scale

The level at which a geographer analyzes a phenomenon (global, regional, national, local, etc.).

Regions

Areas of Earth's surface with shared characteristics; human constructs with often fuzzy boundaries.

Formal region

An area defined by one or more shared traits (physical, cultural, or both) and considered uniform.

Functional region

An area organized around a focal point (a node) and its interconnections with surrounding areas.

Node

The center of a functional region where activity is concentrated.

Hinterland

The surrounding area served by a focal point or node in a functional region.

Perceptual (vernacular) region

A region defined by people's perceptions, feelings, and attitudes about a place.

Globalization

The increasing interconnectedness of the world through trade, technology, and cultural exchange.