ap hug unit 1 kbats

KBATS

cultural landscape

human imprint on the environment
evidence of a culture’s distribution

buildings, language, agriculture, roads

cartography

science of making maps

shows how people interact with the Earth on a map

maps showing hills and routes

cartographic scale

mathematic ratio between distance on map vs. actual distance

reliable method to calculate IRL distance/area from a map

1:24,000

geographic scale

studying human data

used to study and understand events on Earth

global, regional, national, local scale

scale of analysis

scale level that data is studied

larger scale = more detail, smaller scale = less scale

global scale = entire Earth

Spatial analysis

studying geographical data about a place

explains why outcomes differ across places

studying population density

environmental determinism

belief that physical environment determines how culture develops

old frame work that shaped geography

cold environments shaped hard/thrifty people

possibilism

belief that humans are the driving force in developing their culture

portrays humans as active decision makers

desert cities didn’t stop humans from developing there

place

specific point on earth

places are filled with human emotion/life

my house

remote sensing

gathering data about Earth from space

allows view of entire Earth that can’t be seen on ground

satellites

GIS (geographic information system)

computer system storing geographic data

finding answers to research questions

fire departments map fire-zones

GPS (global positioning system)

system that knows exact locations of places on Earth

finding locations

Google maps

Mercator projection

map that is shaped like a square, longitudes and latitudes connect

prioritizes accurate directions and angles, poles are disorted

used for marine charts

census data

official count of nation’s population and housing

use numbers to plan for schools, public funding, etc.

US median household income, race, age

Robinson projection

map depicting continents according to true size, longitudes and latitudes lines connect, extremely distorted

useful for displaying information across the oceans

human-environmental interaction

how humans interact with the environment

we rely on the natural ecosystem for basic needs

building materials, fossil fuels

Land Ordinance of 1785

law that divided much of the US into grids

standard system to sell/divide land and reduced property disputes

farm land

toponym

place name

some names reflect their culture and history

Seattle

longitude

distance EAST to WEST of prime meridian

allows us to calculate time zones, pinpoint absolute locations

Tokyo, Japan is 139 degrees EAST

latitude

distance NORTH or SOUTH of the equator

allows us to pinpoint exact locations on Earth

Equator is 0 degrees, North Pole 90 degrees N, South Pole 90 degrees S

region

area of Earth defined by ½ characteristics

helps organize Earth into areas

Chinese-speaking areas, sahara desert

formal/uniform region

area where everyone shares ½ common characteristics (distinct)

groups geographic data into clear areas

Sahara desert has hot/dry climates

vernacular/perceptual regions

area that people believe exists

builds strong sense of connection

the american south (religious people)

functional/nodal region

an area organized around one point

shows human activities that spread from one point

Seattle Metropolitan areas, airplanes, public transit

site

physical characteristics of a place

can explain how the place was founded

climate, soil, vegetation

situation

location of a place relative to other places

can determine a place’s long term success

New Orleans, good situation at Mississippi River = good trade

LDC (less developed country)

nation with lower levels of industrialization/income/education/health

baseline for analyzing global contrasts (population, ecosystems, etc)

Ethiopia, Yemen, Cambodia

MDC (more developed country)

nation with higher levels of industrialization, income, education, health

Japan, United States, United Kingdom

hearth

region where ideas originate/ place of originate

helps geographers understand why culture dominates certain places

Fertile Crescent, the Middle East (hearth of many religions)

prime meridian

line drawn from North to South pole through Greenwich, England

global starting point for measuring East to West, navigation

distribution

arrangement of something on Earth’s surface

explains why and where people live across the Earth

population

relative location

location in relation to another location

locate an unfamiliar location in relation to a familiar one

across the street from factoria mcdonald’s

absolute location

exact location

know the exact placement of something on Earth

coordinates

density

frequency of something in a given area

there are 3 types of density

arithmetic density

people/total land area

shows how crowded somewhere is

USA has average density of ~36 people per square mile

physiological density

people/total farm land area

shows pressure put on farm land

Egypt has millions of people relying on small amounts of farm land = more pressure

agricultural density

farmers/total farm land area

level of agricultural technology

USA has low amounts because we have more technology to do farm work for us

time-space compression

idea that new travel/technology makes the world feel smaller and closer by reducing the time it takes to travel

speeds up businesses (less time to get cargo = more profit)

phones (people from Seattle and talk to people from Tokyo), airplanes

distance decay

relationships weaken as distance grows

explains why cultural traits can decrease as distance grows

countries trade much more with neighboring countries

diffusion

process of spread of a feature from place to place over time

explains how humans/languages/religion shape global cultural landscapes

italians brought pizza and culinary traditions to the US

relocation diffusion

spread of a feature/trend through physical movement of people

proves that cultural traits don’t always stay in one spot

spanish colonizers bringing spanish language and catholicism to america

expansion diffusion (contagious)

rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic

shows how societies influence each other

social media

expansion diffusion (hierarchical)

spread from people of authority down the chain of power (rich to poor, can go both ways)

shows how societies influence each other

fashion-trends, POP

expansion diffusion (stimulus)

spread of a strong underlying principle but changes slightly

shows how societies can influence each other

iphones/samsungs

friction of distance

when things are farther apart, they are less connected

direct cause of distance decay

you don’t talk to a friend much b/c you guys go to different schools

globalization

action/process that involves the entire world (world-wide)

connects economies, cultures, and governments

apple products, social media, trade