Unit 1 - Thinking Geographically

Vocabulary terms and definitions from Unit 1: Thinking Geographically covering spatial data, regions, mapping, and human-environmental interaction.

Absolute Direction

Based on the cardinal points of North, South, East, and West. These appear uniformly and independently in all cultures, derived from obvious givens of nature.

Absolute distance

Exact measurement of the physical space between two places.

Absolute Location

The exact position of an object or place, measured within the spatial coordinates of a grid system.

Area Distortion

The distortion of an area; inaccurate to the actual area; bigger or small, thinner or wider

Census Data

urban ethnicity, gender, migration, socioeconomic status

Clustering

Gathering; forming in a group

Direction Distortion

The direction from one place to another can be distorted, sometimes seen on map projections.

Disperal

break up and scatter around

Distance Decay

the effects of distance on interaction, generally the greater the distance the less interaction

Distance Distortion

Distance between two points may be longer or shorter than in reality

Elevation

The height of land above sea level

Environmental Determinism

A doctrine that claims that cultural traits are formed and controlled by environmental conditions.

Field Observation

a study of a phenomenon in a natural setting

Flows

Movement between one thing to the next.

Formal Region

An area within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristics.

Functional Region

An area organized around a node or focal point

Geographic Information System (GIS)

a computer system that can capture, store, query, analyze, and display geographic data, gathered with remote sensing.

Geographical Data

usually numerical information used to describe or measure geographical phenomena

Geospatial Data

Information about a physical object that can be represented by numerical values in a geographic coordinate system.

Global Scale

the level of geography that encompasses the entire world as a single unified area

Land Use

Various ways humans use the land such as agricultural, industrial, residential, or recreational

Landscape Analysis

using field observation, spatial data, and aerial photography to gather data to define and describe landscapes

Local Scale

A spatial scale that is essentially equivalent to a community.

Map Distortion

Happens when a round surface is made flat; distortion may be in size or shape of land forms, distance between land forms, or in direction.

Media Reports

Articles published by newspapers and magazines

National Scale

as viewed across the whole country

Natural Resources

Materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain

Online mapping

the compilation and publication of Web sites that provide exhaustive graphical and text information in the form of maps and databases.

Online visualization

digital websites, tools, etc. that display information and date in the forms of interactive maps

Pattern

The geometric or regular arrangement of something in a study area.

Perceptual Region (Vernacular Region)

These are not as rigorously structured as formal and functional regions. It is where people believe they are part of some cultural identity

Personal Interviews

direct, face-to-face conversation between an interviewer and the respondent

Photographic Interpretation

The act of examining photographic images for the purpose of identifying objects and judging their significance

Place

A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular character.

Policy Documents

handbooks, operating procedures, cumbersome, codes of ethics

Possiblism

The theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives.

Reference Maps

show locations of places and geographic features

Regional Analysis

The study of the cultural, economic, political, physical, or other factors that contribute to the distinctiveness of geographical areas.

Regional Scale

Interactions occurring within a region, in a regional setting.

Relative Direction

Directions such as left, right, forward, backward, up, and down based on people's perception of places

Relative Distance

Approximate measurement of the physical space between two places.

Relative Location

where a place is located in relation to another place

Remote Sensing

The acquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or other long-distance methods.

Satellite Imagery

Images of the earth taken from orbiting satellites. Images can be taken in a variety of forms so as to detect specific information about the earth, vegetation and other types of land cover.

Satellite Navigation System

a device used to plot the user's position on a map, using GPS technology to obtain the location

Shape Distortion

misrepresentation by unequal magnification of the actual shape of the structure being examined

Space

The physical gap or interval between two objects

Sustainability

meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Thematic Maps

Maps that tell stories, typically showing the degree of some attribute or the movement of a geographic phenomenon

Time-Space Convergence

The idea that distance between some places is actually shrinking as technology enables more rapid communication and increased interaction among those places

Travel Narratives

Account of what people saw in distant places as a way of bringing back stories, ideas and traditions; helped connect Europe to the "other" (Examples: Cadamasto, Bernal Diaz, Montaigne).