unit 1

Absolute Location

Exact location of a place on the earth described by global coordinates

Cartogram

A special kind of map that distorts the shapes and sizes of countries or other political regions to present economic or other kinds of data for comparison. A type of Thematic Map.

choropeth map

a map that uses differences in shading, coloring, or the placing of symbols within predefined areas to indicate the average values of a property or quantity in those areas. A type of thematic map.

Cartography

The science of making maps

Concentration

The spread of something over a given area.

contiguous diffusion

The distance-controlled spreading of an idea, innovation, or some other item through a local population by contact from person to person.

Cultural Ecology

Geographic approach that emphasizes human-environment relationships.

cultural landscape

the visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape

Density

the compactness of a location or place

Distance Decay

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

Distribution

The arrangement of something across Earth's surface.

Dot Distribution Map

A map where dots are used to demonstrate the frequency or intensity of a particular phenomena

environmental determinism

the view that the natural environment has a controlling influence over various aspects of human life including cultural development

Expantion diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in an additive process

Formal/Uniform/Homogeneous Region

An area within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristics, generally identified to help explain broad global or national patterns, generally illustrating a general concept rather than a precise mathematical distribution

Functional/Nodal Region

An area organized around a node or focal point

Geographic Information System (GIS)

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

Geotagging

identification and storage of a piece of information by its precise latitude and longitude coordinates

Global Positioning System (GPS)

A system that determines the precise position of something on Earth through a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers.

Globalization

Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope.

graduated symbol map

A map with symbols that change in size according to the value of the attribute they represent. A type of thematic map.

Hearth

The region from which innovative ideas originate

Hierarchical Diffusion

the spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places

reverse hierarchical diffusion

diffusion up a hierarchy, such as from a small town to large cities

Isoline Map

Map displaying lines that connect points of equal value; for example, a map showing elevation levels. a type of thematic map

location

The position of anything on Earth's surface.

Longitude

Distance east or west of the prime meridian, measured in degrees

map scale

The relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth's surface.

Mental Map

An internal representation of a portion of Earth's surface based on what an individual knows about a place, containing personal impressions of what is in a place and where places are located.

Non-renewable resources

a resource that cannot be reused or replaced easily (ex. gems, iron, copper, fossil fuels)

pattern

The geometric or regular arrangement of something in an area

Possibilism

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.

preservation

Maintenance of a resource in its present condition, with as little human impact as possible.

Prime Meridian

0 degrees longitude

Projection

The system used to transfer locations from Earth's surface to a flat map.

region

an area of Earth distinguished by a distinctive combination of cultural and physical features

relocation diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another.

remote sensing

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

renewable resource

A natural resource that can be replaced at the same rate at which the resource is consumed

scale

the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole

site

The physical character of a place

Situation/Relative Location

the location of a place relative to other places

space-time compression

The reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place, as a result of improved communications and transportation systems

Spacial Association

The relationship between the distribution of one feature and the distribution of another feature.

Stimulus Dffusion

a cultural adaption is created as a result of the introduction of a cultural trait from another place

Sustainability

The ability to keep in existence or maintain. A sustainable ecosystem is one that can be maintained

Toponym

the name given to a place on Earth

Transnational Corporation

A company that conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters or shareholders are located.

uneven development

The increasing gap in economic conditions between core and peripheral regions as a result of the globalization of the economy.

Vernacular/Perceptual Region

A place that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity from people's informal sense of place such as mental maps.

Agricultural Density

The ratio of the number of farmers to the total amount of land suitable for agriculture

Arithmic Density

The total number of people divided by the total land area.

Psycological density

The number of people per unit area of arable land

satellite navigation

a form of position finding using radio transmissions from satellites with sophisticated on board automatic equipment.

Geospatial

relating to or denoting data that is associated with a particular location.

scale of analysis

a scale that determines what is being studied based on the size of the area being examined

sense of place

State of mind derived through the infusion of a place with meaning and emotion by remembering important events that occurred in that place or by labeling a place with a certain character.

Census

the official count of a population

quantiative data

Information that can be expressed in statistical or numerical form

qualitative data

Information describing color, odor, shape, or some other physical characteristic

Diffusion

The process of spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time