Chapter 1: Maps and Geographic Data Vocabulary

Physical Geography

the study of spatial characteristics of various elements of the physical environment

Human Geography

the study of spatial characterisitics of humans and human activites

Four-Level Analysis

spatial framework that guides one's thinking, provides an approach to spatial thinking, and helps one to think like a geographer

Analyze

to break down into parts and study each part carefully

Theory

system of ideas and consepts that attempt to explain and prove why or how interactions have occured in the past or how they wil occur in the future

Concepts

key vocabulary, ideas, and building blocks that geographers use to describe our world

Processes

series of steps or actions that explain why or how geographic patterns occur

Models

representations of reality of theories about reality, to help geographers see general spatial patters, focus on the influence of sdpecific factors, and understand variations from place to place

Spatial Models

stylized maps that illustrate theories about spatial distributions

Nonspatial Models

models that illustrate theories and concepts using words, graphs, or tables

Time-distance decay

the decrease in acceptance of a cultural innovation with increasing time and distance from its origin

Spatial Patterns

general arrangement of things being studied

Networks

set of interconnected entities, sometimes alled nodes

Quantitative Data

any information that can be measured and recorded using numbers

Geospatial Data

data that descirbes both the locations and characteristics of sptail features on the Earth's surface

Qualtitative Sources

sources not usually represented by numbers. this data is collected as interviews, photographs, remote satellite images, descriptions, or cartoons

Scales of Analysis

global, regional, national, and local

Reference Maps

maps designed for people to refer to for general information about places

Political Maps

maps that show and label human-created boundaries and designations, such as countries, states, cities, and captials

Physical Map

maps that show and label natural features, such as mountains, rivers, and deserts

Road Maps

show and label highways, streets, and alleys

Plat Maps

show and label property lines and details of land ownership

Thematic Maps

shows spatial aspects of information or of a phenomenon

Choropleth Map

uses various colors, shades of one color, or patterns to show the location and distribution of spatial data

Dot Distribution Map

used to show the specific location and distribution of something across a map

Graduated Symbol Map

uses symbols of different sizes to indicate different amounts of something

Topographic Maps

points of equal elevation are connected on these maps, creating contours that depict surface features

Cartogram

the sizes of of countries (or states, counties, or other areal units) are shown according to some specific statistic. They allow for date to be compared

Scale

Ratio of things in the real world and the size of those same things on the map

Cartographic Scale

Refers to the map communicates the ration of its size to the size of what it represents

Small-scale Map

maps that show larger amount of area with less detail

Large-scale Map

maps that show a smaller amount of area with a greater amount of detail

Absolute Location

precise spot where something is according to a system

Latitude

distance north or south of the equator

Equator

an imaginary line that circles the globe exactly halfway between the North and South Poles

Longitude

distance east or west of the prime meridian

Prime Meridian

an imaginary line that runs from pole to pole through Greenwich, England.

International Date Line

Rougly follows the prime meridian but makes deviations to accommodate international boundaries

Relative Location

description of where something is in relation to other things

Connectivity

how well two locations are tied together by roads or other links

Acessibility

how quickly and easily people in one location can interaction with people in another location

Direction

used in order to describe where things are in relation to each other

Patterns

general arrangement of things, in the distribution of phenomena across space that gives clues about causes or effects of the distribution

Absolute Distance

measured in terms of feet, miles, meters or kilometers

Relative Distance

indicates the degree of nearness based on time or money and is often dependent on the mode of travel

Elevation

distance of features above sea level, usually measured in feet or meters

Distribution

the way a phenomenon is spread out over an area or arranged over an area to describe patterns

Clustered (agglomerated) distribution

phenomena arranged in a group or concentrated area

Linear Distribution

phenomena arranged in a straight line

Dispersed Distribution

phenomena are spread out over a large area

Circular Distribution

phenomena equally spaced from a central point, forming a circle

Geometric Distribution

phenomena are in a regular arrangement

Random Distribution

phenomena appear to have no order to their positions

Spatial Approach

considers the arrangement of the phenomena being studied across the surface of the earth

Space

area between two or more phenomena or things

Location

indentifies where specific phenomena are located either on a grid system or relative to another location

Place

refers to the specific human and physical characteristics of a location

Region

group of places in the same area that share a characteristic

Site

the characteristics at the immediate location

Situation

the location of a place relative to its surrondings and its connectivity to other places

Sense of Place

humans tend to perceive the characteristics of places in different ways based on their personal beliefs

Toponyms

place names

Time-space Compression

the shrinking "time-distance" or relative distance, bewteen locations because of improved methods of transportation and communication

Spatial Interaction

the contact, movement, and flow of things between locations

Flow

the patterns and movement of ideas, people, products and other phenomena

Friction of Distance

indicates that when things are farther apart, they tend to be less connected

Distance Decay

the inverse relationship between distance and connection

Landscape Analysis

the task of defining and describing landscapes

Field Observation

refer to the act of physically visiting a location, place, or region and recording, firsthand, information there

Remote Sensing

gathers information from satellites that orbit the earth or other craft above the atmosphere

Aerial Photography

professional images captured from planes within the atmosphere

Fieldwork

observing and recording information on a location or in the field

Geovisualizations

2D or 3D interactive maps that allow people to zoom in or zoom out to see the data in ways that were previously impossible

Global Positioning System (GPS)

use of locations of multiple satellites to determine and record a receiver's exact location

Remote Sensing

The use of cameras or other sensors mounted on aircraft or satellites to collect digital images of the earth's surface.

Geographic Information System (GIS)

a computer system that stores, analyzes, and displays information from multiple digital maps or geospatial data sets

Community-based solutions

The power of governmental and non governmental organizations (NGO) to help the people improve their standard of living.

Human Environment Interaction

The connection and exchange between humans and the natural world

Natural Resource

items that occur in the natural environment that people can use

Renewable natural resources

theoretically are unlimited and will not be depleted based on use by people

Non-renewable natural resources

limited resources that can. be exhausted by human uses

Sustainability

relates to trying to use resources now in ways that allow their use in the future while minimizing negative impacts on the environment

Land Use

study of how land is utilized, modified, and organized by people is the essence of land use

Built Environment

The physical artifacts that humans have created and that form part of the landscape

Cultural Landscape

Anything built by humans is part of the cultural landscape and is in the realm of land use

Cultural Ecology

The study of how humans adapt to the environment

Environmental Determinism

the belief that landforms and climate are the most powerfully forces shaping human behavior and societal development while ignoring the influence of culture

Possibilism

view that acknowledges limits on the effects of the natural environment and focuses more on the role that human culture plays in

Geographic Scale (relative scale)

area of the world being studied

Global Scale

the entire world

World Regional scale

multiple countries of the world

National scale

one country

National Regional scale

portion of a country or a region(s) within a country

Local scale

province, state, city, county, or neighborhood

Aggregation

when geographers organize data into different scales such as by census tract, city, county, or country

False Conclusion

inaccurate generalizations that are not supported by data or logical reasoning

Regions

Areas that have boundaries, unifying characteristics, cover scape, and are created by people

Formal Regions (uniform regions/homogenous regions)

united by one or more traits

Functional Regions (nodal regions)

regions organized around a focal point and defined by an activity, usually political, social or economic, that occurs across the region. They are united by networks of communication, transportation, and other interactions

Perceptual Regions (vernacular regions)

defined by the informal sense of place that people ascribe to them. The boundaries vary widely because of different senses of what defines and unites these regions