Studied by 28 people
absolute location
the coordinates of a place using latitude and longitude
accessibility
the ability to reach a place with respect to another place
agricultural density
the number of farmers per unit of farmland
arithmetic density
the total number of objects in an area
cartography
the science of map-making
choropleth map
a thematic map using shading to show a pattern of a variable (the darker the shading, the higher the concentration of the variable)
concentration
the extent of a feature's spread over space
connectivity
relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space
contagious diffusion
the rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population
core-periphery
central, wealthy, technologically advanced countries vs. less-developed, poor, and dependant countries
cultural ecology
the geographic study of human-environment relationships
cultural landscape
forms superimposed on the physical environment by humans
density
the frequency with which something occurs in space
diffusion
the process by which a characteristic spreads across space from one place to another over time
distance decay
contact diminishes with increasing distance and eventually disappears
distribution
the arrangement of a feature in space
environmental determinism
the theory that the physical environment causes social development
equator
the parallel with the largest circumference and the place with 12 hours of daylight (0 degrees latitude)
Eratosthenes
created the word geography, accepted the Earth is sperical, calculated its circumference, and created a map of the Earth dividing it into climatic regions
expansion diffusion
the pread of a feature from one place to another in a snowballing process
formal region
an area within which everyone shares in a common one or more distinctive characteristics
functional region
an area organized around a node or central point
GIS
a computer system that can capture, store, query, analyze, and display geographic data
globalization
a force or process that involves the entire world and results in making something worldwide in scope
GPS
a system that accurately determines the precise position of something on Earth
Greenwich Mean Time
the master reference time for all points on Earth; the time at the prime meridian
hearth
the place from which an innovation originates
hierarchical diffusion
the spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority to other persons or places
human geography
the study of where and why human activities are located where they are
International Date Line
a line following the 180 degree latitude line where when you cross it going west, you set the clock forward by 24 hours
isoline map
a thematic map with continuous lines joining points of the same value
Land Ordinance Act of 1785
divided the West into townships and ranges to help with the buying and selling of land
latitude
the numbering system to indicate the location of a parallel
location
the position that something occupies on Earth's surface
longitude
a numbering system used to locate each meridian on Earth's surface
map
a two-dimensional or flat-scale model of Earth's surface, or a portion of it
mental map
an internal representation of a portion of Earth's surface
Mercator projection
rectangular-shaped maps with little shape and direction distortion, but a lot of size distortion
meridian
an arc drawnbetween the North and South poles
pattern
the geometric arrangement of objects in space
physiological density
the number of persons per unit of land suitable for agriculture
possibilism
theory that the physical environment may limit some human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to their environment
prime meridian
the meridian that is 0 degrees longitude
principle meridian
the north-south lines seperating townships
projection
the scientific method of transferring locations on Earth's surface to a flat map
Ptolemy
an ancient Greek who wrote Guide to Geography and made many maps
reference map
help people find and identify physical and/or political features
region
an area of Earth distinguished by a distinctive combination of physical and cultural traits
relative location
lets us find unfamiliar locations by comparing them to familiar ones
remote sensing
the acquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite orbiting Earth or other long-distance methods
Robinson projection
maps that are useful for displaying information across the oceans, but land areas are smaller than on interrupted maps of the same size
scale
refers to the relationship of a feature's size on a map compared to its actual size on Earth
sense of place
a feeling for the features that contribute to the distinctiveness of a particular spot on Earth
sequent occupance
the notion that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place, each contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape
site
the physical character of a place
situation
the location of a place relative to other places
space-time compression
the reduction in time it takes for something to reach another place
spatial
depending on the scale, different spatial assumptions can be made
stimulus diffusion
the spread of an underlying principle, even though a characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse
thematic map
shows how a particular feature is distributed over an area
Tobler's First Law of Geography
everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than far things
toponym
the name given to a place on Earth
vernacular region
a place that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity
Note 
Flashcard (44)