Unit 1 Vocabulary: Thinking Geographically

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards for Unit 1: Thinking Geographically, based on the provided term list.

International Date Line

An arc that for the most part follows $180^{\circ}$ longitude, which, when crossed, the clock moves back or forward 24 hours.

Human Geography

The branch of geography that deals with the study of people and their communities, cultures, economies, and interactions with the environment by studying their relations with and across space and place.

Relative Location

The regional position or situation of a place relative to the position of other places.

Thematic Map

A type of map that displays one or more variables—such as population, or income level—within a specific area.

Choropleth Maps

Thematic maps that use tones or colors to represent spatial data as average values per unit area.

Dot Distribution Map

A map where dots are used to demonstrate the occurrence of a phenomenon and reveal spatial patterns.

Pattern

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

Graduated Symbol Map

A map that uses symbols of different sizes to indicate different amounts of something.

Isoline Map

A map that connects points of equal value with lines.

Topographic Map

A type of map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of relief, usually using contour lines.

Cartogram

A map in which the shape or size is distorted in order to demonstrate a variable such as travel, population, or economic production.

Distribution

The arrangement of something across Earth's surface.

Time Space Decay

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

Scale

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

Clustered (Agglomerated)

A spatial arrangement where objects in an area are close together.

Spatial Patterns

The placement or arrangement of objects on Earth's surface and the space between those objects.

Small Scale Map

A map that shows a large area with relatively little detail.

Large Scale Map

A map that shows a small area with a large amount of detail.

Absolute Location

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

Latitude

The numbering system used to indicate the location of parallels drawn on a globe and measuring distance north and south of the equator.

Longitude

The numbering system used to indicate the location of meridians drawn on a globe and measuring distance east and west of the Prime Meridian.

Equator

An imaginary line drawn around the earth equally distant from both poles, constituting the parallel of latitude $0^{\circ}$.

Scale of Analysis

The level of data aggregation used to observe a phenomenon, such as local, regional, national, or global.

Political map

A map that shows governmental boundaries of countries, states, and counties, and the location of major cities.

Physical map

A map that primarily shows natural features such as mountains, rivers, and lakes.

Prime Meridian

The meridian, designated as $0^{\circ}$ longitude, that passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England.

Remote Sensing (1.3)

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

Landscape Analysis

The process of describing and interpreting the landscape to understand the relationship between people and their environment.

Geographic Information System (GIS)

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

Geographic Positioning System (GPS)

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

Space

The physical gap or interval between two objects.

Time Space Compression

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

Location

The position of anything on Earth's surface.

Place

A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular character.

Friction of distance

The concept that distance requires some amount of effort, energy, or money to overcome, which inhibits interaction.

Region (1.7)

An area distinguished by a unique combination of trends or features.

Distance Decay

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

Site

The physical character of a place, such as its climate, water sources, topography, soil, vegetation, latitude, and elevation.

Situation

The location of a place relative to another place.

Sense of place

The 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.

Toponym

The name given to a portion of Earth's surface.

Natural Resources

Substances that are found naturally, such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain.

Cultural Landscape

The visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape.

Cultural Ecology

A geographic approach that emphasizes human-environment relationships.

Environmental Determinism

A nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century approach to the study of geography which argued that the physical environment caused human activities.

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.

Sustainability

The use of Earth's renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that do not constrain resource use in the future.

Formal Region/Uniform Region

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

Functional Region/Nodal Region

An area organized around a node or focal point, where the characteristic is chosen to be central.

Perceptual Region/Vernacular Region

An area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity, rather than being defined by scientific or objective data.

Dispersed

A spatial arrangement where objects in an area are relatively far apart.

Equal Area Projection

A map projection that maintains the relative size of landmasses but may distort other properties like shape or direction.

Globalization

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

Goode Homolosine Projection

An equal-area, pseudocylindrical, interrupted map projection used for world maps to minimize distortion of landmasses.

Hearth

The region or area from which innovative ideas or cultural traits originate.

Map Projection

A mathematical method that involves transferring Earth's sphere onto a flat surface.

Mercator Projection

A map projection that fairly accurately shows shape and direction but grossly distorts size, especially near the poles.

Meridians

Arcs drawn on a map between the North and South poles; also known as lines of longitude.

Parallels

Circles drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians; also known as lines of latitude.

Map

A two-dimensional, or flat, representation of Earth's surface or a portion of it.

Density

The frequency with which something exists within a given unit of area.

Robinson Projection

A world map projection that attempts to balance errors in specialized properties such as shape, size, distance, and direction, though it distorts all of them slightly.