Entire Unit 1 vocab

All of the vocabulary for Unit 1

Physical geography

Study of the earth,

-think LAND, PLANTS, ANIMALS, anything on earth

Human geography

How we shape the environment

Spatial perspective

where something occurs

Ecological perspective

perspective of living things and the environment

Location

Where something is, exactly

• similar to absolute location

• opposite of site

• things that are surrounding it

• ex. close by a large hut

Absolute location

Where something is, exactly

Relative location

where something is in relation to something else

place

Where something is, descibed by the things around it

Site

Where something is, exactly

• same as absolute location

• Defined by physical characteristics,

• ex. trees

Situation

where something is in relation to another thing

• same as relative location

Space

An area within two or more things

Distributed (distribution)

The way things are arranged

Environmental determinism

The environment shapes us

Possibilism

anything is possible, regardless of the problem

• we shape the environment

• opposite of environmental determinism

Sustainability

Making sure things can last for the future

Built Environment

An environment created by humans

Distance decay

As things spread apart; the less they interact

• opposite of toblers law

Tobler’s first law geography

The closer things are; the more they are related

Friction of distance

moving or communicating requires time, money, and effort

• similar to time-space compression

Time-space compression

Idea that with using technology like cars can reduce the time it takes to get from place to place

Scale

The area that is studied

• small scale maps, cant see much

• large scale maps, see a lot more detail

Scale of analysis

The scale from where you view things

• regional, national, local

Region

An area that has stuff that SETS IT APART from another place for a reason

Formal region

An area that shares traits

Functional region

A region that has a FUNctional area

• an area that HAS a cell tower

Node

The middle/important part of a region

• a cell tower of a town

Perceptual/ Vernacular region

A region that is defined on PERSPECTIVES

Globalization

The spread of ideas

• trade, religious practices, and more

Theory

(ideas) that explain something

World systems theory

A theory that there is CORE, SEMI-PERIPHERY, and PERIPHEY countries

Core

The highest of countries

Periphery

The lowest of countries

Semi-periphery

Countries that are INBETWEEN core and periphery

Sustainable development

changes that help the present without having potential to interfere with the future

Quantitative

data that depends on numbers

• QUANTITY

Qualitative

Data that depends of obserations, media reports, and travel

• QUALITY of life

Census

population; amount of people in an area

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Info about the area around you

• layers of data

• lasagna

Topography

shapes and features of land

Remote sensing

Collecting data without any interactions, without going anywhere

Global Positioning System (GPS)

Tells you EXACTLY where you are

Cartographers

People who collect, analzye, and interept geographic info in order to design, create, and update maps

• people who make maps

Absolute distance

• describing a distance using DIRECT measurments such as miles or kilometers

Relative distance

Distance measured in terms of money or time

Ex. -When you are describing an distance and you say “it is 30 mins away”

Absolute direction

given directions that ARE EXACT

• North, East, South, West

Relative directions

Given directions that are NOT exact

• left,right, up, down

Map scale

when you are describing a map with two types of dimensions

• ex small scale maps VS large scale maps

Reference maps

maps that focus on LOCATION

Thematic maps

Maps that have a certain THEME

Small scale

A map/scale that interprets LESS detail

-covers a LARGER area but has less detail

Large scale

A map/scale that interprets MORE detail

-covers a smaller area but has more detail

Mercator Projection

good for NAVIGATION

• distorts size

• rectangular edges

Azimuthal Projection

Can commonly be seen as just the top of the area or cut in half

• can only see half of the earth at a time

Gall- Peters Projection

Used for size but SHAPE is distorted

• See how Africa is more elongated

Robinson Projection

Attempts to balance distortion across all four given areas by rounding lines of longitude

-has ROUNDED EDGES!!!!!!!

Choropleth Map

Uses COLOR to interpret data

Cartogram

A map that changes the size of the given area to interpret data

Isoline Map

A map that uses LINES to connect line points of data

Dot Map

A map that uses DOTS to interept data.

Proportional/ graduated symbol map

A map that uses symbols such as shapes or another symbol else to interept data, changing the SIZE of the symbols depending on the AMOUNT of data.

Density

The frequency with which something occurs in a given area

EX. Chicago is a densely packed area

Concentration

How data is arranged

Pattern

A repeated design or arrangement observed in a dataset, often used to identify trends or relationships within spatial data.