Unit 1 Vocab

spatial

relating to space

absolute location

the precise point where a place is located on Earth

cartography

the science of making maps

relative location

where a place is located in relation to another place

geographic information system (GIS)

a computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data

latitude

distance north or south of the equator

equator

the imaginary center line of latitude that divides the northern and southern hemispheres

longitude

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

prime meridian

imaginary line drawn from the North Pole through Greenwich, England, to the South Pole

place

specific human and physical characteristics of a location

region

a group of places on Earth with similar human and/or physical features

site

the characteristics of a place (immediate location), Ex: soil type, climate, labor force, human structures

situation

the location of a place relative to other places and its surroundings

toponym

place name

time-space compression

the shrinking of time distance between locations because of improved methods of transportation

distance decay

decline of activity or function with increasing distance from its point of origin

density

number of something in a specifically defined area Ex: population density is the number of people per square mile

human-environment interaction

connection and exchange between humans and the natural world

culture

beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.

environmental determinism

the idea that human behavior is controlled by the physical environment

possibilism

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

scale

the ratio between the size of things in the real world and the size of those same things on a map

projection

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

diffusion

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

formal region

an area in which everyone shares in one or more distinctive characteristics

GPS

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

location

the position of anything on Earth's surface

movement

an act of changing physical location or position or of having this changed

remote sensing

process of gathering data about Earth from instruments far above the planet's surface

spatial analysis

the analysis of geographic data about a certain place

physical geography

one of the two major divisions of systematic geography; the spatial analysis of the structure, processes, and location ex: of items studied: climate, soil, plants, animals, and topography

human geography

one of the two major divisions of Geography; the spatial analysis of human population, its cultures, activities, and landscapes

connectivity

how well two locations are tied together by roads or other links (often used when describing relative location)

sense of place

the feeling that an area has a distinct and meaningful character

friction of distance

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

distribution

the arrangement of something across Earth's surface

landscape analysis

the task of defining and describing landscape

spatial data

all of the information that can be tied to a specific locations

built environment

part of the physical landscape that represents material culture; the landscape created by humans ex: buildings, roads, signs, fences etc.

cultural landscape

the visible imprint of human activity on the landscape

relative scale (scale of analysis)

the amount of territory that a map represents ex: global scale means the entire planet

reference maps

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

physical map

a map that shows natural features such as mountains, rivers and deserts

choropleth map (thematic)

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

thematic map

a map that shows a particular theme, or topic ex: choropleth, dot distribution, graduated symbol, isoline

dot distribution map

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

isoline map

a thematic map with lines that connect points of equal value

cartogram (thematic)

the sizes of countries are shown to some specific statistic

mercator projection

a projection of a map of the world onto a cylinder in such a way that all the parallels of latitude have the same length as the equator, EX: used especially for marine charts and certain climatological maps.

peters projection

focuses on keeping landmasses equal in area. As a result, the shapes are distorted, and the map looks unfamiliar to viewers

robinson projection

projection that attempts to balance several possible projection errors (does not maintain completely accurate area, shape, distance, or direction, but it minimizes errors in each)

mental map

maps that people create in their minds based on their experience and knowledge

placelessness

the loss of uniqueness of place in the cultural landscape so that one place looks like the next ex: Walmart- everyone of them looks the same

regionalization

process by which specific regions acquire characteristics that differentiate them from others within the same country; certain economic activities may dominate in particular regions

topographic map

a map that shows the surface features of Earth

satellite-based systems

pictures of Earth’s surface from satellites to provide a greater understanding of the Earth’s geography over large distances

functional region

a social or economic function that occurs between a node or focal point and the surrounding areas

perceptual/vernacular region

feelings and prejudices that may or may not be true (based off of perspective)

conformal region

maintains shape but distorts other properties