AP Human Geo Unit 1

Human Geography

the study of how events shaped humans and how they shaped the environment from that

Physical Geography

focusing on the natural features of an environment (includes landforms, plants, animals, & climate)

Spatial Perspective

where and why a location came to be; study of events at a location

Ecological Perspective

the relationship between humans and the environment; interactive and interdependent

Location

a position on Earth, can be relative or absolute

Absolute Location

the exact or fixed location

“315 S 7th St, Las Vegas, NV 89101” is an example of:

Absolute Location

Site

the physical characteristics of a location (landforms, climate, resources)

Relative Location

location described in relation to other places

Situation

a location’s connection to other locations

Space

an area that has an arrangement of things

Density

the quantity of an area

Pattern

how an area/space is used and developed

Environmental Determinism

physical environment controls society; humans rely on the regions features

Environmental Possibilism

physical environment challenges society; humans adapt to the environment with creativity and technology

Sustainability

maintaining land & natural resources for the future

Scale

analyzing an issue at different sizes (ex. local, regional, national, global)

Region

an area in which its features distinguish it from others (ex. continents)

Formal Region

a region with shared traits (physical, cultural, etc.)

What type of region are the Rocky Mountains?

Formal Region

Functional Region

a region that centers a node

Examples of functional regions

Roads, district services, ports, transportation systems

Node

the focal point of a functional region

Vernacular Region

perceptual region; subjective and boundaries overlap (ex. Midwest)

Globalization

how the world interconnects through communication and exchanges

Supranational organizations are an example of:

Globalization

Glocalization

the distribution of products globally but adapted locally

Example of Glocalization:

Available shows on Netflix varying by location

What kind of diffusion is Glocalization?

Stimulus Diffusion

Sustainable development

present needs are met, but future needs are not considered

Distance Decay

as the distance between two places increases, the interaction decreases between the two

Time-Space Compression

when the distance between places “shrink” or feel closer due to technology and faster transportation

Geo Inquiry Steps

1. Ask

2. Collect

3. Visualize

4. Share

5. Act

Quantitative

data measured through numbers and statistics; objective

Qualitative

data measured through observations and descriptions; subjective

Census

data that collects an official population count

GIS

Geographic Information System

What is GIS?

a system that displays layers of data on a map (ex. natural disasters, weather)

GPS

Global Positioning System

What is GPS?

a system that uses satellites to give the exact position on Earth through a device

Topography

the physical geographical features that give a land its texture

Remote Sensing

data that is collected remotely (ex. satellite images)

Cartographer

a person who makes maps

Absolute distance

distance measured through a unit of length; physical distance (ex. miles, kilometers)

Relative distance

distance measured through the connection between two places; considers social and economic factors (ex. time, money)

Absolute direction

compass (north, south, east, west)

Relative Direction

direction described through common terms (left/right, up/down, front/behind)

Large scale

zoomed-in map; presents a small area with more detail

Small scale

zoomed-out map; more generalized

Reference map

maps that focus on a generalized location and its features (streets, cities, boundaries)

Thematic map

maps that focus on a theme or type of data

uses lines to connect places with similar values (ex. temperature, air pressure)

Isoline Map

a symbol is used to show the intensity of an area (ex. earthquake magnitudes, population density)

Graduated symbols map

dots are used to show the occurrence of an area (ex. births, deaths, crimes)

Dot density map

colors/shades are used to distribute data between areas

Choropleth map

Map projections

visualizations of the globe on a flat surface; have many different purposes and uses

preserves land shape but distorts size as it moves farther away from the equator; used for navigation and sea-travel

Mercator Projection

preserves land mass size but distorts the shape; not eurocentric

Gall-Peters Projection

minimizes and balances distortion of all features; used for aesthetic appeal

Robinson Projection

Goodie’s Homolosine Projection

projects polar areas in a disk-like shape

Azimuthal Projection