Key Terms and Vocabulary

Abiotic

Abiotic

Composed of nonliving or inorganic matter

Absolute location

Description of the position of a place in a way that never changes, such as geographic coordinates of latitude and longitude

Acculturation

The process of changes in culture that result from the meeting of two groups, each of which retains distinct cultural features

Acid deposition

The accumulation of acids on Earth's surface

Acid precipitation

Conservation of sulfur oxides on nitrogen oxides to acids that return to Earth as rain, snow, or fog

Active solar energy

Solar radiation captured with photovoltaic cells that convert light energy to electrical energy

Adolescent fertility rate

The number of births per 1,000 women ages 15-19

African American Vernacular English (AAVE)

A dialect used by some African Americans

Agnosticism

The belief that the existence of God cannot be proven or disproven empirically

Agribusiness

Commercial agriculture characterized by the integration of different steps in the food processing industry, usually through ownership by large corporations

Agriculture

The deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth's surface through the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for sustenance or economic gain

Agricultural density

The ratio of the number of farmers to the total amount of arable land (land suitable for agriculture)

Agricultural revolution

The process that began when human beings first domesticated plants and animals and no longer relied entirely on hunting and gathering

Air pollution

Concentration of trace substances, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and solid particulates, at a greater level occurs in average air

Alternative fact

A statement that can be proven to be false

Animate power

Power supplier by animals or by people

Animism

The belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life

Annexation

Legally adding land area to a city in the United States

Anocracy

A country that is not fully democratic or fully autocratic but rather displays a mix of the two types

Antinatalist policy

Government policy that supports lower birth rates

Apartheid

Laws (no longer in effect) in South Africa that physically separated different races into different geographic areas

Aquaculture (or aquafarming)

The cultivation of seafood under controlled conditions

Arable land

Land suited for agriculture

Arithmetic density

The total number of people divided by the total land area

Assimilation

The process by which a group’s cultural features are altered to resemble those of another group

Asylum seeker

Someone who has migrated to another country in the hope of being recognized as a refugee

Atheism

The belief that God does not exist

Atmosphere

The thin layer of gases surrounding Earth

Autocracy

A country that is run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people

Autonomous religion

A religion that does not have a central authority but shares ideas and cooperates informally

Balance of power

A condition of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or alliances if countries

Basic business

A business that sells it's products or services primarily to consumers outside the settlement

Behavioral geography

An approach to human geography that emphasizes the importance of understanding the psychological basis for individual human actions in space

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)

The amount of oxygen required by aquatic bacteria to decompose a given load of organic waste; a measure of water pollution

Biomass fuel

Fuel derived from wood, plant material, or animal waste

Biosphere

All living organisms on Earth, including plants and animals, as well as microorganisms

Biotic

Composed of living organisms

Black Lives Matter

Movement that campaigns against violence and perceived racism toward black people and educates others about the challenges that African Americans continue to face in the United States

Blockbusting

A process by which real estate agents convince white property owners to sell their houses at low prices because of fear that persons of color will soon move into the neighborhood

Boundary

An invisible line that marks the extent of a state’s territory

Brain drain

Large-scale emigration by talented people

Branch

A large and fundamental division within a religion

Break-of-bulk point

A location where transfer is possible from one mode of transportation to another

Bulk-gaining industry

An industry in which the final product weighs more or comprises a greater volume than the inputs

Bulk-reducing industry

An industry in which the final product weighs less or comprises a lower volume than the inputs

Business service

A service that primarily meets the needs of other businesses, including professional, financial, and transportation services

Carrying capacity

The population size of a species that the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the available resources

Cartogram

A map in which the projection and scale are distorted in order to convey the information of a variable

Cartography

The science of making maps

Cash crop

A crop that is grown for sale, rather than for the famer’s own use

Caste

The class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned, according to religious law

Census

A complete enumeration of a population

Census tract

An area delineated by the U.S. Bureau of the Census for which statistics are published; in urban area, census tracts correspond roughly to neighborhoods

Central business district (CBD)

The area of a city where retail and office activities are clustered

Central city

An urban settlement that has been legally incorporated into an independent, self-governing unit.

Central place

A market center for the exchange of services by people attracted from the surrounding area

Central place theory

A theory that explains the distribution of services based on the fact that settlements serve as centers of market areas for services; larger settlements are fewer and farther apart than smaller settlements and provide services for a larger number of people who are willing to travel farther

Centrifugal force

A cultural value that tends to pull people apart

Centripetal force

A cultural value that tends to unify people

Cereal grain

A grass that yields grain for food

Chlorofluorocarbon

A gas used as a solvent, a propellant in aerosols, a refrigerant, and in plastic foams and fire extinguishers

Choropleth map

A map in which areas are shaded or patterned in proportion to the measurement of the variable

Circular migration

Short-term, repetitive, or cyclical movements that recur on a regular basis

Citizen science

Scientific research by amateur scientists

City-state

A sovereign state comprising a city and it's immediately surrounding countryside

Climate

The long-term average weather condition at a particular location

Clustered rural settlement

A rural settlement in which the houses and farm buildings of each family situated close to each other, with fields surrounding the settlement

Colonialism

An attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose it's political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory

Colony

A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than completely independent

Columbian exchange

The transfer of plants and animals, as well as people, culture, and technology, between Western Hemisphere and Europe, as a result of European colonization

Combined statistical area (CSA)

In the United States, two or more contiguous core-based statistical areas tied together by commuting patterns

Commercial agriculture

Agriculture undertaken primarily to generate products for sale off the farm

Commercial (or market) gardening and fruit farming

Relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables, and other horticulture

Compact state

A state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly

Concentration

The extent feature’s spread over a given area

Concentric zone model

A model of the internal structure of cities in which social groups are spatially arranged in a series of rings

Congregation

A local assembly of persons brought together for common religious worship

Connection

The relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space

Conservation

The sustainable management of a natural resource to meet human needs

Conservation tillage

A method of soil cultivation that reduces soil erosion and runoff

Consumer service

A business that provides services primarily to individual consumers, including retail services and education, health, and leisure services

Consumptive water usage

The use of water that evaporates rather than being returned to nature as a liquid

Contagious diffusion

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population

Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)

Informally Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The time in the zone encompassing the prime meridian, or 0° longitude

Core-based statistical area (CBSA)

In the United States, the collection of all metropolitan statistical areas and micropolitan statistical areas

Cosmogony

A set beliefs concerning the origin of the universe

Cottage industry

Manufacturing based in homes rather than in factories, most common prior to the Industrial Revolution

Counter urbanization

Net migration from urban to rural areas in developed countries

Crop

Any plant gathered from a field as a harvest during a particular season

Crop rotation

The practice of rotating use of different fields from crop to crop each years to avoid exhausting the soil

Crude birth rate (CBR)

The total number of live births in a year for every 1,000 people alive in society

Crude death rate (CDR)

The total number of deaths in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society

Cultural ecology

A geographic approach that emphasizes human-enviornment relationships

Cultural homogenization

The process of reduction in cultural diversity through the diffusion of popular culture

Cultural landscape

An approach to geography that emphasizes the relationships among social and physical phenomena in a particular study area

Culture

The body of customary beliefs, material traits, and social forms that together constitutes the distinct tradition of a group of people

Custom

The frequent repetition of an act, to the extent that it becomes characteristics of the group of people performing the act

Cyber espionage

The unauthorized and clandestine deployment of a virus to observe or destroy data in the computer systems of government agencies and large corporations

Dairy farm

A form of commercial agriculture that specializes in the production of milk and other dairy products

Demand

The quantity of something that people wish to consume and are able to buy