AMSCO AP Human Geography - 1.1: Introduction to Maps

Reference Maps

Maps that are designed for people to refer to them for general info about places.

What are the 4 kinds of reference maps?

Political, physical, road maps, and plat maps.

Political Maps

Maps that show human made boundaries and designations, such as countries, states, cities, and capitals.

Physical Maps

Maps that show and label natural features, like mountains, rivers, and deserts.

Road Maps

Maps that show and label highways, streets, and alleys.

Plat Maps

Maps that show and label property lines, and details of land ownership.

Thematic Maps

Maps that show spatial aspects of information or of a phenomenon.

What are the 5 common types of thematic maps?

Choropleth, dot, graduated symbol, cartogram, and isoline maps.

Choropleth Map

A map that uses various colors, and shades to show location and distribution of spatial data.

Dot Distribution Maps

Maps that use dots to represent a specific quantity of a phenomenon, illustrating spatial distribution across a geographic area.

Graduated Symbol Maps

Maps that use symbols of varying sizes to represent data values for a geographic area, indicating the intensity or magnitude of a particular phenomenon.

Isoline Maps

Maps that connect points of equal value, showing variations in data across a geographic area.

Topographic Maps

Maps that depict terrain relief, showing elevation and landforms through contour lines and shading.

Cartogram

A type of thematic map that distorts the size of geographic regions based on the value of a particular variable.

Scale

The ratio between the size of things in the real world and the size of the same thing on a map.

Cartographic scale

The method used to represent the ratio of distance on a map to the actual distance on the ground. It can be expressed verbally, fractionally, or graphically.

Small-scale maps

Maps that show a larger area with less detail, typically representing large geographic regions compared to the actual size.

Large-scale maps

Maps that depict a smaller area with greater detail, typically used for specific locations like cities or districts.

Aboslute location

The exact positioning of a place on the Earth's surface, often defined by coordinates of latitude and longitude.

Latitude

The distance north or south of the Equator, measured in degrees, which helps determine a location's position on the Earth's surface.

Equator

The imaginary line that divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, located at 0 degrees latitude.

Longitude

The distance east or west of the Prime Meridian, measured in degrees, which helps to determine a location's position on the Earth's surface.

Prime Meridian

The imaginary line that divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, located at 0 degrees longitude. (Passes through Greenwich, England)

International Date Line

The imaginary line located at approximately 180 degrees longitude that determines the change of one calendar day to the next. Makes deviations based on international boundaries.

Relative location

The position of a place in relation to other locations, often described in terms of distance and direction.

Connectivity

How well two locations are tied together by roads or other links.

Accessibility

How quickly and easily people in one location can interact with another location

Direction

The course along which something moves, pointing a specific way or indicating how to get to a destination.

4 main cardinal directions

Are north, south, east, and west, used for navigation and orientation on maps.

Absolute distance

refers to the exact measurement of the physical space between two locations, typically expressed in units like miles or kilometers.

Relative distance

refers to the spatial relationship between two locations, often described in terms of time, cost, or social distance rather than a specific measurement.

Elevation

the height of a location above sea level, often measured in feet or meters.

Distribution

the arrangement or spread of something across a given area, which can include people, resources, or phenomena.

Patterns

The general arrangement of things.

6 different distribution patterns

Clustered/agglomerated, Linear, Dispersed, Circular, Geometric, Random

Clustered/Agglomerated distribution

refers to a spatial arrangement where objects are grouped closely together in a specific area, often influenced by social, economic, or environmental factors.

Linear distribution

describes a spatial arrangement where objects or phenomena are arranged along a straight line or narrow pathway, often reflecting transportation routes or urban development patterns.

Dispersed distribution

refers to a spatial arrangement where objects are spread out over a larger area, with spaces between them, often due to environmental factors or resource availability.

Circular distribution

refers to a spatial arrangement where objects are organized around a central point, often forming a circular pattern. This type of distribution can be seen in urban planning or natural phenomena.

Geometric distribution

is characterized by a spatial arrangement where objects are positioned in a regular, geometric pattern, often reflecting human planning or design.

Random distribution

refers to a spatial arrangement where objects are placed without any specific pattern or order, often occurring in natural settings where human influence is minimal.

Map Projection

is the method of transforming the three-dimensional surface of the Earth into a two-dimensional representation, affecting the shape, area, distance, and direction of geographic features.

4 main types of projections

Mercator, Peters, Conic, Robinson

Mercator projection

Used for navigation, Directions shown accurately, but land masses near the poles appear larger

Peters projection

Used for spatial distributions related to area, land mass size is accurate, but shapes are inaccurate, especially near the poles.

Conic projection

Used for general use in midlatitude countries, line of longitude converge and latitude curve, but direction is not constant and the longitude line converge at one pole.

Robinson projection

Used for general use, no major distortion, but area, size, shape, and direction are all slightly distorted.