Studied by 12 people
geography
the study of places and the relationship between people and their environments
human geography
a subset of the field that examines how human beings and their activities are shaped by the natural environment and how humans seek to modify or control their environments to suit their needs
pangaea
Earth’s supercontinent existing 175 million years ago
tectonic plates
moving pieces of the Earth’s crust located within the lithosphere
age of exploration
period from the late 1400s to the 1500s where Europeans had overseas explorations
ocean
a vast body of saltwater that separates continents
sea
smaller than an ocean, occurs where land and ocean meet
lake
a localized basin of fresh water surrounded by land
river
a naturally flowing waterway
isthmus
thin strips of land that connect larger landmasses over bodies of water
island
landmass surrounded by water on all sides
archipelagos
closely clustered island groupings
irrigation
any method to move amounts of freshwater at regular intervals to irrigate agricultural land
physical geography
branch of natural science dealing with the study of the natural environment’s processes and patterns
lithosphere
contains tectonic plates, lies between crust and upper mantle
latitude
lines dividing the Earth horizontally 90 S to 90 N
longitude
lines dividing the Earth vertically 180 W to 180 E
equator
line that divides the world horizontally
prime meridian
line that divides the world vertically, located in Greenwich
exact location
coordinates of latitude and longitude based on the equator and prime meridian
Panama Canal
Waterway that cuts through Panama to form a path connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans
Greater Antilles
Larger islands in the Caribbean
Lesser Antilles
Smaller islands in the Caribbean
Pampas
South American grasslands
British Isles
Group of islands in Western Europe including Northern Ireland, England, and Scotland.
Microstates
states of small physical size and populations
Low Countries
Countries at or below sea level, includes Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands
Scandinavian Peninsula
Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland
Baltic States
Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia
Balkan Peninsula
Consists of many former regions of Yugoslavia, like Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia
Sahara
Large, expansive desert stretching across the African continent
Sahel
Region between the Sahara and the coastal regions of West Africa
Zanj
Coastal regions of East Africa from Somalia to Tanzania
Levant
Syria, Israel (and the occupied territories), Lebanon, Jordan
Mesopotamia
Ancient region in today’s Iraq around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Aramaic
Semitic language spoken by Assyrians
Zoroastrianism
Religion based on the teachings of Zoroaster and emphasizes the battle between good and evil
Hejaz
Region containing the holy cities of Mecca and Medina
Monsoons
Seasonal shift in winds causing an extreme dry or rainy season
Melanesia
Region of Oceania including Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea
Micronesia
Country in Oceania made up of 4 islands
Space
surface of the Earth
activity space
spaces where specific activities occur
place
any space within certain boundaries that is important to people or all living things
toponym
specific names chosen to connote their importance
place-specific cultures
cultures formed from different histories, cultures, and economies
homogenous
something generally the same, like language, religion, or terrain
formal regions
defined space with legal borders
environmental region
a region defined by its climate, topography, wildlife, etc
ecotone
transition zone between one environmental region into another
cultural region
region not bound by borders, crossing over different climate and time zones
functional region
areas with a central node that has a practical purpose for the region
market area
region where something is available to buy
vernacular region
regions based on perception or mental map of the region’s residents
absolute location
defines a point on the map based on coordinates of latitude and longitude
time zones
an area’s established standard time
relative location
defines location based on significant geographical features or proximity to landmarks
scale
the relationship of an object or place to Earth as a whole
relative scale
the level of aggregation, or the level at which things are being grouped together for study
distance
space or relationship between two or more points
Linear distance
absolute distance between two locations (measured in mi or km)
Distance decay
the further a location is from the place of origin, the less likely interactions will be
Tobler’s Law
all things are related, but those physically closer will develop stronger relationships
Site
physical characteristics of a place
Situation
a place’s interrelatedness with other places
Space-time compression
the decreased time and distance barriers provided by modern methods of communication and transport
Core region
national and global regions where economic power is concentrated
Node
a central point in a functional region
Marketplace
the area surrounding something which customers are attracted to
Spatial patterns
tools measuring the distance between physical locations
Clusters
groups of things like factories, farms, and mills located closely
Land survey patterns
how land is divided
Metes and bounds
less precise method to measure irregularly shaped plots of land
Townships and ranges
rectangular land measurement and division method
Long line lots
long rectangular plots of farmland with access to rivers
Density
number of things in a certain area
Population density
number of people who live in a defined area
Diffusion
the process where information, beliefs, and technologies spread from one area to another
Hierarchical diffusion
pattern originates from a point and diffuses outward in a cascading way
Contagious diffusion
follows a linear trajectory from an origin point to nearby locations on a line of transportation
Stimulus diffusion
consumer or public demands influencing the commercial or political class to begin certain services
Expansion diffusion
patterns originating from a central location and diffusing outward to different lengths
Relocation diffusion
begins with an origin point and travels across major geographic barriers
Map
a symbolic representation of a place’s selected characteristics
Spatial analysis
key component of map creation based on different quantitative geographic patterns
Topographic maps
display contour lines of Earth’s topography
thematic maps
illustrate a theme of the land
choropleth maps
maps with color coded areas denoting cities and borders
isoline maps
calculate data values between different points across a represented surface
dot density maps
used to represent volume and density of a geographic feature
flow line maps
use lines of varying thickness to demonstrate movement and volume of a pattern
cartogram maps
use geometric shapes of varying size to illustrate key differences in populations, wealth, and consumption
map scale
the “absolute” form of the concept of scale, representing the distance of the surface
projections
methods to transfer Earth’s surface onto a flat surface
models
representations of land and urban centers
spatial models
models that illustrate landscape patterns
concentric zone model
graph that shows the cost-to-distance relationship in real estate in an urban area or general region
gravity model
determines radius of an urban center’s central business district’s influence and estimates the flow of people to a particular place
GIS (geographic information systems)
layers of data to generate maps and models and provide types of spatial analysis
data layers
layers that examine data and information spatially
Note 
Flashcard (48)