APHG Vocab

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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