AP Human Geography Unit 1 GradeSaver

Geospatial Data

Quantitive data showing locations on the earths surface

referance maps

designed for people to refer to for general information about places

Political Maps

Show countries, their borders, and capital cities

Physical Maps

show physical, or natural, features

Road Maps

show and label highways, streets, and alleys

Plat Maps

show and label property lines and details of land ownership

Physical Geography

the study of physical features of the earth's surface

Human Geography

The study of where and why human activities are located where they are

time-distance decay

The idea that the closer something is tor another, the more connected they are

Quantative data

numerical data

Thematic Maps

show spatial aspects of information or of a phenomenon

Choropleth maps

A type of thematic map that uses shades or colors to show the distribution of spatial data

Dot Distribution

shows density and concentration of data

Graduated Symbol Maps

use symbols of different sizes to indicate different amounts of something

Isoline Maps

Maps that use lines to represent quantities of equal value

Topographic Maps

Maps that use isolines to represent constant elevations.

Cartogram

A type of map that changes sizes of land based on the stats of the place such as population

Absolute Location

The exact position of a place on the earth's surface.

Absolute Distance

Exact measurement of the physical space between two places.

Relative Location

where a place is located in relation to another place

Relative Distance

Distance measured based on how long it will take to get there

Elevation

height above sea level

Clustered Distribution

Phenomena arranged in a group of concentrated area

Linear Distribution

phenomena are arranged in a straight line

Dispersed Distribution

phenomena are spread out over a large area

Map Projection

a way of representing the spherical Earth on a flat surface

Distortion

An exaggeration or stretching of the truth to achieve a desired effect.

Landscape Analysis

the task of defining and describing landscapes

field observation

The act of physically visiting a place to get info about something

Aerial Photography

professional images captured from planes within the atmosphere

Media reports

articles published by news papers or magazines

Travel Narrative

Someone that travels to places and documents what they saw to others

policy documents

communicate organizational policies and procedures

Photographic Interpretation

The act of examining photographic images for the purpose of identifying objects and judging their significance

GIS

A computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data.

GPS

Uses multiple satellites to figure out where the user is

remote sensing

the scanning of the earth by satellite or high-flying aircraft in order to obtain information about it.

census data

specific info about people

place

The specific human and physical characteristics of a location

Site

the characteristics at the immediate location

Situation

the location of a place relative to other places

Sense of Place

How someone thinks about a place based on their beliefs

Toponyms

Provide insight into the physical geo, history, or culture of the place

Time-Space Compression

shrinking how long it takes to get somewhere by improving transportation

Human-Enviornmental Interaction

The connection and exchange between humans and the natural world

Sustainability

the act of reserving resources for the future

Environmental Determinism

the belief that landforms and climate are the most powerful forces shaping human behavior and societal development

Possiblism

The physical environment may limit some human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to their environment.

Scale of Analysis

a scale that determines what is being studied based on the size of the area being examined

Global Scale

the scale of the world, in a global setting.

Regional Scale

multiple countries of the world

National Scale

one country

Local Scale

A province, state, city, country, or neighborhood

Aggregation

Geographers organize data into different scales

Formal Region

United by one or more traits. Political, physical, culture, economic

Functional Region

An area organized around a node or focal point

Perpetual Region

Defined by the informal sense of place that people ascribe to them

Subregion

A smaller division of a geographic region.