The Cultural Landscape Chapter 1: Thinking Geographically

value of GIS

The ________ extends beyond the ability to make complex maps more easily.

Maps

________ can also be used as a communication tool.

basic principles of mapmaking

He codified the ________ and prepared numerous maps.

Ancient Greek

________ and Roman maps were complied in the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World.

small globe doesnt

A(n) ________ have enough space to display detailed information, but a large globe is too bulky and cumbersome to use.

GIS

The key to ________ is geocoding: The position of any object on Earth can be measured and recorded with mathematical precision and then stored in a computer.

Example

Geographers are interested in the location of McDonald's restaurants around the world, not just around a U.S. interstate exit

The key to GIS is geocoding

The position of any object on Earth can be measured and recorded with mathematical precision and then stored in a computer

contemporary geography

the scientific study of the location of people and activities across Earth and the reasons for distribution

place

a specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular characteristic

region

an area of Earth distinguished by a distinctive combination of cultural and physical features

scale

the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole

space

the physical gap or interval between two objects

connections

relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space

ratio or fraction

shows the numerical ratio between distances on the map and Earth’s surface

written scale

describes this relationship between the map and Earth distances in words

graphic

usually consists of a bar line marked to show distance on Earth’s service

shape of an area

can be distorted so that it appears more elongated or squat than in reality

distance

between two points may become increased or decreased

relative size of different areas

may be altered, so that one area may appear smaller

direction

from one place to another can be distorted

Land Ordinance of 1785

divided much of the country into a system of townships and ranges to facilitate the sale of land to settlers in the West

township

a square 6 miles on each side

principal meridians

some of the north-south lines separating the townships

baselines

some east-west lines

GIS

A computer system that can capture, store, query, analyze, and display geographic data

location

four ways to identify location: place name, site, situation, and mathematical location

toponym

a name given to a place on Earth

Situation

the location of a place relative to other places

meridian

an arc drawn between the North and South poles

longitude

a numbering system

prime meridian

the meridian that passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich England is 0 degrees longitude

parallel

a circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians

latitude

the numbering system to indicate the location of a parallel

cultural landscape

a combination of cultural features such as language and religion, economic features such as agriculture and industry, and physical features such as climate and vegetation

regional studies

The contemporary cultural landscape approach in geometry

formal region

called a uniform region or homogeneous region, is an area within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristics

Greenwich Mean Time

(GMT) or Universal Time (UT) is the master of reference time for all points on Earth

International Date Line

follows 180 degrees longitude

functional region

called a nodal region, is an area organized around a node or focal point

vernacular region

called a perceptual region, is a place that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity

mental map

an internal representation of a portion of the Earth’s surface

Agriculture

a term for the growing of living material at a much larger scale than in a test tube

cultivate

to take care of is to nurse or look after something

cultural ecology

the geographic study of human-environment relationships

environmental determinism

how the physical environment caused social development

possibilism

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

resources

substances that are useful to people, economically and technologically feasible to access, and socially acceptable to use

polder

a piece of land that is created by draining water from an area

globalization

a force or process that involves the entire world and results in making something worldwide in scope

transnational corporation

conducts research, operates factories and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters and principal shareholders are located

distribution

arrangement of a feature in space

density

frequency with which something occurs in space

arithmetic density

the total number of objects in an area, is commonly used to compare the distribution of population in different countries

physiological density

the number of persons per unit of area for suitable agriculture

agricultural density

the number of farmers per unit area of farmland

concentration

the extent of a feature’s spread over space

pattern

the geometric arrangement of objects in space

space-time compression

describes the reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another place

distance decay

contact diminishes with increasing distance and eventually disappears

diffusion

the process by which a characteristic spread across space from one place to another over time

hearth

place from which an innovation originates

relocation diffusion

spread of an idea through the physical movement of people from one place to another

expansion diffusion

spread of a feature from one place to another in a snowballing process

hierarchical diffusion

the spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places

contagious diffusion

the rapid, widespread diffusion of a character throughout the population

stimulus diffusion

the spread of an underlying principle, even though a characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse

expansion diffusion

occurs much more rapidly in the contemporary world than in the past

uneven development

increasing gap in economic conditions between regions in the core and periphery that results from the globalization of the economy

remote sensing

The acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting Earth or from other long-distance methods