Module 1--Geography

geography

the study of the world, its people, and the landscapes they create

landscape

all the human and physical features that make a place unique

social science

a field that studies people and the relationships among them

regions

a part of the world that has one or more common features that distinguish it from surrounding areas

physical geography

the study of the world's landforms, bodies of water, climate, soils, and plants

human geography

the study of the people, communities, and landscapes

cartography

The science of making maps

meterology

the study of weather and what causes it

absolute location

Exact location of a place on the earth described by global coordinates

relative location

a general description of where a place is location often expressed in relation to something else

environment

the land, water, climate, plants and animals of an area- it's surroundings

location

where something is- relative and absolute

place

an area's landscape including it's land, climate and people

human-environment interaction

how people affect their environment and how their environment affects them

movement

how and why people and things move

map

a flat drawing of the earth's surface

globe

a spherical, or ball-shaped, model of the entire planet

Global Positioning System

a technology system that transmits information from satellites to Earth, giving the exact location of a given object on our planet

Geographic Information System

a technology system that combines and provides geographic information from many different sources

grid

imaginary lines that circle Earth in east-west and north-south directions

latitude

horizontal lines that measure north and south of the equator

parallels

lines of latitude

longitude

lines that measure degrees east or west of the prime meridian

meridians

lines of longitude

degrees

units of measurement that locate lines of latitude and longitude

minutes

units of measurement that is 1/60 of a degree

equator

imaginary lines that circle the globe halfway between the North and South Poles

prime meridian

imaginary line that divide the globe into east and west halves

hemispheres

northern and southern or eastern and western halves of the globe

continents

seven large landmasses on Earth's surface

map projections

ways that our round planet can be shown on a flat map

distortion

a change in the shape, size, or position of a place when it is shown on a flat map