APHUG Unit 1

Distortion

Every map has distortion; you can't take a 3-dimensional object and perfectly project it onto a 2-dimensional surface.

Mercator Map Projection

a map projection that fairly accurately shows shape and direction, but distorts distance and size of land masses.

Goode Homolosine Projection

shows the true size and shape of Earth's landmasses, but has distortion in distance near the edges of the map.

Robinson Projection

a projection that maintains overall shapes and relative positions without extreme distortion.

Gall-Peters Projection

a map projection that maintains the relative size of landmasses but distorts their shapes, especially near the equator and poles.

Reference Maps

Informational maps that show the boundaries, names of places, and geographic features of an area.

Thematic Maps

Displays spatial patterns of places and uses quantitative data to display specific topics.

Choropleth Map

Displays data by using different COLORS or different shades of a color.

Dot Density Map

Shows data by PLACING POINTS ON A MAP where the data is occurring.

Graduated Symbol Map

Uses shapes, items, or symbols to show the location and the amount of data.

Isoline Map

Uses lines to connect different areas that have similar or equal amounts of data. (Example: Weather maps)

Cartogram Map

The greatest value is represented by the largest area.

Flow Line Map

Shows the movement of different goods, people, etc, between different places.

Remote Sensing

Using satellites to collect data.

Geographic Information System (GIS)

A computer system that can collect, analyze, and display geographic DATA.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

A network of satellites that are used to determine the LOCATION of something on Earth's surface.

Qualitative Data

Information that is often in word form and is up for interpretation, debate, and discussion.

Quantitative data

is Information that is often in number form, and is objective and not up for debate.

Small Scale Map

Shows a large portion of the Earth's surface, but has less detail in the data that it is displaying.

Large Scale Map

Show smaller areas in more detail.

Global Scale

does not use a country's boundaries to present the information. It shows a global pattern (meaning the information is not connected to a specific country).

National Scale

The data and information are organized by the country.

Regional Scale

The level of analysis that focuses on specific areas or regions within a broader context (the regions within a continent).

Local Scale

The data is organized by the different states or cities.

Formal Regions (Also known as Uniform Regions):

Have common attributes, defined by economic, political, social, or environmental characteristics.

Functional Regions (Also known as Nodal Regions)

Geographic areas that are organized around a node (or center point).

Perceptual Regions (Also known as Vernacular Regions)

Geographic areas that are linked together due to people's opinions, attitudes, feelings, or beliefs on the region.

Environmental Determinism

The environment sets the possibilities for humans and society.

Environmental Possibilism

The idea that the environment puts limits on society, but people have the ability to adjust/modify the physical environment to overcome those limits.

Site

The physical characteristics of a place, including its location, terrain, and resources.

Situation

The location of a place relative to other places and its broader spatial context, influencing accessibility and connectivity.

Distance-Decay

The principle that geographical distance negatively affects interactions and connections between people or places, resulting in a decrease in the influence or significance of those interactions as distance increases.

Space-Time Compression

The process by which advances in transportation and communication technologies reduce the perceived distance between places, making them more accessible and interconnected.

Central Place Theory

A theory that explains the size, number, and distribution of human settlements in a hierarchical system based on their centrality and ability to provide goods and services to surrounding areas.

Agglomeration

The process by which businesses and industries cluster in one location, leading to increased efficiencies and synergies due to proximity.

Metes and Bounds system

A method of land surveying that defines property boundaries using physical features and directions, often described in terms of distances and angles.

Long-lot system

A land division system used primarily in North America, where land is divided into narrow rectangular parcels that extend from a transportation route, often rivers, to promote access to resources.

Township and Range system

A land surveying method used in the United States, which divides land into six-mile square townships, further subdivided into sections for organized land distribution and management.

Expansion diffusion

is the process by which a characteristic or innovation spreads from its hearth through various means, such as migration, communication, and trade, resulting in an increase in its distribution.

Hierarchical diffusion

is a type of diffusion in which cultural traits or innovations spread from one key person or node of authority to other persons or places, often skipping over areas and populations in the process.

Contagious diffusion

is a form of diffusion where cultural traits or innovations spread rapidly and widely throughout a population, often through direct contact, like disease transmission.

Stimulus diffusion

is a type of diffusion where a specific trait or idea does not spread in its original form but rather inspires new adaptations or variants as it moves between cultures or areas.

Relocation diffusion

is a form of diffusion where people relocate from one place to another, bringing their cultural traits and innovations with them, which can lead to cultural change in the areas they move to.

Absolute distance

Refers to the exact measurement of the physical space between two places, usually expressed in units such as kilometers or miles.

Relative distance

is a measure of the social, cultural, or economic connectivity between two locations, rather than just the physical space separating them. It often considers the time or cost to travel between places.

Absolute direction

is the exact point or compass direction to a location, such as north, south, east, or west, based on cardinal directions.

Relative direction

is a measure of direction based on people's perceptions of location, often described using terms like left, right, forward, or backward relative to a reference point.