CHAPTER 1 —> Thinking Grographically

Spatial Association

The relationship between the distribution of one feature and the distribution of another feature.

Geography

The study of the earth's surface, climate, continents, countries, peoples, industries, and products.

Eratosthenes

He is also credited with coining the term "geography."

Human Geography

One of the two major divisions of geography along with physical geography; the spatial analysis of human population, their cultures, activities, and landscapes.

Distribution

The arrangement of a feature in space, is made up of 3 properties : density, concentration, and pattern.

Density

The frequency with which something exists within a given unit of area(km, miles, acres etc.). One of the 3 properties of distribution along with concentration and pattern.

Concentration

The extent of a feature's spread over space. Can be either clustered(relative) or dispersed.

Pattern

The geometric arrangement of objects in space. One of the three propertied of distribution.

Arithmetic Density

The total number of people divided by the total land area. An aspect of density.

Physiological density

The number of people per unit of area of arable land, which is land suitable for agriculture.

Agricultural Density

The ratio of the number of farmers to the total amount of land suitable for agriculture, a high ratio means that there is inefficient agriculture in that region.

Arable land

Land suitable for growing crops, is one of the fectors determining physiological density.

Cartography

science or art of making maps, tis awesome.

Remote Sensing

The acquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or other long-distance methods.

GIS

A computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data(Topography, political boundaries,soil etc).

GPS

Global Positioning System., a navigational system involving satellites and computers that can determine the latitude and longitude of a receiver on Earth by computing the time difference for signals from different satellites to reach the receiver.

Projection

method of transferring locations on the Earth to a flat surface distortions that result include shape, distance, direction, and relative size.

Toponym

name given to a place on earth, think place name(In this case Mt. Everest).

Meridian

An arc drawn on a map between the North and South poles.

Parellel

any of the imaginary circles around the earth parallel to the equator, marking degrees of latitude

Prime Meridian

The meridian, designated at 0° longitude, which passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England.

latitude

The numbering system used to indicate the location of parallels drawn on a globe and measuring distance north and south of the equator.

Time Zones

One of the 24 regions or divisions of the globe approximately coinciding with meridians at successive hours from the observatory at Greenwich, England.

GMT

Greenwich Mean Time. The time in that time zone encompassing the prime meridian or 0 degree longitude, also known as universal time(UT).

International Date Line

is an imaginary line of longitude generally 180° (degrees) east or west of the Prime Meridian. The International Date Line is where each new day begins.

Equator

an imaginary circle around the middle of the earth, halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole, largest circumference.

Region

an area of Earth distinguished by a distinctive combination of cultural and physical features. Like "the South".

Formal Region

(or uniform or homogeneous region) an area in which everyone shares in one or more distinctive characteristics(like language ,religion, climate etc.) Examples are States like Montana, corn belt. One of 3 types of regions.

Functional Region

Also called a (nodal region) Area organized around a node or focal point. The characteristic chosen to define a functional region dominates at a central focus or node and diminishes in importance outward. This region is tied to the central point by transportation or communication systems or by economic or functional associations., Example could be circulation of newspapers.

Vernacular Region

Can also be called a (Perceptual Region) is a place that people believe exists as a part of their cultural identity. Such regions emerge from peoples informal sense of place rather than from scientific models developed through geographic thought. (Often identified using a mental map- which is an internal representation of a portion of Earths surface), Like "the South"

MDC

More Developed Countries, Countries with higher levels of per capita income, industrialization and modernization. they usually have lower levels of population growth. The developed region includes all of Europe, Canada, the U.S., Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the USSR

LDC

Less Developed Countries, A country that has low levels of average wealth, industrialization and modernization and often high levels of population growth and people employed in agriculture

environmental determinism

A nineteenth- and early twentieth-century approach to the study of geography that argued that the general laws sought by human geographers could be found in the physical sciences. Geography was therefore the study of how the physical environment caused human activities.

Possibilism

The modern geographic theory which rejects environmental determinism of Ritter and Humboldt, and states that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives.

Globalization

The trend toward increased cultural and economic connectedness between people, businesses, and organizations throughout the world.

Distance Decay

The diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin. Typically, the farther away one group is from another, the less likely the two groups are to interact. (Electronic devices such as the internet and e-mail have aided in eliminating barriers to interaction between people who are far from each other.

Diffusion

The spatial spreading or dissemination of a culture element or some other phenomenon over time. Originates in the "Hearth", Two main types: Relocation and expansion.

Hearth

the region from which innovative ideas originate, emerges because a community invests and allocates resources to nurture the innovation. 3 major of these are North America, Western Europe, and Japan).

Relocation diffusion

The spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another. Such as through migration. Can explain AID'S distribution.

Contagious diffusion

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population. Facillitated by the World Wide Web and other high technologies. (Medicinal, advice etc)

perceptual region

a region defined by popular feelings and images rather than by objective data

Land Ordinance of 1785

A law that divided much of the United States into a system of townships to facilitate the sale of land to settlers.

cultural landscape

the visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape

place

A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular character.

space-time compression

The reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place, as a result of improved communications and transportation systems

Assimilation

the social process of absorbing one cultural group into harmony with another

Acculturation

(n.) the modification of the social patterns, traits, or structures of one group or society by contact with those of another; the resultant blend

Syncretism

The unification or blending of opposing people, ideas, or practices, frequently in the realm of religion. For example, when Christianity was adopted by people in a new land, they often incorporate it into their existing culture and traditions.

Sustainability

meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

situation

the location of a place relative to other places

site

physical characteristics of a place

scale

Generally, the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole, specifically the relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth's surface.

renewable resource

A natural resource that can be replaced at the same rate at which the resource is consumed

Stimulus Diffusion

The spread of an underlying principle, even though a specific characteristic is rejected.

uneven development

The increasing gap in economic conditions between core and peripheral regions as a result of the globalization of the economy.

absolute location

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

Expansion Diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in a snowballing process.

location

The position of anything on Earth's surface.

Longitude

Distance east or west of the prime meridian, measured in degrees

hierarchal diffusion

the spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places

Geospatial

relating to data that is specific to one location

quanatative data

uses numbers

qualitative data

Information describing color, odor, shape, or some other physical characteristic

clustered

Gathered closely together in a group

disperse

to scatter, spread far and wide

World Systems Theory

Importance of world as a unit, dividing world into CORE (Western Europe/US), PERIPHERY (Latin America, Africa), and SEMI-PERIPHERY (India, Brazil)

Census

population count

friction of distance

the increase in time and cost that usually comes with increasing distance