Unit One: Thinking Geographically (AP HUG)

absolute distance

a distance that can be measured with a standard unit of length (miles, kilometers)

absolute location

the exact position of an object or place, measured within the spatial coordinates of a grid system

accessibility

the relative ease with which a destination may be reached from some other place

aggregation

to come together into a mass, sum, or whole

anthropogenic

human-induced changes on the natural environment

azimuthal projection

a map projection in which the plane is the most developable surface

breaking point

the outer edge of a city's sphere of influence, used in the law of retail gravitation to describe the area of a city's hinterlands that depend on that city for its retail supplies

Carl Sauer

geographer from the University of California at Berkeley who defined the concept of cultural landscape as the fundamental unit of geographical analysis- this landscape results from the interaction between humans and the physical environment- Sauer argued that virtually no landscape has escaped alteration by human activities

cartograms

a type of thematic map that transforms space such that the political unit with the greatest value for some type of data is represented by the largest relative area

cartography

the theory and practice of making visual representations of Earth's surface in the form of maps

choropleth map

a thematic map that uses tones or colors to represent spatial data as average values per unit area

cognitive map

an image of a portion of Earth's surface that an individual creates in his or her mind (can include knowledge of actual locations and relationships)

complementarity

the actual or potential relationship between two places (usually referring to economic interactions)

connectivity

the degree of economic, social, cultural, or political connection between two places

contagious diffusion

the spread of a disease, an innovation, or cultural traits through direct contact with another person or another place

coordinate system

a standard grid, composed of lines of latitude and longitude, used to determine the absolute location of any object, place, or feature on Earth's surface

cultural ecology

the study of the interactions between societies and the natural environments in which they live (aka nature-society geography)

cultural landscape

the human-modified natural landscape specifically containing the imprint of a particular culture or society

distance decay effect

the decrease in interaction between two phenomena, places, or people as the distance between them increases

dot maps

thematic maps that use points to show the precise locations of specific observations/occurrences (crimes, car accidents, births)

environmental geography

the intersection between human and physical geography, which explores the spatial impacts humans have on the physical environment and vice versa

expansion diffusion

the spread of idea, innovations, fashion, or other phenomena to surrounding areas through contact and exchange

formal region

definition of regions based on common themes such as similarities in language, climate, land use, etc.

friction of distance

a measure of how much absolute distance affects the interaction between two places

fuller projection

a type of map projection that maintains the accurate size and shape of landmasses but completely rearranges direction such that the 4 cardinal directions no longer have any meaning

functional region

definition of regions based on common interaction (or function)

geographic scale

the scale at which a geographer analyzes a particular phenomenon (typically, the finer the scale of analysis, the richer the level of detail in the findings; think local, national, global)

geoid

the actual shape of the Earth, which is rough and oblate (slightly squashed)

gis (geographic information system)

a set of computer tools used to capture, store, transform, analyze, and display geographic data

gps (global positioning system)

a set of satellites used to help determine location anywhere on Earth's surface with a portable electronic device

gravity model

a mathematical formula that describes the level of interaction between two places, based on the size of their populations and their distance from each other

hierarchical diffusion

a type of diffusion in which something is transmitted between places based on the size of their populations and their distance from each other

human geography

the study of spatial variation in the patterns and processes related to human activity

international date line

the line of longitude that marks where each new day begins, centered on the 180th meridian

intervening opportunity

basically the concept that transportation costs usually decrease with proximity

isoline

a map line that connects points of equal or very similar values

large scale

a relatively small ratio between map units and group units

latitude

the angular distance north or south of the equator, defined by lines of latitude (aka parallels)

law of retail gravitation

a law stating that people will be drawn to larger cities to conduct their business since larger cities have a wider influence on the surrounding hinterlands

location charts

a chart or graph on a map that gives statistical information about a particular political unit or jurisdiction

longitude

the angular distance east or west of the Prime Meridian, defined by lines of longitude (aka meridians)

map projection

a mathematical method that involves transferring Earth's sphere onto a flat surface- all of them are distorted in some way

map scale

the ratio between the size of an area on a map and the actual size of that same area on Earth's surface

mercator projection

a conformal cylindrical map projection, useful for navigation since it maintains accurate direction, oversizes landmasses at the poles

meridian

a line of longitude that runs north-south; all lines of longitude are equal in length and intersect at the poles.

natural landscape

the physical landscape or environment that has not been affected by human activities

parallel

an east-west line of latitude that runs parallel to the equator and that marks distance north or south of the equator

perceptual region

highly individualized definition of regions based on perceived commonalities in culture and landscape

peters projection

an equal-area projection purposely centered on Africa in an attempt to treat all regions of Earth equally

physical geography

the realm of geography that studies the structures, processes, distributions, and changes through time of the natural phenomena of Earth's surface

preference map

a map that displays individual preferences for certain places

prime meridian

an imaginary line passing through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, that marks the 0° line of longitude

projection

the system used to transfer locations from Earth's surface to a flat map

proportional symbols map

a thematic map in which the size of a chosen symbol (circle, triangle, etc) indicates the relative magnitude of some statistical value for a given geographic region

Ptolemy

roman geographer-astronomer and author of Guide to Geography which included maps containing a grid system of latitude and longitude

qualitiative data

data associated with a more humanistic approach to geography, often collected through interviews, empirical observations, or the interpretation of texts, artwork, old maps, and other archives

quantitative data

data associated with mathematical models and statistical techniques used to analyze spatial location and association

reference map

a map type that shows reference information for a particular place, making it useful for finding landmarks and for navigation

region

a territory that encompasses many places that share similar physical and/or cultural attributes

regional geography

the study of geographic regions

relative distance

a measure of distance that includes the costs of overcoming the friction of absolute distance separating 2 places; often describes the amount of social, cultural, or economic connectivity between two places

relative location

the position of a place relative to the places around it

relocation diffusion

the diffusion of ideas, innovations, behaviors, and so on from on place to another through migration

remote sensing

the observation and mathematical measurement of Earth's surface using aircraft and satellites (sensors include photographic images, thermal images, multispectral scanners, and radar images)

resolution

a map's smallest discernible unit

robinson projection

a projection that attempts to balance several possible projection errors- it doesn't maintain area, shape, or distance, or direction completely accurately, but it minimizes errors in each

sense of place

feelings evoked by people as a result of certain experiences and memories associated with a particular place

site

the absolute location of a place, described by local relief, landforms, and other cultural or physical characteristics

situation

the relative location of a place in relation to the physical and cultural characteristics of the surrounding area and the connections and interdependencies within that system; a place's spatial context

small scale

a map scale ratio in which the ratio of units on the map to units on Earth is quite small- these kinds of maps generally depict large areas

spatial diffusion

the ways in which phenomena (technological innovations, cultural trends, disease outbreaks) travel over space

spatial perspective

an intellectual framework that looks at the particular locations of a specific phenomenon, and how and why that phenomenon is where it is, and, finally, how it is spatially related to phenomena in other places

sustainability

the concept of using Earth's resources in such a way that they provide for people's needs in the present without diminishing Earth's ability to provide for future generations

thematic layers

individual maps of specific features that are overlaid on one another in a GIS to understand and analyze a spatial relationship

thematic map

a type of map that displays one of more variables (population, income level, etc.) within a specific area

time-space convergence

the idea that distance between some places is actually shrinking as technology enables more rapid communication and increased interaction among those places

topographic maps

maps that use isolines to represent constant elevations

transferability

the costs involved in moving goods from one place to another

visualization

use of sophisticated software to create dynamic computer maps, some of which are 3D or interactive

W.D. Pattinson

geographer who claimed that geography drew from four distinct traditions: the earth-science, culture-environment, locational, and area-analysis traditions