AP Human Geography Unit 1

absolute location

the precise point where a place is located on Earth

geographic information system (GIS)

a computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data

latitude

Distance north or south of the equator

longitude

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

prime meridian

Imaginary line drawn from the North Pole through Greenwich, England, to the South Pole

place

specific human and physical characteristics of a location

site

The characteristics of a place (immediate location), Ex: soil type, climate, labor force, human structures

situation

the location of a place relative to other places and its surroundings

toponym

place name

time-space compression

the shrinking of time distance between locations because of improved methods of transportation

distance decay

decline of activity or function with increasing distance from its point of origin

density

number of something in a specifically defined area Ex: population density is the number of people per square mile

scale

the ratio between the size of things in the real world and the size of those same things on a map

projection

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

diffusion

The process of spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time

formal region

An area in which everyone shares in one or more distinctive characteristics

GPS

a system that determines accurately the precise position of something on Earth through satellites, tracking stations, and receivers

remote sensing

process of gathering data about Earth from instruments far above the planet's surface

spatial analysis

The analysis of geographic data about a certain place.

Reference Maps

Maps designed for people to refer to for general information about places

choropleth map (thematic)

uses various colors, shades of one color, or patterns to show the location and distribution of data

thematic map

a map that shows a particular theme, or topic ex: choropleth, dot distribution, graduated symbol, isoline

Dot Distribution Map

A map where dots are used to demonstrate the frequency or intensity of a particular phenomena

Isoline Map

A thematic map with lines that connect points of equal value.

Cartogram (thematic)

the sizes of countries are shown to some specific statistic

Mercator Projection

a projection of a map of the world onto a cylinder in such a way that all the parallels of latitude have the same length as the equator, EX: used especially for marine charts and certain climatological maps.

Peters Projection

focuses on keeping landmasses equal in area. As a result, the shapes are distorted, and the map looks unfamiliar to viewers

Robinson Projection

Projection that attempts to balance several possible projection errors. It does not maintain completely accurate area, shape, distance, or direction, but it minimizes errors in each.

Mental Map

maps that people create in their minds based on their experience and knowledge

topographic map

a map that shows the surface features of Earth

Possibilism

viewpoint that people, not environments, are the dynamic forces of cultural development

Enviornmental Determinism

The belief that physical environment determines potential for societal development.

Sustainability

The use of Earth's renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that do not constrain resource use in the future.

natural resources

Materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain

large-scale

Depicts a small area (such as downtown Phoenix) with great detail

small scale map

A map that shows a larger area without much detail

clustered

Gathered closely together in a group

land use

Various ways humans use the land such as agricultural, industrial, residential, or recreational

Relative Direction

Directions such as left, right, forward, backward, up, and down based on people's perception of places