UNIT 1 - Thinking Geographically - Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary from Unit 1: Thinking Geographically, based on lecture notes on map types, spatial concepts, human-environmental interaction, and regional analysis.

Patterns and Spatial Organization (PSO)

A big idea in APHuG answering why geographers study relationships and patterns among and between places.

Impacts and Interactions (IMP)

A big idea in APHuG addressing how geographers use maps to discover patterns and relationships in the world.

Spatial Processes and Societal Change (SPS)

A big idea in APHuG explaining how geographers use a spatial perspective to analyze complex issues and relationships.

Geography

The study of 'the why of where,' focusing on the distribution of phenomena, their origins, factors of change, and implications for people.

Geographer's Lens

Geographers approach understanding places by looking through the lens of space.

Reference Map

A map used for general information about places, such as political, physical, or road maps.

Political Map

A type of reference map showing human-created boundaries and designations like countries, cities, and states.

Physical Map

A type of reference map showing and labeling natural features like rivers, mountains, and oceans.

Thematic Map

A map that shows spatial aspects of information or a phenomenon, such as population density or temperature.

Choropleth Map

A thematic map that uses various colors, shades of one color, or patterns to show the location and distribution of spatial data, where darker colors often indicate higher statistical values.

Dot Map

A thematic map used to show the specific location and distribution of information across a territory, with each dot representing a specified quantity.

Graduated (Proportional) Symbol Map

A thematic map that uses symbols of different sizes to indicate different amounts of what is being mapped.

Isoline Map

A thematic map that uses lines connecting points of equal value to show variations in data across space, commonly seen in topographic maps for elevation.

Cartogram

A thematic map where the sizes of geographical areas (e.g., countries, provinces) are distorted to be proportional to some specific statistic being mapped.

Absolute Distance

The exact measurement of physical space between places.

Relative Distance

Distance measured in terms of cost or time rather than physical space, offering a more meaningful spatial relationship.

Absolute Direction

Direction based on cardinal directions: North, South, East, and West.

Relative Direction

Direction based on people’s perception, using terms like left, right, up/down.

Clustering

A spatial pattern on maps showing the grouping of a phenomenon.

Dispersal

A spatial pattern on maps showing the scattering of a phenomenon.

Map Projection

The process of showing the three-dimensional Earth on a flat surface, which inevitably distorts spatial relationships in shape, area, distance, and direction.

Map Distortion

The unavoidable inaccuracies in shape, area, distance, or direction that occur when representing the curved Earth on a flat map.

Map Scale

The ratio of the size of things in the real world to the size of those same things on the map.

Mercator Projection

A map projection that maintains the correct shape of land masses and is useful for oceanic navigation but significantly distorts the size of land areas, especially near the poles.

Goode's Homolosine Projection

A map projection that minimizes distortion of the size and shape of land masses but makes land masses appear large relative to oceans and is not suitable for oceanic travel.

Polar Projection

A map projection that accurately displays both polar regions and realistic continent sizes, but distortion increases as you move away from the poles.

Gall-Peters Projection

A map projection that accurately depicts the size of land masses, often used to highlight the true relative sizes of continents, but results in inaccurate shapes.

Geospatial Technologies

A suite of technologies including Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS), remote sensing, and online mapping/visualization tools.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

A computer system capable of storing, analyzing, and displaying information from multiple digital maps, used for tasks like crime data analysis and urban planning.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

A satellite navigation system that uses locations of multiple satellites to determine and record a receiver’s exact location on Earth, used for navigation and precise border location.

Remote Sensing

The use of cameras mounted on aircraft or satellites to collect digital images of the Earth’s surface, applied in land cover determination and environmental monitoring.

Online Mapping and Visualization

Websites and applications that provide graphical and text information in the form of maps and databases (e.g., Google Earth) for purposes like trip planning and finding landmarks.

Spatial Information Sources

Various methods for collecting geographic data, including field observation, media reports, travel narratives, policy documents, personal interviews, landscape analysis, and photographic interpretation.

Field Observation

Data observed and recorded directly on location (in the 'field') through notes, sketches, counts, measurements, and interviews.

Landscape Analysis

The study and description of the 'shape' of the land to determine the impact of humans on that specific space.

Uses of Geospatial Data

Geospatial and geographical data are used for decision-making at all scales by individuals, businesses, and governmental organizations.

Spatial Concepts

Geographical ideas and tools (like location, space, place, distance decay, time-space compression, and pattern) used to analyze relationships among and between places.

Absolute Location

The precise, unchanging spot of a place, defined by coordinates such as latitude and longitude or a street address.

Relative Location

A description of where something is in relation to other things, which can change over time as accessibility or context shifts.

Latitude

Imaginary lines running parallel to the Equator (never intersecting) that measure distance north or south, getting shorter as they approach the poles.

Longitude (Meridians)

Imaginary lines that run from pole to pole and measure distance east or west of the Prime Meridian.

Equator

The 0° line of latitude, which divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Prime Meridian

The 0° line of longitude, located in Greenwich, England, serving as the reference for measuring east and west.

International Date Line

Located roughly at 180° longitude, where the date changes as one crosses it, with deviations to accommodate international boundaries.

Time Zones

Regions approximately 15 degrees of longitude apart, each observing a uniform standard time.

Space

A general location that lacks cultural meaning or specific characteristics.

Place

A specific location imbued with human and physical characteristics, evolving from 'space' as humans apply cultural traits.

Site

The physical and human characteristics of an immediate location, such as soil type, climate, labor force, or existing structures.

Situation

A synonym for relative location, describing a place in relation to other places, and is subject to change over time.

Sense of Place

The emotional ties or personal feelings people have for a particular location, and how they perceive its characteristics based on their beliefs.

Flows

The movement of people, things, or information from one place to another, increasingly faster and less expensive due to technological advancements.

Distance Decay

The principle that as the distance between two places increases, the interaction and connection between those places tends to decrease.

Friction of Distance

The concept that when places are farther apart, they tend to be less well connected, contributing to distance decay.

Time-Space Compression

The shrinking 'time distance' between locations due to improvements in transportation and communication technology, leading to greater global influence and reduced local diversity.

Pattern

The geometric arrangement of phenomena such as people, houses, or stores, which can be described as clustered, random, or uniform.

Sustainability

Development that meets the current needs of people without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, a challenge due to mass consumption and population growth.

Natural Resources

Materials or substances naturally occurring on Earth (e.g., minerals, forests, water) that can be used for economic gain, often threatened by overconsumption.

Land Use

How society utilizes land for various purposes such as recreational, transport, agriculture, residential, or commercial, with significant potential environmental impact.

Environmental Determinism

The belief (popular in the late 19th/early 20th century) that landforms and climate are the primary forces shaping human behavior and societal development, sometimes used to justify claims of climatic superiority.

Possibilism

A theory that acknowledges limits imposed by the natural environment but emphasizes the significant role of human culture, beliefs, goals, and technology in shaping responses to that environment.

Scales of Analysis

A hierarchical framework used by geographers to study phenomena, ranging from global, regional, national, provincial, to local.

Global Scale

Geographic analysis pertaining to the entire world.

Regional Scale

Geographic analysis pertaining to large geographic areas, such as continents or cultural zones.

National Scale

Geographic analysis pertaining to individual countries.

Provincial Scale

Geographic analysis pertaining to administrative divisions within a country, such as states or provinces.

Local Scale

Geographic analysis pertaining to small geographic areas, such as counties, cities, or neighborhoods.

Region

How geographers divide and characterize space into smaller, manageable units based on shared characteristics.

Formal Region (Uniform Region)

An area united by one or more common traits (physical, cultural, or political) and typically having a clearly defined border.

Functional Region (Nodal Region)

An area organized around a central focal point (node) and defined by an activity that occurs across it, such as a pizza delivery area or a newspaper's circulation zone.

Perceptual Region (Vernacular Region)

An area defined by the informal sense of place and shared beliefs people give to it, with highly variable boundaries based on individual perceptions.

Regional Boundaries

The transitional, often contested, and frequently overlapping lines that demarcate different regions.

Subregion

An area within a larger region that shares some characteristics with the main region but possesses distinctive qualities (e.g., Brazil as a subregion of South America).