Human Geo Unit 1 Vocab

Human Geography

One of the two major divisions of geography: the spatial analysis of human population, its cultures, activities, and landscapes.

Physical Geography

One of the two major divisions of systematic geography; the spatial analysis of the structure, processes, and location of the Earth’s natural phenomena such as climate, soil, plants, animals and topography.

Spatial Distribution

physical location of geographic phenomena across space

Scale of Analysis

representation of a real-world phenomenon at a certain level of reduction.  Can be at different levels, e.g. global, state, regional, local, subnational, county etc.

Cartographic Scale

a ratio between a distance on a map and its corresponding distance in the real world.

Sense of Place

State of mind derived through the infusion of a place with meaning and emotion by remembering important events that occurred in that place or by labeling a place with a certain character

Spatial Interaction

the degree of flow of people, ideas, and goods among places

Cartography

The art and science of making maps, including data compilation, layout, and design

Reference Maps

Maps that show the absolute location of places and geographic features determined by a frame of reference, typically latitude and longitude

Thematic Maps

Maps that tell stories, typically showing the degree of some attribute or the movement of a geographic phenomenon

Absolute Location

The position or place of a certain item on the surface of the Earth as expressed in degrees, minutes, and seconds of latitude and longitude

Global Positioning System (GPS)

Satellite-based system for determining the absolute location of places or geographic features

Relative Location

The regional position or situation of a place relative to the position of other places

Remote Sensing

A method of collecting data or information through the use of instruments such as satellites that are physically distant from the area or object of study

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

A collection of computer hardware and software that permits spatial data to be collected, recorded, stored, retrieved, manipulated, analyzed, and displayed to the user

Mental Map/Activity Space

Picture of the way space is organized as determined by an individual’s perception, impression and knowledge of that space; places where daily activity occurs

Formal Region

A type of region marked by a certain degree of homogeneity (sameness) in one or more areas

Functional Region

A region defined by the particular set of activities or interactions that occur within it. (Job of an area)

Perceptual Region

A region that only exists as a conceptualization or an idea and not as a physically demarcated entity.  (Opinion of an area)

Distance Decay

The declining degree of acceptance of an idea or innovation with increasing time and distance from its point of origin of the source

Time-Space Convergence

refers to the greatly accelerated movement of goods, information, and ideas during the twentieth century made possible by technological innovations in transportation and communications

Environmental Determinism

The view that the natural environment has a controlling influence over various aspects of human life

Possibilism

A response to determinism that holds that human decision making, not the environment is the crucial factor in cultural development.  Possibilists view the environment as providing a set of broad constraints that limits the possibilities of human choice