Thinking Geographically

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms and concepts related to human geography and map studies.

Cartography

The science of mapmaking.

Reference Maps

Maps that show the location of human and physical objects.

Thematic Maps

Maps that show the spatial arrangement of features or data.

Spatial Patterns

Patterns that include absolute and relative location, distance, direction, elevation, dispersal, and clustering.

Map Projections

Methods used to represent the 3-D surface of the Earth in 2-D forms, each introducing some level of distortion.

Distortion Types (SADD)

Shape, Area, Distance, and Direction; the four types of distortions present in map projections.

Geospatial Data

Information related to a specific location on Earth.

Quantitative Data

Data represented with numbers.

Qualitative Data

Data that is descriptive and not numerical.

Cultural Ecology

The study of human culture and its relationship to the environment.

Environmental Determinism

The belief that human behavior is shaped by the environment.

Possibilism

The belief that the environment may influence, but does not strictly determine, human behavior.

Sense of Place

The emotional and cultural significance of a location, shaped by human and physical characteristics.

Toponyms

Names given to a location that may reflect important people or physical features.

Formal Regions

Regions characterized by one or more common features.

Functional Regions

Regions organized around a central point.

Perceptual/Vernacular Regions

Regions based on human perceptions and social constructions.

Globalization

The process by which human activities are increasingly interconnected globally.

Time-Space Compression

The concept that technological advancements allow people to travel larger distances in shorter time periods.

Scale of Analysis

The four levels at which geography can be studied: global, regional, national, and local.