Unit 1 Geography Vocabulary

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering Unit 1 geographic concepts, map types, and spatial analysis terms as listed in the Unit 1 assignment.

Acculturation

The process of changes in culture that result from the meeting of two groups, each of which retains distinct culture features.

Assimilation

The process by which a group's cultural features are altered to resemble those of another more dominant group.

Cartogram

A thematic map that distorts the size and shape of geographic areas to show the magnitude of a specific variable.

Absolute Direction

Direction with respect to cardinal points of the compass such as North, South, East, and West.

Absolute Distance

The distance that can be measured with a standard unit length, such as miles or kilometers.

Absolute Location

The exact position of an object or place, often expressed through latitude and longitude coordinates.

Cartography

The science and art of mapmaking.

Choropleth Map

A map that uses differences in shading, coloring, or symbols within predefined areas to indicate average values of a property.

Clustering

The phenomenon of objects or people being grouped closely together in space.

Contagious Diffusion

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population.

Culture

The body of customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits that together constitute a group's distinct tradition.

Cultural Ecology

A geographic approach that emphasizes human-environment relationships.

Cultural landscape

The fashioning of a natural landscape by a cultural group, including both human and natural components.

Density

The frequency with which something exists within a given unit of area.

Diffusion

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

Dispersal

The spacing of people or objects within an area, indicating they are spread out rather than clustered.

Distance Decay

The diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin.

Dot Distribution Map

A map that uses dots to show the specific location and distribution of a feature across a territory.

Ecology

The study of the relationships between living organisms and their environment.

Environmental Determinism

A 19th-early 20th century approach which argued that the physical environment causes human activities and social development.

Expansion Diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in an additive process.

Formal/ Uniform Region

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

Functional/ Nodal Region

An area organized around a node or focal point.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

A computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

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

Globalization

Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope.

Graduated Symbol Map

A map that uses symbols of different sizes to represent different quantities of a variable.

Hearth

The region from which innovative ideas originate.

Hierarchical Diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority to other persons or places.

Isoline Map

A thematic map with lines that connect points of equal value, such as elevation or temperature.

Latitude

The numbering system used to indicate the location of parallels drawn on a globe, measuring distance north and south of the equator ($0^\circ$).

Location

The position of anything on Earth's surface.

Longitude

The numbering system used to indicate the location of meridians drawn on a globe, measuring distance east and west of the prime meridian ($0^\circ$).

Map Scale

The relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth's surface.

Mental Map

A representation of a portion of Earth's surface based on what an individual knows about a place.

Meridian

An arc drawn on a map between the North and South poles.

Parallel

A circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians.

Pattern

The geometric or regular arrangement of something in a study area.

Place

A specific point on Earth, distinguished by a particular character.

Possibilism

The theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust and choose alternatives.

Projection

A system used to transfer locations from Earth's three-dimensional surface to a flat map.

Reference Map

A map designed for people to refer to for general information about places, such as political boundaries or physical features.

Relative Direction

Direction based on a person's perception of places rather than cardinal points (e.g., 'left', 'right', 'up').

Relative Distance

A measure of distance that includes costs of overcoming absolute distance, such as time or money.

Relative Location

The position of a place in relation to another place.

Region

An area of Earth distinguished by a unique combination of trends or features.

Relocation Diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another.

Remote sensing

The acquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite or other long-distance methods.

Scale

The relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole.

Scale of Analysis

The level at which a geographer studies a phenomenon (e.g., local, regional, national, or global).

Site

The physical character of a place.

Situation

The location of a place relative to another place.

Space-Time Compression

The reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place as a result of improved communications and transportation systems.

Spatial Perspective

An intellectual framework that allows geographers to look at the Earth in terms of the relationships between various places.

Stimulus Diffusion

The spread of an underlying principle even though a specific characteristic is rejected.

Sustainability

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

Syncretism

The blending of traits from two different cultures to form a new cultural trait.

Thematic Map

A map that emphasizes a specific theme or topic, such as population density or climate zones.

Vernacular / Perceptual Region

An area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity.