Physical Geography
The study of natural processes and the distribution of features in the environment.
Human Geography
The study of how humans understand, use, and alter Earth.
Spatial Perspective
A geographical perspective focusing on how people live and organize themselves and the reasons for historical occurrences.
Ecological Perspective
The relationship between a living thing and its environment.
Location
The position that a point occupies.
Absolute Location
The location of an object expressed in coordinates of longitude and latitude.
Relative Location
A description of where a location is in relation to other places.
Place
A location on Earth identified by its people or features.
Mental Maps
Internalized maps that individuals create in their minds.
Site
A place's absolute location along with its physical attributes.
Situation
The location of a place in relation to the proximity of other places.
Space
The area between two or more things.
Distribution
The arrangement of features within a given space.
Density
The number of things (people, animals, or objects) in a specific area.
Pattern
The arrangement of things in a space.
Flow
The movement of people, goods, or information that affects societies economically, socially, politically, or culturally.
Environmental Determinism
The idea that behavior is strongly affected or determined by physical environment.
Distance Decay
The principle that the farther one thing is from another, the less interaction occurs between them.
Time-Space Compression
A geographic theory that modern transportation has made the movement of ideas faster.
Possibilism
The theory that humans can adapt their environment to meet their needs.
Sustainability
The use of Earth's natural resources to ensure their availability for future generations.
Scale
The area of the world being studied.
Region
An area on Earth with unique characteristics that differentiate it from other areas.
Formal Region
An area that has one or more shared traits.
Functional Region
An area organized around a focal point or center of interest or activity.
Node
The focal point of a functional region.
Suburbs
Less densely populated areas surrounding commercial and city areas.
Perceptual Region
A type of region that reflects people's feelings and attitudes about a place.
Vernacular Region
Another term for a perceptual region.
Globalization
The expansion of economic, cultural, and political processes on a worldwide scale.
Theory
A system of ideas designed to explain some occurrence.
World System Theory
A framework categorizing countries or regions by core, periphery, and semi-periphery.
Core
Classification of a country or region characterized by wealth, higher education levels, advanced technologies, abundant resources, strong militaries, and powerful allies.
Periphery
A classification of a country that is overall poor by any standard.
Semi-periphery
A classification of a country that has qualities of both core and periphery areas and is often in the process of industrializing.
Sustainable Development
Development that meets the needs of future generations.