Unit 1: Thinking Geographically

Cartography

The science of mapmaking

Place

Specific point on earth, distinguished by a particular characteristic

Region

Area distinguished by a unique combination of trends or features

Scale

The relationship between the portion of earth being studied

Ecosystem

Group of living organisms and the abiotic spheres whit which they interact

Parallel

Circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator

PGIS (Participatory GIS)

Community based mapping, representing local knowledge and info

Latitude

The numbering system used to indicate the location of parallels drawn on a globe, measuring north and south of the equator

Hydrosphere

Water

Geographic Information System (GIS)

Computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data

Global Positioning System (GPS)

System that determines the precise position of something on earth

Prime meridian

Meridian at 0 degrees longitude

Humanistic Geography

The study of different ways that individuals form ideas about it a place

Polder

Land that the Dutch have created by draining water from an area

Toponym

Name given to a place

Site

Physical characteristics of a place

Situation

Location of a place relative to another place

Formal/Uniform region

Atrea within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristic

Functional/Nodal region

Organized around a node or focal point

Vernacular/perceptual region

Area that people believe exists as part of their culture

Globalization

Actions or processes that involve the entire world

Transnational corporation

Company that spans over multiple nations

Distribution

Arrangement of something across earth’s surface

Density

Frequency with which something exists within an area

Concentration

The spread of something over a given area

Diffusion

Process of spread of a feature from one place to another

Hearth

The region from which innovative ideas originate

Relocation diffusion

Spread of a feature through bodily movement

Expansion diffusion

Spread of a feature among people from one area to another

Hierarchy diffusion

Spread of a feature from one key person or node of authority to other people or places

Contagious diffusion

Rapid widespread diffusion of a feature

Stimulus diffusion

Spread of an underlying principle even though a specific characteristic is rejected

Distance decay

Diminished importance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin

Space time compression

Reduction in time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place as a result of improved communications and transportation

Sustainability

The use of earth’s renewable and non renewable resources in ways that don’t constrain resource use in the future

Renewable resource

Something that is produced faster than it can be consumed

Non renewable resource

Something that’s produced more slowly than it can be consumed

Environmental determinism

9th and early 20th century approach to geography that argued that the general laws sought by geographers could be found in the physical sciences

Possibilism

Theory that the physical environment may limit on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the environment

Climate

Long term average weather condition at a particular location

Ecology

The study of ecosystems

Citizen science

Research by amateur scientists

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

Time in the zone of the prime meridian

International date line

An arc that follows 180 degrees longitude

Poststructuralist geography

Study of space as the product of ideologies or value system of ruling elites

Geotagging

Identification and storage of a piece of information by its coordinates

Abiotic

Composed of nonliving or inorganic

Acculturation

The process of changes in culture that result from the meeting of two groups

Assimilation

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

Atmosphere

Air and gases

Behavioral geography

The study of the psychological basis for individual human actions

Biosphere

All living things

Biotic

A living organism

Connection

Relationships among people and objects

Conservation

The sustainable management of a natural resource

Cultural ecology

A geographic approach that focuses on human-environmental relationships

Cultural landscape

An approach to geography that focuses on the relationships among phenomena

Culture

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

Geographic Information Science (GIScience)

Development analysis of data about earth

Lithosphere

Dirt and rocks

Location

A place

Longitude

The numbering system used to indicate the meridians. East and west of the prime meridian

Map

A two dimensional representation of earth’s surface or a portion of it

Map scale

The relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the feature

Mashup

A map that overlays data

Mental map

A map in your mind

Meridian

An arc drawn on a map between the poles

Network

A chain of communications

Pattern

The geometric arrangement of something

Preservation

Maintenance of resources in their present condition

Projection

System used to transfer location from earth’s surface to a flat map

Remote sensing

Data about earth’s surface from a satellite

Resource

Substance that is useful to people

Space

Physical gap between two objects

Spatial association

Relationship between the distribution of two features

Syncretism

Combining of elements of two groups into a new cultural feature

Uneven development

Increasing gap in economic conditions between regions

Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI)

Creation and dissemination of geographic data contributed voluntarily

Köppen Climate A

Tropical

Köppen Climate B

Arid

Köppen climate C

Warm mid-latitude

Köppen climate D

Cold mid-latitude

Köppen climate E

Polar