Geography Lecture Notes - Vocabulary Flashcards

Flashcards of key vocabulary terms and definitions from the lecture notes.

Physical Geography

Deals with the Earth’s natural features and processes.

Geomorphology

Studies the various landforms on the Earth’s surface.

Pedology

Concerned with the study of soils.

Biogeography

Investigates the spatial relationship between plants and animals.

Hydrology

The study of water in all its forms.

Meteorology

Study of circulation of the atmosphere over short time spans.

Climatology

Studies the effects of weather on life and the atmosphere over long periods of times.

Geology

Studies the form of the Earth’s surface and subsurface.

Human Geography

Looks at how human activity impacts or is influenced by the Earth’s surface.

Demography

The statistical study of populations, including of human beings.

Economics

Study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics.

Settlement Geography

The social, material, organizational, spiritual and cultural elements that cause people to settle in an area.

Historical Geography

Studies how geographic phenomena have changed over time.

Political Geography

Studies the political consequences of the relationships between physical geography, state territories, and state power.

Location

Where is it?

Place

What is it like?

Region

How are places similar or different?

Movement

How do people move from one place to another?

Human-Environment Interaction

How do people relate to the physical world?

Reference Maps

People refer to them for general info about places.

Political Maps

Human created boundaries and designations like countries, cities, etc.

Physical Maps

Show and label natural features like rivers, mountains, etc.

Thematic Maps

Show spatial aspects of information or of a phenomenon.

Choropleth Maps

Uses various colors, shades of one color, or patterns to show the location and distribution of spatial data.

Dot Maps

Used to show the specific location and distribution of info across the territory of the map .

Graduated (Proportional) Symbol Maps

Uses symbols of different sizes to indicate different amounts of what is being mapped.

Isoline Maps

Uses lines that connect points of equal value to show variations in data across space.

Cartograms

Sizes of countries (or provinces, cities, neighborhoods, etc.) are shown according to some specific statistic.

Clustering

Grouping of a phenomenon.

Dispersal

Scattering of a phenomenon.

Map Projections

The process of showing a curved surface (the earth) on a flat surface (a map).

Mercator Projection

All land has the correct shape and the map can be used for oceanic navigation.

Goode’s Projection

Minimizes distortion of the size and shape of land masses.

Polar Projection

Accurately displays both polar regions and the size of continents is realistic.

Gall - Peters Projection

Size of land masses is accurate and more accurately depicts the size of developing countries.

Winkel (Robinson) Projection

No major distortion and oval shape appears more like a globe than does a rectangle.

Scale

How zoomed in/out the map or image is.

Scale of Analysis

The level of analysis at which data is aggregated (or combined/totaled) on a map.

Global Scale

Map of the world.

Regional Scale

Map of a specific area of the world.

National Scale

Map of a specific country.

Local Scale

Map of a state, city, or county.

Formal Region

An area united by one or more traits and has a defined border.

Functional Region

Organized around a focal point (node ) and defined by an activity that occurs across the region.

Perceptual/Vernacular Region

Defined by the informal sense of place people give to them and boundaries vary widely.

Contested Boundaries

Boundaries that are disputed for religious, political, or cultural reasons.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Computer system that can store, analyze, and display information from multiple digital maps.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

GPS receivers on Earth’s surface use the locations of multiple satellites to determine and record a receiver’s exact location .

Remote Sensing

Use of cameras mounted on aircraft or satellites to collect digital images of the earth’s surface.

Pattern

Geometric arrangement of things like people, houses, stores, etc.