APHUG Vocab

Globalization.

The process by which businesses, organizations, and cultures develop international influence or operate on an international scale.

Greenwich Mean Time

The time in the zone encompassing the prime meridian or 0 degrees longitude

Hearth

The region from which innovative ideas originate

GPS

Global Positioning System that uses satellites to determine precise location coordinates and navigation on earth.

GIS

Geographic Information System designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, and display spatial or geographic data.

Latitude

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

Lithosphere

Earth's crust and a portion of upper mantle directly below the crust

Absolute Location

The position of something on Earth's surface

Longitude

The numbering system used to indicate the location of meridians drawn on a globe and measuring the distance east and west of the prime meridian

Map

A two-dimensional , or flat, 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 actual feature on the Earth's surface

Meridians

Circles arc drawn on a map between the north and south poles(longitude lines)

Parallels

Circles around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians(latitude lines)

Pattern

The arrangement of objects on earth's surface in relationship to one another

Pattern

The arrangement of objects on earth's surface in relationship to one another

Place

a specific point on earth with human and physical characteristics that distinguish if from other places

Possibilism

The theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives

Prime Meridian

The meridian, designated 0 degrees longitude, that passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England.

Map Projection

A system used to transfer locations from Earth's surface to a flat map

Region

An area distinguished by a combination of characteristics and measurable data

Remote Sensing

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

Scale

The relationship between the size of an object or distance between objects on the map and the size of the actual object or distance on earth's surface.(local, regional, or global)

Site

The physical and absolute location of a place. (coordinates)

Situation

The location of a place relative to another. Relative location.

Space

the physical distance between two lacations or objects

Space-time compression

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

Toponym

The name given to a portion of Earth's surface

Multi-National corporation

A company that has centers of operations all over the world and is an example of economic globalization

Perceptual Regions(Vernacular)

An area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity, shared history, or collective attitudes.

Atmosphere

The thin layer of gases surrounding Earth

Biosphere

All living organisms on Earth, including plants and animals, as well as organisms.

Cartography

The science of making maps

Climate

The long-term average weather condition at a particular location

Concentration

The spread of something over a given area

Cultural Landscape

The fashioning of a natural landscape by a cultural group

Culture

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

Density

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

Diffusion

The process by which a feature or trend spreads from one place to another over time

Distance Decay

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

Distribution

The arrangement/pattern of something across Earth's surface

Biome

A group of living organisms in a particular environment based on climate conditions

Environmental Determinism

A nineteenth- and early twentieth-century approach to the study of geography which argued that the general laws sought by human geographers could be found in physical sciences. Geography was therefore the study of how the physical environment caused human activities.

Formal Region

An area in that has striking similarities in terms of one or a few physical or human features.(borders, culture, vegetation, climate)

Functional Region (nodal)

An area organized around a core area, or node. (metropolitan areas, infrastructure, business)

Regionalization

the organization of earth's surface into distinct areas that are viewed as different from other areas

landscapes

The overall appearance of an area that is shaped by both human and natural influences

Immanuel Kant

German philosopher and geographer in the 1700s that defined geography as the study of interrelated spatial patterns.

Eratosthenes

calculated the circumference of the earth

Ptolemy

Roman geographer-astronomer and author of Guide to Geography which included maps containing the first grid system of latitude and longitude.

Idrisi

An 11th century Arab geographer that worked for the king of Sicily to collect geographical information into a remarkably accurate representation of the world. Under his direction, an academy of geographers gathered maps and went out on their own scientific expeditions.

George Perkins Marsh

A 19th century American geographer best known for his classic work, Man and Nature. He focused on the impact of human actions on the natural environment, so his thinking is basic to the field of human geography. He emphasized human destruction of the environment.

Carl Sauer

Defined the concept of cultural landscape as the fundamental unit of geographical analysis.

Map distortion

Inaccuracies caused in map projections when trying to represent a three-dimensional object on a two-dimensional surface