UNIT 1: map shap

Physical Geography

The study of the spatial characteristics of various elements of the physical environment, including landforms, bodies of water, climate, ecosystems, and erosion.

Human Geography

The study of spatial characteristics of humans and human activities, focusing on topics such as population, culture, urban areas, and economics.

Reference Maps

Maps designed for general information about places.

Political Maps

Maps that show and label human-created boundaries and designations, such as countries and cities.

Physical Maps

Maps that show and label natural features like mountains, rivers, and deserts.

Road Maps

Maps that show and label highways, streets, and alleys.

Plat Maps

Maps that show and label property lines and details of land ownership.

Thematic Maps

Maps that show spatial aspects of information or phenomena.

Choropleth Maps

Maps that use colors or patterns to show the location and distribution of spatial data.

Dot Distribution Maps

Maps that show the specific location and distribution of something, with each dot representing a specific quantity.

Graduated Symbol Maps

Maps that use symbols of different sizes to indicate varying amounts of something.

Isoline Maps

Maps that use lines to connect points of equal values, depicting variations in data across space.

Topographic Maps

Maps that connect points of equal elevation, creating contours.

Cartogram

Maps that show sizes of areas according to specific statistics.

Scale

The ratio between the size of things in reality and their size on a map.

Cartographic Scale

Refers to how a map communicates the ratio of its size to the size of what it represents.

Small-Scale Maps

Maps that show a larger area with less detail.

Large-Scale Maps

Maps that show a smaller area with greater detail.

Absolute Location

The precise spot where something is located according to a coordinate system.

Latitude

The distance north or south of the equator.

Longitude

The distance east or west of the prime meridian.

Relative Location

A description of where something is in relation to other things.

Connectivity

How well two locations are tied together by roads or other links.

Accessibility

How quickly and easily people can interact between locations.

Absolute Distance

Measured in physical units like feet, miles, meters, or kilometers.

Relative Distance

Indicates closeness based on time or money, often dependent on the mode of travel.

Elevation

The distance of features above sea level, usually measured in feet or meters.

Distribution

The way a phenomenon is spread over an area.

Clustered/Agglomerated

When phenomena are arranged in a group or concentrated in an area.

Linear Pattern

When phenomena are arranged in a straight line.

Dispersed Pattern

When phenomena are spread out over a large area.

Circular Pattern

When phenomena are equally spaced from a central point, forming a circle.

Geometric Pattern

When phenomena are arranged in a regular pattern.

Random Pattern

When phenomena appear to have no order to their position.

Map Projections

All maps distort some aspect of reality.

Mercator Projection

A navigation map that accurately shows directions but distorts land masses near the poles.

Peters Projection

A map that accurately represents land mass sizes but distorts shapes, especially near the poles.

Conic Projection

A map used for midlatitude countries that has accurate size and shape but distorts direction.

Robinson Projection

A general-use map that minimizes distortion but slightly distorts area, shape, size, and direction.