APHG Vocab

Absolute Location

An exact location on Earth’s surface, told using coordinates.

Relative Location

In relation to other nearby features.

Human-Environment Interaction

How people interact with and shape the surrounding environment.

Map

A two-dimensional model of Earth’s surface, or a portion of it.

Cartography

The science and practice of mapmaking.

Geography

The study of where things are found on Earth’s surface and the reasons for their locations.

Scale

The relationship of a feature’s size on a map to its actual size on Earth.

Isoline Maps

Maps that use lines of equal value to represent data.

Choropleth Maps

Maps in which a specific variable is depicted with shading, patterns, or colors.

Proportional Symbol Maps

Maps in which the size of the symbol varies in proportion to the intensity of the mapped variable.

Dot Map

A thematic map in which a dot represents some frequency or occurrence of the mapped variable.

GIScience

The collection of data acquired by satellites and other technologies; remote sensing.

Toponym

The name given to a place on Earth.

Formal Region

An area in which nearly everyone shares one or more distinctive characteristics.

Functional Region

An area organized around a node or central focal point.

Vernacular Region

An area people believe exists as part of their cultural identity.

Distance Decay

The further you are from something, the less likely it is that it impacts you.

Space-time compression

The reduction in time it takes for something to reach another place, whether it is a person or an idea.

Density

Frequency with which something occurs in a specified area.

Diffusion

Process by which something spreads across space from one place to another.

Relocation Diffusion

Spread through the movement of people from one place to another.

Hierarchical Diffusion

Spread from persons or nodes of authority down the ‘chain of power.’

Contagious Diffusion

Rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic.

Stimulus Diffusion

The spread of a strong underlying principle, though not all might diffuse.

Renewable Resources

A resource produced in nature more rapidly than it is consumed by humans.

Nonrenewable Resources

Resources depleted by man faster than they can be replenished by nature.

Conservation

Limiting human use of resources so that they can be used for a long period of time.

Preservation

Leaving nature as it is found in its natural condition.

Environmental Determinism

The belief that the physical environment causes or guides social development.

Possibilism

People can react to and master their surroundings, no matter the challenges.

Demography

The study of statistics, location, and structure of human populations.

Crude Birth Rate

Total number of live births expected for every 1,000 people.

Infant Death Rate

Total deaths (before first year) per 1,000 live births.

Natural Increase Rate

Percentage by which a population grows in a year.

Total Fertility Rate

The average number of children a woman will have throughout her childbearing years.

Doubling Time

The time it would take for a population to double at current natural growth rates.

Dependency Ratio

The number of people that are too young or old to work, compared to the number of people in their productive years.

Sex Ratio

The number of males per 100 females in the population.