AP Human Geography Unit 1

spatial approach

The way of identifying, explaining, and predicting the human and physical patterns and the connections of various locations.

physical geography

the branch of geography dealing with natural features and processes

human geography

The study of where and why human activities are located where they are

absolute location

Exact location of a place on the earth described by global coordinates

latitude

the distance in degrees north or south of the equator

equator

the imaginary center line of latitude that divides the northern and southern hemispheres.

longitude

Distance east or west of the prime meridian, measured in degrees

prime meridian

0 degrees longitude - passes through Greenwich, England

International Date Line

the line of longitude that marks where each new day begins, centered on the 180th meridian

Relative Location

the regional position or situation of a place relative to the position of other places

connectivity

the degree of linkage between locations from one another

accessibility

the relative ease with which a destination may be reached from some other place

ghost towns

empty, deserted towns left after gold miners had moved on

place

A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular character.

region

An area distinguished by a unique combination of trends or features.

site

The physical character of a place

situation

the location of a place relative to other places

sense of place

The relationship with places expressed in different dimensions of human life, how humans perceive a place.

toponyms

name given to a portion of Earth's surface

distance

The length of a path between two points

proximity

nearness in space, time, or relationship

time-space compression

the shrinking of the world, where the relative distances between places (measured by travel time or cost) decrease due to advancements in transportation and communication, making places feel "closer"

spatial interaction

movement of people, goods, info, etc between different places

friction of distance

the increase in time and cost that usually comes with increasing distance

distance-decay

contact diminishing with increasing distance and eventually disappear.

spatial association

the reason why two things are placed where they are

density

The frequency with which something exists within a given unit of area

distribution

The arrangement of something across Earth's surface.

human-environment interaction

The geographic theme that explores how people use, adapt to, and modify the environment

cultural ecology

the geographic study of human-environment relationships

environmental determinism

the idea that human behavior is controlled by the physical environment

environmental possibilism

the idea that some environments offer specific constraints/ opportunities

landscape analysis

The process of describing and interpreting the landscape ecology of an area.

field observation

a study of a phenomenon in a natural setting

spatial data

refer to the digital representation of space

aerial photography

Taking images of the earth from elevated positions as a means of gathering geographic data

built environment

man-made or constructed parts of a landscape or area

cultural landscape

the visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape

patterns

recurring characteristics or events

processes

the repeated sequences of events

scale

the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole

THREE types: cartographic, geographic, data

cartographic scale

the way the map communicates the ratio of its size to the size of what it represents

geographic scale

amount of territory that a map represents IE global scale is whole earth, local scale is small region

relative scale

A scale relative to something else, like a ratio.

scale of data

scale of map doesn't HAVE to change, but the level of detail in the data would

reference maps

show locations of places and geographic features

absolute locations

political map

A map showing units such as countries, states, provinces, districts, etc.

physical map

A map that shows mountains, hills, plains, rivers, lakes, oceans, etc.

road map

Shows mainly roads, but also major highways, airports, and local points of interest

plat map

detailed map illustrating the geographic boundaries of individual lots

locator map

section of a map that shows a larger area than the main map

thematic map

A map that shows a particular theme

a map that shows specialized information

choropleth map

A map that uses differences in shading or coloring to indicate statistical ranges.

dot distribution map

each dot represents an identical unit and conveys data by amount present

graduated symbol map

Contain symbols varying in size to show relative quantitative values

isoline map

map line that connects points of equal or very similar values

topographic map

A map that shows the surface features of an area.

cartogram

a type of map used to present statistical info - stretch

map projection

a way of representing the spherical Earth on a flat surface

Mercator map projection

accurately shows shape and direction, but distorts distance and size of land masses; used for navigation across and ocean

Gall-Peters Projection

equal area projection that distorts the shape of land masses (looks stretched out)

conic projection

map made by projecting points and lines from a globe onto a cone.

Robinson projection

A map projection wherein the lines of latitude and longitude almost intersect at right angles except near edges.

Useful projection for display of oceans but land masses are distorted.

geographic model

A model that represents earths features.

spatial model

stylized map, illustrate theories about spacial distributions

nonspatial model

illustrate theories using words, graphs, and tables; often depict change over time

regionalization

The process of dividing an area into smaller segments called regions.

formal region (AKA uniform or homogenous)

a group of places that have similar attributes, for example, a political region

functional (or nodal) region

Consists of a central place and the surrounding places affected by it

perceptual (or vernacular) region

a region defined by popular feelings and images rather than by objective data.

mental map

A map which represents the perceptions and knowledge a person has of an area

subregion

A smaller division of a geographic region.

fieldwork

on-location research

quantitative data

Information obtained by counting or measuring

qualitative data

Information describing color, odor, shape, or some other physical characteristic