AP Human Geography Unit 1

Two types of location

absolute & relative

absolute location

specific place, uses grids, longitude & latitude

relative location

directional words & using distance

2 characteristics for place

physical & human

The Five themes of Geography

(M.R. HE.L.P.) location, place, human environment interaction, movement, & regions

PLACE: physical characteristics

land features, mountains, plains, climate, & bodies of water

PLACE: human characteristics

building, agriculture, cultural landscape, & "how humans change the land"

region

an area of Earth defined by one or more distinctive characteristic

3 types of regions

formal, functional, & vernacular

formal region

(uniform) an area w/in which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristic, & drawn w/ borders (ex. Canada, rice-growing areas)

functional region

(nodal) an area organized around a focal point

vernacular region

(perceptual) an area that ppl believe exists as part of their cultural identity ex. the hood

human environment interaction

adapt, modify, & depend on enviroment

movement

ideas, fads, goods, & resources

4 Traditions of Geography

(H.P.R.S) spatial, regional, human/environmental, & physical geography

spatial tradition

mapping, boundaries, spatial analysis, geo. info systems, & spatial patterns

regional tradition

-description of regions

-international trends & relationships

-how regions are similar & different

human/environmental tradition

-human impact on nature

-impact of nature on humans

-natural hazards

physical geography tradition

-lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, & biosphere

-Earth Science

cultural landscape

a combination of cultural features (ex. language & religion; economic features: agriculture & industry; physical feature: climate & vegetation)

site

the physical character of a place (ex. climate, water source, topography, soil, vegetation, longitude & latitude)

situation

the location of a place relative to other places (finding an unfamiliar place & understanding its importance)

non-material culture

to care about or to adore or worship something as in the modern world culture values custom ideas

material culture

to take care of or to nurse or look after something as in the modern world cultivate earning, money clothing, & shelter

hearth

a place from which an innovation originates

syncretism

an union or attempted fusion of different religions, cultures, or philosophies (ex. Halloween)

density

the frequency of "something" in a given UNIT AREA (ex. ppl per unit)

3 types of densities

arithmetic (crude), physiological, & agricultural

arithmetical (crude) density

# of objects per unit area

physiological density

# of ppl per unit of arable (used for growing crops) land

agricultural density

# of farmers per unit of arable land

diffusion

the process by which a characteristic spreads across space from one place to another over time

relocation diffusion

spread of an idea through physical movement of a GROUP ppl from one place to another

expansion diffusion

spread the feature from one place to another in an additive process (idea or innovation spreads outward from the hearth)

hierarchical diffusion

spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places (cities to cities, small pop. to bigger pop.)

contagious diffusion

rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population (picks up on the trend and idea around the same time)

stimulus diffusion

spread of an underlying principle even though a characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse; create change to original (ex. Apple phones)

distribution

the ARRANGEMENT of a FEATURE in space/Earth's surface

concentration

the spread of something over a given unit area (clustered, dispersed)

pattern

the geometric or regular arrangement of something

environmental determinism

the belief that the physical environment causes social development

possibilism

the environment presents challenges, that may set limits on human actions, but ABILITY TO ADJUST & choose a course of action

map scale

the relationship of a feature's size on a map to it's actual size on a map to it's actual size on Earth

projection

the scientific method of transferring locations on Earth's surface to a flat map

4 types of distortion

(D.D.R.S) shape, distance, relative size, & direction

*Mercator

Straight meridians and parallels that intersect at right angles. (Used for navigation & not accurate)

*Robinson

pro: display info across oceans

con: land area are much smaller

*Goode Homolosine

Tears, or interruptions, minimize specific distortions. They are placed to group related parts of the map together.

thematic maps

A map designed to convey information about a single topic or theme, such as population density or geology.

*statistical maps

*cartogram maps

(similar to thematic) travel time, population, or Gross National Product - is substituted for land area or distance

dot maps

a thematic map in which a dot represents some frequency of the mapped variable

choropleth maps

a thematic map in which ranked classes of some variable are depicted with shading patterns or colors for predefined zones

isoline maps

a thematic map with lines that connect points of equal value

mental map

Image of picture of the way space is organized as determined by an individual's perception, impression, and knowledge of that space.

distance decay

trailing-off phenomenon of diminishing (losing) contact with the increase in distance

localization

opposite force that resists globalization

globalization

a force/process that INVOLVES the ENTIRE WORLD & results in making something WORLDWIDE in scope

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

A computer hardware and software system that handles geographically referenced data.

-uses and produces maps and has the ability to perform many types of spatial analysis.

Spatial Interaction

The farther away someone is from you, the less likely you two are to interact.

core

developed countries (US, W. Europe, Japan, & Australia)

periphery

less developed countries (Asia, Africa, & Latin America)

preservation

the maintenance of resources in their present condition w/ as little human impact as possible

Global Positioning System (GPS)

determines precise location based on satellite signals

remote sensing

using long distance methods like satellite imagery to GATHER DATA about the Earth's surface

renewable resource

produced in nature faster than it is consumed by humans

nonrenewable resource

produced in nature more slowly than it is consumed by humans

latitude

the numbering system to indicate the location of a parallel

longitude

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

parallel

a circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator & at right angles to the meridians

meridian

an arc drawn btwn the North & South pole

prime meridian

the meridian that passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England (0 degrees longitude)

International Date Line

180 degrees (move clock back 24 hrs/ entire day, if you are heading eastward toward America

Space-Time Compression

decrease travel time btwn places, promotes rapid cultural & economic change, & allows remote places to be more acessible

Tropic of Cancer

23.5 degrees latitude N

Tropic of Capricorn

23.5 degrees latitude S

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

the time at the prime meridian (0 degrees longitude), is the master reference time for all points on Earth

Cultural Hearth

Heartland, source area, innovation center; place of origin of a major culture.

Cultural Trait

A single element of normal PRACTICE IN a CULTURE ex. the wearing of a turban.

transnational corporation

A company that conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters or shareholders are located.

local scale

A spatial scale that is essentially equivalent to a COMMUNITY.

global scale

the scale of the world, in a global setting.

Cultural Ecology

the geographic study of human-environment relationships

climate

long-term average weather condition at a particular location

friction of distance

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

space-time compression

describes the reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another place

spatial analysis

looking at data (analyzing) to determine how phenomena relate together in space

Tobler's First Law

everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things

toponym

The name given to a portion of Earth's surface.

uneven development

The gap in economic conditions between regions because of globalization of the economy.