unit 1 vocabulary

Accessibility

How quickly and easily people in one location can interact with other people in another location.

Cartographic Scale

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

Connectivity

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

Distance

A measurement of how far or how near things are to one another.

Absolute Distance

Usually measured in terms of feet, miles, meters, or kilometers.

Relative Distance

Indicates the degree of nearness based on time or money and is often dependent on the mode of travel.

Distribution

The way a phenomenon is spread over an area.

Elevation

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

Human Geography

The study of the spatial characteristics of humans and human activities.

Location

A particular place or position.

Absolute Location

The precise spot where something is according to a system.

Relative Location

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

Physical Geography

The study of the spatial characteristics of various elements of the physical environment.

Map Projections

A method for representing the Earth on a flat surface.

Reference Maps

Maps designed for people to refer to for general information about places.

Thematic Maps

Show spatial aspects of information or of a phenomenon.

Aerial Photography

Professional images captured from planes within the atmosphere.

Field Observations

The act of physically visiting a location and recording firsthand information.

Landscape Analysis

The task of defining and describing landscapes.

Remote Sensing

Gathers information from satellites that orbit the Earth.

Spatial Data

All the information that can be tied to specific locations.

Geovisualizations

2D or 3D interactive maps.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Computer system that can store, analyze, and display information from multiple digital maps.

Global Positioning Systems (GPS)

Receivers that determine and record a receiver’s exact location using satellites.

Flow

The patterns and movement of ideas, people, products, and other phenomena.

Friction of Distance

Indicates that as things are farther apart, they tend to be less connected.

Distance Decay

The inverse relationship between distance and connection.

Pattern

The general arrangement of things being studied.

Place

Specific human and physical characteristics of a location.

Region

A group or place in the same area that shares a characteristic form.

Sense of Place

The way that humans perceive the characteristics of places based on personal beliefs.

Site

The characteristics at the immediate location.

Situation

The location of a place relative to its surroundings and connectivity to other places.

Space

The area between two or more phenomena or things.

Spatial Approach

Considers the arrangement of phenomena being studied across the surface of the earth.

Spatial Association

Matching patterns of distribution.

Spatial Interaction

The contact, movement, and flow of things between locations.

Time-Space Compression

The shrinking 'time-distance' between locations due to improved methods of transportation.

Toponyms

Place names.

Cultural Ecology

The study of how humans adapt to the environment.

Environmental Determinism

The belief that landforms and climate are the most powerful forces shaping human behavior.

Human-Environmental Interaction

The relationship between humans and the natural world.

Natural Resources

Items that occur in the natural environment that people can use.

Non-Renewable Resources

Resources that are limited and can be exhausted by human uses.

Possibilism

A view focusing on the role of human culture in shaping development, acknowledging limits of nature.

Renewable Natural Resources

Resources that are theoretically unlimited and will not be depleted.

Sustainability

Using resources in ways that allow for future use while minimizing negative environmental impacts.

Aggregation

Organizing data into different scales.

Geographic Scale

The area of the world being studied.

Regions

Have boundaries, unifying characteristics, cover space, and are created by people.

Subregions

A region that shares some characteristics with a larger region, but is distinctive.