intro to aphug- barrons book vocab

absolute distance

The distance that can be measured with a standard unit length, such as a mile or kilometer.

absolute location

The exact position of an object or place, measured within the spatial coordinates of a grid system.

accessibility

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

aggregation

To come together into a mass, sum, or whole

azimuthal projection

A map projection in which the plane is the most developable surface.

breaking point

The outer edge of a city's sphere of influence, used in the law of retail gravitation to describe the area of a city's hinterlands that depend on that city for its retail supplies.

Cartogram (thematic)

A map in which the shape or size is distorted in order to demonstrate a variable such as travel, population or economic production

Cartography

The science of making maps

Chloropleth Map

A thematic map that uses tones or colors to represent spatial data as average values per unit area.

cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment

Complementarity

The actual or potential relationship between two places, usually referring to economic interactions.

connectivity

The degree of economic, social, cultural, or political connection between two places

contagious diffusion

The distance-controlled spreading of an idea, innovation, or some other item through a local population by contact from person to person.

coordinate system

A standard grid, composed of lines of latitude and longitude, used to determine the absolute location of any object, place, or feature on Earth's surface.

Cultural Ecology

The multiple interactions and relationships between a culture and the natural environment

cultural landscape

the visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape

distance decay effect

The decrease in interaction between two phenomena, places, or people as the distance between them increases.

dot maps

Thematic maps that use points to show the precise locations of specific observations or occurrences, such as crimes, car accidents, or births.

environmental geography

The intersection between human and physical geography, which explores the spatial impacts humans have on the physical environment and vice versa.

expansion diffusion

the spread of ideas, innovations, fashion, or other phenomena to surrounding areas through contact and exchange

formal region

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

friction of distance

A measure of how much absolute distance affects the interaction between two places.

fuller projection

A type of map that maintains the accurate size and shape of landmasses, but completely rearranges direction such that the four cardinal directions - North, South, East, West - no longer have any meaning.

functional region

A region defined by the particular set of activities or interactions that occur within it

Geographic Information System (GIS)

A computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data.

geographic scale

The scale at which a geographer analyzes a particular phenomenon, for example: global, national, census tract, neighborhood, etc. Generally, the finer the scale of analysis, the richer the level of detail in the findings.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

A set of satellites used to help determine location anywhere on Earth's surface with a portable electronic device.

gravity model

A mathematical formula that describes the level of interaction between two places, based on the size of their populations and their distance from each other.

Hierarchical Diffusion

A form of diffusion in which an idea or innovation spreads by passing first among the most connected places or peoples.

human geography

The study of the spatial variation in the patterns and processes related to human activity.

international date line

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

intervening oppurtunity

The presence of a nearer opportunity that greatly diminishes the attractiveness of sites farther away.

isoline

A map line that connects points of equal or very similar values.

large scale

A relatively small ratio between map units and ground units. Large-scale maps usually have higher resolution and cover much smaller regions than small-scale maps.

Latitude

distance north or south of the Equator, measured in degrees

law of retail gravitation

A law stating that people will be drawn to larger cities to conduct their business since larger cities have a wider influence on the surrounding hinterlands.

location chart

on a map, a chart or graph that gives specific statistical info about a particular political unit or jurisdiction

Longitude

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

map projection

a mathematical formula used to represent the curved surface of the Earth on the flat surface of a map

map scale

The relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth's surface.

mercator projection

A true conformal cylindrical map projection, the Mercator projection is particularly useful for navigation because it maintains accurate direction. Mercator projections are famous for their distortion in area that makes landmasses at the poles appear oversized.

natural landscape

The physical landscape or environment that has not been affected by human activities.

nature-society

Also called nature-society geography, the study of the interactions between societies and the natural environments in which they live

parallel

an east-west line of latitude that runs parallel to the equator and that marks distance north or south of the equator

w. d. pattison

Claimed that geography drew from four distinct traditions; Earth-Science, Culture-Environment, Locational and Area-Analysis traditions

perceptual region

Highly individualized definition of regions based on perceived commonalities in culture and landscape.

peters projection

An equal-area projection purposely centered on Africa in an attempt to treat all regions of Earth equally.

physical geography

One of the two major divisions of systematic geography; the spatial analysis of the structure, processes, and location of Earth's natural phenomena such as climate, soil, plants, animals, and topography.

preference map

A map that displays individual preferences for certain places.

Prime Meridian

The meridian, designated at 0° longitude, which passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England.

projection

The system used to transfer locations from Earth's surface to a flat map.

proportional symbols map

A thematic map in which the size of a chosen symbol-such as a circle or triangle-indicates the relative magnitude of some statistical value for a given geographic region.

ptolemy

Roman geographer-astronomer and author of Guide to Geography which included maps containing a grid system of latitude and longitude.

qualitative data

Data associated with a more humanistic approach to geography, often collected through interviews, empirical observations, or the interpretation of texts, artwork, old maps, and other archives.

quantitative data

Data associated with mathematical models and statistical techniques used to analyze spatial location and association.

reference map

A map type that shows reference information for a particular place, making it useful for finding landmarks and for navigation.

region

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

regional geography

The study of geographic regions.

relative distance

A measure of distance that includes the costs of overcoming the friction of absolute distance separating two places. Often relative distance describes the amount of social, cultural, or economic, connectivity between two places.

relative location

The position of a place in relation to another place

relocation diffusion

the spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another

remote sensing

The acquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or other long-distance methods.

resolution

a map's smallest discernable unit. if, for example, an object has to be one kilometer long in order to show up on a map, that map's resolution is one kilometer

robinson projection

Projection that attempts to balance several possible projection errors. It does not maintain completely accurate area, shape, distance, or direction, but it minimizes errors in each.

carl sauer

Geographer from the University of California at Bed defined the concept of cultural landscape as the fundamental unit of graphical analysis. This landscape results from interaction between humans and the physical environment. Sauer argued that virtually no land escaped alteration by human activities.

scale of analysis

a scale that determines what is being studied based on the size of the area being examined

sense of place

Feelings evoked by people as a result of certain experiences and memories associated with a particular place.

site

The physical character of a place

situation

the location of a place relative to other places

small scale

A map scale ratio in which the ratio of units on the map to units on Earth is quite small. Usually depicts large areas.

spatial diffusion

The ways in which phenomena, such as technological innovations, cultural trends, or even outbreaks of disease, travel over space.

spatial perspective

a way of looking at the human and physical patterns on Earth and their relationships to one another

sustainability

The use of Earth's renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that do not constrain resource use in the future.

thematic layers

Individual maps of specific features that are overlaid on one another in a Geographical Information System to understand and analyze a spatial relationship.

thematic map

A type of map that displays one or more variables-such as population, or income level-within a specific area.

time-space convergence

The idea that distance between some places is actually shrinking as technology enables more rapid communication and increased interaction among those places

topographic maps

Maps that use isolines to represent constant elevations. If you took a topographic map out into the field and walked exactly along the path of an isoline on your map, you would always stay at the same elevation.

transferability

The costs involved in moving goods from one place to another

visualization

Use of sophisticated software to create dynamic computer maps, some of which are three dimensional or interactive.

anthropogenic

Human-induced changes on the natural environment

earth system science

A systematic approach to physical geography that looks at the interaction between Earth's physical systems and processes on a global scale.

eratosthenes

Greek mathematician and astronomer who estimated the circumference of the earth and the distances to the moon and sun (276-194 BC)

fertile crescent

A geographical area of fertile land in the Middle East stretching in a broad semicircle from the Nile to the Tigris and Euphrates

geoid

The actual shape of Earth, which is rough and oblate, or slightly squashed. Earth's diameter is longer around the equator than along the north-south meridians.

idiographic

Pertaining to the unique facts or characteristics of a particular place

george perkins marsh

A 19th century American geographer best known for his classic work, Man and Nature. He focused on the impact of human actions on the natural environment, so his thinking is basic to the field of human geography. He emphasized human destruction of the environment.

nomothetic

Concepts or rules that can be applied universally.

quantitative revolution

A period in human geography associated with the widespread adoption of mathematical models and statistical techniques.

topological space

The amount of connectivity between places regardless of the absolute distance separating them.