Studied by 1 person5 Themes of Geography
location, space, scale, place, and pattern
spatial perspective
the common bond that causes us to notice patterns of both natural and human environment, distributions of people, and locations of all kinds of objects
spatial organization
the location of people, places, and events, and the connections among landscapes
cartography
the art and science of map-making
Mercator Projection
invented by Gerardus Mercator in 1569; intended to aid ship navigation across the Atlantic between Europe and the Americas. Makes direction accurate, but distorts size, especially near the Poles
Robinson Projection
curves the Poles inward to fix distortions of the Mercator projection, but stretches them into long lines. Attempts to balance distortions in shape, size, distance and direction
Peter's Projection
invented by Arno Peters in 1974, and focuses on making land masses equal in area, therefore distorting shape
grid pattern
rectangular system of land survey, adopted universally by the Ordinance of 1785
scale
size of unit studied, on a scale of small to large in terms of local, regional, or global scale
map scale
the mathematical relationship between size of an area on a map and its actual size on earth
GIS
Geographic Information System; a computer system that captures, stores, analyzes and displays geography data, combined in layers
GPS
Global Positioning System; technology that uses a series of satellites, tracking stations and receivers to determine precise absolute locations on earth
demography
description of people or populations
population density
the number of people that live in a given area of land
physiological density
measures the pressure people may place on the land to produce a sustainable amount of food
arithmetic density
total number of people divided by total land area
overpopulation
the circumstance of too many people for the land to support
carrying capacity
the number of people an area can support on a sustained basis
population pyramids
represent a population's age and sex composition
rate of natural increase
a percentage of population growth
Total Fertility Rate
the average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime
Agricultural Revolution
the domestication of plants and animals, started in the Fertile Crescent around 1000 BCE
Industrial Revolution
a period starting in the late eighteenth century in Britain that saw the introduction of mass production
Green Revolution
the introduction of high-yielding crops and chemical fertilizers and pesticides into tradition Asian agricultural systems
doubling rate
the length of time needed to double a population
crude birth rate
the number of births in a given population per one thousand people
crude death rate
the number of deaths in a given population per one thousand people
Zero Population Growth
a stabilized population, created when an average of only two children per couple survive to adulthood
exponential growth rate
a growth rate illustrated by a series of 2, 4, 8, 16, 32
linear growth rate
a growth rate illustrated by a series of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Neo-Malthusians
Adhere to Thomas Malthus' theory that populations increase too rapidly for food supplies to sustain
infant mortality rate
the number of deaths among infants younger than one year of age in a population
life expectancy
the average number of years a child can expect to live
Demographic Transition Model; Stage 1
Low growth; high birth and death rates with a natural increase close to 0, associated with preindustrial societies
Demographic Transition Model; Stage 2
High growth; birth and death rates both increase, associated with developing societies
Demographic Transition Model; Stage 3
Moderate growth; fertility rates begin to fall, associated with a mature industrial society
Demographic Transition Model; Stage 4
Low Growth; birth rates continue to fall, accompanied by steady death rates, associated with postindustrial societies
Emigration
migration away from an area
Immigration
migration to an area
distance decay
the decline of an activity or function with increasing distance from the point of origin
intervening opportunities
the act of finding opportunities to settle before reaching an original destination
gravity model
the measure of interaction amongst places
intervening obstacles
physical features that halt or slow migration
Push factor
a motivation for emigration
Pull factor
a motivation for immigration
Types of push and pull factors
economic (employment), cultural (slavery, refugee situations, politics, government control), and environmental (climate, elevations, seacoasts and disease)
U.S. Immigration Patterns
Initial settlement of the colonies between 1776-1840
Emigration from Europe in the 19th and early 20th century
Immigration since 1945
activity space
area in which an individual moves about while carrying out day-to-day activities
awareness space
an individual's knowledge of opportunity locations
space-time prism
the set of all points that can be reached by an individual given a maximum possible speed from a starting point in space-time and an ending point in space-time
Environmental determinism
the belief that physical environment actively shapes culture
Possibilism
recognizes the importance of physical environment but states cultural heritage is just as important is shaping a culture/society
Environmental Perceptionism
emphasizes human perception of environment rather than actuality of land, and the shaping of culture by perception
Cultural determinism
states that human culture is more important than physical environment in shaping human actions
non-material culture
the abstract concept of human values, behaviors, and beliefs
material culture
culture illustrated by concrete human creations, called artifacts
culture region
an area marked by a distinguishable culture unique to its region
culture trait
a single attribute of a culture
culture complex
common values, beliefs, behaviors and artifacts that make a group distinct from others in the area
culture system
a group of interconnected culture complexes
cultural hearth
an area where a civilization first began
expansion diffusion
when an innovation or idea develops in a source area and remains strong there while spreading outward
contagious diffusion
a type of expansion diffusion wherein almost all individuals and areas outward from the source region are affected
hierarchical diffusion
a type of expansion diffusion wherein ideas and artifacts first spread between large places or prominent people and only later reach smaller groups or less prominent people
stimulus diffusion
a type of expansion diffusion wherein a basic idea, though not the trait itself, stimulates imitative behavior
relocation diffusion
diffusion that occurs when individual people or populations physically carry an innovation or idea from a source area to a new one
migrant diffusion
a type of relocation diffusion wherein the spread of outward traits is slow enough that they weaken the area of origin by the time they reach other areas
acculturation
occurs when a less dominant culture adopts traits of a more influential culture
assimilation
when a culture completely absorbs a less dominant one
transculturation
an equal exchange of cultural traits
ethnocentrism
the practice of judging another culture by the standards of one's own culture
cultural relativism
the practice of evaluating a culture by its own standards
syncretism
a fusion of old and new cultures, and an explanation of how and why cultural changes occur
language families
related tongues that share a common ancestor
dialects
variant forms of language where mutual comprehension is possible
pidgin language
characterized by a very small vocabulary derived from languages of the groups in contact
creole language
occurs when a pidgin becomes the first language of a group of speakers
slang
words and phrases not part of a standard, recognized vocabulary for a given language but are nonetheless understood and used by some or most of its speakers
lingua franca
a language of communication and commerce spoken across a wide language where it is not a mother language
language hotspots
places home to the most unique, misunderstood, or endangered languages
toponym
a place name
isogloss
indicates the spatial borders of individual words and pronunciations
proselytizing religion
also called a "universalizing religion"; a religion that attempts to be global in its appeal to all people
the Three Great Monotheistic Religions
Judaism, Islam and Christianity
Roman Catholicism
The largest branch of Chrisitanity, which includes 50% of all Christians and large concentrations of followers in Latin America, French Canada, Central African, and Southern and Eastern Europe
Protestantism
The 2nd largest branch of Christianity, constituting 25% of all Christians with concentrations in North America, Northern Europe, Britain, South Africa and Australia
Eastern Orthodoxy
Final branch of Christianity, including 10% of all Christians and concentrated mostly in Eastern Europe and Russia
Sunni
The dominant branch of Islam, with 83% of all Muslims adhering to the belief that the successor of Muhmmad should be chosen in agreement amongst religious leaders
Shi'ite
The lesser branch of Islam (16%), who believe that Muhammad's successor should be a blood relative
folk culture
traditionally practiced by small, homogeneous groups living in isolated areas
popular culture
found in large, heterogeneous societies bonded by a common culture despite the many difference among people that share it
territoritality
efforts to control pieces of the earth's surface for political or social ends
physical boundary
often natural feautures, such as mountains, deserts, rivers, lakes and oceans that seperate nations
culture boundary
set by an ethnic difference between groups, especially in a linguistic or religious aspect
sovereignty
the ability of a state to carry out actions or policies within its boundaries independently from interface either on the outside or inside
types of boundary disputes
Positional: regarding location of the border
Territorial: regarding ownership of a region near the border
Allocation: regarding natural resources
Functional: regarding border policies
primate city
a capital city that is unrivaled in terms of size or influence by another city within a state
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