Vocab Unit 1

Absolute direction- A compass direction such as north or south

Absolute distance- exact measurement of the physical space between two places

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

Built environment- an object/environment created by humans for our enjoyment (example: schools, churches, cities, ect)

Cartography- the science of maps and map-making

Census Data- geospatial data collected through the quantification of a population which can include details of race, religion, gender, ect.

Clustering- gathering close together; forming in a group

Concentration- the spread of a feature over a place

Contagious diffusion- the rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population

Cultural ecology- geographic approach that emphasizes human-environment relationships

Cultural landscape- the fashioning of natural landscape by a cultural group

Culture- the body of customary beliefs, social forms, and material trait that together constitute a group’s distinct tradition

Density- the frequency with which something exists within a given unit of area

Diffusion- the spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time

Dispersed- distributed or spread over a considerable area

Distance decay- the diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from it origin

Distribution- the arrangement of something across Earth’s surface

Environmental determinism- A theory that claims that cultural traits are formed and controlled by environmental conditions

Equator- an imaginary line drawn around the earth equally distant from both poles, dividing the earth into northern and southern hemispheres and constituting the parallel of latitude 0 degrees

Formal region- homogeneous region is an area within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristics. The shared feature could be a cultural value such as a common language, or an environmental climate

Functional Region- area organized around a node or focal point; the characteristic will diminish in importance as it spreads outward. This region is tied to the central point by transportation or communication systems or by economic or functional associations

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)- a collection of computer hardware and software permitting spatial data to be collected, recorded, stored, retrieved, used, and displayed

Geography- the study of the physical features of the earth and its atmosphere and of human activity as it affects and is affected by these, including the distribution of populations and resources, land use, and industries

Hearth- the region from which innovative ideas originate

Hierarchal diffusion- the spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places

Human geography- the branch of geography dealing with how human activity affects or is influenced by the earth’s surface

6Study of people and AND places

how we make places

how we interact with each other in places and across spaces

How we make sense of others and ourselves in our localities, regions, and the world

International Date Line- an arc that follows 180 degrees longitude although it deviates in several places to avoid dividing land areas

Landscape analysis- using field observation, spatial data, and aerial photography to gather data to define and describe landscapes

Latitude/Parallel- the numbering system used to indicate the location of parallels drawn on a globe and measuring distance north and south of the equator

Longitude/Meridian- the numbering system used to indicate the location of meridians drawn on a globe and measuring distance east and west of the prime meridian

Perceptual (vernacular) region- a place people believe exists as a part of their cultural identity. Such regions emerge from peoples informal sense of place rather than from scientific models developed through geographic thought

Photographic Interpretation- the identification, description and measurement of objects in images, especially in aerial photographs, for geologic, cartographic or military purposes

Physical Geography- the branch of geography dealing with natural features and processes

34) Place- uniqueness of a location (or similarity of two or more locales); phenomena within an area

Possibilism- the theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives

Prime Meridian- An Imaginary line passing through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, which marks the 0 degrees line of longitude

Projection- a system used to transfer locations from Earth’s surface to a flat map

Reference Map- generalized map type designed to show general spatial properties of features

it’s used to show landforms and/or places

39) Region- an area distinguished by a unique combination of trends or features

40) Relative Direction- directions such as left, right, forward, backward, up, and down based on people’s perception of places

41) 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, economic, or connectivity between two places

42) Relative location- a relative location is the position of something relative to another landmark

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

44) Remote sensing- method of collecting data or information through the use of instruments (e.g. satellites) that are physically distant from the area or object of activity

45) Scale- the relationship between the portion of the earth being studied and Earth as a whole

Site- a physical character of a place, such as characteristics like climate, water sources, topography, soil, vegetation, latitude, and elevation

Situation- The location of a place relative to other places; valuable to indicate location: finding an unfamiliar place and understanding its importance by comparing location with familiar one and learning their accessibility to other places

Space- implies the extent of a area can be in a relative and absolute sense

Spatial Analysis- a study of how humans shape their spaces

Stimulus diffusion- the spread of an underlying principle, even though characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse

51) Sustainability- The use of earth’s renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that do not constrain resource use in the future

Thematic Map- show spatial aspects of information or of a phenomenon

Time-space compression- an influence on the rate of expansion diffusion of an idea, observing that the spread or acceptance of an idea is usually delayed as distance from the source of the innovation increases

54) Toponym- the name by which a geographical place is known