Vocab Unit 1

1. Absolute direction- A compass direction such as north or south
2. Absolute distance- exact measurement of the physical space between two places
3. Absolute location- Exact location of a place on the earth described by global coordinates
4. Built environment- an object/environment created by humans for our enjoyment (example: schools, churches, cities, ect)
5. Cartography- the science of maps and map-making
6. Census Data- geospatial data collected through the quantification of a population which can include details of race, religion, gender, ect.
7. Clustering- gathering close together; forming in a group
8. Concentration- the spread of a feature over a place
9. Contagious diffusion- the rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population
10. Cultural ecology- geographic approach that emphasizes human-environment relationships
11. Cultural landscape- the fashioning of natural landscape by a cultural group
12. Culture- the body of customary beliefs, social forms, and material trait that together constitute a group’s distinct tradition
13. Density- the frequency with which something exists within a given unit of area
14. Diffusion- the spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time
15. Dispersed- distributed or spread over a considerable area
16. Distance decay- the diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from it origin
17. Distribution- the arrangement of something across Earth’s surface
18. Environmental determinism- A theory that claims that cultural traits are formed and controlled by environmental conditions
19. 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
20. 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
21. 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
22. Geographic Information Systems (GIS)- a collection of computer hardware and software permitting spatial data to be collected, recorded, stored, retrieved, used, and displayed
23. 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
24. Hearth- the region from which innovative ideas originate
25. Hierarchal diffusion- the spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places
26. 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
27. International Date Line- an arc that follows 180 degrees longitude although it deviates in several places to avoid dividing land areas
28. Landscape analysis- using field observation, spatial data, and aerial photography to gather data to define and describe landscapes
29. 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
30. 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
31. 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
32. Photographic Interpretation- the identification, description and measurement of objects in images, especially in aerial photographs, for geologic, cartographic or military purposes
33. Physical Geography- the branch of geography dealing with natural features and processes
34. 34) Place- uniqueness of a location (or similarity of two or more locales); phenomena within an area
35. 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
36. Prime Meridian- An Imaginary line passing through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, which marks the 0 degrees line of longitude
37. Projection- a system used to transfer locations from Earth’s surface to a flat map
38. Reference Map- generalized map type designed to show general spatial properties of features

it’s used to show landforms and/or places
39. 39) Region- an area distinguished by a unique combination of trends or features
40. 40) Relative Direction- directions such as left, right, forward, backward, up, and down based on people’s perception of places
41. 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. 42) Relative location- a relative location is the position of something relative to another landmark
43. Relocation diffusion- the spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another
44. 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. 45) Scale- the relationship between the portion of the earth being studied and Earth as a whole
46. Site- a physical character of a place, such as characteristics like climate, water sources, topography, soil, vegetation, latitude, and elevation
47. 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
48. Space- implies the extent of a area can be in a relative and absolute sense
49. Spatial Analysis- a study of how humans shape their spaces
50. Stimulus diffusion- the spread of an underlying principle, even though characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse
51. 51) Sustainability- The use of earth’s renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that do not constrain resource use in the future
52. Thematic Map- show spatial aspects of information or of a phenomenon
53. 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. 54) Toponym- the name by which a geographical place is known

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