Physical geography

study of the spatial characteristics of various elements of the physical enviroment

Human Geography

study of the spatial characteristics of humans and human activities

Models

representations of reality or theories about reality, to help geographers see general spatial patterns, focus on the influence of specifc factors, and understand variations from place to place.

Spatial Models

look like stylized maps, and they illustrate theories about spatial distributions.

Nonspatial Models

illustrate theories and concepts using words, graphs, or tables.

Time Distance Decay

A model that helps explain some patterns evident on the Earth at night image.

Spatial Patterns

refers to the general arrangement of things being studied.

Networks

a set of interconnected entities, sometimes called nodes.

Quantitative Data

any info that can be measured and recorded using numbers such as total number immigrants to a city.

Geospatial Data

is quantitative and spatial. It has a geographic location component to it such as a country, city, zip code, lattitude, longitude, or address and is often used with geographic info systems because it lends istelf to analysis using formulas and is mappable.

Qualitative Sources

are not usually represented by numbers. This data is collected as interviews, photos, remote satellite images, descriptions, or cartoons.

Scales of Analysis

looking at topics at the local, regional, country, or global scale.

Reference Maps

are aptly named because they are designed for people to refer to for general info about places.

Political Maps

show and label human-created boundaries and designations, such as countries, states, cities, and capitals.

Physical Maps

show and label natural fetaures, such as mountains, rivers, and deserts.

Road Maps

show and label highways, streets, and alleys.

Plat Maps

show and label property lines and details of land ownership.

Thematic Maps

show spatial aspects of info or of a phenomenon.

Chloropleth Maps

use various colors, shades of one color, or patterns to show the location and distribution of spatial data.

Dot Distribution Maps

used to show the specific location and distribution of something across a map.

Graduated Symbol Maps

use symbols of different sizes to indicate different amounts of something.

Isoline Maps

also called isometric maps, use lines that depict points of equal value to depict variations in the data across space.

Topographic Maps

the most common type of isoline map. Points of equal elevations are connected on these maps, creating contours that depict surface features.

Cartogram

In this map, the sizes of countries (or states, counties, or other areal units) are shown according to some specifc statistic.

Scale

the ratio between the size of things in the real world and the size of those same things on the map.

Cartographic Scale

refers to the way the map communicates the ratios of its size tio the size of what it represents.

Small Scale Maps

show a larger amount of area with less detail.

Large Scale Maps

show a smaller amount of area with more detail.

Absolute Location

the precise spot where something is according to a system, such as lattitude and longitude.

Lattitude

distance north or south of the equator(see below), (lattitudes lines go left to right).

Equator

imaginary line that circles the globe exactly halfway between the north and south hemispheres.

Longitude

distance east or west of the prime meridian(see below), (longitudes lines go up and down).

Prime Meridian

imaginary line that runs from pole to pole through Greenwich, England.

International Date Line

On the opposite side of the globe from the prime meridian is 180 degrees longitude. The International Date Line roughly follows this line but makes deviations to accomodate international boundaries.

Relative Location

description of where something is in relation to other things.

Connectivity

how well two locations are tied together by roads and other links.

Accessibility

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

Direction

used in order to describe where things are in relation to each other.

Patterns

general arrangemnt of things

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 transport(Ex: 10 min by car, 30 min by walk)

Elevation

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

Distribution

the way a phenomenon is spread out over an area.

Clusted(Agglomerated) Distribution

phenomena are arranged in a group or concentrated area such as restaurants in a food court at a mall or the clustering of cities along the border of the United States and Mexico.

Linear Distribution

phenomena are arranged in a straight line, such as the distribution of towns along a railroad line.

Dispersed Distribution

phenomena are spread out over a large area, such as the distribution of large malls in a city.

Circular Distribution

phenomena are equally placed from a central point, forming a circle, such as the distribution of homes of people who shop at a particular store.

Geometric Distribution

phenomena are in a regular arrangment, such as the squares or blocks formed by roads in the Midwest.

Random Distribution

phenomena appear to have no order to their position.

Landscape Analysis

the task of defining and describing landscapes.

Field Observations

the act of physically visiting a location, place or region, and recording, firsthand, info there.

Spatial Data

Info that can be or is tied to specific locations.

Remote Sensing

gethers info from satellites that orbit the earth or other craft above the atmosphere.

Aerial Photography

professional images captured from planes within the atmosphere.

Fieldwork

observing and recording info on location, or in the field.

Geovizualization

As computers and tech have rapidly improved, large quantities, large quantities or info can be gathered and stored. This data can then be truned into 2D or eve 3D interactive maps, or geovizualizations.

Global Positioning System(GPS)

GPS receivers on the earth’s surface use locations of multiple satellites to determine and record a receiver’s exact location.

Remote Sensing

the use of camers or other sensors mounted on aircraft or satellites to collect images or videos of the earth’s surface.

Geographic Information Systems(GIS)

computer system that can store, analyze, and display info, from multiple digital maps or geospatial datasets.

Community-based solutions

increase the likelihood of success because they creat buy-in from local-residents and are more likely to be culturally accepted.