unit 1 vocabulary

1.1 Introduction to Maps

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

Cartographic Scale:  refers to the way the map communicates the ratio of its size to the size of what it represents. For example 1 inch = 10 miles means that one inch on the map represents 10 miles on the surface of the Earth. Small Scale Maps show a large amount of area with less detail.  Large Scale Maps show a smaller amount of area with a greater amount of detail.

Connectivity:  how well two locations are tied together by roads or other links.  

Distance:  a measurement of how for or how near things are to one another.  Absolute distance is 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 travel.

Distribution:  the way a phenomenon is spread over an area.  It is a description of the pattern of where specific phenomena are located.  Patterns (the general arrangement of things) can take the form of clustered, linear, dispersed, circular, geometric, or random. 

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

Human Geography:  the study of the spatial characteristics of humans and human activities.  Human geographers study topics such as population, culture, politics, urban areas, and economics.

Location:  refers to a particular place or position.  Absolution location is the precise spot where something is according to a system.  Oftentimes latitude lines and longitude lines are used.  Relative location is a description of where something is in relation to other things.

Physical Geography:  the study of the spatial characteristics of various elements of the physical environment. Physical geographers study topics such as landforms, bodies of water, climate, ecosystems, and erosion.

Map Projections:  a method for representing the Earth on a flat surface; all map projections distort some aspect of Earth’s surface.  Common map projections include the Mercator, Robinson, Goode homolosine, Peters, or a polar projection.

Reference Maps:  maps designed for people to refer to for general information about places.  These can take the form of political maps, physical maps, road maps, or plat maps.

Thematic Maps:  show spatial aspects of information or of a phenomenon. These can take the form of choropleth maps, dot distribution maps, graduated symbol maps, isoline maps, topographic maps, or cartograms.

1.2 Geographic Data

Aerial Photography:  professional images captured from planes within the atmosphere.

Field Observations:  used to refer to the act of physically visiting a location, place, or region and recording firsthand information there.

Landscape Analysis:  the task of defining and describing landscapes.

Remote Sensing:  gathers information from satellites that orbit the earth of other craft above from the atmosphere.

Spatial Data:  All the information that can be tied to specific locations.

1.3 The Power of Geographic Data

Geovisualizations:  2D or 3D interactive maps.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS): computer system that can store, analyze, and display information from multiple digital maps or geospatial data sets.

Global Positioning Systems (GPS):  receivers on the earth’s surface that use the locations of multiple satellites to determine and record a receiver’s exact location.

1.4 Spatial Concepts

Distribution:  the way a phenomenon is spread out or arranged over an area to describe patterns.

Flow: the patterns and movement of ideas, people, products, and other phenomena.

Friction of Distance:  indicates that when things are farther apart, they tend to be less connected.  The inverse (opposite) relationship between distance and connection is called distance decay.

Location:  identifies where specific phenomena are located either on a grid system or relative to another location.

Pattern:  refers to the general arrangement of things being studied.

Place:  refers to the specific human and physical characteristics of a location.

Region:  A group or place in the same area that share a characteristic form.

Sense of Place:  the way that humans perceive the characteristics of places in different ways based on their personal beliefs.

Site:  the characteristics at the immediate location (soil type, climate, labor force, etc).

Situation:  the location of a place relative to its surroundings and its connectivity to other places.

Space:  the area between two or more phenomena or things.

Spatial Approach:  considers the arrangement of the phenomena being studied across the surface of the earth.

Spatial Association:  matching patterns of distribution.

Spatial Interaction:  refers to the contact, movement, and flow of things between locations.

Time-Space Compression:  the shrinking “time-distance” or relative distance, between locations because of improved methods of transportation and communication.

Toponymns:  Place names (Richland, Los Angeles)

1.5 Human-Environmental Interaction

Cultural Ecology:  the study of how humans adapt to the environment.

Environmental Determinism:  the belief that landforms and climate are the most powerful forces shaping human behavior and societal development while ignoring the influence of culture. 

Human-Environmental Interaction:  the connection, exchanged, and relationship between humans and the natural world

Natural Resources:  items that occur in the natural environment that people can use (air, water, oil, fish, soil, minerals).

Non-Renewable Resources:  resources that are limited and can be exhausted by human uses.

Possibilism:  a view that acknowledges limits on the effects of the natural environment and focuses more on the role that human culture plays.

Renewable Natural Resources:  theoretically are unlimited and will not be depleted based on use by people.

Sustainability:  an overarching theme of human geography and related to trying to use resources now in ways that will allow their use in the future while minimizing negative impacts on the environment.

1.6 Scales of Analysis

Aggregation:  when geographers organize data into different scales such as by census tract, city, county, or country.

Geographic Scale:  the area of the world being studied.  Scales can include global, world regional, national, national regional, or local.

1.7  Regional Analysis

Regions:  have boundaries, unifying characteristics, cover space, and are created by people.  Types of regions include Formal (Uniform) Regions, Functional (Nodal) Regions, or Perceptual (Vernacular Regions).  

Subregions:  a region that shares some characteristics with the rest of the larger region, but is distinctive in some ways.