AP human geo vocab Unit 1

• Absolute Location: The exact spot on Earth using coordinates (like 40°N, 74°W).
  
  

• Relative Location: Where a place is compared to other places (e.g., "next to the park").
  
  

• Longitude and Latitude: Lines used to measure absolute location—latitude runs east-west, longitude runs north-south.

🗺 Geography of Place

• Site: The physical characteristics of a place (e.g., soil, water, climate).
  
  

• Situation: A place’s location in relation to other places (e.g., near a major highway or port).
  
  

• Topography: The shape of the land (hills, valleys, elevation, etc.).

🗾 Maps and Mapping

• Map Distortion: When a map changes shape, size, distance, or direction because Earth is round and maps are flat.
  
  

  • Shape: Land may look stretched or squished.
    
    

  • Size: Continents may appear larger or smaller.
    
    

  • Distance: Space between places might not be accurate.
    
    

  • Direction: Angles between places may be skewed.
    
    

• Map Projections: Different ways to show Earth on a flat map:
  
  

  • Mercator: Good for direction; distorts size (Greenland looks huge).
    
    

  • Robinson: Balances distortion; nothing is perfect, but everything is decent.
    
    

  • Equal Area: Keeps area correct; shapes get stretched.
    
    

  • Conformal: Keeps shape; size can be distorted.

🗃 Types of Maps

• Reference Maps: Show places and features like cities and roads.
  
  

• Thematic Maps: Show data on a topic (like population or climate).
  
  

  • Dot Distribution: Uses dots to show frequency (each dot = number of people).
    
    

  • Choropleth: Uses colors or shades to show value differences.
    
    

  • Graduated Symbol: Uses different-sized shapes to show amounts.
    
    

  • Isoline: Uses lines to connect places with similar data (like elevation or temperature).

📡 Geospatial Tech

• Sources of Geospatial Information: Data from GPS, satellites, fieldwork, etc.
  
  

• Geographic Information Systems (GIS): Software that layers maps and data to analyze patterns.
  
  

• Satellite Navigation (like GPS): Uses satellites to find exact locations.
  
  

• Remote Sensing: Collecting data from far away—usually satellites taking pictures.

🏞 Landscapes and Place

• Sense of Place: How people feel about and connect with a location.
  
  

• Natural Landscape: What the land looks like without humans (trees, rivers, etc.).
  
  

  • Soil, climate, vegetation, elevation: All parts of the natural environment.
    
    

• Cultural Landscape: What humans have built or changed (buildings, roads, farms).
  
  

  • Language, architecture, technology, settlement patterns: Clues to culture on the land.

🌆 Human Footprint

• Toponyms: Names of places (like “New York” or “Rio de Janeiro”).
  
  

• Sequent Occupancy: Layers of history in a place as different groups live there over time.
  
  

• Vernacular Architecture: Traditional buildings that reflect local culture and materials.
  
  

📏 Scale and Patterns

• Scale: The level of detail or area being studied.
  
  

• Scales of Analysis: How zoomed-in you are when studying:
  
  

  • Global: Whole world.
    
    

  • Regional: A part of the world (like Europe or Sub-Saharan Africa).
    
    

  • National: One country.
    
    

  • Local: A city or neighborhood.
    
    

• Spatial Patterns:
  
  

  • Clustering: Things are close together.
    
    

  • Dispersal: Things are spread out.
    
    

  • Flows: Movement of people, goods, or ideas.
    
    

• Distance Decay: The farther things are, the less they interact.
  
  

• Time-Space Compression: Technology makes faraway places feel closer (like video calls or fast travel).

📍 Regions

• Formal or Thematic Regions: Areas with one shared trait (like a language or crop).
  
  

• Administrative Regions: Political boundaries (like states or countries).
  
  

• Functional or Nodal Regions: Based around a central point (like a metro area around a city).
  
  

• Perceptual or Vernacular Regions: Based on people’s ideas or feelings (like “the South” in the U.S.).
  
  

• Uniform and Non-uniform Membership:
  
  

  • Uniform: Everyone shares the same trait in the region.
    
    

  • Non-uniform: The trait is more common in the center and fades out.

🌱 Human-Environment Interaction

• Environmental Determinism: The idea that nature controls human behavior (now mostly rejected).
  
  

• Environmental Possibilism: Humans can adapt and choose how to live in different environments.
  
  

• Cultural Ecology: How people interact with the environment.
  
  

• Nature-Culture Dualism: The idea of nature and humans being separate (but geographers often see them as connected).

🌐 Global Ideas

• Globalization: The world becoming more connected through trade, communication, and culture.
  
  

• Americanization: The spread of U.S. culture around the world.