Physical Geography

the study of natural processes ant the distribution of features in the environment

Human Geography

the study of the process of how humans understand, use, and alter Earth

Spatial perspective

Geographical perspective that focuses on how people live/organize themselves and why certain human history occurs where it happens

Ecological Perspective

the relationship between a living thing and its environment

Location

the position that a point occupies

Absolute Location

The location of an object, usually expressed in in coordinates of longitude and latitude

Relative Location

A descriptions of where a location is in relation to other places

Place

A location of earth identified by its people of feature

Mental Maps

internalized maps

Site

A places absolute location as well as physical attributes

Situation

the location of a place in relation to the proximity of other places

Space

Area between two or more things

Distribution

to arrange within a given space

Density

the number of things-people, animals, or objects- in a specific area

Pattern

The way in which thing are arranged in a space

Flow

Movement of people, goods, or information that has economic , social, political, or cultural effects on societies

Environmental Determinism

The idea that behavior is strongly affected, controlled, or determined by physical envorient

Distance Decay

A statement that one the farther one thing is away from another, the less those two thing will interact

Time-Space Compression

A key geographic theory that modern transportation of ideas has made transporting ideas faster

possibilism

theory that humans have the control to adapt an environment around them

Sustainability

The use of the earth natural resources to ensure their availability in the future

Scale

the area of the world being studied

Region

An area on earth with unique characteristics that differentiates itself from other areas

Formal Region

An are that has one or more shared traits

Functional Region

An area organized around its function around a focal point, or the center of interest or activity

Node

Focal point if a functional region

Suburbs

less densely populated areas surrounding commercial and city areas

Perceptual Region

a region type that reflects peoples feeling and attitudes about the place

Vernacular region

same as a perceptual region

Globalization

the expansion of economic, cultural, and political processes on a world wide scale

Theory

a system of ideas designed to explain some occurence

World System Theory

categorizing countries or regions by core, periphery, and semi-periphery

Core

Classification of a country or region that has wealth , higher levels of education, more advanced technologies, many resources, strong militaries, and powerful allies

Periphery

An overall poor country in any standard

Semi-periphery

Classification of a country or region the has qualities of both core and periphery areas and is often is in the process of industrializing

Sustainable Development

development that meets the needs of future generations