Cartography and Visualization Flashcards
Contour Line
a function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value - joins points of equal value on a line
Contour Interval
difference in elevation between successive contour lines
Physical Geography
branch of natural science which deals with the study of processes and patterns in the natural environment like the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and geosphere
Divergent Plate Boundaries
boundaries where plates move away from each other
Transform Plate Boundaries
one plate slide3s horizontally past another plate
Covergent Plate Boundaries
Two plates move toward each other
Continents
large, continuous discrete masses of land separated by expanses of water - Physical Geography may include islands
Landform
a natural feature of the Earth’s surface (hills, mountains, plateaus, canyons, valleys, bays, peninsulas, seas)
Topography
field of geoscience and planetary science comprising the study of surface shape and features of the Earth and other observable astronomical objects including planets, moons and asteroids
Primary Aid
collected specifically for the purpose of a researcher’s particular study
Secondary Data
collected for another purpose by someone other than the researcher
5 Types of Measurement
Physical Measurement, Observation of Behavior, Archives, Explicit Reports, Computational Modeling
Physical Measurement
Recording physical properties of the Earth or it’s inhabitants - size, number, temperature, chemical makeup
Observation of Behavior
Observable actions or activities of individuals or groups - not thoughts, feelings or motivations
Archives
records that have been collected primarily of non-research purposes (secondary)
Explicit Reports
Beliefs people express about things - surveys
Computational Modeling
models as simplified representations of portions of reality
Quantitative Data
numerical values, measured on at least an ordinal level but could be on a metric level
Qualitative Data
nonnumerical or numerical values that have no quantitative meaning
Deceptive Mapping
maps can be distorted for propaganda, military protections or ignorance
Thematic Map
type of map especially designed to show a particular theme connected with a specific geographic area
Choropleth
areas are shaded according to prearranged key, each shading or color type represents a range of values
Proportional Symbol
Symbol drawn proportional in size to the size of the variable being represented
Isarithmic or Isopleth
Lines of equal value are drawn ( contour lines) or ranges of similar values are filled with similar colors or patterns
Dot
Shows distribution of phenomena where values and locations are known - place a dot where the location of variable is
Dasymetric
alternative to choropleth - ancillary information is used to model internal distribution of the phenomenon
Multivariate Displays
Putting more that two sets of data on one map ( single map shows population density and annual rainfall and cancer rates)
Web Mapping
Process of using maps delivered by GIS - web maps are both served and consumed
Map Layout Elements
a title, map, legend, map scale, supporting media, north arrow, metadata
Symbols
represents things on a map
Map Accuracy
difficult to assess, all maps show a selective view of reality - instead should ask if the map is appropriate for my purposes
Map Scale
1:100 - one inch represents 100 inches in the real world
Symbolization Variables
size, shape, orientation, pattern, hue, value
Symbolization Variables (Quantitative)
Size and Value
Symbolization Variables ( Qualitative)
Shape, Pattern and Hue
Typography
the design of text, point size, line length, typefaces
Classification
Objects with similar symbols - up to 7 classes recommended but should stick to 5 - classes should be exhaustive (describe all possible values) and should not overlap (no value can fall within two classes)
Equal Range
Equal distance between class breaks
Quantiles
equal number of observations in each class
Standard Deviation
class breaks based on distance of standard deviation from the mean
Natural Breaks
class breaks conform to gaps in data distribution
