Ch 1 vocab Flashcards
Composed of nonliving or inorganic matter
Abiotic
The process of changes in culture that result from the meeting of two groups, each of which retains distinct cultural features
Acculturation
The process by which a group’s cultural features are altered to resemble those of another group
Assimilation
The thin layer of gases surrounding the Earth
Atmosphere
All Living organisms on Earth, including plants and animals, as well as microorganisms
Biosphere
Composed of living organisms
Biotic
The science of making maps
Cartography
Scientific research by amateur scientists
Citizen science
The spread of something over a given area
Concentration
The relationships among other people and objects across the barrier of space
Connection
The sustainable management of a natural resource to meet human needs
Conservation
The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population
Contagious diffusion
The time in the zone encompassing the prime meridian or 0 degrees longitude
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) informally Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
A geographic approach that emphasizes human-environment relationships
Cultural ecology
An approach to geography that emphasizes the relationships among social and physical phenomena in a particular study area
Cultural landscape
The frequency with which something exists within a given unit of area
Density
The process of spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time
Diffusion
The diminished importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its orgin
Distance decay
The arrangement of something across Earth’s surface
Distribution
The scientific study of ecosystems
Ecology
A group of living organisms and the abiotic spheres with which they interact
Ecosystem
A nineteenth- and early twentieth-century approach to the study of geography which argued…(too long)
Environmental determinism
The spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in an additive process
Expansion diffusion
An area in which most people share in one or more distinctive characteristics
Formal region (or uniform region)
An area organized around a node of focal point
Functional region (or nodal region)
Analysis of data about Earth acquired through satellite and other electronic information technologies
Geographic information science (GIScience)
A computer system that captures, stores, queries, and displays geographic data
Geographic information system (GIS)
Identification and storage of a piece of information by its precise latitude and longitude coordinates
Geotagging
A system that determines the precise position of something on Earth through a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers
Global Positioning System (GPS)
Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope
Globalization
The spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places
Hierarchical diffusion
All of the water on and near Earth’s surface
Hydrosphere
An arc that for the most part follows 180degrees longitude. When the International Date Line is crossed heading east the clock moves back 24hrs…(too long)
International Date Line
The numbering system used to indicate the location of parallels drawn on a globe and measuring distance north and south of the equator (0degrees)
Latitude
Earth’s crust and a portion of upper mantle directly below the crust
Lithosphere
The position of anything on Earth’s surface
Location
The numbering system used to indicate the location of meridians drawn on a globe and measuring distance east and west of the prime meridian (0degrees)
Longitude
A two-dimensional , or flat representation of the Earth’s surface or a portion of it
Map
The relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth’s surface
Map scale
A map that overlays data from one source on top of a map provided by a mapping service
Mashup
A representation of a portion of Earth’s surface based on what an individual knows about a place that contains personal impressions of what is in the place and where the place is located
Mental map
An arc drawn on a map between the N and S poles
Meridian
A chain of communication that connects places
Network
A circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridian
Parallel
Community -based mapping, representing local knowledge and information
Participatory GIS (PGIS)
The geometric or regular arrangement of something in a particular area
Pattern
The science of taking measurements of the Earth’s surface from photographs
Photogrammetry
A specific point on Earth, distinguished by a particular characteristic
Place
Land that the Dutch have created by draining water from an area
Polder
The theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment…(too long)
Possibilism
The meridian, designated as 0degrees longitude, that passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England
Prime Meridian
A system used to transfer locations from Earth’e surface to a flat map
Projection
An area distinguished by one or more distinctive characteristics
Region
The spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another
Relocation diffusion
The acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or from other long-distance methods
Remote sensing
A substance in the environment that is useful to people, is economically and technologically feasible to access, and is socially acceptable to use
Resource
The relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole
Scale
The physical character of a place
Site
The location of a place relative to another place
Situation
The physical gap or interval between two objects
Space
The reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place as a result of improved communications and transportation systems
Space-time compressioin
The relationship between the distribution of one feature and the distribution of another feature
Spacial association
The spread of an underlying principle
Stimulus diffusion
The use of Earth’s renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that do not constrain resources use in the future
Sustainability
The combining of elements of two groups into a new cultural feature
Syncretism
The name given to a portion of the Earth’s surface
Toponym
A company that conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters or shareholders are located
Transnational corporation
The increasing gap in economic conditions between core and peripheral regions as a result of the globalization of the economy
Uneven development
An area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity
Vernacular region (or perceptual region)
Creation and dissemination of geographic data contributed voluntarily and for free by individuals
Volunteered geographic information
