Chapter 1- Thinking Geographically Flashcards
Geography
Geo- Earth
Graphy- writing
Human Geography
The study of where and why human activities are located where they are.
Ex’s: Religions, businesses and cities
Map
A two-dimensional or flat scale model of Earth’s surface, or a portion of it.
- A tool for storing reference material
- A tool for communicating Geographic information
Place
A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular characteristic.
Region
An area of Earth distinguished by a distinct combination of cultural and physical features.
Scale
The relationship between the portion of the Earth being studied and the Earth as a whole.
- Fraction
- Written
- Graphic
Space
The physical gap or interval between two objects.
Connections
Relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space.
Cartography
The science of map making
Four types of projection distortion
- Shape- More elongated or squat than in reality
- Distance- Area between two points may become increased or decreased
- Relative Size- Areas may appear larger or smaller than in reality
- Direction- From one place to another may be distorted
Land Ordinance of 1785
An indicator of locations which divided much of the US into a system of townships (square 6 miles on each side which are then divided up into 36 sections) and ranges to manage land sales to Western settlers.
GIS
Geographic Information System:
A computer system that can capture, store, query, analyze and display geographic information.
-Information in layers (shows relationships)
Ex: impact of farming on water pollution
-Easier and more accurate than hand drawn maps
Remote Sensing
The acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting Earth or other long distance methods.
Robinson Projection
- Useful for displaying information across the oceans
- Land areas are smaller than on interrupted maps of the same size
Mercator Projection
- Shape is distorted very little
- Direction is consistent
- size distorted by the poles making high latitude places (like Greenland) look much larger than they actually are.
- Rectangular
GPS
Global Positioning System: A system that accurately determines the precise location of something on Earth. -Navigation of aircrafts and ships -Directions for pedestrians and drivers -Info can be entered into a GIS
Toponym
The name given to a place on Earth
-People
-Physical features
Historical events
Site
The physical character of a place -Climate -Water sources -Topography -Soil -Vegetation -Latitude -Elevation Note: People have the ability to modify the characteristics of a site
Situation
The location of a place relative to other places
- Helps people find unfamiliar places
- Allows for people to understand its importance
Meridian
An arc drawn between the North and South Poles
Parallel
A circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians.
Longitude
The location of each meridian according to a numbering system
Prime Meridian
Greenwich, England 0 degrees
Latitude
The numbering system to indicate the location of a parallel.
GMT
Greenwich Mean Time:
The master reference time for all points on Earth
Cultural Landscape
A combination of cultural features such as language and religion, economic features such as agriculture and industry, and physical features such as climate and vegetation.
Formal Region
Formal/Homogeneous Region: An area within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristics. -Cultural: common language -Economic: production of a certain crop -Environmental: climate EX: MONTANA -Govt. -Recognized boundaries
Functional Region
Nodal Region: An area organized around a node or focal point. -Diminishes in importance outward -Economic EX: newspaper circulation in a city
Vernacular Region
Perceptual Region:
A place people believes exists as part of their cultural identity.
EX: the south
Culture
The body of customary beliefs, maternal traits and social forms that together constitute the distinct tradition of a group of people. Latin root: to care for •what people care about Beliefs, values, religion VS •what people take care of Material wealth, MDCs vs LDCs
Cultural Ecology
The geographic study of human-environment relationships
Environmental Determinalism
Physical environment caused social development.
Possibilism
The physical environment may limit some human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to their environment.
EX: Greenhouses can be used to grow food in desert locations
Resources
Substances that are useful to people, economically and technologically feasible to access and socially acceptable to use.
Climate
The long-term average weather condition at a particular location. Köppen system: A tropical climates B dry climates C warm mid-lat D cold mid lat E polar climate
Local VS Global Scale
Local- unique features
Global- broad patterns
Globalization
The process that involves the entire world and results in making something worldwide in scope.
Transnational Corporation
A corporation which conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries.
Distribution
The arrangement of a feature in space.
- Density
- Concentration
- Pattern
Density
The frequency with which something occurs in space
Arithmetic density
Total number of objects in an area- used to compare distribution of population in different countries.
Physiological Density
The number of people per unit of area suitable for agriculture
Agricultural Density
The number of farmers per unit area of farmland
Concentration
The extent of a features spread over space is its concentration.
Clustered VS Dispersed
Pattern
The geometric arrangement of objects in space.
•Linear distribution
•Grid Pattern
Space-Time-Compression
A description of the reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another place.
•Distant areas seem less remote because of accessible information
Diffusion
The process by which a characteristic spreads across space from one place to another over time.
Hearth
The place from which an innovation originates
Relocation Diffusion
The spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another.
EX: Pilgrims being taught to survive by Native Americans
Expansion Diffusion
The spread of a feature from one place to another in a snowballing process.
Hierarchical Diffusion
EXPANSION DIFFUSION
The spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places.
Contagious Diffusion
EXPANSION DIFFUSION
The rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population.
EX: The internet
Stimulus Diffusion
The spread of an underlying principle, even though the characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse.
EX: Apple products fail in India, yet a new touch screen smart phone succeeds.
Uneven Development
The increasing gap in economic conditions between regions between the core (MDCs) and the periphery (LDCs) that results from the globalization of the economy.
