Chapter One Flashcards
Geography
Geo = Earth. Graphy = to write. The study of where things are found on Earth’s surface and the reasons for their locations.
Place
Specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular characteristic.
Region
An area of Earth defined by one or more distinctive characteristics.
Scale
The relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole.
Space
The physical gap or interval between two objects.
Connection
Relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space. (rivers between bodies of water/bridges)
Map
Two-dimensional or flat scale model of Earth’s surface, or a portion of it.
Two purposes of a Map
- A reference tool to help us find shortest route between two places and avoid getting lost.
- Communications tool to depict the distribution of human activities or physical features and reasons underlying a distribution.
Cartography
The science of mapmaking (assisted by satellite imagery & computers)
Geographic Information Science (GI Science)
An analysis of data about Earth acquired through satellite & other electronic information technology.
Geographic Information System (GIS)
Captures, stores, queries, and displays the geographic data.
Photogrammetry
The science of taking measurements of Earth’s surface from photographs.
Remote Sensing
Acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting Earth or from other long-distance methods (airplanes, drone).
(GPS) Global Positioning System
System that determines the precise position of something on Earth.
Geotagging
Identification & storage of a piece of information by its precise latitude and longitude coordinates.
Volunteered geographic information (VGI)
Creation and dissemination of geographic data contributed voluntarily and for free.
Citizen Science
Scientific research by amateur scientists. Collect and disseminate local knowledge and info through electronic devices.
Participatory GIS (PGIS)
Community-based mapping. Collect and disseminate local knowledge and info through electronic devices.
Mashup
A map that overlays data from one source on top of a map provided by a mapping service (google maps/bing maps).
Mental Map
Personal representation of a portion of Earth’s surface. It depicts what an individual knows about a place and it contains personal impressions of what is in the place and where it’s located.
Map Scale
The relationship of a feature’s size on a map to its actual size on Earth. Presented in three ways: Ration, Written, Graphic.
Ratio (map scale)
Numerical relationship between distances on the map & Earth’s surface. Ex: ratio of 1:1,000,000 is one unit (inch, cm, ft) = 1 million of same unit on the ground.
Written (map scale)
Relationship between map & Earth’s distances in words. Ex: “1 centimeter equals 10 kilometers.”
Graphic (map scale)
A bar line marked to show distance on Earth’s surface. Ex: determine with ruler the distance on the map in inches or centimeters. Then, hold the ruler against the bar line and read the number on the bar line opposite the map distance on the ruler.
Projection
The scientific method of transferring locations on Earth’s surfaces to a flat map. (4 types of distortion can result: Shape, distance, relative size, direction)
Shape (distortion from projection)
Appears more elongated/squat.
Distance (distortion from projection)
Distance between two points are increased/decreased.
Relative Size (distortion from projection)
Larger or smaller.
Meridian
Arc connecting North & South poles.
Longitude
Numbering system that identifies the location of each meridian.
Parallel
A circle drawn around the globe, parallel to the equator and at right angles to the meridians.
Latitude
Numbering system to indicate the location of a parallel.
Prime Meridian
0 degrees longitude and passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England. (opposite meridian is 180 degrees)
Isoline Map
Uses lines to outline an area and connect all the places that have particular values (color coded, map key to determine labels)
Dot Distribution Map
Depicts data as points and shows how the points are clustered together or spread apart over an area. Each dot represents a predetermined # of observations.
Choropleth Map
Recognizable areas are shaded or patterned in proportion to the measurement of the variable.
Graduated Symbol Map
Displays symbols that change in size according to the value of the variable.
Cartogram
A map in which the size of a country or US state is proportional to the value of a particular variable.
Location
The position that something occupies on Earth’s surface.
Toponym
The name given to a place on Earth.
Site
The physical character of a place: climate, water sources, topography, soil, vegetation, latitude, elevation.
Situation
Also known as Relative Location. The Location of a place relative to other places. Ex: giving directions using other familiar landmarks to get to an unfamiliar place AND understanding the importance of a place due to its accessibility to other places.
Absolute Location
Describes the position of a place in a way that never changes (longitude/latitude).
Cultural Landscape
A combination of cultural features such as language and religion, economic features such as agriculture/industry, and physical features such as climate and vegetation.
Formal Region
Also called Uniform Region. An Area within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristics. Ex: language, economic activity, environmental property (climate).
Functional Region
Also called Nodal Region. An area organized around a node or focal point.
Vernacular Region
Also called Perceptual Region. An area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity. An informal sense of space. Ex: Americans believe the South is a place with distinct environmental and cultural features, drastically different from the rest of the US.
Culture
Latin Origin: Cultus, to care for. The body of customary beliefs, material traits, and social forms that together constitutes the distinct tradition of a group of people. Culture breaks down to what people care about and what they take care of.
Spatial Association
When the distribution of one feature is related to the distribution of another feature. It is strong if two features have very similar distributions.
Globalization
A force or process that involves the entire world and results in making something worldwide in scope.
Transnational Corporation
Conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters and principal shareholders are located.
Distribution
The arrangement of a feature in space. When geographers observe the arrangements of people and activities found in space, they investigate why and how those distributions come to be.
Density
The frequency with which something occurs in space. The feature being measured could be people, houses, cars, trees, or anything else.
Concentration
The extent of a feature’s spread over space. Close together = clustered. Far apart = dispersed.
Pattern
The geometric arrangement of objects in space. Some features are organized in a geometric pattern, whereas others are distributed irregularly. Geographers observe that many objects form a linear distribution, such as the arrangement of houses along a street or stations along a subway line.
Poststructuralist Geography
Examines how the powerful in a society dominate, or seek to control, less powerful groups, how the dominated groups occupy space, and confrontations that result from the domination.
Humanistic Geography
Emphasizes the different ways that individuals form ideas about place and give those places symbolic meanings. For example, LGBTQ people may be attracted to places such as the Castro District in San Francisco.
Behavioral Geography
Emphasizes the importance of understanding the psychological basis for individual human actions in space. Distinctive spatial patterns by gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation are constructed by the attitudes and actions of cultural groups as well as the larger society.
Uneven Development
The increasing gap in economic conditions between regions in the core and periphery that results from the globalization of the economy.
Diffusion
The process by which a feature spreads across space from one place to another over time. A feature originates at a hearth and diffuses from there to other places.
Hearth
A place from which an innovation originates. To develop a hearth, a group of people must also have the technical ability to achieve the desired idea and the economic structures, such as financial institutions, to facilitate implementation of the innovation.
Relocation Diffusion
The spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another.
Expansion Diffusion
The spread of a feature from one place to another in an additive process. Three kinds: Hierarchical Diffusion, Contagious Diffusion, Stimulus Diffusion.
Hierarchical Diffusion
The spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places. May result from the spread of ideas from political leaders, socially elite people, or other important persons to others in the community.
Contagious Diffusion
The rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population.
Stimulus Diffusion
The spread of an underlying principle even though a characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse. For example, innovative features of Apple’s iPhone and iPad have been adopted by competitors.
Distance Decay
A “trailing off” phenomenon in which contact between people diminishes with increasing distance and eventually disappears.
Space Time Compression
The reduction in the time it takes for something to reach another place.
Network
A chain of communication that connects places.
Assimilation
The process by which a group’s cultural features are altered to resemble those of another group. The cultural features of one group may come to dominate the culture of the assimilated group.
Acculturation
The process of changes in culture that result from the meeting of two groups. Changes may be experienced by both the interacting cultural groups, but the two groups retain two distinct cultural features.
Syncretism
The combining of elements of two groups into a new cultural feature. The two cultural groups come together to form a new culture.
Resource
A substance in the environment that is useful to people, economically and technologically feasible to access, and socially acceptable to use.
Sustainability
The use of Earth’s resources in ways that ensure their availability in the future.
Renewable Resource
Produced in nature more rapidly than it is consumed by humans.
Nonrenewable Resource
Produced in nature more slowly than it is consumed by humans.
Sustainability’s Three Pillars
Social, Environment, Economic
Conservation
The sustainable use and management of Earth’s natural resources to meet human needs such as food, medicine, and recreation.
Preservation
The maintenance of resources in their present condition with as little human impact as possible.
Biotic System
Composed of living organisms.
Abiotic System
Composed of nonliving or inorganic matter.
The Four Earth Systems
Atmosphere, Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere
Atmosphere
A thin layer of gases surrounding Earth.
Hydrosphere
All the water on and near Earth’s surface.
Lithosphere
Earth’s crust and a portion of upper mantle directly below the crust.
Biosphere
All living organisms on Earth, including plants and animals as well as microorganisms.
Climate
The long-term average weather condition at a particular location.
The 5 Climate Regions of the Koppen System
A. Tropical, B. Dry Climates, C. Warm Mid-Latitude Climates, D. Cold Mid-Latitude Climates, E. Polar Climates.
Ecosystem
A group of living organisms and the abiotic spheres with which they interact.
Ecology
The scientific study of ecosystems.
Erosion
Erosion occurs when the soil washes away in the rain or blows away in the wind.
Depletion of Nutrients
Nutrients are depleted when plants withdraw more nutrients than natural processes can replace.
Cultural Ecology
The geographic study of human–environment relationships.
Environmental Determinism
The belief and approach to geography that the physical environment causes social development. The study of the influences of the natural environment on people.
Possibilism
According to possibilism, the physical environment may limit some human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to their environment. People can choose a course of action from many alternatives in the physical environment.
Polder
A piece of land that is created by draining water from an area.
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
Known informally as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The time at the prime meridian (0° longitude), the master reference time for all points on Earth.
International Date Line
An arc that for the most part follows 180° longitude. When the International Date Line is crossed heading east (toward America), the clock moves back 24 hours, or one entire day. When it is crossed heading west (toward Asia), the calendar moves ahead one day.
