EO1 - Chapters 1,2 Flashcards
Spatial approach
The arrangement of phenomena on the surface of earth.
Physical geography
Study of elements in the physical environment.
Human geography
Study of humans and human activities.
Absolute location
Exactly where something is based on some system.
Latitude
Distance from north and south of the equator.
Equator
Imaginary line on the globe halfway between the North and South Poles.
Longitude
Distance east and west of the prime meridian.
Prime meridian
Imaginary line on the globe that runs at 0 and 180 degrees.
International Date Line
Imaginary line that almost lines with the 180 degree mark. Follows international boundaries and is a marking for time.
Relative location
The location of something based on other things.
Connectivity
The quality of how two places are linked together.
Accessibility
The speed and convenience of people being able to communicate from one place to the other.
Ghost towns
Abandoned settlements.
Place
Human and physical characteristics of location.
Region
Two places in the same area with common characteristics.
Site
Characteristics right at that location.
Situation
Location of a place based on its surroundings and other places.
Sense of place
Human’s perception/opinion of a place based on what they believe in.
Toponyms
“Fancy” word meaning place names.
Distance
How close/far things are from one another.
Proximity
Degree or nearness.
Time-space compression
Shrinking travel time between two places from improving transportation and communication.
Spatial interaction
Contact, movement, and flow between two places.
Friction of distance
The further things are, the worse their connection is.
Distance-decay
Distance worsens connection.
Spatial association
A conclusion where when two or more phenomena follow the same trends or pattern, they are related or associated with one another.
Density
The number of something in a specific area.
Distribution
The way in which phenomena is spread over an area.
Human-environment interaction
Dual relationship between humans and the natural world.
Cultural ecology
Study of humans adapting to the environment.
Environmental determinism
Belief of how the environment is the strongest force to shape human development and behavior.
Possibilism
Theory that acknowledges that the environment is involved, but social conditions determine culture.
Landscape analysis
Task of defining and describing landscapes.
Field observation
Getting firsthand information about a place by visiting it.
Spatial data
ALL information that can be tied to a location.
Aerial photography
Professional images captured by planes in the atmosphere.
Built environment
Part of landscapes that are created by humans.
Cultural landscape
Anything created by humans.
Patterns
General arrangements of things being studied.
Processes
Repeated sequence of events that create patterns.
Scale
Ratio between the size in the real world and size on a map.
Cartographic scale
How the map shows the ratio of its size to the actual size.
Geographic scale, Relative scale
Amount of territory a map shows.
Scale of data
How much data is in the area referring to the scale.
Reference maps
Maps to refer to for general information about a place.
Political maps
Show and label human made boundaries.
Physical map
Show and label natural features.
Road maps
Show and label highways, streets, and alleys.
Plat maps
Show and label property lines and details of ownership.
Locator maps
Illustrations in books and advertisements to show the specific place the text is talking about.
Thematic map
Maps to refer to for spatial aspects of information or phenomena.
Choropleth maps
Use various colors, shades, or patterns to show the location and distribution of spatial data
Dot distribution maps
Use dots to show specific location and distribution of something across the territory of the map.
Graduated symbol maps
Use symbols of different sizes to show different amounts of something in a place.
Isoline maps
Use lines of different value to depict variations of data across the map.
Topographic maps
Map of elevation that shows equal, higher, or lower places of elevation.
Cartogram
Maps that alter the sizes of countries, states, etc. in reference to some data/statistic.
Map projection
Process of showing a sphere globe on a flat map.
Mercator map projection
Serves to show direction. Lines create 90 degree angles. Distortion created to show direction.
Peters projection
Displays the size of continents and oceans accurately. Distorts the North and South poles.
Conic projection
Distorts direction but lines converge and curve. Sizes and shapes are close to accurate.
Robinson projection
Everything is slightly distorted but the round shape mimics a globe therefore is more accurate.
Geographic models
Theories about reality to help explain, describe, or predict spatial activity/phenomena).
Spatial models
Illustrate theories about spatial distribution. (Mostly used in agriculture)
Nonspatial models
Explain theories or concepts using words, graphs, or tables. (Show changes over time often)
Regionalization
Process to divide and categorize a large space into smaller sectors.
Formal regions, Uniform regions
United by physical, cultural, and economic traits.
Homogenous regions
AKA formal regions. United by physical, cultural, and economic traits.
Functional regions
United by communication and transportation spread across the region centered at a node.
Perceptual regions, Vernacular regions
People’s outlook or sense of place that an area holds.
Mental maps
Maps people make based on their knowledge and experience. They evolve over time.
Subregions
Smaller areas of regions.
Fieldwork
The act of collecting data about a space while actually being on the space.
Quantitative data
Information that is measured and recorded using numbers.
Qualitative data
Information that is not measured and recorded with numbers. Observations, descriptions.
