Geography Basics Flashcards
What is scale?
Ratio between map size and and actual size
Projection
Transferring location on Earth’s surface to a flat map
True or False: Although it is difficult, it is possible to make an completely accurate 2D map
False, distortion makes it impossible to make a 2D map accurate
Name the 5 different types of climates from the Koppen System
- Tropical climate
- Dry climates
- Warm Mid-Latitude Climates
- Cold Mid-Latitude Climates
- Polar Climates
Is small scale when you zoom into a map or when you zoom out?
Zoom out
Is large scale when you zoom into a map or zoom out?
Zoom in
What are the pros and cons of the Mercator projection?
Pros - Direction is constant and has a rectangular shape
Cons- The area is distorted around the poles
What is remote sensing?
Using satellites to get surface info
What is Triangulation?
A global positioning system that uses satellites to code information.
What is GiS?
A geographic Information System. It is a computer system that captures images that can be divided into different layers of info
Place
The unique location of a feature
Location
The position of something on Earth’s surface
Another word for the name of a place?
Topynym
What is site?
The physical character of the place
What is situation?
The relation between one place and another
Name 4 ways to identify a Place
- Topynym
- Site
- Situation
- Mathematical Location
What is relative location?
Location described on it’s relation to another place.
Is the following example relative or absolute location?
The Empire State Building is 365 kilometers (227 miles) north of the White House.
Relative location
What is absolute location?
The location’s exact place on Earth.
Is the following example absolute or relative location?
The Empire State Building is located at 40.7 degrees north (latitude), 74 degrees west (longitude).
Absolute location
Where is the prime meridian?
Greenwich, England
Each 15° move East or West is a _____ difference?
1 hour
When you move west do you minus or add the hours?
You minus the hours.
When you move East do you minus or add the hours?
Add
What is 90° North?
The North pole
What is 90° south?
The south pole
0° North or South is?
The equator
What is cartography?
The science of map making
Who is Aristotle?
A Greek Philosopher who attempted to prove the world is Spherical.
Where do some of the oldest maps come from?
The Babylonians.
What are maps?
A 2D flat model of the Earth’s surface.
What is culture?
Body of customary beliefs, traits and social forms that distinguish a group.
What is convergence?
When things become similar
What is globalization?
Process involving the entire world with econ/politics/culture
What do you call a region with a specific boundary
A formal/uniform region
What do you call a region with a specific function or purpose?
Functional/Nodal Region
Whats a vernacular/perceptual region?
Regions based on what people perceive
Define Diffusion
Idea/characteristics spread across space over time.
Define Hearth
Place of origin for the idea
What is space?
Where things are
what is distribution?
The arrangement in a space
What is density?
The frequency something occurs
Path
Channels by which people move along
Edge
Dividing lines between 2 phases. Ex: seashores
District
Medium/Large section of the city, with wealthy area
Landmark
Point of reference
Nodes
Strategic spot where extra focus is given
What does a gravity model do?
Helps predict how much interaction one place will have relative to another
Will higher distance cause higher or lower interaction?
Lower interaction
Will lower distance cause higher or lower interaction?
Higher interaction
Bigger population means more or less interaction?
More
Smaller population means more or less interaction?
Less
pros and cons of Robinson Projection
- Good: Display info across ocean
- Bad: Land area smaller
Pros and Cons of Fuller (or Dymaxion) Projection
- Good: Less distortion of area size/shape
- Bad: Must be laid out, still has distortions
What is time determined by
Longitude
Divergence
When things move away or split apart
Name 3 Concentration Patterns
- Clustered
- Uniform
- Dispersed.
Relocation Diffusion
Movement of people bringing ideas from one place to another
What are the 3 styles of Expansion Diffusion?
- Hierarchical
- Contagious
- Stimulus
Define hierarchical diffusion
Spread ideas from persons in power to others
Define contagious diffusion
Spread idea immediately in population
Define stimulus diffusion
Spread underlying principle even though a characteristic of it fails to spread
Explain the concept of Environmental Determinism
The theory that physical geographic features have a strong influence on cultural factors and human activity
Explain the concept of Environmental Possibilism
The theory is that people can adjust or overcome an environment.
Distance decay
the phenomenon the further apart they are, the less likely it is that they will interact very much.
Space-Time Compression
the compression of geographic space by means of faster transport and communication.
Name two purposes for maps.
- As reference tool.
2. As a communications tool.
Who was the first person to use the term “Geography?”
Eratosthenes
Name one contribution of Eratosthenes.
He prepared one of the earliest maps of the known world.
What advantage that a large-scale map has over a small-scale map?
Since it shows a small portion of the Earth, it can display more information about a place.
What advantage that a small-scale map has over a large-scale map?
Since it shows the entire globe, it can communicate processes and trends that affect everyone across the world.
List 4 things that typically get distorted in a projection?
- shape
- distance
- relative size
- direction
What is latitude?
Latitude is the measurement of distance north or south of the Equator.
What is Longitude?
Longitude is the measurement east or west of the prime meridian.
How are longitude and latitude used?
They are used together to identify locations.
What is the name for the line drawn at 0 degrees longitude?
meridians
How many degrees of longitude is the Earth divided into?
360°
What is a meridian
an arc drawn between the North and South poles.
What degree longitude does the International Date Line follow?
180° longitude.
True or False: Although most countries follow the international Date Line of 180° longitude, there are a few exceptions.
True, Kiribati, Samoa, and the islands belonging to them moved the International Date Line several thousand kilometers east.
How many timezones are there?
24 time zones.
How is longitude divided into timezones?
Every 15° band in the 360 degrees of longitude is assigned to a timezone. 360/15 = 24 timezones.
Who is John Harrison?
An English clockmaker who won several million dollars for inventing the first clock.
Identify four ways in which places can receive names
- named after a person
- . name associated with a religion
3 name that indicates the origin of its settlers
- name deriving from features of a physical environment
What is cultural ecology?
The geographic study of human-environment relationships
What are the 3 pillars of sustainability?
- The environment pillar
- The economy pillar
- The society pillar
The Environment Pillar.
The sustainable use and management of Earth’s resources.
The Economy Pillar
Natural resources acquire monetary value through an exchange in the marketplace
The Society Pillar
When consumers make choices that support sustainability.
