Review Flashcards
Cultural landscape
The result of complex, multi-faceted interactions between humans and the environment around them. Examples include: buildings, pieces of artwork, the changing of the environment.
Quantitative revolution
Stressed the use of numerical models to explain the geographic landscape.
Remote sensing
The process of capturing the landscape from objects such as satellites, etc.
GPS
An integrated network of satellites that orbit Earth and broadcast location in longitude and latitude.
Map scale
the ratio of the size of the distance between two objects on a map
Geographic scale
The conceptual hierarchy of spaces that reflect levels of spatial organization. Includes the local, national, regional, and global scales.
GIS
A family of software that uses “thematic layers” to generate a model of the environment that accurately reflects the wide number of variables at play.
Functional Region
A region whose boundaries are defined by common physical and/or cultural characteristics.
Perceptual Region
A region whose boundaries are defined by common ideas or stereotypes about an area. (EX: the west)
Qualitative Data
Tends to be unique and descriptive, making it well-suited for cultural or regional analysis.
Quantitative Data
Is (obviously) more precise, making it well suited for economic, political, and population geography.
Idiographic
An approach to geography that focuses on the characteristics of a region.
Nomothetic
An approach to geography that analyzes an area based on broad or widely-applicable processes. Used primarily in systematic geography to develop theories that apply to a wide variety of areas.
Site
Describes a place’s physical and/or cultural characteristics, along with it’s precise location in LA and LO.
Situation
Also known as relative location. Describes the place’s relationship and location relative to other areas around it.
Time-space compression
The impact of modern transportation technologies on effective (relative) distance and/or efficiency of travel.
Absolute distance
The actual, physical distance between two areas that can be measured with a standard unit of length.
Absolute location
The exact position of an object or place, measured within the spatial coordinates of a grid system.
Accessibility
The relative ease with which a destination may be reached from some other place.
Aggregation
To come togethr in a mass, sum or whole.
Anthropogenic
Human-induced changes on the natural environment
Azimuthal projection
A map projection in which the plane is the most developable surface.
Breaking point
The outer edge of a city where its influence ends and another city’s begins.
Cartograms
A type of thematic map that transforms space such that the political unit with the greatest value is represented by the largest area.
Cartography
Maps
Choropleth Map
Map that uses differing tones or colors to represent spatial data as average values per unit of area.
Cognitive Map
A mental map/image a person makes of an area.
Complementarity
The actual or potential relationships between two places, usually referring to economic interaction.
Contagious Diffusion
The diffusing of a phenomenon through close or direct contact with another person or place.
Coordinate system
Lat and long used to find the absolute location.
Distance decay
A result of friction of distance, the decreasing interaction between two places.
