Unit 1 Flashcards
Physical Geography
Study of natural process of things in the environment
Human Geography
Study of events that have shaped how humans use and change the Earth.
Spatial Perspective
Predicting human and physical patterns in space.
Ecological Perspective
Relationship between living things and their environment.
Location
Position something occupies the earth
Absolute Location
Exact location of an object
Relative Location
Where a place is about using other places to help.
Place
Related but different from location
Site
A places absolute location and physical characteristics
Situation
A places location in relation to other places and why it is important
Space
Area between two or more things on Earth’s surface
Distributed
How things are arranged
Density
Number of things (typically living) in a specific area
Pattern
How things are arranged in a specific way
Flow
Movements of people, good or information
Environmental Determinism
Environment determines the outcome of human
Possibillism
Humans can control the environment
Scale
Difference from something on paper and in real life
Region
Area of Earth’s surface with certain characteristics that make it stand out
Functional Region
An area organized by its function around a focal point
Node
Focus of the region
Suburbs
Residential area surrounding a city
Perceptual/Vernacular Region
Type of region that reflects people’s feelings/attitude about a place
Globalization
The expansion of economic, cultural, and political processes on a worldwide scale
Theory
System if ideas intended to explain certain phenomena
World System Theory
Spatial and functional relationships between countries in the world economy
Core
Highly interconnected countries with good transportation and communication networks and infrastructure that supports economic activity
Periphery
Less stable government and poorer services
Semi Periphery
Middle of periphery and core countries but close to core countries
Sustainable Development
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
Quantitative
Information measured by numbers
Qualitative
Data interpretations of data sources such as field observations, media, reports, travel narratives, policy documents, personal interviews, landscape, and visual arts or photography.
Census
Official count of the number of people in a defined area
Geographic Information System (GIS)
Sophisticated Mapping software system
Topography
Shape and features of land surfaces shown on a map
Remote Sensing
When geospatial technology collects data from afar/no physical contact
Cartographers
People who make maps
Absolute Distance
Distance that can be measured using a standard unit of length
Relative Distance
Distance measured in other ways such as time and money
Absolute Direction
North South East West, also known as cardinal direction
Relative Direction
Left right up down, meaning using people’s perceptions to describe location
Map Scale
Mathematical relationship between the size of a map and the part of the real world it shows
Reference Map
Generalized sources of geographic data and focus on location
Thematic Maps
Have a theme or specific purpose and focus on the relationship among geographic data
