Unit 1 Flashcards
Everything in unit 1
1
Q
etymology of “geography”?
A
“Geo” means earth, “graphy” means to write
2
Q
scale
A
the relationship between a distance on a map to that in reality (portion of earth to earth as a whole)
3
Q
space
A
the physical gap between two objects
4
Q
thematic map
A
a map that focuses on a geographic theme/pattern
5
Q
GIS
A
software tools that store and analyze geographic data in layers.
6
Q
GISci
A
the analysis of geographic data collected from satellite and other electronic technologies
7
Q
remote sensing
A
the collection of data of the earth’s surface from long distance methods
8
Q
GPS
A
geographic positioning system - connects to satellites to tell your absolute location and can be used for navigation
9
Q
geotagging
A
the process of recording the location of a piece of information
10
Q
the concept that determines the amount of area covered on a map and the level of detail it provides
A
map scale
11
Q
three ways map scale can be expressed and how are they displayed?
A
ratio/fraction, written scale, and graphical scale
12
Q
projection
A
the process of transferring locations of the earth’s spherical surface onto a flat map
13
Q
four types of distortion resulting from projections
A
shape, distance, relative size, and direction
14
Q
isoline map
A
lines connecting data points of the same value
15
Q
dot distribution map
A
points representing data, where each dot represents a value
16
Q
chloropleth map
A
a map where areas are shaded or patterned based off its value
17
Q
graduated symbol
A
a map where symbols with varying sizes (based on its value) are placed on areas
18
Q
cartogram
A
a map where the size of an area is distorted to be proportional to its value - graph in map form
19
Q
atmosphere
A
a thin layer of gases surrounding earth
20
Q
climate
A
the long term average weather condition in a certain area
21
Q
Koppen’s climate classification
A
tropical, dry, warm mid-latitude, cold mid-latitude, and polar climates - divided based on precipitation and temperature
22
Q
hydrosphere
A
all the water on the Earth’s surface’ and near it
23
Q
lithosphere
A
Earth’s crust and a portion of the upper mantle
24
Q
biosphere
A
all living organisms on earth
25
ecosystem
a group of living organisms and the abiotic spheres that interact with each other
26
equal area projection
area are proportional to the Earth's surface, but shape, direction, and distance may get distorted, especially closer towards the poles
27
goode homolosine projection
separates Eastern and Western hemispheres. shape and size are accurate, but the directions and distances are distorted
28
mercator projection
rectangular map. accurate shape, but distorted size especially towards higher latitudes. good for navigation, but somewhat eurocentric.
29
galls-peters projection
rectangular map. accurate size, but distorts shape.
30
topographic map
a map that displays the physical features of an area
31
meridian (measured as longitude)
arc connecting the north and south poles, used to tell time
32
parallel (measured as latitude)
a circle drawn around the earth parallel to the equator
33
three ways to identify location
place name, site, and situation
34
toponym
the name given to a place
35
place
a point on earth distinguished by a certain physical and human characteristics
36
region
an area of earth distinguished by one or more characteristics
37
cultural landscape
the combination of cultural, economic, and physical features that give a region its unique character
38
formal/uniform region
an area with shared characteristics
39
functional/nodal region
an area that is organized around a node/focal point
40
vernacular/perceptual region
an area that exists within people's identity, emerging from one's perception
41
spatial association
the relationship between the distribution of one feature and the distribution of another
42
distribution
the arrangement of a feature in space
43
three properties of distribution
density, concentration, and pattern
44
density
the frequency in which something occurs in space
45
concentration
how spread out a feature is across space
46
pattern
the geometric arrangement of objects in space
47
five themes of geography
location, place, region, human-environment interaction, and movement
48
sequent occupance
the imprints of former occupant societies on a cultural landscape
49
culture
the lifestyle, values, and beliefs of people
50
culture complex
a unique combination of cultural traits
51
cultural hearth
where things (cultural traits) develop and diffuse
52
independent invention
when a cultural trait develops in more than one hearth without the influence of its development elsewhere
53
cultural barriers
obstacles that prohibit the diffusion of cultural traits - physical and cultural
54
mental map
maps in our minds of places we have been to or heard of
55
activity space
places where activities occur daily
56
isopleth map
similar to an isoline map, but typically use colors to represent data
57
flow line map
uses arrows of varying sizes to show the movement of people, information, and goods
58
Winkel Triple projection
balanced in all four distortions, neither equal area nor conformal
59
equal area map
a map with accurate size, but distorted shape
60
conformal map
a map with accurate shape, but distorted size
61
large scale
small area, more detail
62
small scale
large area, less detail
63
level of aggregation/generalization
the spatial unit and amount of area & detail being presented
64
spatial models
information/patterns about a specific location
65
non-spatial models
information/pattern that don't have a geographical component
66
physiological density
population/unit of arable land. if all other factors are held constant, its a rough measure of the ability of an area to feed its population - related to carrying capacity
67
agricultural density
farmers/unit of arable land. measures farming efficiency/modernization, and hence, development
68
cluster/agglomeration concentration
close together
69
dispersed/scattered concentration
spread out
70
resource
a substance in the environment that is useful, accessible, and is acceptable to use
71
sustainabiliity
the use of resources in ways that ensure its availability in the future
72
three pillars of sustainability
environment, economy, and society
73
conservation
the sustainable management of Earth's resources to meet human needs
74
preservation
the maintenance of resources in their natural condition with little human impact
75
arithmetic density
total # of objects/total land area
76
environment determinism
the theory that the physical environment causes social development
77
possibilism
the theory that the physical environment can merely put constraints on humans, but people have the ability to adapt
78
affect of globalization on the world's scale
it causes the worlds scale to shrink
79
globalization
processes that causes increasing interconnectedness in the world, making it more worldwide in scope
80
political ecology
a field focusing on the relationships between political, economic, social factors and the environment
81
cultural ecology
the study of human-environment relationships
82
poststructuralist geography
studies how the powerful dominates the less powerful, how the dominated groups occupy space, and the confrontations that result from domination
83
humanistic geography
studies different ways that individuals form ideas about place and give those places meanings
84
behavioral geography
studies the psychological basis for individual human actions in space
85
placelessness
when each place looks like the next - lack of uniqueness
86
absolute location
the exact location of a place on earth
87
relative location
the location of a place is in reference to another
88
site
the physical and human characteristics of a place that give it its distinct character
89
situation
how "site" factors and relative location (including its proximity to other places) tell you the importance of a place
90
diffusion
the process of a feature spreading across space
91
hearth
a place where an innovation originated from
92
relocation diffusion
the spread of features through the physical movement of people - no expansion/growth, only moving to another place
93
expansion diffusion
the spread of features outwards from the point of origin while staying strong in the original location - growing and expanding
94
hierarchical diffusion
the spread of features through nodes of power/authority in decreasing order
95
contagious diffusion
the rapid, outward spread of features like a "disease"
96
stimulus diffusion
the spread of an underlying idea/concept - adopted in modified form
97
distance decay
the interaction of two places decreases with increasing distance between them
98
space-time compression
the reduction in time it takes for diffusion - causes globalization
99
network
a chain of communication that connects places
100
transnational corporation
companies that produce goods and services in many countries
101
adaption vs modification
adaption is how humans adjust to better fit their environment, while modification is how humans alter their environment to better suit themselves
102
environmental determinism vs possiblism
They are opposite theories. Determinism is outdated and "racist", while possbilism is more recent and widely accepted.
103
census tract
small subdivisions of an area used by the U.S. government to collect and present demographic data
104
what line goes through Greenwich england
the prime meridian, located at 0 degrees longitude
105
where is the international date line
180 degrees longitude
106
geocaching
type of global treasure hunt based on GPS
107
cylindrical projection
projecting spherical surface onto a cylinder
108
planar/azimuthal projection
projecting spherical surface onto a plane
109
migration
movement of people
