Unit 1 Flashcards
Absolute location
The exact position of a place in the world, often given in latitude and longitude.
Relative location
A place, stated in relation to another place.
Site
Description of the place where the settlement is located.
Situation
Description of a place relative to its surroundings and other places.
Place
The physical and human characteristics of a location.
Sense of place
Sense of place is a feeling felt by visitors and inhabitants of the place’s identity
Placelessness
The loss of uniqueness in a place, so that it looks the same as the next
Toponym
The general name of a place, often derived from topographical features of the place
Human geography
The branch of geography dealing with how human activity affects or is influenced by the environment
Space-time compression
The increasing sense of connectivity that seems to be bringing people closer together despite their distance apart remaining the same
Spatial distribution
How resources, activities, and human demographic features of landscapes are arranged across the Earth
Spatial relationships and interaction
A dynamic flow process from one location to another, often referring to the movement of people
Spacial thinking
Thinking that finds meaning in the shape, size, orientation, location, direction or trajectory, of objects, processes or phenomena, or the relative positions in space of multiple objects, processes or phenomena
Distance decay
The effects of distance on interaction, generally the greater the distance the less interaction
Cartography
The science or practice of drawing maps
Landscape analysis
The process of describing and interpreting the landscape ecology of an area
Environmental possibilism
The theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives
Environmental determinism
A theory that claims that cultural traits are formed and controlled by environmental conditions
Field observations / fieldwork
Practical work done by a researcher in the natural world, instead of a laboratory or office
Physical site characteristics
Physical features of a certain location
Built environment / cultural landscape
The human-made features and surroundings of a certain location
Scale
The scale of a map is the ratio of a distance on the map to the corresponding distance on the ground
Cartogram map
A map in which the shape or size is distorted in order to demonstrate a variable such as travel, population or economic production
Choropleth map
A thematic map that uses tones or colors to represent spatial data as average values per unit area
Dot map
Maps where one dot represents a certain number of a phenomenon, such as a population
Graduated symbols map
A map with symbols that change in size according to the value of the attribute they represent
Isoline map
A thematic map with lines that connect points of equal value
Mental map
An internal representation of a portion of Earth’s surface based on what an individual knows about a place, containing personal impressions of what is in a place and where places are located
Physical features
A map that shows mountains, hills, plains, rivers, lakes, oceans, etc
Reference map
Maps that show the absolute location of places and geographic features determined by a frame of reference, typically latitude and longitude
Political map
A map showing units such as countries, states, provinces, districts, etc. Each is normally a different color
Thematic map
A map specifically designed to show a particular theme connected with a geographic area
Topographic map
A map that shows the surface features of an area
Conic / polar projection
A method of projecting maps of parts of Earth’s surface on a surrounding cone, which is then flattened
Interrupted projection
Gaps in the picture allow the map to show sizes and shapes accurately
Mercator projection
A true conformal cylindrical map projection, it is particularly useful for navigation because it maintains accurate direction. Known for their distortion in an area that makes land masses at the poles appear oversized
Robinson projection
Most used map - Most distances, sizes, and shapes are correct
Peters projection
A rectangular map projection that maps all areas such that they have the correct sizes relative to each other
Regions
A region is an area of land that has common features
Formal / uniform / homogenous region
An area in which everyone shares in one or more distinctive characteristics and is defined by the government and is official
Functional / nodal region
A region that consists of a central place and the surrounding areas that depend on it
Perceptual / vernacular region
A region defined by people’s beliefs
GIS
A system that captures, stores, manipulates, analyzes, manages, and presents all types of geographical, spatial data
GPS
A system of satellites, computers, and receivers that determines the latitude and longitude of a receiver on Earth by calculating the time difference for signals from different satellites to reach the receiver
Qualitative data
Data about qualities, about information that cannot be measured
Quantitative data
Numerical - Data expressing a certain quantity, amount, or range
Remote sensing technology
The ability to scan Earth from airborne and satellite observation platforms
Satellite imagery
Photos/visuals of the earth taken by satellites
Census data
Geospatial data collected by the government through the quantification of a population
