Unit 1: Geographic Inquiry and Skill Development Flashcards
Geography
The study of the Earth’s physical features and environment, the impact of human activity on these features and vice versa.
Physical geography
The branch of geography that deals with the natural features of the earth.
Human geography
The branch of geography that deals with people, communities, and culture, with an emphasis on relations of and across space and place.
Four important geographic concepts
- Interrelationships
- Spatial significance
- Patterns and trends
- Geographic perspective
Geographic inquiry process
- Formulate questions
- Gather and organize
- Interpret and analyze
- Evaluate and draw conclusions
- Communicate your findings
Political map
Does not show any topographic features, focuses solely on state and national boundaries, locations of cities.
Physical map
Shows the physical landscape features of a place. Water shown in blue. Elevation changes shown with different colours, green being lower and brown being higher.
Thematic map
Focuses on a particular theme. Natural and political features included as background information.
Topographic map
Similar to a physical map, shows different physical landscape features. However, uses contour lines instead of colours to show elevation changes. Lines closer together when terrain is steep.
Road map
One of the most widely used maps, show highways, roads, airports, city locations, and points of interest like parks, campgrounds, and monuments. Major highways are red, minor roads are a lighter colour, more narrow.
Mapping rules
- 1 cm border
- North arrow
- Legend box, heading all caps not underlined
- Source box, heading all caps not underlined
- Title not underlined
- Name and date in bottom right hand corner
- Place names not underlined
- No arrows when labelling
- Label to right of location, then counterclockwise
- Only print horizontally when labelling, unless it’s a river or stream, then follow the shape of the river
- Do not colour water blue
- Label map in black ink or pencil only
Point symbols
Simple icons used to show the location of places, services, and data. Can be used to show distribution and proportion.
Line symbols
Represents routes, direction of movement, connect areas of equal value (contour lines) and indicate quantity by thickness.
Area symbols
Use colours and patterns to represent large features, such as green for a park and blue for lakes.
What is the most accurate way of looking at the Earth’s land and sea area?
Globe
Is it possible to flatten the curved surface of the Earth without stretching or cutting part of it?
No
Equal area projection
Area is shown in correct size proportion to other areas
Conformal projection
Shape is shown correctly
Polar projection
Gives a good view of the poles
Mercator projection
Conformal projection, used by Google Maps
Eckert IV
Equal area projection
Gall
Compromise between equal area and conformal
Parallels of latitude
Run east to west, used to determine locations north or south of the equator.
Meridians of longitude
Run north to south, used to determine locations east or west of the prime meridian
Equator
Imaginary line at 0 degrees latitude
Prime meridian
Imaginary line at 0 degrees longitude
International date line
Imaginary line at 180 degrees longitude
Scale statement
1 cm to 5 km
Representative fraction
1: 500,000
Linear scale
0—5—10—15 km
Direction
North, south, east, west
Bearings
0 to 360 degrees
GPS
Global positioning system. A satellite-based system that provides location data.
GIS
Geographic information system. Computer system that manages and analyzes geographic information.
Remote sensing
Seeing or measuring something from a considerable distance, often from a satellite.
Telematics
Any technology that involves the long-distance transmission of digital information.
Critical thinking
Using or involving careful judgement
Relative location
The location of something in relation to other geographic features
Absolute location
The location of something in absolute terms of latitude and longitude
Large scale map
Shows a smaller area with more detail
Small scale map
Shows a larger area with less detail
Cardinal points
North, south, east, west
Ordinal points
NE, SE, NW, SW
