Unit 1.1 Vocab Flashcards
Spatial Approach
considers the arrangement of the phenomena being studied across the surface of the earth.
Physical geography
The study of spatial characteristics of various elements of the physical environment.
Human geography
The study of the spatial characteristics of humans and human activities.
Absolute location
The precise spot where something is according to some system.
Latitude
The distance north or south of the equator.
Equator
An imaginary line that circles the globe exactly halfway between the North and South poles.
Longitude
The distance east or west of the prime meridian.
Prime meridian
An imaginary line that runs from pole to pole through Greenwich, England.
International Date Line
Roughly follows this line but makes deviations to accommodate international boundaries.
Relative location
A description of where something is in the relation to other things.
Connectivity
How well locations are tied together by roads or other links.
Accessibility
How quickly and easily people in one location can interact with people in another location.
Ghost towns
Abandoned settlements
Place
The specific human and physical characteristics of a location.
Region
Formed by a group of places in the same area that share a characteristic.
Site
The characteristics at the immediate location.
Situation
The location of a place to relative to its surroundings and other places.
Sense of place
Related to the concepts of a place.
Toponyms
Place names.
Distance
An important part of the geographic perspective and spatial approach.
Proximity
Indicates the degree of nearness
Time-space compression
The shrinking “time distance” between locations because of improved methods of transportation and communication.
Spatial interaction
Referring to contact,movement, and flow of things between locations.
Friction of distance
Indicates that when things are farther apart, they tend to be less well connected.
Distance-decay
The inverse relationship between distance and connection.
Density
The number of something in a specifically defined area.
Distribution
The way a phenomenon is spread out over an area.
Spatial association
Matching patterns of distribution.
Human-environment interaction
The connection and exchange between humans and the natural world.
Cultural ecology
The study of how humans adapt to the environment.
Environmental determinism
The belief that landforms and climate are the most powerful forces behind shaping human behavior.
Possibilism
A view that acknowledges limits on the effects of the natural environment and focuses more on the role that human culture plays.
Landscape analysis
The task of defining and describing landscapes.
Field observation
Used to refer to the act of physically visiting a location, place, or region and recording firsthand, information there.
Spatial data
All of the information that can be tied to specific locations.
Aerial photography
Professional images captured from places within the atmosphere.
Built environment
Physical artifacts that humans have created and that form part of the landscape.
Cultural landscape
Anything built by humans.
