Unit One: Thinking Geographically Flashcards
Formal Region
An area in which everyone shares in one or more distinctive characteristics
Functional Region
A region defined by the particular set of activities or interactions that occur within it
Perceptual (vernacular) region
an area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity
Mercator Map Projection
a conformal map projection of which the meridians are usually drawn parallel to each other and the parallels of latitude are straight lines whose distance from each other increases with their distance from the equator. The size of countries at higher latitudes are greatly exaggerated.
Robinson Map Projection
a map projection that does not distort the area of water to landmass as much, but whose direction does not hold as true. More accurate than Mercator in showing sizes of countries at higher latitudes.
intervening opportunity
An environmental or cultural feature of the landscape that helps migration or movement.
environmental determinism
A nineteenth- and early twentieth-century approach to the study of geography that argued that the general laws sought by human geographers could be found in the physical sciences. Geography was therefore the study of how the physical environment caused human activities.
Productive Settlements
According to Environmental Determinism, these are found in the Temperate Regions.
spatial analysis tradition
Studying how people and places are connected to each other through transportation and communication networks
census data
Geo-spatial data collected through the quantification of a population
Distortion
a change in the shape, size, or position of a place when it is shown on a map
Absolute Location
Exact location of a place on the earth described by global coordinates
Relative Location
The position of a place in relation to another place
Scales of Analysis
Looking at issues at various scales: Local, Regional, National, and Global.
topographic map
A map that shows the surface features of an area.
Global Positioning System (GPS)
A system that determines the precise position of something on Earth through a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers.
Geographic Information System (GIS)
A computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data.
Small Scale Map
Shows fewer details, and focuses on a larger area (region, world). 1: 300,000. Zoomed out.
Large Scale Map
Maps that cover smaller areas with greater detail. 1:30,000. Zoomed in.
Possibilism
The physical environment may limit some human actions, but people have the ability to adjust and modify to their environment. It differs from environmental determinism because of the emphasis on culture.
Geographical Data
Quantitative or qualitative information about people, places and environments.
geographic patterns
The Geometric or regular arrangement of something in a particular area.
Sustainability
The use of Earth’s renewable and nonrenewable natural resources in ways that do not constrain resource use in the future.
The “Where of Why”
Geographic approach using patterns that seeks to answer where people and activities are found and why they are found there. Foundation of human geography.
Choropleth Map
a thematic map in which ranked classes of some variable are depicted with shading patterns or colors for predefined zones.
Isoline Map
Map displaying lines that connect points of equal value; for example, a map showing elevation levels
Dot Map
Maps where one dot represents a certain number of a phenomenon, such as a population.
Proportional Symbol Map
Type of map that uses a symbol in varying sizes to show the magnitude of a characteristic
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
Scale of Inquiry
level of geographic area being investigated. At a very large scale, a neighborhood may be the focus. At a very small scale, the entire earth may be the focus.
Remote Sensing
The collection of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or other long-distance methods.
Qualitative Data
Data associated with a more humanistic approach to geography, often collected through interviews, empirical observations, or the interpretation of texts, artwork, old maps, and other archives.
Quantitative Data
Data associated with mathematical models and statistical techniques used to analyze spatial location and association.
Greenwich Mean Time
The time in that time zone encompassing the Prime Meridian, or 0 degrees longitude
time-space compression
The reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place, as a result of improved communications and transportation systems. Speeds up communication.
