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Geography > Vocabulary - Midterm T1 > Flashcards

Vocabulary - Midterm T1 Flashcards

1
Q

Geography (textbook definition)

A

“The study of the earths surface and the process that shape it, the connections between places, and the complex relationship between people and the environment”

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2
Q

Geography (basic definition)

A

“The study of the relationships between and the distribution of things on the earth.”

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3
Q

Geography (fill in the blank)

“Concerned with how _______ uses ______ through _______ to ________ the earth.”

A

mankind nature culture organize

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4
Q

Cartography

A

The study of maps/ mapmaking

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5
Q

Scale

A

The size of something on a map compared to the actual feature on the earth’s surface

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6
Q

Distortion

A

The changes made to the appearance, shape, or relative distance (distance from other places) of a feature when it is transferred onto a flat map (from the earth’s surface)

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7
Q

Geography (word meaning in Greek)

A

Geo=earth

Graphy=to write (or describe)

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8
Q

Projection - Cylindrical (Mercator)

A

Negative: Size Distorted North & South of Equator
Positive: Shape/ Direction

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9
Q

Projection - Tonic

A

Negative: Direction (curved latitude) & North is not always “up”
Positive: Size/ shape where the “cone” touches the globe

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10
Q

Projection - Azimuthal (Polar)

A

Negative: Sizes away from Poles
Positive: Shortest distance across poles & size/ shape near the poles

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11
Q

Remote Sensing

A

The acquisition of data about earths surface from a satellite

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12
Q

GPS

A

Global Positioning System - System that determines the precise location of something on earth

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13
Q

GIS

A

Geographic Information System - A computer system that can capture, store, query, analyze and display geographic data

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14
Q

Toponym

A

The name given to a place on earth (can be named for a person, religion, history, or event)

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15
Q

Site

A

The physical character of a place

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16
Q

Situation

A

The location of a place relative to other places

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17
Q

GMT

A

Greenwich Mean Time (or UT - Universal Time) - master reference time for all points on earth

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18
Q

IDL

A

International Date Line - a place (at about 180 longitude) where you move the clock back 24 hours traveling Eastward, towards America, and ahead 24 hours traveling Westward, toward Asia

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19
Q

Formal Region

A

An area within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive characteristics

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20
Q

Functional Region

A

An area organized around a node or focal point with a chosen characteristic

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21
Q

Vernacular Region

A

A place that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity

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22
Q

Spatial Association

A

The construction of an area to a widely varying scale from a very small portion of earth to a very large portion

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23
Q

Environmental Determinism

A

The belief that the environment CAUSES social development

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24
Q

Possibilism

A

The physical environment may limit some human actions but people have the ability to adjust to their environment

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25
Distribution
The spread of a feature on the surface of the earth
26
Arithmetic Density
The total number of objects in an area
27
Physiological Density
The number of persons per area suitable for agriculture
28
Agricultural Density
The number of farmers per unit of farmland
29
Density
The frequency which something occurs in space
30
Concentration
The extent of a feature's spread over space
31
Distance Decay
The "trailing off phenomenon" that the farther one group is from another, the less likely the two groups are to interact
32
Diffusion
The process by which a characteristic spreads across space from one place to another over time
33
Relocation Diffusion
The spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another
34
Expansion Diffusion
The spread of a feature from one place to another in a snowballing process (may result from hierarchical, contagious, or stimulus diffusion)
35
Hierarchical Diffusion
The spread of power from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places
36
Contagious
The rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population
37
Stimulus Diffusion
The spread o an underlying principal, even though the characteristic itself fails to diffuse
38
Absolute Location
The exact location of a feature on the surface of the earth
39
Relative Location
The location of a feature on the surface of the earth, relative to another feature
40
Place
A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular character
41
Human/ Environment Interaction
How the people in a place interact with their natural environment
42
Movement
The way people, goods, and ideas move between places
43
Region
An area of Earth distinguished by a distinctive combination of cultural and physical features
44
Equator
An imaginary line that circles the glove halfway between the North and South Poles
45
Hemisphere
The two halves the earth is divided into by the Equator (North and South Hemispheres)
46
Latitude
Imaginary lines that run parallel to the equator (also called parallels)
47
Longitude
Imaginary lines that run North and South between the two poles
48
Prime Meridian
The longitude line at 0 degrees, which runs through Greenwich, England
49
Remote Sensing
Data collected by computers or satellites that reveals many different views of the earth's surface
50
Census
A detailed counting of the population
51
Cardinal Directions
The directions of North, South, East, and West
52
Great Circle
An imaginary line that circles the earth
53
Map Projections
Ways of showing the earth on a flat page
54
Relief
The changing elevation of the land
55
Projection
The system used to transfer locations from earth's surface to a flat map
56
Map
A two-dimensional, or flag, representation of Earth's surface or a portion of it
57
Geology
The study of the earth's physical structure and history
58
Scale
Generally the relationship between the portion of earth being studied and earth as a whole, specifically the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on earth's surface
59
Core
The earth's center, consisting of very hot metal that is dense and solid in the inner core and molten or liquid, in the outer core
60
Mantle
A thick layer of mostly solid rock beneath the earth's crust that surrounds the earth's core
61
Crust
The solid, rocky, surface layer of he earth
62
Lava
Magma, or molten rock from the earth's mantle, that breaks away though the surface of the earth during volcanic activity
63
Magma
Molten rock from the earth's mantle (while it is underground)
64
Continental Drift Theory
The idea that continents slowly drift in their positions due to the movement of the tectonic plates on which they ride
65
Chemical Weathering
The process by which the actual chemical structure of the Rock is changed, usually when water and carbon dioxide cause a breakdown of the rock
66
Mechanical Weathering
The actual breaking up or physical weakening of rock by forces wig we ice and roots
67
Erosion
The movement of weathered materials, including gravel, soil, and sand, usually caused by water, wind, and glaciers
68
Alluvial Plain
A broad expanse of land along riverbanks, consisting of rich, fertile soil left by floods
69
Loess
Fine-grained, mineral-rich Liam, dust, or silt deposited by wind
70
Sediment
Small particles of soil, sand, and gravel carried and deposited by water
71
Moraines
Ridgelike mass of rock, gravel, sand, and clay carried and deposited by a glacier
72
Weather
The condition of the bottom layer of the earth's atmosphere in one place over a short period of time
73
Atmosphere
A multilayered band of gases, water vapor, and dust above the earth
74
Climate
The term used for the weather patterns that an area of region typically experiences over a long period of time
75
Rotation
The spinning motion of the earth, like a top on its axis, as it travels through space
76
Revolution
One complete orbit of the earth around the sun. The earth completes one revolution every 365 1/4 days, or one year
77
Solstice
Either of the two times a year when the sun appears directly overhead at noon to observers at the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn
78
Equinox
Either of the two times a year (spring and fall) when day and night are of nearly equal length everywhere on earth
79
Continental Climate
The type of climate found in the great central areas of continents in the Northern hemisphere; characterized by extreme temperatures - cold, snowy winters and warm or hot summers
80
Plant Community
A mix of interdependent plants that grow naturally in one place
81
Deciduous
Leaf-shedding; a type of tree that sheds its leaves when winter approaches
82
Coniferous
Come-bearing; a type of tree able to survive long, cold winters, with long, thin needles rather than leaves
83
Savanna
A tropical grassland with scattered trees, located in the warm lands nearest the Equator
84
Tundra
A region where temperature are always cool or cold and only specialized plants can grow - either alpine tundra, in high elevations, or attic tundra, in high latitudes
85
Permafrost
A layer of soil just below the earth's surface that stays permanently frozen
86
Convection
A circular motion created by heating and cooling
87
Sea floor spreading
Divergent; plates are moving apart and new crust is pushing up from the mantle
88
Converging
Oceanic-Continental: an oceanic plate being pulled under a continental plate Oceanic-Oceanic: an oceanic plate being pulled under another oceanic plate Continental-Continental: a continental plate being pulled under another continental plate
89
Subduction
One plate sinking under another
90
Faulting
Transverse; where played slide horizontally past each other (no crust produced or destroyed)
91
Hot Spots
Localized sources of heat energy to sustain volcanoes. Over countless eruptions, the magma would rise above sea level, creating an island
92
Frost Wedging
When water leaks into a crack in a rock and freezes, thus expanding and breaking the rock further
93
Deposition
The laying down of sediments in a place, creating a new feature
94
Globe
A scale model of the earth
95
Title
Part of a map that tells what the map is about
96
Legend or key
Part of a map that tells what the symbols in a map stand for
97
Humidity
The amount of water vapor in the air
98
Biome
A region in which the environment, plants, and animal life are suited for each other
99
Frontal Precipitation
When warm air is forced upward by cooler air, creating an area of low pressure where water vapor is released, clouds form, and precipitation occurs
100
Orographic Precipitation
Rain Shadow; the rain that occurs on the windward side of a mountain, when air is forced upward, creating an area of low pressure, and causing precipitation on the windward side of a mountain, although not the leeward, as the moisture has left the air as the cloud sinks, creating an area of high pressure
101
Conventional Precipitation
When hot air rises off the ground, creating an area of low pressure, causing precipitation
102
High Pressure
Air where the air particles are closer together, holding moisture in with them
103
Low pressure
Air where particles are farther away from one another
104
Choropleth Map
A map that uses differences in shading, coloring, or placing of symbols within predefined areas to indicate average values of a property or quantity in those areas
105
Graduated Symbol Map
A map with symbols that change in size according to the value of the attribute they represent.
106
Dot Distribution Map
A map that uses a for symbol to show the presence of a feature or phenomenon
107
Isoline Map
A map with continuous lines joining points of the same value
108
Spatial
The spread of something over space
109
Lithosphere
The rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle
110
Rifting
When two tectonic plates pull apart from each other, creating a Rift Valley
111
Tropical
Very hot and humid climate
112
Temperate
Moderate in temperature, not subject to prolonged extremes of hot or cold weather
113
Polar
Extremely cold climate in the North or South Pole area
114
Atmospheric Pressure
Pressure caused by the weight of the atmosphere
115
Coriolanus Effect
A deflection of a body in motion with respect to the earth, caused by the rotation of the earth
116
Warm Front/ Cold Front
A region where cold air is replacing warm air or vice versa

Geography (2 decks)

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