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AP Geography
Chapter 1
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Absolute Location | Position of an object on the global grid; latitude and longitude. |
| Anglocentric | Focused on the English culture. |
| Azimuthal projection | Map that maintains direction but distorts other properties; flat-plane-constructed map of each hemisphere; direction is accurate , and great-circle routes are apparent. |
| Cardinal Directions | North, south, east and west. |
| Cartogram | Map that uses proportionality (i.e., space on the map) to show a particular variable. |
| Cartography | Process of mapmaking |
| Coropleth Thematic map | Map that shows a pattern of a variable, such as population density or voting patterns, by using various colors or degrees of shading. |
| Cognetive (or mental) map | Map drawn from memory. |
| Conformal (or orthomorphic) projection | Map that maintains shape but distorts other properties |
| Cutural ecology | Study of human environmental interaction. |
| Data aggregation | Size of geographic units being represented on a map. |
| Distance decay | Pattern in which the interaction between two places declines as the distance between the two places increases. |
| Distortion | Necessary error resulting from trying to represent the round, nearly spherical earth on a flat plane or a map. |
| Dot density map | Thematic map that uses dots to represent the frequency of a variable in a given area. |
| Equal-area (or equivalent) projection | Map that maintains area but distorts other properties. |
| Equidisttant projection | Map that maintains distance but distorts other properties. |
| Formal Region | Region composed of areas that have a common (or uniform) cultural or physical feature, sometimes referred to as uniform regions. |
| Four main properties of a map | Shape, size, distance and direction. Shape refers to the geometric shapes of the objects on the map. Size refers to the relative amount of space taken up on the map by the landforms or objects on the map. Direction refers to the degree of accuracy |
| Friction of distance | Degree to which distance interferes with some interaction. |
| Functional region | Group of places linked together by some function's influence on them after diffusing from a central node; sometimes referred to as a nodal region. |
| Geographic information system | Computer program that stores geographic data and produces maps that show the data. |
| Geographic model | Simplified version of what exists on the earth or what might exist in the future; helps a geographer search for answers to why patterns exist on the earth as they do. |
| Global positioning system (GPS) | System of satellites used to determine an exact location on the global grid. |
| Great circles | Circles formed on the surface of the earth by a plane that passes through the center of the earth. The equator and every line of longitude paired with its twin on the opposite side of the earth from great circles. Any arc of a great circle - shorest dista |
| Greenwich mean time (GMT) | Baseline for time zones around the world, centered on the prime meridian; sometimes called Universal time. |
| Human-environment interaction | One theme of geography through which geographers analyze humans' impact on their environment and their environment's impact on them. |
| Human geography | Branch of geography primarily concerned with analyzing the structures, processes, and location of human creations and interations with the earth. |
| Intermediate directions | Northwest, southwest, northeast, and southeast. |
| Isoline thematic map | Map displaying lines that connect points of equal value; for example, a map showing elevation levels. |
| Lines of latitude | Measured in degrees north & south from the equator, which is 0 degrees latitude. The North Pole is 90 degrees north latitude & the South Pole is 90 degrees south latitude. Lines of latitude never intersect, geographers often call lines of latitude parall |
| Lines of longitude | Measured in degrees east & west of one line of longitude know as the prime meridian, the line of longitude that runs through England's Greenwich Observatory. The prime meridian represents 0 degrees longitude. |
| Map | Two dimensional model of the earth or a portion of its surface. |
| Map (or cartographic) scale | Map showing the shapes of the continents and landforms accurately but drastically distorting the size (area) of the continents. For example, Greenland appears almost as large as Africa. |
| Movement | Theme in geography involving the movement occurring in a space; movement of information, people, goods, and other phenomena. |
| Node | Place from which a diffusing phenomenon spreads to other places (its originating point). |
| Perceptual (or vernacular) region | Region whose boundaries are determined by people's beliefs, not a scientifically measurable process. |
| Gall-Peters projection | Map created by a geographer to show the relative sizes of the earth's continents accurately (equal area). However, it distorts shape, so it is not conformal. |
| Physical geography | Branch of geography concerned with spatial analysis of the structures, processes, and locations of the earth's natural phonomena, like soil, climate, plants, and topography. |
| Place | Theme is geography that involves the unique combination of physical and cultural attributes that give each location on the earth its individual "stamp". |
| Primary data | Data directly collected by the geographer making the map or conducting the study. |
| Proportional-symbol thematic map | Map that uses some symbol to display the frequency of a variable. The larger the symbol on the map, the higher the frequency of the variable found in that region. |
| Reference Map | Map showing common features like boundaries, roads, highways, mountains and cities. |
| Region | Theme in geography involving spatial unit that has many places sharing similar characteristics. |
| Relative directions | Directions commonly given by people, such as right, left, up, and down, among many others. |
| Remote sensing | Technique of obtaining information about objects through the study of data collected by special instruments that are not in physical contact with the objects being analyzed. |
| Robinson projection | Map showing the world with slight distortion to all four properties, rather than having one property correct and the other three drastically distorted. |
| Secondary data | Data used by a geographer but collected by another source that previously conducted a study and made the data available for future use. |
| Sense of place | Person's perception of the human and physical attributes of a location that give it a unique identity in that person's mind. |
| Simplification | Cartographer's process of eliminating unneccesary details details and focusing on the information that neesd to be displayed in the map. |
| Site | Internal physical and cultural characteristics of a place, such as its terrain and dominant religions, among others. |
| Situation | Location (or context) of a place relative to the physical and cultural characteristics around it. THe more interconnected a place is to other powerful places, the better its situation. |
| Space-time compression | Increasing sense of accessibility and connectivity that seems to be bringing humans in distant places closer together. |
| Spatial perspective | Outlook through which geographers identify, explain, and predict the human and physical patterns in space and the interconnectedness of different spaces. |
| Thematic map | Map that zeros in on one feature such as climate, populatiion, or voting patterns. |
| The foundation | Rests on the works of ancient scholars who recorded the physcial and cultural characteristics of discovered lands. |
| Herodotus | The father of history. Mapped and named the continents. |
| Aristotle | Discussed the physical elements of the earth. Divided the world into 3 distinct climate zones. |
| Eratosthenes | The father of geography. Measured the circumference of the world. Estimated 25,000 miles, actual 24,901.5 miles. |
| Ptolemy | Latitude and longitude. Mapped over 8,000 known locations. |
| Ferdinand Megellan | Got credit for the Strait Magellan |
| Charles Darwin | Father of evolution |
| Immanuel Kant | The first to see geography as a discipline in and of itself. |
| Carl Sauer | Considered the father of cultural ecology. The cultural landscape. |
| Perspective or Perception | Perspective; what we are able to see. Perception: what we think about what we are able to see. Much of this is based on our body of customary beliefs, material traits, and social forms which in turn makes up our culture. |
| Geography-spatial thinking | Spatial thinking: the skill we use to understand the arrangement of objects across surfaces - population centers, economic activities, place of interest |
| Distribution | The arrangement of a feature in space is know as distribution. Density, concentration and pattern. |
| Density | The frequency with which something occurs in space. |
| Arithmetic Density | People per area |
| Physilogical density | People per arable land |
| Agricultural density | Farmers per area |
| Concentration | The extent of a feature's spread over space. Clustered, dispersed. |
| Pattern | The geometric arrangement of objects in space. Regular or irregular. Linear patterns. Grid patterns. |
| Location | The position that something occuplies on earth's surface. Place name (toponym). Site. Situation. Mathematical location. |
| Site | The physical character of a place. Climate. Topography. Vegetation. Latitude. Elevation |
| Situation | Is the location of a place relative to other places (relative location). Comparing a location with a familiar one. Signifies the importance or quality of a location. |
| Scale | |
| Region | A geographic area that shares one or more specific traits |
| Globalization | The scale of the world is shrinking - space-time compression. |
| Location | Answers the question where? Absolute location or specific location. |
| Relative location | The location of a place in relation to another. |
| Place | The collection of features that distinguish one location from another location. Place tells us what is where and what it is like there. It is the distinct character of the area. Each place is unique. |
| Physical Characteristics | Landforms, climate and vegetation |
| Human Characteristics | Language, customs, economy and type of government. |
| Human Environment Interaction | Describes how humans adapt and modify the natural environment. |
| Environment Determinism | A theory that stated that the environment determined/limited the capabilities of a society. Culture has proven this theory wrong. |
| Movement | The flow of people, materials, and ideas from place to place. |
| Region | Areas that display unity in terms of one or more selected criteria. there are 3 types of regions. |
| Formal Regions | An area in which certain characteristics are found throughout |
| Political Region | State, countries and cities |
| Functional Region | Consist of a central plance and the surrounding places affected by it. |
| Perceptual region | Defined by a people's feelings and attitudes. The south (dixie) is a perfect example. |
| The 4 traditions of geography | Earth science: physical geography. Man-land. Spatial. Area studies- regional geography |
| Tools of the geography | Globes - the only perfect representation of the earth. |
| Global positioning satellites (GPS) | |
| Geographic Information Systems (GIS) | |
| Limits of a map | Shape: no map depicts true shapes of large areas. |
| Area | A map depicts equal area if the areas are distorted |
| Distance | No map of large areas will show distances that are equal. |
| Direction | Not all maps show true compass direction |
| Cultural geography | Culture is the beliefs and actions that define a group of people's way of life. |
| Culture is active, nature is passive | |
| Culture trait | A single aspect of the complex routine practices of a particular culture group. |
| Culture Convergence | Occurs when the skills, arts, ideas, habits, and institutions come into contact with thos of another culture. Ex: music and food from different countries |
| Cultural hearth | THe place from which a innovation originates. A culture group must be willing to try something new and be able to allocate resources to nuture the innovation. Technical ability and economic structures must be evident to facilitate implementation of the in |
| Diffusion | The process by which a culture trait is transmitted across some distance from one group or an individual to another. |
| Relocation diffusion | The spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another. |
| Expansion Diffusion | The spread of a feature from one place to another in a snowballing process. |
| Hierarchial Diffusion | The spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places. |
| Contagious diffusion | The rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic through the population. Spreads without regard for hierarchy or permanent relocation of people. |
| Stimulus Diffusion | The spread of an underlying principle, even though a characteristic itself apparently fails to diffuse. |
| Cultural Divergence | When repressive leaders restrict a culture from outside cultural influences. EX: China, North Korea, Bhutan |
| Environmental Perception | We see what our culture allows us to see |
| Environmental limitations | Are in reality cultural limitations, or rather technological limitations |
| Possibilism | In any environment there are many possible options. The culture of the group will influence which option(s) are chosen |
| Palimpsest | The landscape is covered by layers of culture that can be viewed layer by layer. |
| Sequent Occupance | The varied users of a site by different culture groups over time. |
Created by:
EmilyxAnne
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