• Shuffle
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Alphabetize
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Front First
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Both Sides
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Read
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
Reading...
Front

Card Range To Study

through

image

Play button

image

Play button

image

Progress

1/92

Click to flip

Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;

Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;

H to show hint;

A reads text to speech;

92 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
geography
"description of the earth", literally, best definition is study of the earth as the home of humankind
ethnogeographies
systems of geographic knowledge used by indigenous peoples who have not had written languages
What are the six essential elements of geography?
the world in spatial terms, places and regions, physical systems, human systems, environment and society, uses of geography
Element--the world in spatial terms
geography studies the relationships between people, places, and environments by mapping information about them into a spatial context
Element--places and regions
the identities and lives of individuals and peoples are rooted in particular places and in human constructs called regions
Element--physical systems
Physical processes shape earth's surface and interact with plant and animal life to create, sustain, and modify ecosystems
Element--human systems
people are central to geography; human activities, settlements, and structures help shape the earth's surface, and humans compete for control of the earth's surface
Element--environment and society
the physical environment is influenced by the ways in which human societies value and use the earth's physical features and processes
Element--uses of geography
knowledge of geography enables people to develop an understanding of the relationships between people, places, and environments over time--that is, of the earth as it was, is, and might be
human agency
humans' role in changing the face of the earth
landscape
the collection of physical and human geographic features on the earth's surface
culture
a shared, learned, symbolic system of values, beliefs, and attitudes that shapes and influences perception and behavior
regions
8 spatial subdivisions of the world--human constructs, not "facts on the ground"
formal region
(also uniform or homogeneous region) region in which all the population shares a defining trait or set of traits (county, state, where regional boundaries are defined and explicit on a map)
functional region
spatial unit characterized by a central focus on some activity, (also nodal region) often economic (example--newspaper delivery region, at the center, activity is intense, outer regions not so much)
vernacular region
(or perceptual region) region that exists in the mind of a large number of people and may play an important role in cultural identity but does not necessarily have official or clear-cut borders (ex: Bible Belt, Midwest, etc.)
uniform region
formal region (or homogeneous)
homogeneous region
formal region (or uniform)
nodal region
functional region
perceptual region
vernacular region
space
the precise placement of locations on the face of the earth
place
the physical and cultural context of a location
spatial
pertaining to space--refers to the distribution of various phenomena on the earth's surface
cartography
the science of making maps
scale
part of a map that shows the actual distance on earth as represented by a given linear unit on the map
large-scale map
map with a relatively large representative fraction (ex: 1:10,000 or 1:100) SMALL AREA
small-scale map
map with a relatively small representative fraction (such as 1:1,000,000) LARGE AREA
relative location
defines a place in relationship to other places
absolute location
(mathematical location) gives each place its own unique location or "address"
mathematical location
absolute location
coordinate systems
grid systems used to determine absolute location
latitude
denotes position with respect to the equator and the poles, measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds
degree of latitude
made up of 60 minutes, is about 69 miles; each minute of latitude is roughly a mile apart
equator
the parallel of latitude that circles the globe east and west midway between the poles
north latitude
describes places north of the equator
south latitude
describes places south of the equator
90 degrees N or 90 degrees S
the highest latitude a place can have (N and S Poles)
low latitudes
places near the equator (Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn)
high latitudes
places near the poles (Arctic and Antarctic Circles)
middle latitudes
places occupying an intermediate position in respect to the poles and the equator
Northern Hemisphere
the northern half of the earth between the equator and the North Pole
Southern Hemisphere
the southern half of the earth between the equator and the South Pole
statute mile
land mile--5,280 feet
nautical mile
sea mile, based on one minute of arc of a great circle and equal to 6,076 feet
meridian of Greenwich
prime meridian, the meridian most used as a base or starting point, running through the Royal Astronomical Observatory in Greenwich, England. 0 degrees longitude
east longitude
places east of the prime meridian
west longitude
places west of the prime meridian
International Date Line
the meridian of 180 degrees, exactly halfway around the world from the prime meridian
Eastern Hemisphere
all of the earth's surface eastward from the prime meridian to the International Date Line
Western Hemisphere
all of the earth's surface westward from the prime meridian to the International Date Line
map projection
a way of depicting the curved surface of the earth (which can be represented accurately only on a globe) on a flat surface such as a piece of paper
azimuthal projections
projections onto a plane, typically used for maps of the polar regions
cylindrical projections
mostly used for areas around the equator or to depict the entire world; regular cylindrical projections have straight meridians, while pseudo-cylindrical variants have curved ones
conic projections
common for middle latitudes; polyconic can be used for larger areas
compromise projections
(also mathematical projections) not based on developable surface geometry; attempt to create a balance of distortion among the 4 metric properties to create an aesthetically pleasing map
mathematical projections
compromise projections
Robinson projection
(used for all world maps in the textbook), a compromise (or mathematical) projection, which attempts to create a balance of distortion among the 4 metric properties (area, shape, distance, and direction) to create an aesthetically pleasing map
What are the 4 metric relationships or properties of objects on a globe?
area, shape, distance, and direction
equal-area projections
preserve areas consistently across an entire map; each area on the map is proportional to the area it occupies on the earth's surface
equidistant projections
show accurate distances, but only from the center of the projection (ex: NY is the center, all distances to other places are accurate but not the distances between other places to one another)
conformal projections
keep the map's scale the same in every direction from any given point, preserving shapes in very small, localized areas. Sizes are usually distorted, especially toward the edges. Best known = Mercator projection, designed for navigation--indicates true direction
Mercator projection
best-known conformal projection, designed for navigation--indicates true direction
rhumb line
a straight line drawn on a map between 2 points that indicates true direction
reference maps
concerned mainly with the locations of various features on the earth's surface and their spatial relationships with each other (eg: highway maps)
thematic maps
also show spatial relationships but they have a more specific purpose: they often show the distribution of just one phenomenon; sometimes called statistical maps because they typically show distributions of numeric data, such as population density
statistical maps
thematic maps showing distributions of numeric data, such as population density
choropleth map
most common thematic map in the textbook--each political unit is filled in with a color or pattern representing some derived value, such as per capita income or # of college students per 100,000 people
isarithmic maps
use lines to join points of equal value across a mapped area
graduated symbol maps
use a simple symbol, such as a circle, square, or bar graph, where the symbol is scaled proportionally to the quantity of data being mapped (China's circle would be 4 times the size of the US circle, when mapping population)
cartogram
a graduated symbol map that scales the often highly generalized outlines of political units to the data
geographic information systems (GIS)
the growing field of computer-assisted geographic analysis and graphic representation of spatial data. It is based on superimposing various data layers that may include everything from soils to hydrology to transportation networks to elevation. Computer software and hardware are steadily improving, enabling GIS to produce ever more detailed and exact output
dot maps
use dots to represent a stated amount of some phenomenon within a political unit. Using a scale equating one dot with 1,000 people, 12 dots = 12,000 people in that area
flow maps
use arrows to detail the movement of people or goods from one area to another
mental maps
a collection of personal geographic info that each of us uses to organize spatially the images and facts we have about places, both local and distant (like a vernacular region)
remote sensing
uses various kinds of satellite imagery and photographic coverage to assess land use or other geographic patterns
regional specialists
geographers who specialize in certain regions
systematic specialists
most academic geographers practice this type of specialty, many of whom use GIS, remote sensing, and other technical tools
geomorphology
the study of landforms and a field in which geography intersects with geology
climatology
the study of climatic processes and patterns
biogeography
study of the geography of plants and animals
environmental studies
large interdisciplinary field, closely related to physical geography, concerned with reciprocal relationships between society and the environment
medical geography
a geography specialty focused on spatial associations between the enironment and human health and on locational aspects of disease and health care delivery
economic geography
studies spatial aspects of human livelihood, concerned mainly with major occupations and products
marketing geography
small but active applied offshoot of economic geography that is for particular utility in commercial planning and zoning
agricultural geography
concerned with the productive management of soil and waer resources
manufacturing geography
concerned with networks and hierarchies of economic production
urban geography
considers the locational associations, internal spatial organization, socioeconomic characteristics, and functions of cities
cultural geography
concerned with spatial and other aspects of cultural regions, origins, diffusions and interactions, and the cultural forces behind changing landscapes
political geography
considers topics such as spatial organization of geopolitical units, international power relationships, nationalism, boundary issues, military conflicts, and regional separatism within states
social geography
deals with spatial aspects of human social relationships, especially in urban settings
population geography
assesses population composition, distribution, migration, and change
historical geography
examines the geography of past periods and the evolution of geographic phenomena such as cities, industries, agricultural systems, and rural settlement patterns