Unit 1 What Is Geography?

Front 1

Human Geography

Back 1

the study of where and why human activities are located where they are

Front 2

Physical Geography

Back 2

the study of where and why natural forces occur as they do (climates, landforms, types of vegetation, etc.)

Front 3

Absolute Location

Back 3

the exact position of a place on the earth’s surface

Front 4

Relative location

Back 4

location in relation to other places

Front 5

Site location

Back 5

the specific location of a place, including its physical setting

Front 6

Situation location

Back 6

the geographic position of a place in relation to other places or features of a larger region

Front 7

Global positioning system (GPS)

Back 7

System that accurately determines the precise position of something on Earth through the use of satellites in space

Front 8

Geographic information system (GIS)

Back 8

a computer system that can capture, store, query, analyze, and display geographic data

Front 9

Remote sensing

Back 9

the acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from a satellite orbiting Earth or from other long-distance methods

Front 10

Human- environment interaction

Back 10

The interactions between human social systems and the rest natural ecosystem

Front 11

Formal regions

Back 11

a region defined by a common characteristic, such as production of a product

Front 12

Functional region

Back 12

a central place and the territory linked to it

Front 13

Perceptual region

Back 13

a region defined by popular feelings and images rather than by objective data

Front 14

map scale

Back 14

the relationship between the size of an object on a map and its actual size on earth

Front 15

Map projection

Back 15

The scientific method for transferring 3D locations on the Earth’s surface into a flat map

Front 16

Spatial distribution

Back 16

arrangement of a phenomenon across the Earth’s surface

Front 17

Environmental determinism

Back 17

the study of how the physical environment caused human activities and social development

Front 18

Possibilism

Back 18

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

Front 19

Topography

Back 19

the arrangement of the natural and artificial physical features of an area

Front 20

Five themes of geography

Back 20

Place, Location, Region, Human Environment interaction, Movement

Front 21

Map

Back 21

a two-dimensional or flat-scale model of Earth’s surface, or a portion of it

Front 22

Cartographer

Back 22

Map maker

Front 23

Parallels

Back 23

Latitude

Front 24

Meridians

Back 24

Longitude

Front 25

International Date line

Back 25

180 degrees longitude

Front 26

Hearth

Back 26

the place from which an innovation originates