HG - Introduction Vocabulary - Stanley

AP Human Geography Vocabulary Words – Introduction

• anthropogenic
o human-induced changes on the natural environment

• cartography
o the production of maps, including construction of projections, design, compilation, drafting, and reproduction.

• cultural ecology
o the study of the interactions between societies and the natural environments
they occupy

• cultural landscape
o the natural landscape as modified by human activities and bearing the imprint of a culture group or society
o the built environment

• earth system science
o systematic approach to physical geography that looks at the interaction between the earth’s physical systems and processes on a global scale

• environmental geography
o the intersection between human and physical geography, which explores the spatial impacts humans have on the physical environment and vice versa

• Eratosthenes
o the head librarian at Alexandria during the third century BC
o one of the first cartographers
o performed a remarkably accurate computation of the earth’s circumference
o credited with coining the term “geography”

• Fertile Crescent
o name given to crescent-shaped area of fertile land stretching from the lower Nile valley, along the east Mediterranean coast, and into Syria and present-day Iraq where agriculture and early civilization first began about 8000 BC

• Geographical Information Systems
o integrated computer programs for handling, processing, and analyzing data specifically referenced to the surface of the earth
o (GIS)

• Global Positioning System
o a set of satellites used to help determine location anywhere on the earth’s surface with a portable electronic device

• idiographic
o pertaining to the unique facts or characteristics of a particular place

• George Perkins Marsh
o inventor, diplomat, politician, and scholar
o his classic work, Man and Nature, or Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action, provided the first description of the extent to which natural systems had been impacted by human actions

• natural landscape
o the physical environment unaffected by human activities
o the duration and near totality of human occupation of the earth’s surface assure that little or no “natural landscape” so defined remains intact
o opposed to cultural landscape

• nomothetic
o concepts or rules that can be applied universally

• W.D. Pattison
o claimed that geography drew from four distinct traditions: the earth-science tradition, the culture-environment tradition, the locational tradition, and the area-analysis tradition

• physical geography
o the study of the structures, processes, distribution, and change through time of the natural phenomena of the earth’s surface that are significant to human life
o one of the two major divisions (the other is human geography) of systematic geography

• Ptolemy
o Roman geographer-astronomer
o author of Guide to Geography which included maps containing a grid system of latitude and longitude

• qualitative data
o data associated with a more humanistic approach to geography, often collected through interview, empirical observations, or the interpretation of texts, artwork, old maps, and other archives

• quantitative data
o data associated with mathematical models and statistical techniques used to analyze spatial location and association

• quantitative revolution
o a period in human geography associated with the widespread adoption of mathematical models and statistical techniques

• region
o any earth area with distinctive and unifying physical or cultural characteristics that set it off and make it substantially different from surrounding areas
o may be defined on the basis of its homogeneity or its functional integration as a single organizational unit
o regions and their boundaries are devices of areal generalization, intellectual concepts rather than visible landscape entities

• regional geography
o the study of geographic regions
o the study of areal differentiation

• remote sensing
o observation and mathematical measurement of the earth’s surface using aircraft satellites
o the sensors include both photographic images, thermal images, multispectral scanners, and radar images

• Carl Saucer
o geographer from the University of California at Berkeley
o defined the concept of cultural landscape as the fundamental unit of geographical analysis
o this landscape results from interaction between humans and the physical environment
o he argued that virtually no landscape as escaped alteration by human activities

• sense of place
o feelings evoked by people as a result of certain experiences and memories associated with a particular place

• spatial perspective
o an intellectual framework that looks at the particular locations of specific phenomena, how and why that phenomena is where it is, and, finally, how it is spatially related to phenomena in other places

• sustainability
o the concept of using the earth’s resources in such a way that they provide for people’s needs in the present without diminishing the earth’s ability to provide for future generations

• systematic geography
o a division of geography that selects a particular aspect of the physical or cultural environment for detailed study of its areal differentiation and interrelationships
o branches are labeled according to the topic studied (e.g., recreational geography) or the related science with which the branch is associated (e.g., economic geography)

• thematic layers
o individual maps of specific features that are overlaid on one another in a Geographical Information System to understand and analyze a spatial relationship

• absolute distance
o the shortest-path separation between two places measured on a standard unit of length (miles or kilometers, usually)
o a.k.a. real distance

• absolute location
o the exact position of an object or place stated in spatial coordinates of a grid system designed for locational purposes
o in geography, the reference system is the globe grid of parallels of latitude north or south of the equator and of meridians of longitude east or west of a prime meridian
o absolute globe locations are cited in degrees, minutes, and (for greater precision) seconds of latitude and longitude north or south and east or west of the equatorial and prime meridian base lines

• accessibility
o the relative ease with which a destination may be reached from other locations
o the relative opportunity for spatial interaction
o may be measured in geometric, social, or economic terms

• Azimuthal projection
o (planar projection)
o a map projection employing a plane as the presumed developable surface

• breaking point
o the outer edge of a city’s sphere of influence
o used in the law of retail gravitation to describe the area of a city’s hinterlands that depend on that city for it’s retail supply

• cartogram
o a map that has been simplified to present a single idea in a diagrammatic way
o the base is not normally true to scale

• choropleth map
o a thematic map presenting spatial data as average values per unit area

• cognitive map
o (mental map)
o the maplike image of the world, country, region, city, or neighborhood a person carries in mind
o the representation is therefore subjective
o it includes knowledge of actual locations and spatial relationships and is colored by personal perceptions and preferences related to a place

• complementarity
o the actual or potential relationship of two places or regions that each produce different goods or services for which the other has an effective demand, resulting in a n exchange between the locales

• connectivity
o the directness of routes linking pairs of places
o an indication of the degree of internal connection in a transport network
o more generally, all of the tangible and intangible means of connection and communication between places

• contagious diffusion
o a form of expansion diffusion that depends on direct contact
o the process of dispersion is centrifugal, strongly influenced by stance and dependent on interaction between actual and potential adopters of the innovation

• coordinate system
o a standard grid, composed of lines of latitude and longitude, used to determine the absolute location of any object, place, or feature on the earth’s surface

• distance decay effect
o the declining intensity of any activity, process, or function with increasing distance from its point of origin

• dot maps
o thematic maps that use points to show the precise locations of specific observations or occurrences, such as crimes, car accidents, or births

• expansion diffusion
o the spread of ideas, behaviors, or articles through a culture area or from one culture to neighboring areas through contact and exchange of information
o the dispersion leaves the phenomenon in tact or intensified in its area of origin

• friction of distance
o a measure of the retarding or restricting effect of distance on spatial interaction
o generally, the greater the distance, the greater the “friction” and the less the interaction or exchange, or the greater the cost of achieving the exchange

• Fuller projection
o a type of map projection that maintains the accurate size and shape of landmasses but completely rearranges direction such that the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west – no longer have any meaning

• geoid
o the actual shape of the earth, which is rough and oblate, or slightly squashed
o the earth’s circumference is longer around the equator then it is along the meridians, from north-south circumference

• Gravity model
o a mathematical prediction of the interaction between two bodies (places) as a function of their size and o the distance separating them
o attraction (interaction) is proportional to the product of the masses (population sizes) of two bodies (places) and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them

• hazards
o anything in the landscape, real or perceived, that is potentially threatening
o usually avoided in spatial behavior

• hierarchical diffusion
o a form of diffusion in which the spread of an innovation can proceed either upward or downward through a hierarchy

• International Date Line
o by international agreement, the designated line where each new day begins, generally following the 180th meridian
o compensates for accumulated 1-hour time changes for each 15 degrees of longitude by adding (from east to west) or subtracting (from west to east) 24 hours for travelers crossing the line

• intervening opportunity
o the concept that closer opportunities will materially reduce the attractiveness of interaction with more distant – even slightly better – alternatives
o a closer alternative source of supply between a demand point and the original source of supply

• isoline
o a map line connecting points of equal value

• large-scale
o a relatively small ration between map units and ground units
o these maps usually have higher resolution and cover much smaller regions than small-scale maps

• latitude
o angular distance north or south of the equator
o measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds

• law of retail gravitation
o law that states that people will be drawn to larger cities to conduct their business because larger cities have a wider influence on the hinterlands that surround them

• location charts
o on a map, a chart or graph that gives specific statistical information of a particular political unit or jurisdiction

• longitude
o angular distance of a location in degrees , minutes, and seconds measured east or west of a designated prime meridian given the value of 0

• map projections
o a systematic method of transferring the globe grid system from the earth’s curved surface to the flat surface of a map
o automatically incurs error, but an attempt is usually made to preserve one or more (though never all) of the characteristics of the spherical surface: equal area, correct distance, true direction, proper shape

• Mercator projection
o a true conformal cylindrical projection first published in 1569
o useful for navigation

• meridian
o a north-south line of longitude
o on the globe grid, all meridians are of equal length and converge at the poles

• parallel
o an east-west line of latitude indicating distance north or south of the equator

• preference map
o a map that displays individual preferences for certain places

• Prime Meridian
o an imaginary line passing through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England, serving by agreement as the 0 line of longitude

• proportional symbols map
o a thematic map in which the size of a chosen symbol – such as a circle or triangle – indicates the relative magnitude of some statistical value for a given geographic region

• reference map
o a map type that shows reference information for a particular place, making it useful for finding landmarks and for navigating

• relative distance
o a transformation of absolute distance into such relative measures as time or monetary costs
o such measures yield different explanations of human spatial behavior than do linear distances alone
o distances between places are constant by absolute terms, but relative distances may vary with improvements in transportation or communication technology or with different psychological perceptions of space

• relative location
o the position of a place or activity in relation to other places or activities
o implies spatial relationships and usually suggests the relative advantages or disadvantages of a location with respect to all competing locations

• relocation diffusion
o the transfer of ideas, behaviors, or articles from one place to another through the migration of those possessing the feature transported
o spatial relocation in which a phenomenon leaves an area of origin as it is transported to a new location

• resolution
o a map’s smallest discernable unit
o if, for example, an object has to be one kilometer long in order to show up on a map, then that map’s resolution is one kilometer

• Robinson projection
o projection that attempts to balance several possible projection errors
o it does not maintain completely accurate area, shape, distance, or direction, but it minimizes errors in each

• scale
o in cartography, the ratio between the size of area on a map and the actual size of that same area on the earth’s surface
o in more general terms, scale refers to the size of the area studied, from local to global

• site
o the absolute location of a place or activity described by local relief, landform, and other physical (or sometimes cultural) characteristics

• situation
o the relative location of a place or activity in relation to the physical and cultural characteristics of the larger regional or spatial system of which it is a part
o implies spatial interconnection and interdependence

• small-scale
o map scale ration in which the ration of units on the mpa to units on the earth is qute small
o usually depict large areas

• spatial diffusion
o (diffusion)
o the spread or movement of a phenomenon over space or through time
o the dispersion of a culture trait or characteristic or new ideas and practices from an origin area
o recognized types include relocation, expansion, contagious, and hierarchical diffusion

• thematic map
o a map depicting a specific spatial distribution or statistical variation of abstract objects (e.g., unemployment) in space

• time-space convergence
o the idea that distance between some places is actually shrinking as technology enables more rapid communication and increased interaction between those places

• topographic maps
o maps that use isolines to represent constant elevations
o if you took a topographic map out into the field and walked exactly along the path of an isoline on your map, you would always stay at the same elevation

• topological space
o the amount of connectivity between places, regardless of the absolute distance separating them

• transferability
o acceptable costs of a spatial exchange
o the cost of moving a commodity relative to the ability of the commodity to bear that cost

• visualization
o use of sophisticated software to create dynamic computer maps, some of which are three-dimensional or interactive

• aggregation *
o the process by which data values are collected with the intent to manage the collection as a single unit

• geographic information *
o any information that can be geographically referenced
o i.e., describing a location or any information that can be linked to a location
o (a.k.a. spatial information)

• human/environmental interaction *
o all the effects (positive and negative) that occur when people interact with their surroundings

• Human Geography
o the spatial analysis of human populations, their cultures, their activities and behaviors, and their relationship with and impact on the physical landscapes they occupy
o one of two major divisions (the other is physical geography) of systematic geography

• isolines map *
o a map with continuous lines joining points of the same value
o used to interpret the information on some thematic maps

• legend *
o a key to what the symbols or pictures in a map mean

• location *
o deals with the relative and absolute spatial position of natural and human-made phenomena

• map *
o a graphic representation of the earth’s surface

• movement *
o deals with the migration, transport, communication, and interaction of natural and human-made phenomena across the spatial dimension

• place *
o describes the factors that make the location of natural and human-made phenomena unique

• primary data *
o data that was collected specifically for the purpose of a researcher’s particular study

• secondary data *
o data that was not specifically collected for the purpose of a researcher’s particular study

• simplification * *
o make a geographical map less complicated and complex

• spatial data *
o the data or information that identifies the geographic location of features and boundaries on Earth
o usually stored as coordinates and topology
o is data that can be mapped
o often accessed, manipulated, or analyzed through Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

• absolute direction
o direction with respect to cardinal east, west, north, and south reference points

• concentration
o in spatial distributions, the clustering of a phenomenon around a central location

• density
o the quantity of anything (people, buildings, animals, traffic, etc.) per unit area

• dispersion
o in spatial distributions, a statement of the amount of spread of a phenomenon over area or around a central location
o dispersion in this sense represents a continuum from clustered, concentrated, or agglomerated (at one end) to dispersed or scattered (at the other)

• formal region
o a region distinguished by a uniformity of one or more characteristics that an serve as the basis for areal generalization and of contrast with adjacent areas

• functional region
o a region differentiated by what occurs within it rather than by a homogeneity of physical or cultural phenomena
o an earth area recognized as an operational unit based upon defined organization criteria
o the concept of unity is based on interaction and interdependence between different points within the area

• mental map
o (cognitive map)
o the maplike image of the world, country, region, city, or neighborhood a person carries in mind
o the representation is therefore subjective
o it includes knowledge of actual locations and spatial relationships and is colored by personal perceptions and preferences related to a place

• model
o an idealized representation, abstraction, or simulation of reality
o designed to simplify real-world complexity and eliminate extraneous phenomena in order to isolate for detailed study causal factor and interrelationships of spatial systems

• nodal region
o (functional region)
o a region differentiated by what occurs within it rather than by a homogeneity of physical or cultural phenomena
o an earth area recognized as an operational unit based upon defined organization criteria
o the concept of unity is based on interaction and interdependence between different points within the area

• pattern
o the design or arrangement of phenomena in earth space

• perceptual region
o a region perceived to exist by its inhabitants or the general populace
o has reality as an element of popular culture or folk culture represented in the mental maps of average people

• projection
o (map projection)
o a systematic method of transferring the globe grid system from the earth’s curved surface to the flat surface of a map
o automatically incurs error, but an attempt is usually made to preserve one or more (though never all) of the characteristics of the spherical surface: equal area, correct distance, true direction, proper shape

• regional concept
o the view that physical and cultural phenomena on the surface of the earth are rationally arranged by complex, diverse, but comprehensible interrelated spatial processes

• relative direction
o a culturally based locational reference, as the Far West, the Old South, or the Middle East

• spatial distribution
o the arrangement of things ion the earth’s surface
o the descriptive elements of spatial distribution are density, dispersion, and pattern

• spatial interaction
o the movement (e.g., of people, goods, information) between different places
o an indication of interdependence between different geographic locations or areas

• spatial system
o the arrangement and integrated operation of phenomena produced by or responding to spatial processes on the earth’s surface

• uniform region
o (formal region)
o a region distinguished by a uniformity of one or more characteristics that an serve as the basis for areal generalization and of contrast with adjacent areas