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World Geography 81
Chapter 1 Vocabulary
Term | Definition |
---|---|
1.Geography | The study of the earth's surface and the processes that shape it, the connections between places, and the complex relationships between people and their environments |
2.GIS | A geographic information system, which uses computer technology to collect and analyze data about the earth's surface in order to solve geographic problems |
3.Absolute Location | The position on the earth in which a place can be found |
4.Hemisphere | A half of the earth; the Equator divides the Northern and Southern hemispheres; the Prime Meridian divides the Eastern and Western hemispheres |
5.Relative Location | The position of a place in relation to another place |
6.Character of a Place | The physical and human characteristics that help to distinguish a place from other places |
7.Perception | A viewpoint that is influenced by one's own culture and experiences |
8.Formal Religion | A group of places that have similar attributes, for example, a political religion |
9.Functional Religion | A group of places connected by movement, for example, the region drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries |
10.Perceptual Religion | A group of places that is defined by people's feelings and attitudes |
11.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 |
12.Mantle | A thick layer of mostly solid rock beneath the earth's crust that surrounds the earth's core |
13.Crust | The solid, rocky, surface layer of the earth |
14.Lithosphere | The surface features of the earth, including soil, rocks, and landforms |
15.Atmoshpere | The layer of gases, water vapor, and other substances above the earth |
16.Hydrosphere | The water contained in oceans, lakes, rivers, and under the ground |
17.Biosphere | The world of plants, animals, and other living things in the earth's land and waters. |
18.Continent | Any of the seven large landmasses of the earth's surface: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America |
19.Relief | The differences in elevation, or height, of the land forms in any particular area |
20.Plate Tectonics | The theory that the earth's outer shell is composed of a number of large, unanchored plates, or slabs of rock, whose constant movement explains earthquakes and volcanic activity |
21.Continental Drift Theory | The idea that continents slowly shift their positions due to movement of the tectonic plates on which they ride |
22.Ring of Fire | A ring of volcanic mountains surrounding the Pacific Ocean |
23.Weathering | The chemical or mechanical process by which rock is gradually broken down, eventually becoming soil |
24.Mechanical Weathering | The actual breaking up or physical weakening or rock by forces such as ice and roots |
25.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 |
26. Acid Rain | Rain whose high concentration of chemicals usually from industrial pollution, pollutes water, kills plant and animal life, and eats away at the surface of stone and rock; a form of chemical weathering |
27. Erosion | The movement of weathered materials, including gravel, soil, and sand, usually caused by water, wind, and glaciers |
28.Sediment | Particles of soil and rock carried and deposited by water, wind, or ice |
29.Loess | Fine-grained, mineral-rich loam,dust, or silt deposited by the wind |
30.Glacier | A huge, slow-moving mass of snow and ice |
31.Moraine | A ridgelike mass of rock, gravel, sand, and clay carried and deposited by a glacier |