relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space
contagious diffusion
the rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population
cultural ecology
geographic approach that emphasizes human-environment relationships
culture
the body of customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits that together consitute a group of people's distinct tradition
density
the frequency with which something exists within a given unit of area
diffusion
the process or spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time
distance-decay
the diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin
distribution
the arrangement of something across earth's surface
environmental
relating to the natural environment, it's protection and conservation
determinism
the theory that whatever happens (including human acts) is caused by something else
equator
the imaginary line around the Earth forming the great circle that is equidistant from the north and south poles
expansion diffusion
the spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in a snowballing process
formal region
an area in which everyone shares in one or more distinctive characteristics
functional (or nodal) region
an area organized around a node or focal point
Geographic Information System (GIS)
a computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data
Global Positioning System (GPS)
a system that determines the precise position of something on earth through a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers
hiearchical diffusion
the spread of a feature or trend from one key person or node of authority or power to other persons or places
hearth
the region from which innovative ideas originate
International Date Line
an arc that for the most part follows 180 degrees longitude, although it deviates in several places to avoid dividing land areas. When you cross the International Date Line heading east (towards America), the clock moves back 24 hours, or one entire day.
latitude
the numbering system used to indicate the location of parallels drawn on a globe and measuring distance north and south of the equator (0 degrees)
longitude
the numbering system used to indicate the location of meridians drawn on a globe and measuring distances east and west of the prime meridian (0 degrees)
Mercator projection
a type of map in which the true compass directions are kept intact (lines of latitude and longitude intersect at right angles) but areas are distorted
possibilism
the theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives
Prime Meridian
the meridian, designated as 0 degrees longitude, that passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England
projection
the system used to transfer locations from Earth's surface to a flat map
relocation diffusion
the spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another
remote sensing
the acquisition of data about the Earth's surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or other long-distance methods
Robinson projection
representation that reflects the spherical appearance of Earth, but like the Mercator projection, distortions occur
scale
generally, the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole, specifically the relationship between the size of an object on a map and the size of the actual feature on Earth's surface
site
the physical character of a place
situation
the location of a place relative to other places
space-time compression
the reduction in time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place, as a result of improved communications and transportation systems
spatial perspective
geographer's point of view, used to determine where something is and why it is there
stimulus diffusion
the spread of an underlying principle, even though a specific characteristic is rejected
time zones
the world is divided into 24 times zones spaced at intervals of 15 degrees longitude
toponym
the name given to a portion of Earth's surface
uneven development
the increasing gap in economic conditions between core and peripheral regions as a result of the globalizatoin of the economy
vernacular region
(perceptual region) an area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity