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 enviornment |
2. GIS | A geographical information system, which uses computer technology to collect and analyze data about the earth's surface in order to solve geographical 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 heimsphere |
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 the one'sown culture and experiences |
8.formal region | A group of places that have similar attributes, for example a political region |
9.Functional region | A group of places connected by movement,for example, the region drained by the Amazon river and its tributaries |
10.Perceptual region | 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. Atmosphere | The layers 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 on 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 landforms in any particular area. |
20.Plate tectonics | The theory that the earth;s outer shell is composed of a number of large, unachored plate, or slabs of rock, whose constant movement explains earthquakes and volcanic activity |
21.Continental drift theory | The idea that the continents slowly shift their positions due to movement of the tectonic plates on which they ride |
22.Ring of fire | A ring of volcanic mountians 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 of rock by forces such as ice and roots |
25.Chemical weathering | The process by which the actual chemical structure of 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 form 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 |