Term | Definition |
1. Geography | The study of 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 Easter and Western hemispheres. |
5. Relative Location | The position of a place in a 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 | All the forms of water that fall to earth from the atmosphere, including rain and snow. |
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 land forms. |
15.Atmosphere | The layer of gases, water vapor, and other substances above the earth. |
16. Hydroshpere | The water contained in oceans, lakes, rivers, and under ground. |
17. Bioshpere | The world of plants, animals, and other living things in earths land and waters. |
18.Continent | Any of the seven large landmasses of the earths surface: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. |
19. Relief | The differences in elevation, or height, of land forms in any particular area. |
20. Plate Tectonics | The theory that the earths 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 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 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, and 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 ridge like mass of rock,gravel, sand, and clay carried and deposited by a glacier. |