Term | Definition |
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. |
Geographic Information Systems (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. |
Absolute Location | The position on the earth in which a place can be found. |
Hemisphere | A half of the earth; the Equator divides the Northern and Southern hemispheres; the Prime Meridian divides the Eastern and Western hemispheres. |
Relative Location | The position of a place in relation to another place. |
Character of a Place | The physical and human characteristics that help to distinguish a place from other places. |
Perception | A viewpoint that is influenced by one's own culture and experiences. |
Formal Region | A group of places that have similar attributes, for example, a political region. |
Functional Region | A group of places connected by movement, for example, the region drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. |
Perceptual Region | A group of places that is defined by peoples feelings and attitudes. |
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. |
Mantle | A thick layer of mostly solid rock beneath the earth's crust that surrounds the earth's core. |
Crust | The solid, rocky, surface layer of the earth. |
Lithosphere | The surface features of the earth, including soil, rocks, and land-forms. |
Atmosphere | The layer of gases, water vapor, and other substances above the earth. |
Hydrosphere | The water contained in oceans, lakes, rivers, and underground. |
Biosphere | The world of plants, animals, and other living things in earth's lands and waters. |
Continent | Any of the seven large landmasses of earth's surface: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. |
Relief | The differences in elevation, or height, of the landforms in any particular area. |
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. |
Continental Drift Theory | The idea that continents slowly shift their positions due to movement of the tectonic plates on which they ride. |
Ring of Fire | A ring of volcanic mountains surrounding the Pacific Ocean. |
Weathering | The chemical or mechanical process by which rock is gradually broken down, eventually becoming soil. |
Mechanical Weathering | The actual breaking up of physical weakening of rock by forces such as ice and roots. |
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. |
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. |
Erosion | The movement of weathered materials,including gravel, soil, and sand, usually caused by water, wind, and glaciers. |
Sediment | Particles of soil and rock carried and deposited by water, wind, or ice. |
Loess | Fine-grained, mineral-rich loam, dust, or silt deposited by the wind. |
Glacier | A huge, slow-moving mass of snow and ice. |
Moraine | A ridge-like mass of rock, gravel, sand, and clay carried and deposited by a glacier. |