| Term | definition |
| Absolute distance | the distance that can be measuredwith a standard unit of length |
| absolute location | the exact position of an object or place, measured within the coordinates of a grid system |
| Accessibility | The relative ease with which a destination may be reached from some other place |
| Azimuthal projection | a map projection in which the plane is the most developable surface |
| Breaking point | the outer edge of a city`s sphere of influence, used in the law of retail gravitation to describe the area of a city`s hinterlands that depend on that city for its retail supply |
| Cartograms | A type of thematic map that transforms space such that the political unit with the greatest value for some type of data is represented by the largest relative area |
| chloropleth map | A thematic map that uses tones or colors to represent spatial dataas average values per unit area |
| cognitive map | An image of a portion of the earths surface that an individual creates in his or her mind |
| complementarity | the actual or potential relationship between two places usualy refering to economic interactions |
| connectivity | the degree of economic, social cultural, or political connection between two places |
| contagious diffusion | the spread of a disease, innovation, or cultural trait through direct contact with another person or place |
| coordinate system | A standard grid, composed of lines of lattitude and longitude, used to determine the absolute location of any object on es surface |
| distance decay effect | the decrease in interaction between two phenomena, places, or people as the distance between them increases |
| Dot maps | Thematic maps that use points to show the precise locations of specific observations and occurences |
| Expansion diffusion | the spread of phenomena to surrounding areas through contact and exchange |
| Friction of distance | A measure of how much absolute distance affects the interaction between two places |
| fuller projection | a type of map projection that maintains the accurate size and shape of landmasses but completely rearanges direction such that the four cardinal directions have no meaning |
| geoid | the actual shape of the earth wich is rough and oblate |
| gravity model | a mathematical formula that describes the level of interaction between two places based on the size of their populations and their distance apart |
| hazards | anything in the landscape real or perceived that is potential threatening |
| hierarchical diffusion | a type of diffusion in which something is transmitted between places because of something the places have in common |
| international date line | the line of longitude that marks where each new day begins, centered on the 180th meridian |
| interveneing oppurtunnities | the idea that one place has a demand for some good or service and 2 places have a supply of equal price and quality then the closer of the two suppliers to the buyer will represent an intervening oppurtunity |
| isoline | map line that connects points of equal or very similar values |
| Large scale | a relatively small ration between map units and ground units.Large scale maps usually have a higher resolution and cover much smaller regions than large scale maps |
| Lattitude | The angular distance north or south of the equater, defined by lines of lattitude or parallels |
| Law of retail gravitation | Law that states that people will be drawn to larger cities to conduct their business because larger cities have a wider influence on the hinterlands around them |
| Location charts | on a map a chart or graph that gives specific statistical information of a particular political unit or jurisdiction |
| Longitude | the angular distance east or west of the prime meridian, defined by lines of longitude or meridians |
| Map projection | A mathematical method that involves transfering the earths sphere onto a flat surface. All map projections have distortions |
| Mercator projection | a True conformal cylindrical map projection , this projection is particularly useful for navigation because it mantains accurate direction, famouis for its severe size distortion near the poles |
| meridian | A line of longitude that runs north-south .All lines of longitude are equal in length and intersect at the poles |
| parallel | An east-west line of lattitude that runs parallel to th equater and that marks distance north or south of the equater |
| preference map | a map that displays individual preferences for certain places |
| prime meridian | an imaginary line passing through the royal observatory in Greenwich, England, which marks the 0 degree lne of longitude |
| proportional symbols map | A thematic map in which the size of a chosen symbol indicates the relative magnitude of some statistical value for a given geographic region |
| Reference map | a map type that shows reference info for a particular place, whcihc makes it useful for finding landmarks and navigating |
| relative distance | a measure of distance that includes the costs of overcoming the friction of absolute distance seperating two places. Often describes the amount of connectivity between the two places |
| Relative location | the position of a place relative to places around it |
| relocation diffusion | the diffusion of phenomena through migration from one place to another |
| Resolution | A maps smallest discernable unit |
| robinson projection | projection that attempts to balance several possible projection errors.it does not completely accurately mantain area shape distance or direction but it minimizes errors in each |
| scale | the ratio between the size of an area on a map and the actual size of that same area on the earths surface |
| site | the absolute location of a place, described by local releif, landforms and other cultural physical characteristics |
| situation | the relative location of a place in relation to the physical and cultural characteristics of the surrounding area and the connections and interdependencies within that system;a places spatial context |
| small-scale | map scale ratio in which the ratio of units on the map to units on the earth is quite small. usually depist large areas |
| spatial diffusion | spatial diffusion refers to the ways in which phenomena such as technological innovations, cultural trends, or even outbreaks of disease travel over space |
| thematic map | a type of map that displays one or more variables such as population or income level within a specific area |
| time-space convergence | the idea that distance between some places is actually shrinking as technology allows more rapid cummunication and increased cummunication in those places |
| Topographic maps | maps that use isolines to represent constant elevations. |
| Topological space | the amount of connectivity between places regardless of the absolute distance seperating them |
| transferability | the costs involved in moving goods from one place to another |
| visualization | use of sophisticated software to create dynamic computer maps, some of which are three dimensional or interactive |