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APHuG Unit 1
Introduction to Maps
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Human Geography | The branch of geography that studies how human activity affects or is influenced by Earth's surface |
| Globalization | The process by which businesses and other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale |
| Sustainability | The group of practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising the future generations' ability to meet their needs |
| Gender | A general term for the ways in which a society defines the differences between males and females |
| Global citizen | A person who is aware of and understands the wider world and his or her place in it |
| Culture | The shared practices, technologies, attitudes, and behaviors that a society transmits from one generation to the next |
| Infrastructure | The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (such as buildings, roads, and public utilities) needed for the operation of a society |
| Map | A two-dimensional (flat) representation of a geographic area or place |
| Cartographer | A person who makes maps |
| Data aggregation | The process of collecting and organizing large amounts of information |
| Spatial perspective | A geographic perspective that seeks to identify and explain the uses of space |
| Spatial patterns | The placement or arrangement of objects on Earth's surface; also includes the space between those objects |
| Time-distance decay | Also known as the "first law of geography"; the idea that near things are more related than distant things, and interaction between two places decreases the farther apart they are |
| Map symbols | Graphic elements that help organize the information in a map, such as (but not limited to) dots, stars, arrows, squares, and dotted lines |
| Legend | A key to the meaning of the symbols and colors on a map |
| Compass rose | A drawing, usually found on the edge of a map, showing the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west) and the map's orientation |
| Absolute direction | Corresponds to the direction on a compass: north, south, east, west, and combinations such as northeast and southwest |
| Map scale | The distance on a map in relation to distance in actual space; for example, 1 inch on a map might indicate a distance of 100 miles in real life |
| Scale | The territorial extent of an idea or object |
| Absolute distance | The distance that can be measured with a standard unit of length, such as a foot, year, mile, or kilometer |
| Relative distance | A measurement of the level of social, cultural, or economic similarity between places despite their absolute distance from each other |
| Relative direction | A direction that can be described as position, such as in front of or behind, to the left or to the right |
| Elevation | Distance above sea level |
| Isoline | On a map, a line that connects or links different places that share a common or equal value, such as elevation |
| Topographic map | A graphic representation of the three-dimensional configuration of Earth's surface |
| Reference map | A map that shows geographic locations on Earth's surface, such as the location of cities or oceans |
| Thematic map | A map that emphasizes the spatial patterns of geographic statistics or attributes, and sometimes the relationships between them |
| Choropleth map | A thematic map that shows data aggregated for a specific geographic area, often using different colors to represent different values |
| Cartogram | A map that distorts the geographic shape of an area in order to show the size of a specific variable; the larger the area on a cartogram, the larger the value of the underlying variable |
| Proportional or graduated circle map | A map that uses symbols (such as circles or dots) of difference sizes to represent numerical values |
| Dot density or Dot distribution map | A map that uses dots to represent objects or counts; the dot can represent one object (a one-to-one dot density map) or it can represent a number of objects (a one-to-many dot density map) |
| Map projection | A method for representing the surface of Earth or a celestial sphere on a plane (two-dimensional) surface; all map projections distort some aspect of Earth's surface |
| Mercator projection | A map projection that is useful for navigation because the lines connecting points on the map represent the true compass direction; however, landmasses become increasingly distorted the farther away they are from the equator |
| Peters projection | A map projection that shows all landmasses with their true areas but distorts their shapes |
| Goode homolosine projection | A map projection that avoid shape distortion and the restrictions of a rectangular map by creating "interruptions" in the maps continuity; in each section, map projection regions are shown "equally", like an orange peel being laid out on a flat surface |
| Polar projection | A map projection that looks down at Earth from the perspective of one of he poles (North or South) |
| Robinson projection | A map projection that attempts to create the most visually appealing representation of Earth by keeping all types of distortion relatively low over most of the map |
| Census | An official count or survey of a population, typically recording various details about individuals, such as age, sex, and race |
| Fieldwork | Learning and doing research involving first-hand experience, which takes pace outside the classroom setting |
| Absolute location | A precise position on Earth's surface |
| Latitude (lines) | The invisible horizontal likes circling Earth parallel to the equator; latitude is the degree of distance north or south from the equator, which is at 0 degrees, as far as the poles, which are at 90 degrees |
| Longitude (lines) | The invisible vertical lines on Earth's surface that mark imaginary circles connecting the North Pole with the South Pole |
| Prime meridian | The zero-degree longitude line that runs through Greenwich, England; also known as the Greenwich Meridian |
| Global Positioning System (GPS) | A system of 24 satellites that orbit Earth twice daily and transmit radio signals Earthward; the basis for many map-based apps that provide directions on how to get from one place to another |
| Geographic information system (GIS) | A software application for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth's surface; allows the rapid manipulation of geospatial data for problem-solving and research |
| Remote sensing | The scanning of Earth by satellite or high-flying aircraft in order to obtain information about it |
| Aerial photgraphy | Remote-sensing photography that produces fine-grained, high-resolution, highly detailed images |
| Satellite imagery | Images of Earth's surface gathered from sensors mounted on orbiting satellites; these sensors record in both the visible and non-visible portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, allowing humans to view patterns and processes that are both visible and invisible to the naked eye |
| Relative location | The position of one place (or person) in relation to the position of another place (or person) |
| Space | The areas we occupy as humans; it has no value until the people wo occupy it make it their own |
| Place | How we modify space based on who we are as a group of people |
| Cultural landscape | The built forms that cultural groups create in inhabiting Earth - farm fields, cities, houses, and so on - and the meaning, values, representations, and experiences associated with those forms |
| Time-space compression | The decreasing distance between places, as measured by travel time or cost; often summarized by the phrase "the world is shrinking" |
| Interdependence | The ties established between regions and countries that over time collectively create a global economic system that is not necessarily based on equality |
| Geographic processes | The physical and human forces that work together to form and transform the world |
| Diffusion | The pattern by which a phenomenon such as the movement of people, or their ideas, technologies, or preferences, spreads from a particular location through space and time |
| Independent invention | Occurs when the same or a very similar innovation is developed at the same time in different places by different people working independently |
| Expansion diffusion | Occurs when ideas or practices spread throughout a population, from area to rea, in a snowballing process,, so that the total number of knowers or users and the areas of occurrence increase |
| Hierarchical diffusion | Occurs when ideas leapfrog from one important person, community, or city to another, bypassing other persons, communities, or rural areas |
| Reverse hierarchical diffusion | Occurs when ideas leapfrog from a lower level of a hierarchy to a higher level |
| Contagious diffusion | The wavelike spread of ideas in the manner of a contagious disease or forest fire, moving throughout space without regard for hierarchy |
| Stimulus diffusion | Occurs when a specific trait is rejected, but the underlying idea is accepted |
| Relocation diffusion | Occurs when individuals or groups with a particular idea or practice migrate from one location to another, thereby bringing the idea or practice to their new homeland |
| Friction of distance | The inhibiting effect of distance on the intensity and volume of most forms of human interaction; time-space compression diminishes friction of distance |
| Ecology | A biological science concerned with studying the complex relationships among living organisms and their physical environments |
| Cultural ecology | The study of the interactions between societies and their local environments |
| Ecosystem | A territorially bounded system consisting of the interaction between humans and the environment |
| Environmental perception | The mental images that comprise humans' perception of nature; environmental perception many be accurate or inaccurate |
| Natural hazard | A physical danger present in the environment, such as a flood, hurricane, volcanic eruption, and earthquake |
| Tsunami | A huge ocean wave produced by the displacement of a large volume of water, often caused by an earthquake |
| Natural resources | Materials or substances that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain |
| Nonrenewable resources | Natural resources that are available on Earth in finite quantities and will eventually be used up |
| Renewable resources | Natural resources that Earth will naturally replenish over time |
| Greenhouse gases | Compound in the atmosphere from fossil-fuel combustion, such as carbon dioxide, that absorb and trap heat energy close to Earth's surface |
| Greenhouse effect | The global warming trend caused by rising levels of carbon dioxide |
| Environmental determinism | The belief that the physical environment is the dominant force shaping cultures and that humanity is a passive product of its physical surroundings |
| Possibilism | The belief that any physical environment offers a number of possible ways for a society to develop and that humans can find ways to overcome environmental challenges |
| Global scale | Geographic scale that looks at geographic phenomena across the entire world |
| Regional scale analysis | Geographic scale that identifies and analyzes geographic phenomena within a particular region |
| National scale analysis | Geographic scale that identifies and analyzes geographic phenomena within a specific country |
| Local scale analysis | Geographic scale that identifies and analyzes geographic within a state or province, a city or town, or neighborhood |
| Glocal perspective | Geographic perspective that acknowledges the two-way relationship between local communities and global patterns, emphasizing that the forces of globalization need to take into account local-scale cultural, economic , and environmental conditions |
| Region | A geographical unit based on one or more common characteristics or functions |
| Formal region | A geographical area inhabited by people who have one or more traits in common |
| Border zone | A region where cultural markers overlap and blend into a recognizable border culture |
| Functional region | A geographic area that has been organized to function politically, socially, culturally, or economically as one unit |
| Nodes | Central points where the functions of a functional region are coordinated and directed |
| Metropolitan area | An area composed of a heavily populated urban core and its less populated surrounding areas |
| Perceptual/vernacular region | A geographic rea that is perceived to exist by its inhabitants, based on the widespread acceptance and use of a unique regional name |
| Mental map | A personal representation of a portion of Earth's surface |
| Sense of place | How a person feels about a particular place and why it's important to him or her |
| Activity space | Where a person goes and what he or she does on a day-to-day basis |
| Regional identity | The awareness of belonging to a group of people within a region |
| Contested boundaries | Boundaries that are disputed for religious, political, or cultural reasons |
| Regional analysis | The process of examining patterns and processes within and between regions at multiple geographic scales (local, national, regional, and global) |