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Chapter 1
North America
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Borderland | A political boundary that parallels a linear zone. |
| Transition zone | An area where 2 or more realms join with different cultures. |
| Physiographic region | A region within which there are natural landscape homogeneity, expressed by surface relief, vegetation, soils, and climate. |
| Continentality | The variation of the continental effect on air temperatures in the interior potions of the world’s land masses. |
| Rain shadow effect | The relative dryness in the areas downwind of mountain ranges resulting fro. orographic precipitation. |
| Federation | A country where a central government represents the sub national entities within a nation-state where they have common interests such as defense, foreign affairs, allowing them to retain their own identities |
| Aquifer | An underground reservoir of water contained within a porous chain. |
| Fossil fuel | The energy sources of coal, natural gas, and petroleum. Formed by geologic compression and transformation. |
| Urban system | A hierarchical network or grouping of urban areas within a finite geographic area, such as a country. |
| American Manufacturing Belt | North America’s near-rectangular core area. |
| Distribution center | A centralized focus of economic activity specializing in the distribution of goods. |
| Intermodal connections | Facilities and activities related to the transfer of goods in transit from one transportation mode to another. |
| Outer city | The non-central-city portion of the American metropolis. |
| Deindustrialization process | By which companies relocate manufacturing jobs to other regions or countries with cheaper labor. |
| Central business district | The downtown heart of a central city; marked by high land values, a concentration of business and commerce, and the many tall buildings. |
| Information economy | The new, increasing dominant, postindustrial economy that is manufacturing in the most highly advanced countries. |
| GPS Global Positioning System | The orbiting-satellite-based navigation system that provides locational and time information, anywhere on Earth where there is a line of sight. |
| Gentrification | The upgrading of an older residential area through private reinvestment, usually in downtown area of a central city. |
| Neighborhood effect | The impact of one’s neighborhood on an individual’s outlook, aspirations, socialization, and life chances. |
| Residential geography | The spatial distribution of a residential population, often used by urban geographers to describe the clustering of various social groups. |
| Sunbelt | The popular name given to the southern tier of the United States, has warmer climate and has been attracting large numbers of relocating people. |
| Migration | A change in residence intended to be permanent. |
| Electoral geography | The spatial distribution of political preferences as expressed in voting behavior for political parties or candidates. Mapping of election results is the foundation. |
| Melting pot | Traditional characterization of American society as a blend of numerous immigrant ethnic groups that over time were assimilated into a single group. |
| First Nations | Name given Canada’s indigenous peoples of American descent, whose US counterparts are called Native Americans. |
| World- City | A large city with particularly significant international linkages. |
| Technopole | A planned techno-industrial complex that innovates, promotes, and manufactures the products of the postindustrial information economy. |
| Pacific Rim | A group of countries and components of countries sharing the following, they face Pacific Ocean, exhibit high level of economy, industrialization and urbanization. Imports and exports mainly move across Pacific waters. |
| Tar sands | The main source of oil from non- liquid petroleum reserves. |
| Boreal Forest | The subarctic, mostly coniferous snowforest that blankets Canada south of the tundra that lines the Arctic shore. |