Definitions Flashcards
absolute distance
a distance that can be measured with a standard unit of length such as a mile or kilometer
absolute location
the exact position of an object or place, measured within the spatial coordinates of a grid system
accessibility
the relative ease with which a destination may be reached from some other place
anthropogenic
human-induced changes on the natural environment
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 supplies
carl sauer
geographer from the University of California Berkley who defined the concept of cultural landscape as the fundamental unit of geographical analysis. This landscape results from the interaction between humans and the physical environment. Sauer argued that virtually no landscape has escaped alteration by human activities
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
cartography
the theory and practice of making visual representations of earth’s surface in the form of maps
choropleth map
a thematic map that uses tones or colours to represent spatial data as average values per unit area
cognitive map
an image of a portion of earth’s surface that an individual creates in his or her mind. cognitive maps can include knowledge of actual locations and relationships among locations as well as personal perceptions and preferences of particular places
complementarity
the actual or potential relationship between two places, usually referring to economic interactions
connectivity
the degree or economic, social, cultural, or political connection between two places (topological space)
contagious diffusion
the spread of a disease, an innovation, or cultural traits through direct contact with another person or another place
coordinate system
a standard grid, composed of lines of latitude and longitude, used to determine the absolute location of any object, place, or feature on earth’s surface
cultural ecology
the study of the interactions between societies and the natural environments which they live
cultural landscape
the human-modified natural landscape specifically containing the imprint of a particular culture or society
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 or occurrences, such as crimes, car accidents, or births
earth system science
a systematic approach to physical geography that looks at the interaction between earth’s physical systems and processes on a global scale
environmental geography
the intersection between human and physical geography, which explores the spatial impacts humans have on the physical environment and vice versa
eratosthenes
the head librarian at alexandria during the third century BC; one of the first cartographer. performed a remarkably accurate computation of earth’s circumference. he is also credited with coining the term geography
expansion diffusion
the spread of ideas, innovations, fashion, or other phenomena to surrounding areas through contact and exchange
fertile crescent
the name given to the crescent-shaped area of fertile land stretching from the lower Nile Valley along the east Mediterranean coast and into Syria and present-day Iraq where agriculture and early civilization first began about 8000 BC