Unit one vocab Flashcards
(25 cards)
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
Toponym
the names given to places
Robinson
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
sustainability
the group of practices that meet the needs of the present without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their needs
relative distance
a measurement of the level of social, cultural, or economic similarity between places despite their absolute distance from each other
Cartography
the process of making maps
formal
a geographical area inhabited by people who have one or more traits in common
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
environmental determinism
the belief that the physical environment is the dominant force shaping cultural and that humanity is a passive product of its physical surroundings
plat
Maps that show property lines and details of land ownership
site
an absolute location of a place on Earth
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
density
the average number of people per unit of land area
qualitative
Data associated with a humanistic approach to geography
vernacular
the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region
distance decay
The theory that the interaction (flow of
goods, people) between two places decreases as the distance between them increases.
functional
a geographic area that has been organized to function politically, socially, or economically, as one unit.
political
a map that shows the spatial organization of the countries and territories on the entire globe at a given point in time
time-space compression
the decreasing distance between places as measured by travel time or cost; often summarized by the phrase “the world is shrinking”
Peters
a map projection that shows all landmasses with their true areas but distorts their shapes
Locator
Illustrations used in books and
advertisements to show specific
locations mentioned in the text
Mercator
a map projections that is useful for navigation because the lines connecting points on the map represent the true compass direction; however, landmasses become increasingly distorted the father away they are from the equator.
quantitative
Data associated with
mathematical models and statistical
techniques
remote sensing
the scanning of Earth by satellite or high flying aircraft in order to obtain information about it
