CH 1 Terms
Definition
Example from lecture or Text
Map
Two-dimensional scale model of the Earth’s surface

Cartography
Science of mapmaking

Map Scale
Level of detail and amount of area covered on a map

Projection
Scientific method of transferring locations on Earth’s surface to a flat map

Meridian
An arc drawn between the North and South Poles

Longitude
Numbering system to identify meridian

Prime Meridian
Passes through Greenwich, England, 0’

Parallel
Circle drawn around the globe parallel to the equator

Latitude
Indicates the location of a parallel

GMT
Greenwich Mean Time or Universal Time, time at the Prime Meridian. Master time

International Date Line
Mostly follows 180’ longitude. One day back heading eastward, one day forward heading westward

GIScience
Development and analysis of data about Earth acquired through satellite and other electronic information technologies

Remote Sensing
Acquisition of data about Earth’s surface from satellites

GPS
Global Positioning System, 24 satellites which allow a receiver to determine its location

GIS
Geographic Information System, computer system that captures, stores, and displays geographic information

Place
Point on Earth’s surface distinguished by a particular characteristic

Location
Position that something occupies on the Earth’s Surface

Toponym
Name given to a place

Site
Physical character of a place

Situation
Location of a place relative to other places

Region
An area of Earth defined by one or more distinctive characteristics

Cultural Landscape
A combination of cultural, economic, and physical features

Regional studies
Also called the cultural landscape approach, initiated by Paul Vidal de la Blache and Jean Brunhes. Later adopted by Americans Carl Sauer and Robert Platt.

Formal region
Also called a uniform region, an area where everyone shares at least one common distinctive characteristic

Functional Region
Also called a Nodal Region, an area organized around a node or focal point

Perceptual region
Also called a vernacular region, an area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity.

Mental Map
An internal representation of a portion of the Earth’s surface

Culture
Body of customary beliefs, material traits, and social forms that together constitute the distinct tradition of a group of people

Scale
The relationship between the portion of Earth being study and Earth as a whole

Globalization
A force or process that involves the entire world and results in making something worldwide in scope.

Housing Bubble
A rapid increase in the values of houses followed by a sharp decline

Transnational Corporation
Conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries.

Space
The physical gap or interval between two objects

distribution
The arrangement of a feature in space

density
The frequency with which something occurs in Space

concentration
The extent of a feature’s spread over space

Pattern
Geometric arrangement of objects in space

Connection
Relationships among people and objects across the barrier of space

hearth
A place from which innovation originates

diffusion
The process by which a characteristic spreads across space from one place to another

Relocation diffusion
The spread of an idea through the physical movement of people from one place to another

Expansion diffusion
The spread of a feature from one place to