Geography Terms and

Concepts
BY: JENNIE DEVER

Absolute Location
Maps provide the
exact location of
a place on a
mathematical
grid of earth
divided by two
sets of imaginary
arcs; meridians
and parallels.

Cartography
The art and science of maptaking

Circular Pattern
Objects that circle another object, also known as centralized pattern

Cultural Landscape
A geographic area including both cultural and resources

Daylight Savings
Time
Pushes the clock forward one hour in the spring in order to allow
people to enjoy more sunlight in the afternoon during the warm spring
and summer months, especially for people after they get off work.

Distortion
Caused by trying to represent a three-dimensional object ( the earth)
on a two- dimensional surface ( a flat map).

Equator
An imaginary circle that lies exactly half way between the North and
the South poles

Formal Regions
Sometimes called uniform regions, a formal region is an area that has
striking similarities in terms of one or a few physical or cultural
features.

Eratosthenes
A Greek scholar who worked in third century B.C.E., accurately
calculated the circumference of the earth by measuring the suns
angles at the summer solstice( June 21) at two points along the Nile
River.

Functional (nodal) Regions

Sometimes called vernacular regions, perceptual regions are not as
rigorously structured as formal and functional regions

GIS ( geographic information system)

Is a computer system that captures, stores, analyzes, and displays data.

Globalization
The expansion of economic, political , and cultural activities to the
point that they reach and have impact on many areas of the world

Greenwich Mean Time

The standard time at the prime meridian

GPS ( global positing system)

Uses a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers to
determine precise absolute locations on earth

Grid Pattern
A way of arranging space

Hecataeus
One of the most popular researcher and geographer who hailed
Greece.

Human Geography
Focuses on people around the world

Idrisi
An 11th century Arab geographer, worked for the king of Sicily to
collect geographical information into a remarkably accurate
representation of the world.

Landscapes
Overall appearance of an area that is shaped by both human and
natural influences

Kant, Immanuel
defined geography as the study of interrelated spatial patterns

Latitude
The distance north and south of the equator

Linear Pattern
Repeat indefinitely along a line

Local Time
Is a region that has adopted the same standard time

Location
The position of something on earths surface

Longitude
A numbering system that calculates distance east and west of the
prime meridian

Marsh, George Perkins

A 19th century American geographer, is best known for his classic
work. He focused on the impact of human actions on the natural
environment, so his thinking is basic to the field of Human Geography.

Mercator Projection
Was invented by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569 for a specific
purpose navigating ships across the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and the
Americans.

Meridian
Is an arc drawn between the North and South Poles that measures
longitude

Multi-national Corporations
Corporations that have centers of operation in many parts of the
globe

Parallel
Is a circle drawn around the globe

Pattern
The arrangement of objects on earths surface in relation to other
objects

Perceptual ( vernacular) Regions

Sometimes called vernacular regions, perceptual regions are not as
rigorously structured as formal and functional regions

Periphery
The outer limits or edge of an area or object

Peters Projection
This controversial projection was first introduced in 1947 by historian
and geographer Arno Peters. This map focuses on keeping land
masses equal in area. As a result, the shapes are disported, resulting
in an overall map that seems quite unfamiliar to most viewers

Place
A specific point on earth with human and physical characteristics that
distinguish it from other points

Physical Geography
Focuses on the natural environment itself

Physical Site Characteristic

Include climate, topography, soil, water sources, vegetation, and
elevation

Prime Meridian
The prime meridian is located at the observatory in Greenwich,
England at 0 degrees. The meridian at the opposite side of the globe
is 180 degrees, and all meridians placed between are designated as
either east or west of the prime meridian

Ptolemy
A Greek scholar who lived five hundred years later than Eratosthenes,
recalculated the circumference of earth to be much smaller by about
9,000 miles.

Random Pattern
Exists if no regular distribution can be seen

Regionalization
The organization of earths surface into distinct areas that are viewed
as different from other areas

Robinson Projection
Tries to correct for this distortion in the high north and south latitudes
by curving these areas inward on the paper

Sauer, Carl
An early 20th century geographer from California, shaped the field of
Human Geography by arguing that cultural landscapes ( products of
interactions between humans and their environments) should be the
main focus of geographic study.

Scale
The relationship between the size of an object or distance between
objects on a map and the size of the actual object or distance on
earths surface

Site
The physical and human- transformed characteristics of a place

Situation
A characteristic refers to relative location

Solar Time
The reckoning of time based on the suns position

Space
The distance between two objects

Space Time Compression

To describe the changes that
rapid connections among places
and regions have brought

Spatial Organization
The location of places, people, and events, and the connections
among places and their landscape

Spatial Perspective
Means that they notice patterns of both natural and human
environments, distributions of people, and locations of all kinds of
objects

Time Zone
A region that has adopted the same standard time

Topography
The natural land surface

Toponym

U.S Census Bureau

One of the biggest employers of geographers in the United States.

Why of Where
Explanations for why a spatial pattern occurs