| Term | Definition |
|---|
| absolute distance | the 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 |
| 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 hinterland that depend on that city for its retail supply |
| 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 |
| choropleth map | a thematic map that uses tones or colors to represent spatial data as average values per unit area |
| cognative map | an image of a portion of the earth's surface that an individual creates in his or her mind |
| complementarity | the actual or potential relationship between two places, usually referring to economic interactions |
| connectivity | the degree of economic, social, cultural, or political connection between two places |
| contagious diffusion | the spread of a disease, 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, plane, or feature on the earth's surface |
| 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 occurances, such as crimes, car accidents, or births |
| expansion diffusion | the spread of ideas, innovations, fashion, or other phenomena to surrounding areas through contact and exchange |
| friction of distance | a measure of how much absolute distance affects the interaction between two places |
| fuller projection | a type of map projection that maintains the accurate size and shape of landmasses but completely rearranges direction such that the four cardinal directions-north, south, east, and west-no longer have any meaning |
| geoid | the actual shape of the earth, with is rough and oblate, or slightly squashed; the earth's circumference is no longer around the equator then it is along the meridians, from north-south circumference |
| gravity model | a mathematical formula that describes the level of interaction between two places, based on the size of their population and their distance from each other |
| hazards | anything in the landscpae, real or percieved, that is potentially threatening |
| hierarchical diffusion | a type of diffusion in which something is transmitted between places because of something the two places have in common |
| international date line | the line of longitude that marks where each new day begins, centered on the 180th meridian |
| intervening opportunities | the idea that one place has a demand for some good or service and two places have a supply of equal price and quality, then the closer of the two suppliers to the buyer will represent as a intervening opportunity, thereby blocking the third from being able to share its supply of goods or services |
| isoline | map line that connects points of equal or very similar values |
| large-scale | a relatively small ratio between map units and ground units |
| latitude | the angular distance north or south of the equator |
| law of retail gravitation | law that states that people will be drawn to larger cities to conduct their business because larger cities have a wider influence on the hinterlands that surround them |
| location charts | on a map, a chart, or graph that gives specific statistical information of a particular political unit or jurisdiction |
| longitude | the angular east or west of the prime meridian |
| map projection | a mathematical method that involves transfering the earth's sphere onto a flat surface |
| mercator projection | a true conformal cylindrical map projection, this map is particularily useful for navigation becuase it maintains accurate direction |
| meridian | a line of longitude that runs north-south |
| parallel | an east-west line of latitude that runs parallel to the equator and that marks distance north or south of the equator |
| peters map projection | a cylindrical map projection that attempts to retain accurate sizes of all the world's land masses |
| preference map | a map that displays individual preferences for certain places |
| prime meridian | an imaginary line passing through the Royal Observatory in Greenwhich, England, which marks the 0 degrees line of longitude |
| proportional symbols map | a thematic map in which the size of a chosen symbol-such as a symbol or triangle-indicates the relative magnitude of some statistical value for a given geographic region |
| reference map | a map type that shows reference information for a particular place, making it useful for finding landmarks and for navigating |
| relative distance | a measure of distance that includes the costs of overcoming the friction of absolute distance seperating two places |
| relative location | the position of a place relative to places around it |
| relocation diffusion | the diffusion of ideas, innovations, behaviors, and the like from one place to another through migration |
| resolution | a map's smallest discernable unit |
| robinson projection | projection that attempts to balance several possible projection erros |
| scale | the ration between the size of an area on a map and the actual size of that same area on earth |
| site | the absolute location of a place, described by local relief, landforms, and other cultural or physical characteristics |
| situation | the relative locaton of a place in relation to the physical and cultural characteristics of the surrounding area and the connectins and interdependence within that system; a place's spatial context |
| small-scale | map scale ratio in which the ratio of units on the map to units on the earth is quite small |
| spatial diffusion | refers to the way in which phenomena, such as technological innovations, cultural trends, or even outbreaks of disease, travel over space |
| stimulus diffusion | when a trait of one culture prompts invention or innovation of another |
| thematic map | a type of map that displays one or more variables-such as population or income level-within a specific area |
| time-space convergence | the idea that distance betwee some places is acutally shrinking as technology enables more rapid communication and increased interaction between those places |
| topographic maps | maps that usse isolines to represent constant elevations |
| topological space | the amount of connectivity between places, regardless of the absolute distance seperating them |
| transferability | the costs involved in moving goods from one place to another |
| visualization | use of sophisticated software to create dynamic computer maps, some of which are 3-D or interactive |
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