Geography Unit 1 combined
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99 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Location | A specific place on Earth. |
| Absolute Location | The exact position of a place on the Earth's surface. |
| Hemisphere | Half of a sphere or globe, as in the Earth's Northern and Southern Hemisphere. |
| Grid System | Patterns formed as the lines of latitude and longitude cross one another. |
| Relative Location | Location in relation to other places. |
| Place | A particular space with physical and human meaning. |
| Region | Places united by specific characteristics. |
| Formal Region | A regoin defined by a common character, such as production of a product. |
| Functional Region | A central point and the surrounding territory linked to it. |
| Perceptual Region | A region defined by popular feelings and images rather than by objective data. |
| Ecosystem | The complex community of independent living things in a given environment. |
| Movement | ongoing movement of people, gods, and ideas. |
| Human-Environment Interaction | The study of the inter-relationship between people and their physical environment. |
| Physical Geography | The study of Earth's physical features. |
| Human Geography (known as Geography) | The study of human activities and their relationships, to the culture and physical environments. |
| Meteorology | The study of weather and weather forecasting. |
| Cartography | the science of mapmaking |
| geographic information systems (GIS) | computer tools for processing and organizing details and satellite images with other pieces of information |
| hydrosphere | the watery areas if the earth including oceans, lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water |
| lithosphere | Surface land areas of the earth's crust, including continents and ocean basins. |
| atmosphere | A layer of gases that surround the earth. |
| biosphere | The part of earth were life exists. |
| Continental Shelf | The part of the continent that extends underwater. |
| Mantle | The middle layer of the earth's interior structure, crossing of dense, hot rock. |
| Continental Drift | The theory that the continents were once joined then drifted apart. |
| Magma | molten rock that is pushed up from the earth's mantle. |
| Plate Tectonics | The term scientists use to describe the activities of continental drift and magma flow which create many of earth's physical features. |
| Subduction | A process by which mountains can form as sea plates dive between continental plates. |
| Accretion | A slow process in which a sea plates slides under a continental plate, creating debris that can cause continents to grow outward. |
| Spreading | A process by which new land is created when sea plates pull apart and magma wells up between the plates. |
| Fold | A bend in layers of rocks, sometimes caused by plate movement. |
| Fault | A crack or break in the earth's crust. |
| Weathering | Chemical or physical process, such as freezing, that breaks down rocks. |
| Erosion | Wearing away of the earth's surface by wind. |
| Loess | fine yellowish-brownish topsoil made up of particles of slit and clay usually carried by the wind. |
| Glacier | Large body of ice that moves across the surface of the earth. |
| Moraine | Piles of rocky debris left by melting glacier. |
| Water Cycle | Regular movement of water from ocean to air to ground to back to the ocean. |
| Evaporation | Process of converting into vapor. |
| Condensation | The process of exes water vapor changing into liquid water when warm air cools. |
| Precipitation | Moisture that falls to earth as rain, slit, hail, or snow. |
| Desalination | The removal of slat from seawater to make it useable for drinking and farming. |
| Groundwater | Water within the earth that supplies wells and springs. |
| Aquifer | Underground water-bearing layers of porous, rock, sand, or gravel. |
| Weather | Condition of the atmosphere in one place during a short period of time. |
| Climate | Weather patterns typical for an area over a long period of time. |
| Axis | An imaginary line that runs through the center of the earth between the North and South Poles. |
| Temperature | Degree of hotness or coldness measured on a set scale, such as Fahrenheit or Celsius. |
| Revolution | In astronomy, the earth's yearly trip around the sun, taking 365/4 days. |
| Equinox | One of two days (about March 21 or September 23) on which the sun is directly above the equater, making day and night equal in length. |
| solstice | one of two days (about June 21 and December 22) on which the sun's rays strike directly on the Tropic of Cancer or Tropic of Capricorn, marking the beginning of summer or winter. |
| greenhouse effect | the capacity of certain gases in the atmosphere to trap heat, thereby warming the earth |
| global warming | gradual warming of the earth and its atmosphere that may be caused in part by pollution and an increase in the greenhouse effect. |
| prevailing wind | wind in a region that blows in a fairly constant directional pattern |
| Coriolis effect | an effect that causes the prevailing winds to blow diagonally rather than along strict north-south or east-west lines |
| doldrums | a frequently windless area near the Equator |
| current | cold or warm stream of seawater that flows in the oceans, generally in a circular pattern |
| El Niño | a periodic reversal of the pattern of ocean currents and water temperatures in the mid-Pacific region |
| windward | facing toward the direction from which the wind is blowing |
| leeward | facing away from the direction from which the wind is blowing |
| rain shadow | dry area found on the leeward side of a mountain |
| natural vegetation | plant life that grows in a certain area if people have not changed the natural environment |
| oasis | small area in a desert where water and vegetation are found |
| coniferous | trees such as evergreens that have cones and needle-shaped leaves, and keep their foliage throughout winter |
| deciduous | trees, usually broad leaved such as oak and maple, that lose their leaves in autumn. |
| mixed forest | forest with both coniferous and deciduous trees |
| chaparral | type of vegetation made up of dense forests of shrubs and short trees, sommon in Mediterranean climates |
| prairie | an inland grassland area |
| permafrost | permanently frozen layer of soil beneath the surface of the ground |
| hypothesis | a scientific explanation for an event |
| smog | haze caused by the interaction of ultraviolet-solar radiation with chemical fumes from automobile exhausts and other pollution sources |
| death rate | the number of deaths per year for every 1,000 people |
| birthrate | the number of births per year for every 1,000 people |
| natural increase | the growth rate of a population; the difference between birthrate and death rate |
| doubling time | the number of years it takes a population to double in size |
| population distribution | the pattern of population in a country, a continent, or the world |
| population density | the average number of people in a square mile or square kilometer |
| migration | the movement of people from place to place |
| culture | way of life of a group of people who share beliefs and similar customs |
| language family | group of related languages that have all developed from one earlier language |
| ethnic group | group of people who share common ancestry, language, religion, customs, or combination of such characteristics. |
| culture region | division of the earth based on a variety of factors, including government, social groups, economic systems, language, or religion |
| cultural diffusion | the spread of new knowledge and skills from one culture to another |
| culture hearth | a center where cultures developed and from which ideas and traditions spread outward |
| unitary system | a government in which all key powers are given to the national or central government |
| federal system | a form of government in which powers are divided between the national government and the state government |
| autocracy | government in which a single individual possesses the power and authority to rule |
| oligarchy | system of government in which a small group of people holds power |
| democracy | any system of government in which leaders rule with consent of the citizens |
| traditional economy | a system in which tradition and custom control all economic activity; exists in only a few parts of the world |
| market economy | an economic system based on free enterprise, in which businesses privately owned, and production and prices are determined by supply and demand. |
| mixed economy | an economy in which the government supports and regulates enterprise through decisions that affect the marketplace |
| command economy | economic system in which economic decisions about production and distribution are made by some central authority |
| natural resource | substance from the earth that is not made by people but can be used by them |
| developed country | country that has a great deal of technology and manufacturing |
| developing country | country in the process of becoming industrialized |
| industrialization | transition from an agricultural society to one based on industry |
| free trade | the removal of trade barriers so that goods can flow freely between country |
| pollution | the existence of impure, unclean, or poisonous substances in the air, water, or land |
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