CH 1 Essentials of World Geography

• Geography: The study of spatial patterns in human and physical world; Where and how their related and the change over time
• Physical Geography:
• Physical Geography: Study of geographic aspects of natural environments
• Human Geography: Study of geographic aspect of human activities; population, political, economic, cultural, and social aspects of human activities
• Spatial View: Geographic view that focuses on differences among places
• Place: A point or area on Earths surfaces having a geographic character defined by it
• Map: Representation of features of Earthes surface
• Geographic Info Systems (GIS): Computer-based combination of maps, data, and often satellite images that is foundation for geographic analysis
• Absolute Location: Location of a place on Earth's surface as defined by latitude and longitude or by distance in kilometers (miles)
• Latitude: Distance of a place north or south of the equator
• Parallel of Latitude: An imaginary circle joining place of the same latitude
• Longitude: Distance of a place east or west of 0* longitude
• Meridian of Longitude: An imaginary line joining places of same longitude
• Distance: Space between places measured in kilometers (miles)
• Relative Distance: Direction and distance of a place relatie to others, often affected by factors that slow or increase
• Friction of Distance: Relative difficulty of moving from one place to another
• Region: An area of earths surface with physical and human characteristics
• Regional geography: Study of different regions on Earth's surface
• Globalization: The growing interconnects of worlds peoples and integration of their cultures
• Localization: Geographic differentiation of places among and within countries
• Solid Earth Environment: Solid planet earth, incorporating core, mantle, and crust, in which movements of solid rock are caused by interior heat energy
• Earth Surface Environments: Where atmosphere ocean environments interact with solid earth environments to produce relief features such as river or glacial valleys and coastal cliffs and beaches
• Atmosphere ocean Environment: The combination of atmosphere and oceans in which movements that cause weather and climate are controlled by solar energy
• Ecosystem Environments: The environments of living organisms where weather, mineral nutrients and solar energy combine
• Tectonic plate: A large block of Earths crust and underlying rocks approximately 100 km thick and up to several thousand kilometers across
• Divergent plate Boundary: In plate tectonics, a zone between two plates that are moving apart, often marked by an ocean ridge
• Convergent Plate Boundary: In plate tectonics, where two plates move toward each other, causing earthquakes, volcanic activity and mountain building as they meet
• Subduction: In plate tectonics, where two converging plates clash and one is pushed beneath the other, causing earthquakes and volcanoes
• Relief: The physical heigh and slope of the land, as in hills, mountains, and valleys
• Weathering: The action of atmospheric forces (through water circulation and temp changes) on rocks at Earth's surface that breaks the rocks into fragments, particles and dissolved chemicals
• Erosion: The wearing away of rocks at earth's surface by running water, moving ice, the wind, and the sea to form valleys, cliffs, and other landforms
• Deposition: The dropping of particles of rocks carried by rivers, wind, or glaciers when they stop flowing, blowing, or melting
• Soils: Weathered rock material that develops by the actions of water, animals, and plants into a basis for plant growth
• Climate: The long term atmospheric conditions of a place
• Greenhouse effect: The natural process of heating Earth's atmosphere
• Orographic Lifting: Hilly areas, usually facing oceanic moisture sources, cause uplift of air and enhanced precipitation levels
• Tropical Climate: climatic environment typical of the tropical zone and having high temps all year
• Temperate Climate: Climates of midlatitudes in where there are summer winter temp contrasts without extremes of lengthy very hot or cold periods
• Polar Climate: Extremely cold all year
• Ecosystem: The total environment of a community of plants and animals, including heat, light, and nutrient supplies