Exploring Geography

Cards (25)

  • What is where?- Location is given in absolute terms (for example latitude and longitude) and in relation to other places (for example west of Toronto)
  • Absolute location: where something is located in terms of latitude or longitude
  • Relative location: Where something is located in relation to other geographic features
  • Ecosystem: a community of living things and the physical environment in which they live
  • 4 Geographic Concepts: Interrelationships, spatial significance, Patterns and trends, and geographic perspective.
  • Geographic Inquiry: An active, questioning approach to learning about the world from a geographic perspective
  • Five steps to solving geographic problems or questions:
    • Formulate a big question
    • Gather Information
    • Analyze the information
    • Draw conclusions
    • Communicate your conclusions to others
  • Field Studies: studies in local neighbourhoods, school grounds, and various sites
  • Primary Sources: Census data, letters, photographs, speeches, and works of art
  • Secondary Sources: Documentaries and other films, news and articles, reference books, and most websites
  • Visuals: Satellite images, maps, globes, models, graphs, and diagrams
  • Community Resources: Local conservative areas, resources from community groups and associations, government resources and local plans
  • Geotechnologies: the use of advanced technology in the study of geography and in everyday use.
  • Role of geotechnologies in geographic thinking:
    • Geotechnologies are readily available on computers and smartphones, e.g., Google Maps and Google Earth
    • GPS, GIS, and georeferencing technologies are all interconnected, based on precise locations from orbiting satellites
    • GIS and remote sensing allow geographers to see information about Earth from above; however, GIS information “layers” can be combined in many different ways, while remote sensing data cannot
  • Absolute location: The location of a place can be described by its position on the earth's surface, such as latitude and longitude.
  •  interrelationships: Geographers aim to make connections between the natural environment and human activity
  • Spatial Significance: Geographers are interested in the importance of where things are found.
  • Pattern and Trends: Patterns found across the area while trends occur over a period of time.
  • Geographic perspective: Geography connects with many subjects, but its central perspective is our planet or some part of it.
    • GPS (global positioning system): a satellite-based system that provides location data.
  • GIS (geographic information systems): Computer systems that manage and analyze geographic information
  • Georeferencing: linking geographic data to a particular location
    • Remote Sensing: Seeing or measuring something from a considerable distance, often from a satellite
  • Telematics: a technology that involves long-distance transmission
  • Relative location: Where something is located in relation to other geographic features.