AP Human Geography Thematic Maps – Flashcards

-simplest type of thematic map -shows features that occur at discrete locations -ex: earthquakes, nuclear power plants, and mineral producing areas (gold and silver). - symbol size can indicate importance

-useful for delineating regions of interest on the earths surface -ex: (tobacco and fisheries maps) shows major tobacco producing regions in one color and major fishing areas in another color. -different shadings/colors are used to differentiate between major and minor regions

-show a distribution using a pattern of dots where each dot represents a certain amount/quantity. -used extensively to show distribution of agricultural commodities

-earth's surface is divided into areas based on different classes/categories of a particular geographic phenomenon

-used to portray quantities that vary smoothly over the surface of the earth. -frequently used for climate variables such as precipitations, crop yield, temperature, etc -line on a maps that joins two locations -different areas given different colors

-portray numeral quantities (total populations, value of agricultural goods in different regions, etc) -the symbols on this map (usually circles) are drawn such that each size of each is proportional to the value at the location

-show flow between locations -usually the thickness of flow is proportional to flow volume -the location of the flow lines may not represent actual physical routes -flow may be physical commodities like petroleum, or less tangible quantities like information

-apply distinctive colors to predefined areas (counties or states) to represent different quantities in each area (usually rates, percentages, or densities) -ex: birthrates

ex:digital images, analogous to the pictures captured by digital cameras

-deliberately distort map shapes to achieve specific effects. -the size of each area is made proportional to its populations (larger population are drawn bigger) -country are depicted as rectangular -the advantage of this is that it is easier to compare the area of countries when their shapes are consistent