Ap Human Geography Flash Cards – Flashcards

Studies where and why natural forces occur as

they do.

(Examples: Climates, landforms, and types of vegetation)

Specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular

characteristic.

Area of Earth distinguished by a distinctive combination

of cultural and physical features.

Relationship between the portion of Earth being

studied and Earth as a whole.

Physical gap or interval between two

objects.

Relationships among people and object 

across the barrier of space.

Scale model of the real world, made small enough

to work with on a desk or computer.

A map can be used as both a Referance Tool or 

as a Communication Tool.

Maps help us to find the shortest route between

two places and to avoid getting lost along the way.

We use maps to try and learn where a place is located in relation to another place.

A map  is often the best means for depicting the distribution of human activities or physical features.

The scientific method of transfering locations on Earth's surface to a flat map.

Divided much of the country into a system of

townships and ranges to facilitate the sale of land to settlers in the West.

A square 6 miles on each side, divided in 36 sections.

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Some of the north-south lines seperating townships.

Some east-west lines.

A township is divided into 36 sections, each is 1 mile by mile.

System that accurately determines the precise

position of something on Earth.

Aquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite orbitin Earth or from long-distance methods.

A computer system that can capture, query, analyze, 

and display geographical data.

Postion that something occupies on

Earth's surface.

4 ways to identify location:

• Place name
• Site
• Situation
• Mathematical Location

Name give to a place on Earth.

The physical character of a plcae.

Location of a place relative to other places.

Arc drawn between the North and South poles.

Numbering system used to indicate the location

of meridians drawn on a globe and measuring distances east and westt of the prime meridian.

The meridian that passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England.

Circle drawn around the globe parallel to the

equator and at right angles to the meridians.

The numbering system used to indicate the location

of parrallels drawn on a globe and measuring distance

north and south of the equator.

Combination of cultural features such as language, and religion, economic features such as agriculture and industry, and physical features such as climate and vegetation.

1. Formal Region
2. Functional Region
3. Vernacular Region

Also called a uniform region or homogeneous region.

An area within which everyone shares in common one or more distinctive charateristics.

Also called a nodal region.

An area organized around a node or focal point.

Also named the perceptual region.

A place that people belive exists as part of their cultural identity.

A good way to identify a perceptual region is to get someone to draw a mental map; an internal representation of a portion of Earth's surface.

The body of customary beliefs, material traits, and social forms that toghether constitute the distinct  tradition of a group of people.

Culture is a complex concept because "to care for" something has two very different meanings:

To care about-to adore or worship something' as in hte modern word cult.

To take care of-to nurse or look after something, as in the modern word cultivate.

The geographic study of human-environment relationships.

Humboldt and Ritter concentrated on how the physical

environment caused social development.

The physical environment may limit some humen actions, but people have the abilty to adjust to their environment.

Substances that are useful to people, economically and

technologically feasible to access, and socially acceptable to use.

 The long-term weather condition at a particular location.

The modified Koppen system divides the main climate regions that are identified by the letters A through E:

• A Tropical Climates
• B Dry Climates
• C Warm Climates
• D Cold Mid-Latitude Climates
• E Polar Climates

Earth's land vegetation includes four major forms of plant communities, called biomes.

Vegetation and soil, in turn, influence the types of agriculture that people practice in a particular region. The four main biomes are forest, savanna, grassland, and desert.

Trees form a continuous canopy over the ground; grasses and shrubs may grow beneath the cover. 

Covers much of North America, Europe, and Asia.

Tropical areas of South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Trees don't form a continuous canopy, and the resultant lack of shade allows grass to grow.

Covers large areas of Africa, South Asia, South America, and Australia.

Land is covered by grass rather than trees; few trees grow in the region because of low precipitation.

  Although many desert areas have essentially no vegetation, the region contains dispersed patches of plants adapted to dry conditions.

Material that forms on Earth's surface, is the thin interface between the air and the rocks.

More than 12,000 soil types.

Two factors detroy the soil-erosion and nutrients.

Earth's surface features vary from relatively flat to mountainous.

Geographers find that the study of Earth's landforms-a science known as geomorphology-helps to explain the distribution of people and the choice of economic activities at different locations.

Peice of land that is creathed by draining water from an area.

Example: Netherlands creating polders for agriculture to reduce the country's dependance on imported food.

A force or process that involves the entire world and results in making something worldwide in scope.

The scale of the world is shrinking.

Conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters and principal shareholders are located.

Arrangement of a feature in space.

Geographers identify three main properties of distribution across Earth-density, concentration, and pattern.

The frequency with which something occurs in space.

Density is divided into 3 catagories-arithmetic, physiological, and agricultural density.

Total number of objects in an area, is commonly used to compare the distribution of population in different countries.