Absolute direction
A compass direction such as north or south.
Absolute distance
The distance that can be measured with a standard unit length, such as a mile or kilometre.
Absolute location
Exact location of a place on the earth described by global coordinates
Area Distortion
The distortion of an area; inaccurate to the actual area; bigger or small, thinner or wider
Census data
Geospatial data collected through the quantification of a population
Clustering
organizing items into related groups during recall from long-term memory
Direction distortion
The direction from one place to another can be distorted.
Disperal
the movement of organisms from one place to another
Distance Decay
The diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin.
Disperse
to scatter, spread far and wide
Elevation
height above sea level
Environmental determinism
A doctrine that claims that cultural traits are formed and controlled by environmental conditions.
Field observation
the act of physically visiting a location, place, or region and recording, firsthand, information there
Flows
processes that move matter between pools
Formal region
An area in which everyone shares in one or more distinctive characteristics
Functional Region
An area organized around a node or focal point
Geographic Information System
A computer system that stores, organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data.
Geographical Data
Quantitative or qualitative information about people, places and environments.
Geospatial Data
Information about a physical object that can be represented by numerical values in a geographic coordinate system.
Global scale
Interactions occurring at the scale of the world, in a global setting.
land use
Various ways humans use the land such as agricultural, industrial, residential, or recreational
Landscape Analysis
the task of defining and describing landscapes
local scale
A spatial scale that is essentially equivalent to a community.
Map Distortion
a change in the shape, size, or position of a place when it is shown on a map
Media reports
articles published by news papers or magazines
National scale
as viewed across the whole country
natrual resources
This includes rescources of oil, fossil fuels, coal, etc which are limited in nature
Online Mapping
Websites that provide graphical information in the form of maps and databases
Online Visualization
Use of sophisticated software to create dynamic computer maps, some of which are three dimensional or interactive.
pattern
The geometric or regular arrangement of something in a study area.
Perceptual/Venacular region
an area that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity
personal interviews
direct, face-to-face conversation between an interviewer and the respondent
Photographic Interpretation
The act of examining photographic images for the purpose of identifying objects and judging their significance
place
A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular character.
policy documents
communicate organizational policies and procedures
possiblism
The theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives.
Reference Maps
Maps that show the absolute location of places and geographic features determined by a frame of reference, typically latitude and longitude
regional analysis
The study of the cultural, economic, political, physical, or other factors that contribute to the distinctiveness of geographical areas.
regional scale
Interactions occurring within a region, in a regional setting.
relative direction
Directions such as left, right, forward, backward, up, and down based on people's perception of places
relative distance
Approximate measurement of the physical space between two places.
relative location
The position of a place in relation to another place
remote sensing
The acquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or other long-distance methods.
satellite imagery
Images generated at intervals from satellites orbiting the Earth. Can show visible, infrared, shortwave infrared or water vapor images.
satellite navigation system
Portable device that uses GPS to plot the user's position.
Shape distortion
misrepresentation by unequal magnification of the actual shape of the structure being examined
space
The physical gap or interval between two objects
Sustainability
The ability to keep in existence or maintain. A sustainable ecosystem is one that can be maintained
thematic maps
Maps that tell stories, typically showing the degree of some attribute or the movement of a geographic phenomenon
Time-space convergence
The idea that distance between some places is actually shrinking as technology enables more rapid communication and increased interaction among those places
travel narratives
People travelled to distant places and took stock of and account of what they saw there. This was a way of bringing back stories, ideas and traditions of other distant places. Also helped connect europe to the "other". Examples Cadamasto, Bernal Diaz, Montaigne.