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Cultural Geography: Thinking Geographically
Key concepts from Chapter 1 of our cultural geography textbook.
14
Geography
Undergraduate 1
03/20/2010

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Cards

Term
What is geography?
Definition
The art and science of
describing the Earth and spatial
relationships.
Term
What is the difference between cultural and physical geography?
Definition
Cultural Geography is the study of patterns and
processes of people across space,
whereas
Physical Geography is the study of patterns and
processes of the natural environment across
space.
Term
What is a map?
(Be able to list the three parts of the definition of a map and discuss each)
Definition
It is a
generalized (doesn't include everything),
reduced (smaller than reality, but to scale), representation (colors and symbols represent actual features in reality)
of the Earth's surface.

A map serves two purposes: tool for reference material (where things are located) and tool for communicating geographic information (depicting patterns, human activities, reasons underlying distributions)
Term
What is map scale?
Definition
A ratio showing how much smaller a map is relative to reality
Term
What are the three kinds of scale?
Definition
Written/verbal scale - "one inch equals four miles"
epresentative fraction - 1:250,000
Graphic - (striped bars)
Term
What is a projection?
Definition
Making a round Earth flat.
- Mercator: most common, uses a cylinder wrapped around globe, touching at equator. To scale only at equator (or other line of accuracy). Good for navigation. Shapes of continents good, but size is distorted, especially near top/bottom of map. Rhumb lines are straight.
- Albers: Conic, uses two standard parallels, used for british columbia
- peters: sizes are correct but shapes are horrible
- robinson: a compromise projections, but nothing is accurate. Just get a better 'picture' to teach students what earth looks like
Term
What is latitude?
Definition
Angular distance north or south of the equator measured from the center of the Earth.
Calculated by the Position of the Sun at its highest point in the year.
One great circle (equator), rest are small circles
Lines are called #th parallel north/south
Term
What are important lines of latitude?
Definition
North pole 90"N
Arctic Circle 66.5"N
Tropic of Cancer 23.5"N
equator 0"
Tropic of capricorn 23.5" S
Antarctic circle 66.5"S
South pole 90"S
Term
What is longitude?
Definition
Angular distance east or west of a point on the Earth's surface, measured from the center of the earth
Lines called east/west meridians
All are great circles
Starting point was arbitrary. measured time to calculate. Compare time in two places, use the difference to calculate longitude
15" per hour
Term
What are important lines of longitutde?
Definition
prime meridian 0"
international date line 180"
Term
what is remote sensing?
Definition
The acquisition of data about the Earth's surface from a satellite orbiting Earth or from another long distance method
Term
What is GIS?
Definition
Geographic Information system: computer system that can capture, store, query, analyze, and display geographic data.
Term
What is GPS?
Definition
a system that determines the position of something on Earth.
Term
Define distribution.
Definition
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