Geo Unit 1 Key Terms

Telling a location using latitude and longitude coordinates.

• Relative location

• Place

• Absolute location

• Space

The shrinking "timed distance" between locations because of improved methods in transportation and communication.

• Distance decay

• Time-space compression

• Absolute location

• Relative location

An area that is defined based on peoples' perception of culture.

• Formal region

• Functional region

• Vernacular (perceptual) region

The inverse relationship between distance and connectedness.

• Environmental determinism

• Time-space compression

• Distance decay

• Possibilism

Refers to the amount of territory that the map represents.

• Legend

• Geographic scale

• Reference map

• Thematic map

Which of the following is NOT an example of physical characteristics?

• Climate

• Native plants and animals

• Culture

• Landforms

The belief that landforms and climate are the most powerful forces shaping human behavior and societal development.

• Environmental determinism

• Time-space compression

• Distance decay

• Possibilism

An area organized around a central hub or focal point where the structures are related to a common activity.

• Formal region

• Functional region

• Vernacular (perceptual) region

A view that acknowledges the limits on the effects of the natural environment and focuses more on the role that human culture plays.

• Environmental determinism

• Distance decay

• Time-space compression

• Possibilism

Shows the spatial aspects of information or of a phenomenon in a given area.

• Legend

• Geographic scale

• Thematic map

• Reference map