Essential “Terms to Know”



Essential “Terms to Know”

Important “Terms to Know” for Geography students.

Absolute Location

Cartography

Climate

Compass rose

Continent

Coordinates

Culture

Elevation

Equator

Global Grid

Hemisphere

Human Geography

Island

Key

Latitude

Longitude

Map

Map projection

Meridian

Mountain

Ocean

Ocean Current

Parallel

Peninsula

Physical Geography

Physical feature

Physical map

Place

Political Map

Political system

Population density

Prime Meridian

Region

Relative location

Scale

Scale bar

Socioeconomic status

Special-purpose map

Tropic of Cancer

Tropic of Capricorn

|Term to Know |Definition |

|Absolute Location |Exact location of a place on the earth described by global coordinates |

|Cartography |Map making |

|Climate |Weather patterns typical in and area over a long period of time |

|Compass Rose |A marker that shows direction |

|Continent |One of the 7 largest landmasses on earth |

|Coordinates |The degrees and/or minutes (N, S, E, W) to describe a place’s location |

|Culture |A way of life for people who share beliefs and similar customs |

|Elevation |Height of land above sea level |

|Equator |Imaginary line that runs halfway between N and S poles; starting point to measure degrees between N and S |

|Global Grid/Grid System |The crossing of latitude and longitude lines that form a pattern; helps find absolute location |

|Hemisphere |Half of a sphere or globe, as in the earth’s N and S hemispheres |

|Human Geography |Study of human activities and their relationship to the cultural and physical environments |

|Island |Land area; smaller than a continent, completely surrounded by water |

|Key |A list to explain symbols used on a map |

|Latitude |Circle the earth parallel to the equator, measure N and S |

|Longitude |Circle the earth pole to pole, measure E and W |

|Map |Drawing of the earth shown on a flat surface |

|Map Projection |Projecting the earth on a flat surface |

|Meridian |One of many lines on the global grid running from the N to the S pole; used to measure degrees of longitude |

|Mountain |Land with steep sides that rises sharply (1,000 ft. or more) from surrounding land; generally larger and more rugged |

| |than a hill |

|Ocean |One of the four major bodies of salt water that surround the continents |

|Ocean Current |Stream of either cold or warm water that moves in a definite direction through an ocean |

|Parallel |One of many lines on the global grid that circles the earth N or S of the equator; used to measure degrees of latitude |

| | |

|Peninsula |Body of land jutting into a lake or ocean, surrounded by water on 3 sides |

|Physical Geography |Study of earth’s physical features |

|Physical Feature |Characteristic of a place occurring naturally, such as a landform, body of water, climate pattern, or resource |

|Physical Map |Shows location and topography, or shape, of the earth’s physical features |

|Place |A particular space with physical and human meaning |

|Political Map |Shows the boundaries between countries (man-made) |

|Political System |A type of government/rule of people |

|Population Density |Average number of people in a square mile or square kilometer |

|Prime Meridian |Line on global grid, runs from N to S pole at Greenwich, England; starting point for measuring degrees of E and W |

|Region |Places united by specific characteristics |

|Relative Location |A place in relation to another place(s) |

|Scale |A consistent, proportional relationship between the measurement shown on the map and the measurement on the earth’s |

| |surface |

|Scale Bar |Gives the relationship between map measurements and actual distances |

|Socioeconomic Status |Level of income and education |

|Special Purpose Map |Maps that emphasize a single idea or particular kind of information about an area |

|Tropic of Cancer |23 ½°N; the northernmost point on the earth to receive the direct rays of the sun |

|Tropic of Capricorn |23 ½°S; the southernmost point on the earth to receive the direct rays of the sun |

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