AP Human Geography Review - The 5M Family€¦ · AP Human Geography Review Page 1 of 48 Geography - Nature & Perspectives Sequent occupance the notion that successive societies leave

AP Human Geography Review Page 1 of 48

Geography - Nature & Perspectives

Sequent occupance

the notion that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place, each contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape

Definition

Cultural landscape

the visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscapeDefinition

Arithmetic density

The total number of people divided by the total land area.Definition

Physiological density

The number of people per unit of area of arable land, which is land suitable for agriculture.

Definition

Hearth

the region from which innovative ideas originateDefinition

Diffusion

the process of spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time

Definition

Relocation diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another.

Definition

Expansion diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in a snowballing process.

Definition

Hierarchical diffusion

The spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places

Definition

Contagious diffusion

The rapid widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population.

Definition

Stimulus diffusion

The spread of an underlying principle, even though a specific characteristic is rejected.

Definition

Absolute distance

The distance that can be measured with a standard unit of length, such as a mile or kilometer.

Definition

Relative distance

A measure of distance that includes the costs of overcoming the friction of absolute distance separating two places. Often relative distance describes the amount of social, cultural, or economic connectivity between two places.

Definition

Distribution

the act of distributing or spreading or apportioningDefinition

Environmental determinism

A nineteenth- and early twentieth- century approach to the study of geography that argued that the general laws sought by human geographers could be found in the physical sciences. Geography was therefore the study of how the physical environment caused human activities. (States the physical terrain of the world dictates how the humans survive).

Definition

Absolute location

Position on Earth’s surface using the coordinate system of longitude (that runs from North to South Pole) and latitude (that runs parallel to the equator).

Definition

Relative location

The position of a place relative to places around it.Definition

Site

physical position in relation to the surroundingsDefinition

Situation

physical position in relation to the surroundingsDefinition

Space Time Compression

the reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place as a result of improved communications and transportation systems

Definition

Friction of Distance

the increase in time and cost that usually comes with increasing distanceDefinition

Distance Decay

The diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin.

Definition

Networks

the areal pattern of sets of places and the routes (links) connecting them along which movement can take place.

Definition

Connectivity

The degree of direct linkage between one particular location and other locations in a transport network.

Definition

Accessibility

The relative ease with which a destination may be reached from some other place.

Definition

Space

the unlimited expanse in which everything is locatedDefinition

Spatial Distribution

physical location of geographic phenomena across space.Definition

Size

Internal physical and cultural characteristics of a place, such as its terrain and dominant religions, among others

Definition

Scale

the ratio between the size of something and a representation of itDefinition

Formal Region (uniform)

A type of region marked by a certain degree of homogeneity in one or more phenomena; also called uniform region or homogeneous region.

Definition

Functional Region (nodal region)

A region defined by the particular set of activities or interactions that occur within it.

Definition

Vernacular Region (Perceptual Region)

a place that people believe exists as a part of their cultural identityDefinition

Possibilism

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. (States people can overcome the physical problems/features – humans conquer land instead of land conquering humans).

Definition

Natural Landscape

The physical landscape or environment that has not been affected by human activities.

Definition

Pattern

the design of a spatial distribution (e.g. scattered or concentrated)Definition

Place Name toponym

A place name. Gives a quick glimpse into the history of a place.

Place name religion defined by geographers Robert Stoddard and Carolyn Prorak in the book Geography in America as "a system of beliefs and practices that attempts to order life in terms of culturally perceived ultimate priorities."

Definition

Population - Migration & Dispersion

Age Distribution

the distributions of age in a populationDefinition

Carry capacity

the largest number of people that the environment of a particular area can support

Definition

Cohort

a population group that's distinguished by a certain characteristicDefinition

Demographic equation.

equation that summarizes the amount of growth or decline in a population during a certain period of time, also taking into account net migration and natural increase

Definition

Demographic momentum

The tendency for growing population to continue growing after a fertility decline because of their young age distribution.

Definition

Demographic regions

Regions grouped together by the stage of the demographic transition model that most countries in the region are in.

Ex. Cape Verde (Afr

Definition

Demographic Transition model

A sequence of demographic changes in which a country moves from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates through time. Stage 1 is low growth (low stationary), Stage 2 is High Growth (early expanding), Stage 3 is Moderate Growth (late expanding), and Stage 4 is Low Growth (low stationary), and Stage 5 although not officially a stage is a possible stage that includes zero or negative population growth.

Definition

Dependency ratio

- ratio of the economically dependent part of the population to the productive part

Definition

Diffusion of fertility control

The spread of fertility control throughout the world.Definition

Disease diffusion

There are two types, contagious and hierarchical. Hierarchical is along high density areas that spread from urban to rural areas. Contagious is spread through the density of people.

Definition

Doubling time

- The time required for a population to double in size

The number of years need to double a population, assuminf a constant rate of natural increase.

Definition

Ecumene

- meeting place for the world's religions and ideologies

The proportion of earth's surface occupied by permanent human settlement.

Definition

Epidemiological transition model

A cause of death in each stage of the demographic transition. It can explain how a country changes in a demographic transition.

Definition

Gendered space

Knowledge about using space from a male to a female angle, to determine how females may be restricted in use of public and private spaces compared to males.

Definition

Infant mortality rate (IMR)

- A figure that describes the number of babies that die within the first year of their lives in a given population

The annual number of deaths of infants under one year of age, compared with total live births. Expressed as a number of deaths among infants per 1000 births.

Definition

Jcurve

When the projection population show exponential growth.Definition

Maladaption

An adaptation that has become less helpful than harmful.Definition

Malthus, Thomas

One of the first to argue that the worlds rate of population increase was far outrunning the development of food population.

Definition

Mortality

2 Types: Infant mortality rate and life expectancy. The IMR reflects a country's health care system and life expectancy measures the average number of years a baby can expect to live.

Definition

Natality (Crude Birth Rate)

(Crude Birth Rate) The ratio of live births in an area to the population of that area; it is expressed as a number of births in a year to every 1000 people alive in the society.

Definition

NeoMalthusian

Theory that builds upon Malthus' thoughts on overpopulation. Takes into count two factors: population growth in LDC's, and outstripping the resources other than food.

Definition

Overpopulation

Problems result when an area’s population exceeds the capacity of the environment to support them at an acceptable standard of living.

When the number of people in an area is more than the area can support.

Definition

Population densities

- measurements of number of people per a unit of land area

The frequency with which something occurs in space. Physiological Density and Arithmetic Density.

Definition

Agricultural density

The ratio of the number of farmers to the total amount of land suitable for agriculture.

Definition

Population distributions

- Description of locations on the Earth's surface where populations liveDefinition

Population explosion

- The rapid growth of the world's human population during the past century, attended by ever-shorter doubling times and accelerating rates of increase

Occurred in the late 18th and early 19th centuries because several countries moved on to stage 2 of the DTM. Can trace factors that lead to these explosions.

Definition

Population projection

- the estimated population in a certain time in the future

Helps predict future problems with population such as overpopulation or under population of a certain race or ethnicity.

Definition

Population pyramid

a pyramid-like diagram that displays the population distributions between age and sex

Shape is determined primarily by crude birth rate. Shows age distribution and sex ratio.

Definition

Rate of natural increase

- difference of CDR and CBR in a given country in a yearThe percentage by which a population grows in a year.

CBRCDR = NIR Excludes migrationAffects the population and a country’s or area’s ability to support that population.

Definition

Scurve

Relates to growth and decline in the natural increase.Definition

Sex ratio

The number of males per hundred females in the population.Definition

Standard of living

Living

Refers to the quality and quantity of goods and services available to people and the way they are distributed within a population.

Definition

Sustainability

- how well a country can supply its residents with the proper needs

Relates to development that meets today's needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Definition

Under population

Refers to a sharp drop or decrease in a region's population.Definition

Zero population growth

- CDR and the CBR of a country even outWhen the Crude Birth Rate equals the Crude Death Rate and the natural increase rate approaches zero.

Definition

Activity space

- places in a local area in which cyclic movement occursThe space used for a certain industry or activity.

Definition

Chain migration

- Pattern of migration that develops when migrants move along and through kinship links (i.e. one migrant settles in a place and then writes, calls, or communicates through others to describe this place to family and friends who in turn then migrate there)

Migration of people to a specific location because relatives or members of the same nationality previously migrated there.

Mostly seen from Mexico to the United States when guest workers set up homes and make money for their family to follow them.

Definition

Cyclic movement

- repetitive movement in a short periods of time (back-and-forth movement)

Seasonal and nomadism. Leave a place, but return.

Definition

Distance Decay

The diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin.

Definition

Forced Migration

Permanent movement compelled usually by cultural factors.Definition

Gravity Model

A model that states that the potential use of a service at a particular location is directly related to the number of people in a location and inversely related to the distance people must travel to reach the service.

Definition

Internal Migration

Permanent movement within a particular country.Definition

Intervening Opportunity

An environmental or cultural feature of the landscape that helps migration.Definition

Migration Patterns

A change in residence intended to be permanent. See also chain, forced, internal, international, step, and voluntary migration.

Definition

Intercontinental Migration Pattern

Permanent movement from one country to a different country on the same continent.

Definition

Interregional Migration Pattern

Permanent movement from one region of the country to another.Definition

Rural-Urban Migration Pattern

Permanent movement from suburbs and rural areas to the urban city area.Definition

Migratory Movement

Describes human movement from a source to a destination without a return journey.

Definition

Periodic Movement

Seasonal migration of live stock between mountains and lowland pastures.

Periodic Movement/Transhumance

Definition

Personal Space

Personal "bubble."Definition

Place Utility

The desirability of a place based on its social, economic, and environmental situation. Often used to compare the value of living in different locations.

Definition

PushPull Factors

Factors that convince people to leave old residence and move to new locations.

Definition

Refugee

People forced to migrate from their home country and cannot return for fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion.

Definition

SpaceTime Prism

The set of all points that can reached by an individual given a maximum possible speed from a starting point in space time and an ending point in the space time.

Definition

Step Migration

A series of small, less extreme location changes are steps.Definition

Transhumance

A seasonal periodic movement of pastoralists and their livestock between highland and lowland pastures

Definition

Transmigration

The removal of people from one place and their relocation somewhere else within a country.

Definition

Voluntary Migration

Movement in which people relocate in response to perceived opportunity, not because they are forced to move

Definition

Cultural Patterns & Processes

Acculturation

Process of adopting only certain customs that will be to their advantage.Sentence: A lot of religions use acculturation.Example: an Italian could live in America and he speaks english in America but Italian to his relatives in Italy

Definition

Assimilation

The process through which people lose originally differentiating traits, such as dress, speech particularities or mannerisms, when they come into contact with another society or culture. Often used to describe immigrant adaptation to new places of residence

Process of less dominant cultures losing their culture to a more dominant culture.

Many languages have almost been assimilated.

hebrew, Ge'ez

Definition

Cultural Adaptation

new people adapt to the culture of the previously existing peopleDefinition

Cultural core/periphery pattern

The core-periphery idea that the core houses main economic power of region and the outlying region or periphery houses lesser economic ties.

Definition

Cultural Ecology

Geographic approach that emphasizes human-environment relationships.

the place and location of a specific culture based on ecology

Definition

Cultural Identity

Ones belief in belonging to a group or certain cultural aspectDefinition

Cultural Landscape

the visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscapeDefinition

Cultural Realm

a group of culture traitsDefinition

Culture

the attitudes and behavior that are characteristic of a particular social group or organization

Definition

Culture Region

group of culture realms, in formal, functional, and vernacularDefinition

Formal (Uniform)

An area in which everyone shares in one or more distinctive characteristicsDefinition

Core

- processes that incorporate higher levels of education, higher salaries, and more technology thereby generating more wealth in the world economy

Definition

Periphery

- processes that incorporate lower levels of education, lower salaries, and less technology, thereby generating less wealth in the world economy.

Definition

Functional (Nodal)

an area organized around a node, or focal pointDefinition

Vernacular (perceptualregional selfawareness)

A place that people believe exsits as part of their cultureDefinition

Diffusion Types

Expansion, Hierarchical, Contagious, Stimulus, RelocationDefinition

Expansion Diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in a snowballing process.

Definition

Hierarchical Diffusion

The spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places

Definition

Contagious Diffusion

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population.

Definition

Stimulus Diffusion

The spread of an underlying principle, even though a specific characteristic is rejected.

Definition

Relocation Diffusion

The spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another.

Definition

Innovation Adoption

Study of how why and at what rate new technology spreads throughout a culture

Definition

Maladaptive diffusion

Diffusion of a process with negative side effects or What works well in one region may not in another

Definition

Sequence Occupancy

To refer to such cultural succession and its lasting imprint proposed by Derwent Whittlesey.

Definition

Religion

a system of beliefs and practices that attempts to order life in terms of culturally perceived ultimate priorities

Definition

Animism

Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.

Definition

Buddhism

- Religion founded in the sixth century BCE and characterized by the belief that enlightenment would come through knowledge, especially self-knowledge; elimination of greed, craving, and desire; complete honesty; and never hurting another person or animal. Buddhism splintered from Hinduism as a reaction to the strict social hierarchy maintained by Hinduism

Definition

Cargo Cult Pilgrimage.

Cargo Cult's believe western goods have been traded to them by ancestral spirits. It takes place in Melanesia and is important go HG because it's a big religious movement by a large number of people.

Definition

Christianity

- Religion based on the teachings of Jesus. According to Christian teaching, Jesus is the son of God, placed on Earth to teach people how to live according to God's planactivity space The space within which daily activity occurs

Definition

Confucianism

the religion that follows a set of philosophiesDefinition

Ethnic Religion

religion that is adopted mainly by people of one race

A religion that is particular to one, culturally distinct, group of people. Unlike universalizing religions, adherents of ethnic religions do not actively seek converts through evangelism or missionary work

Definition

Exclave/Enclave

An enclave is a country or part of a country mostly surrounded by the territory of another country; an exclave is one, which is geographically separated from the main part by surrounding alien territory.

Definition

Fundamentalism

literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion.Definition

Geomancy

is a method of prediction that interprets markings on the ground, or how handfuls of dirt land when someone tosses them. The Arabic tradition consists of sketching sixteen random lines of dots in sand.

Definition

Hajj

- The Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad

the pilgrimage to Mecca for Islam followers, it's the fifth of the five pillars

Definition

Hinduism

- One of the oldest religions in the modern world, dating back over 4000 years, and originating in the Indus River Valley of what is today part of Pakistan. Hinduism is unique among the world's religions in that it does not have a single founder, a single theology, or agreement on its origins

Created in India, approximately one billion followers. Unlike other religions, heaven isn't always the ultimate goal in life. Third largest in world behind Christianity and Islam. Talk about Karma (what goes around comes around.)

Definition

Interfaith boundaries

- Boundaries between the world's major faiths

boundary that separates two religious views

Definition

Islam

- The youngest of the major world religions, Islam is based on the teachings of Muhammad, born in Mecca in 571 CE. According to Islamic teaching, Muhammad received the truth directly from Allah in a series of revelations during which Muhammad spoke the verses of the Qu'ran (Koran), the Islamic holy book

means the submission to the will of god, also monotheistic religion originating with the teachings of Muhammad, a key religious figure

Definition

Jainism

religion and philosophy originating in ancient India. Stresses spiritual independence and equality throughout all life

Definition

Judaism

- Religion with its roots in the teachings of Abraham (from Ur), who is credited with uniting his people to worship only one god. According to Jewish teaching, Abraham and God have a covenant in which the Jews agree to worship only one God, and God agrees to protect his chosen people, the Jews

It is the religion of ancient Hebrews, said to be one of the first monotheistic faiths

Definition

Landscapes of the dead

the certain areas where people have commonly been buriedDefinition

Monotheism/polytheism

one god, poly-many godsDefinition

Mormonism

a branch of Amish Christianity that allows men to have several wivesDefinition

Muslim pilgrimage

If physically and financially able, a Muslim makes a pilgrimage to Mecca, they usually make the trip around Ramadan, this pilgrimage is also referred to as Hajj

Definition

Muslim population

It is the religion of 1.3 billion people in the world. It is the predominant religion of the Middle East from North Africa to Central Asia. Half of the world's Muslims live in four countries outside the Middle East: Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India. It is important because Islam is one of the most popular religions practiced around the world.

Definition

Proselytic Religion

Referred to as a Universalizing Religion, which is an attempt to be global, to appeal to all people, wherever they may live in the world, not just to those of one culture or location

Definition

Reincarnation

birth after deathDefinition

Religion (groups, places)

One group is universalizing religions. These are Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. All of these have different branches. There's also ethnic religions, such as, Hinduism, Daoism, and Confucianism. These religions are spread out throughout the world

Definition

Religious architectural styles

These are the styles of architecture created by the religions. For example, Christians have always made temples, and Buddhists have always made a lot of religious statues. This is important to human geography because these styles affected most of the future styles for other civilizations.

Definition

Religious Conflict

this is the conflicts between religionsDefinition

Religious Culture Hearth

This is where most religions are born. Most major religions have come from the Middle East near Israel, but a few have come from India too. This is important to human geography because where religions are created, civilizations are too.

Definition

Religious toponym

This refers to the origin and meaning of the names of religions. This is important to HG because many names mean significant things including beliefs of cultures.

Definition

Sacred space

Sacred space is the place where religious figures and congregations meet to perform religious ceremonies. This is important to HG because a lot of history has taken place at sacred spaces.

Definition

Secularism

- The idea that ethical and moral standards should be formulated and adhered to for life on Earth, not to accommodate the prescriptions of a deity and promises of a comfortable afterlife. A secular state is the opposite of a theocracy

Definition

Shamanism

- Community faith in traditional societies in which people follow their shamanùa religious leader, teacher, healer, and visionary. At times, an especially strong shaman might attract a regional following. However, most shamans remain local figures

this is the range of traditional beliefs and practices that claim the ability to cure, heal, and cause pain to people

Definition

Sharia law

it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles

Definition

Shintoism

- Religion located in Japan and related to Buddhism. Shintoism focuses particularly on nature and ancestor worship

said to be the way of god. It is the native religion of Japan and was once its state religion. It involves the worship of kami (a god). Not very significant anymore and lost importance to today

Definition

Sikhism

a combination of Hinduism and IslamDefinition

Political Organization of Space

exclave

a country which is geographically separated from the main part by surrounding territory

Definition

periphery

the outermost part of region within a boundaryDefinition

Annexation

legally adding land area to a city in the United StatesDefinition

Antarctica

Earth's southernmost continent; world's largest land mass that is not claimed

Definition

Apartheid

laws (no longer in effect in South Africa) that physically separated different races into geographic areas

Definition

Balkanization

process by which a state breaks down because of conflicts among its ethnicities

Definition

Border Landscape

There are two types: Exclusionary and Inclusionary. Exclusionary is meant to keep people out. Inclusionary is meant to facilitate trade and movement. Examples: Exclusionary- US-Mexico border. Inclusionary- US-Canada border.

Definition

Boundary disputes

conflicts of the location, size, and extent of borders between nations; states arguing over their boundaries and how they function

Definition

Boundary origin

boundaries often originated from old tribal lands and lands won in war; were meant to establish claims to land and were often small historically

Definition

Boundary process

a legal document or treaty drawn up to specify actual points in the landscape. putting the boundary on the map. actually marking the boundary on the ground with a wall, fence, post, etc.

Definition

Boundary type

the different types of boundaries including natural/physical, ethnographic/cultural, and geometric;

Definition

Buffer state

a country lying between two rival or potentially hostile greater powers, which by its sheer existence is though to prevent conflict between them

Definition

Capital

principle city in a state or countryDefinition

Centrifugal

- Forces that tend to divide a countryùsuch as internal religious, linguistic, ethnic, or ideological differences

forces that divide a state

Definition

Centripetal

forces that unite a stateDefinition

City-state

a sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate hinterlandDefinition

Colonialism

- rule by an autonomous power over a subordinate and alien people and place.

an attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory

Definition

Confederation

group of states united for a common purposeDefinition

Conference of Berlin

regulated trade and colonization in Africa; it formalized the scramble to gain colonies in Africa and set up boundaries for each country's colonies

Definition

Core

largest population center; most productive region; area with greatest centrality and accessibility; probably containing capital as well

Definition

Decolonization

acquisition, by colonized people, of control over their own territoryDefinition

Devolution

The process whereby regions within a state demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government

Definition

Domino theory

if one country in a region chose or was forced to accept a communist political and economic system, then neighboring countries would be irresistibly susceptible to falling to communism

Definition

Exclusive Economic Zone

a sea zone which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources

Definition

Electoral regions

the different voting districts that make up local, state, and national regionsDefinition

Enclave

a country or part of a country mostly surrounded by the territory of another country or wholly lying within the boundaries of another country

Definition

Ethnic conflict

a war between ethnic groups often as a result of ethnic nationalism or fight over natural resources

Definition

European Union

a supernational and intergovernmental union of 27 democratic member states of Europe

Definition

Federal

- A political-territorial system wherein a central government represents the various entities within a nation-state where they have common interestsùdefense, foreign affairs, and the likeùyet allows these various entities to retain their own identities and to have their own laws, policies, and customs in certain spheres

Definition

Forward capital

a symbolically relocated capital city usually because of either economic or strategic reasons

Definition

Frontier

a zone where no state exercises complete political controlDefinition

Geopolitics

the study that analyzes geography, history, and social science with reference to international politics

Definition

Gerrymander

the process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the political party in power

Definition

Global commons

no one person or state may own or control and which is central to lifeDefinition

Heartland/rim land

the central region of a country or continent; especially a region that is important to a country or to a culture

Definition

Immigrant state

a type of receiving state which is the target of many immigrantsDefinition

Agricultural & Rural Land Use

Adaptive strategies

Describes a society's system of economic production-helps explain some of the differences between societies that are influenced by economy.

Definition

Agrarian

People or societies that are farmers therefore promote agricultural interest ext.-Where agrarian people and societies are located is not generally near cities ext. but these types of people are essential to the way that we live and our ability to live in cities.

Definition

Agribusiness

- general terms for the businesses that provide the vast array of goods and services that support the agriculture industry

Commercial agriculture characterized by integration of different steps in the food-proccessing industry, usually throughownership by large corporations.-It influences how things are grown and what people eat.

Definition

Agricultural Industrialization

The use of machinery in agriculture, like tractors etc-Makes it a lot faster for mfarmers to yield crop.

Definition

Agricultural landscape

The land that we farm on and what we choose to put were on our fields. -Effects how much yield one gets from their plants.

Definition

Agricultural location model

a model designed by Von Thunen, that depending on the cost of transportation and the value of hte product, different types of farming are conducted at different distances from a city. Site or human factors were not considered in this model.-when deciding whree to locate a farm, a farmermust take into consideration how much it costs to ransport their product. Location of farm affects what a farmer will produce (if in rural area farmer is less likely to grow highly perishable and bulky products)

Definition

Agricultural Origins

Through time nomadic people noticed the growing of plants in a cycle and began to domesticate them and use for there own use. Carl Sauer points out vegetativve planting likely was roginated in SE Asia and seed agriculture originated in W. India, N. China and Ethiopia. -Without the development of agriculture we would still ahve a relatively small and likely uneducated population

Definition

Agriculture

- the purposeful tending of crops and livestock in order to produce food and fiber.

The deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth's surface through the cultivation of crops and hte raising of livestock for subsistence or economic gain.It has influenced the growth of areas and human society.

Definition

Animal Domestication

- genetic modification of an animal such that it is rendered more amenable to human control

Domestication of animals for selling or using by products. -Helped us obtain meat with out having to go out and kill our food right before dinner.

Definition

Aquaculture

The cultivation of aquatic organisms especially for food.-Allowed us to use the sea and its abundant sources of food for our benefit.

Definition

Biorevolution

The revolution of biotechnology and the use of it in societies. -Has allowed us to revolutionize our societies

Definition

Biotechnology

Using living organisms in a useful way to produce commercial products like pest resistant crops.-Has helped the farmers grow a more bountiful harvest through the using of pesticides etc.

Definition

Collective farm

an agricultural production unit including a number of farm households or villages working together under state control.-a type of farming that certain countries use that influences the amount of food produced and sold

Definition

Commercial Agriculture (intensive, extensive)

Ariculture undertaken primarily to generate products for sale off the ffarm. Two types: intensive(ex: terracing in South Asia) and extensive (ex: farming in Southern MN)

Definition

Core/Periphery

The areas in the world that include MDC's are called the core and the area of the world that contains the LDC's is referred to as the periphery.-allowed us to divide the world and describe it more easily.

Definition

Crop Rotation

The practice of rotating use of different fields from crop to crop each year, to avoid exhausting the soil.-Takes up large areas of land but keepsland usable for future generations.

Definition

Cultivation regions

Regions where there is agricultural activity -Areas with agricultural activity generally are not a place where a big city would be located-affects location sof different areas.

Definition

Dairying

The farming and sale/distribution of milk and milk products.-gets is calcium, allows for people to move to the city because there is a way of getting milk or milk products.

Definition

Debtfornature swap

When agencies such as the World Bank make a deal with third world countries that they will cancel their debt if the ocuntry will set aside a certain amount of their natural resources. -affects how and how much countries use their resources, also the money given to the countries helps them energize their economies.

Definition

Diffusion

The process or spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time.-this is how everything is spread around the world.

Definition

Double Cropping

Harvesting twice a year from the same land -Can cause agricultural exhaustion making people move away from the land.

Definition

Economic activity

(primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary, quinary) All of these jobs are necessary in the world

Definition

Primary Economic Avtivity

Involves jobs like lumber and miningDefinition

Secondary Economic Activity

Manufacturing products and assembling raw materialsDefinition

Tertiary Economic Activity

the service sector that provides us with transportation, communication and utilities

Definition

Quaternary Economic Activity

the service sector dedicated to jobs such as trade, insurance, banking, advertising and wholesaling.

Definition

Quinary Economic Activity

the service sector dedicated to health, education, research, government, retailing, tourism and recreation. -All of these jobs are necessary in the world

Definition

Environmental Modifications (pesticides, soil erosion, desertification)

The destruction of the environment for the purpose of farming (Using pesticides that drain in to the water and soil and pollute them overuse of land causing the desert like condition sof desertifciation (dust bowl)-Doing harm to the enviornment through pesticides and causing desertification have horrible long term effects on humans and their future.

Definition

Extensive subsistence agriculture (shifting cultivation, nomadic herding/pastoralism)

Use many fields for crop growing each field is used for a couple of years then left fallow for a relatively long time.

(pesticides shifting cultivation(slash and burn, milpa, swidden)

Definition

Shifting Cultivation

- cultivation of crops in tropical forest clearings in which the forest vegetation has been removed by cutting and burning. These clearings are usually abandoned after a few years in favor of newly cleared forestland. Also know as slash-and-burn agriculture.

Definition

Nomadic herding/pastorilism

Based on herding domesticated animals -Effect the way that some in the world to live and where they fall in demographic transition

Definition

Extractive Industry

the extractive industry is made up of mining, quarrying, dredging, oil and gas extration industries.

Definition

Farm crises

Any disaster or occurence that interupts a farming season and hurts the farms profits for that time.

Definition

Farming: see agriculture.

The deliberate effort to modify a portion of Earth's surface through the cultivation of crops and hte raising of livestock for subsistence or economic gain.It has influenced the growth of areas and human society.

Definition

Feedlot

a plot of land on which livestock are fattened for market Essential to how we live and eat today necessity for most people’s diets

Definition

First agricultural revolution

- dating back 10,000 years, the First Agricultural Revolution achieved plant domestication and animal domestication

Around 8000 B.,C. when humans first domesticated plants and animals. -This allowed for future generations to grow larger because they no longer wwere just a hunter gatherer society.

Definition

Fishing

The technique, occupation, or diversion of catching fish. Fishing provides a food source and employment to society.

Definition

Food Chain

A series of organisms interrealted in their feeding habits, the smallest being fed upon by a larger one, which in turn feeds a still larger one, ect.

Definition

Forestry

The science of planting and taking care of trees and forests. Trees provide building materials and fuel ot society.

Definition

Globalized Agriculture

Diffusion of agriculture across the globeDefinition

Green Revolution

Rapid diffusion of new agricultural technology, especially new high-yield seeds and fertilizer. Because of it, aricultural productivity at a global scale has increased faster than the population.

The recently successful development of higher-yield, fast-growing varieties of rice and other cereals in certain developing countries, which led to increased production per unit area and a dramatic narrowing of the gap between population growth and food needs

Definition

Growing Season

The season in which crops grow best. Growing season can vary by location, societies rely on their growing season to which crops they can or can't grow at their latitude

Definition

Hunting and Gathering

Before the agriculture, humans gained food by hunting for animals, fishing, or gathering plants. They lived in small groups (less than 50 people) traveled frequently following game and seasonal growth of plants.

Definition

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture

a form of subsistence agriculture in which farmers must expend a relatively large amount of effort to produce the maximum feasibly yield from a prcel of land. Popular because the ration between farmers and arable land is so high, most of the work is done by the family by hand or by animal with processes refined ovre thousands of years.

Definition

Intertillage

Tillage between rows of crops of plantsDefinition

Livestock Ranching

commercial grazing of livestock over an extensive area. Practiced is semi-arid or arid land, where vegetation is too sparse or the soil to poor to support crops. Prominent in later 19th century in the American West; ranchers free roamed throughout the West, until the U.S. government began selling land to farmers who outlined their farms with barbed wire, forcing the ranchers to establish large ranches to allow their cattle to graze.

- the raising of domesticated animals for the production of meat and other byproducts such as leather and wool

Definition

Market Gardening

The small scale production of fruits, vegetables, and flowers as cash crops sold directly to local consumers. Distinguishable by the large diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, during a single growing season. Labor is done manually.

Definition

Mediterranean Agriculture

specialized farming that occurs only in areas where the dry summer Mediterranean climate prevails (grapes, olives, figs, citrus, fruits, dates, et al0

Definition

Mineral Fuels

(fossil fuel) natural resources containing hydrocarbons, which are not derived from animal or plant sources

Definition

Mining

the excavation of the earth for the purpose of extracting ore or mineralsDefinition

Planned Economy

An agricultural economy found in communist nations in which the government controls both agricultural production and distribution.

Definition

Renewable

minerals that can be used and replaced over a relatively short time period; ex: trees, beans, bananas, sugar, tea

Definition

NonRenewable

resources that cannot be replaced in a short amount of time, people will use them up before they can be replaced by natureEx. Fossil Fuels

Definition

Rural Settlement

Sparsely settled places away from the influence of large cities. Live in villages, hamlets on farms, or in other isolated houses. Typically have an agricultural character, with an economy based on logging, mining, petroleum, natural gas or tourism (ecotourism).

Definition

Dispersed Rural Settlement

rural settlement pattern characterized by isolated farms rather than clustered villages

Definition

Nucleated Rural Settlement

a clustered village patternDefinition

Building Material Rural Settlement

houses and buildings are typically built from materials that are abundant in the area, whatever they can find in their surroundings

Definition

Village Form Rural Settlement

a number of families live in close proximity to each other, with fields surrounding the collection of houses and farm buildings (Blake Dial)

Definition

Sauer, Carl O.

defined cultural landscape, as an area fashioned from nature by a cultural group. A combination of cultural features such as language and religion; economic features such as agriculture and industry; and physical features such as climate and vegetation. "Culture is the agent, the natural area is the medium, the cultural landscape is the result."

Definition

Second Agricultural Revolution

Precursor to Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, that allowed a shift in work force beyond subsistence farming to allow labor to work in factories. Started in UK, Netherlands, and Denmark, especially with the Enclosure Act, which consolidated land in Great Britain. Poratoes and corn diffused from Americas to Europe, and other resources followed from colonial pssessions to Europe, and other resources followed from colonial possessions to Europe.

- dovetailing with and benefiting from the Industrial Revolution, the Second Agricultural Revolution witnessed improved methods of cultivation, harvesting, and storage of farm products.

Definition

Specialization

Third level of cities (behind World Cities, and Command and Control Centers), offer a narrow and highly specialized variety of services. Typically specialize in management, research and devolopment of a spcific industry (motor vehicles in Detroit), or are centers of government and education, notably state captials that also have a major university (Albany, Lansing, Madison, or Raleigh-Durham).

Definition

Staple Grains

Maize, wheat, and rice are the most produced grains produced world wide, accounting for 87% of all grains and 43% of all food. Maize staple food of North America, South American, Africa, and livestock worldwide, wheat is primary in temperate regions, and rice in tropical regions.

Definition

Suitcase Farm

"Individuals who live in urban areas a great distance from their land and drive to the country to care for their crops and livestock. This practice lends itself well to the growth of wheat. Allows families to continue their long relationships with the ancestral farm, but still enjoy the benefits of waged incomes in urban environments.

Definition

Survey Patterns

patterns used to survey the land on EarthDefinition

Survey Patterns Long Lots (French)

(French) Houses erected on narrow lots perpendicular along a river, so that each original settler had equal river access.

Definition

Survey Patterns Metes and Bounds (English) .

(English) Uses physical features of the local geography, along with directions and distances, to define the boundaries of a particular piece of land. Metes refers to boundary defined by a measurement of a straight run, bounds refers to a more general boundary, such as a waterway, wall, public road, or existing building.

Definition

Survey Patterns TownshipandRange (U.S.A)

(U.S.A) surveys used west of Ohio, after the purchase of the Louisiana Purchase. Land is divided into six-mile square blocks (township), which is then divided into one-mile square blocks (range). Ranges were then broken into smaller parcels to be sold or given to people to develop.

Definition

Survey Patterns Sustainable Yield

Ecological yield that can be extracted without reducing the base of capital itself, the surplus required to maintain nature's services at the same or increasing level over time. Example, in fisheries the basic natural capital decreases with extraction, but productivity increases; so the sustainable yield is within the ranch that the natural capital together wit production are able to provide satisfactory yield.

Definition

Third Agricultural Revolution

Green Revolution Rapid diffusion of new agricultural techniques between 1970s and 1980s, especially new high-yield seeds and fertilizers. Has caused agricultural productivity at a global scale to increase faster than population growth.

- currently in progress, the Third Agricultural Revolution has as its principal orientation the development of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Definition

Mechanization

Farmers need tractors, irrigation pumps, and other machinery to make the most effective use of the new miracle seeds. Farmers in LDCs cannot afford this machinery or the fuel to run the equipment, so governments must allocate funds to subsidizing the cost of seeds, fertilizers and machinery.

Definition

Chemical Farming

Increased use of fertilizers with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The development of higher-yield crops has produced: a miracle wheat seedwhich is shorter and stiffer, less sensitive to variation in day length, responds better to fertilizers, and matures faster; a similar miracle rice seed, that was heartier and has increased yields; a high-yield corn seed is currently being developed.

Definition

Food Manufacturing t

the Green Revolution has increased production to avoid widespread famine. Allowing populations in developing nations to consume 25% more than before. This increase in diets is questioned by the content in diets; Asian farmers are eating more rice than fish and other vegetables because they ca rely on rice to grow efficiently.

Definition

‘Tragedy of the Commons’

social trap that involves a conflict over resources between interests and the common good.

Definition

Transhumance

pastoral practice of seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pasture areas.

- A seasonal periodic movement of pastoralists and their livestock between highland and lowland pastures

Definition

Truck Farm

Commercial gardening and fruit farming, so named because truck was a Middle English word meaning bartering or the exchange of commodities. Predominant in Southeastern U.S.A, because of the long growing season and humid climate, accessibility to large markets of New York, Philadelphian, and Washington. Truck farms grow many of the fruits and vegetables that consumers demand in developed societies. Truck farms sell some of their product to fresh markets, but mostly to large processors for canning or freezing. Truck farms are highly efficient and large-scale operations that take full advantage of machines at every stage of the growing process.

Definition

Von Thunen, Johann Heinrich

1826, Northern Germany. When choosing an enterprise, a commercial farmer compares two costs; cost of the land versus the cost of transporting production to market. Identifies a crop that can be sold for more than the land cost, distance of land to market is critical because the cost of transporting varies by crop. Also found that specific crops were grown in varying rings around city. Market-oriented gardens and milk producers in first ring, because of expense of transportation and perish-ability. In the next rings wood lots used for construction and fuel, because it is a heavy industry with high transportation costs. Next rings are used for various crops or pasture, with the outermost ring devoted to animal grazing. Von Thunen's theory disregards site or human factors.

Definition

Industrialization & Development

Agricultural labor force

A measure of the participating portion of an economy's labor force.Definition

Calorie consumption

The total number of calories in a daily diet allocation.Definition

The Coreperiphery model

Model of the spatial structure of an economic system in which underdeveloped or declining peripheral areas are defined with respect to their dependence on a dominating core region.

Definition

Cultural Convergence

The tendency for cultures to become more alike as they increasingly share technology and organizational structures in a modern world united by improved transportation and communication.

Definition

Dependency theory

A structuralist theory that offers a critique of the modernization model of development. Based on the idea that certain types of political and economic relations between countries and regions of the world have created arrangements that both control the limit the extent to which regions can develop.

Definition

Development

An area or tract of land that has been developed.Definition

Energy consumption

The use of energy as a source of heat or power or as a raw material input to a manufacturing process.

Definition

Foreign direct investment

An investment abroad, usually where the company being invested in is controlled by the foreign corporation.

Definition

Gender

Social differences between men and women, rather than the anatomical, biological differences between the sexes. Notions of gender differences-that is, what is considered "feminine" or "masculine"-vary greatly over time and space.

Definition

Gross domestic product

The total value of all goods and services produced within a country during a given year. The amount of food that is produced in the country.

Definition

Gross national product

A measure of the total value of the officially recorded goods and services produced by the citizens and corporations of a country in a given year.

Definition

The Human Development Index

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate developed (high development), developing (middle development), and underdeveloped (low development) countries. The three factors that go into the HDI is education, health, standard of living.

Definition

Levels of development

Maintains that all countries go through five interrelated stages of development, which culminate in an economic state of self-sustained economic growth and high levels of mass consumption. More developed countries are higher on this scale than less developed countries.

Definition

Measures of development

include GDP, literacy rate, life expectancy, caloric intake, etc.

The process of achieving an optimum level of health and well-being. It includes physical, biological, mental, emotional, social, educational, economic, and cultural components.

Definition

Neocolonialism

The entrenchment of the colonial order, such as trade and investment, under a new guise.

Definition

The Physical Quality of Life index

The physical quality-of-life index (PQLI) is an attempt to measure the quality of life or well-being of a country. The value is the average of three statistics: basic literacy rate, infant mortality, and life expectancy at age one, all equally weighted on a 0 to 100 scale.

Definition

Purchasing power parity

A monetary measurement which takes account of what money actually buys in each country.

Definition

W.W. Rostow or Rostow, W. W.

Prominent for his role in the shaping of American policy in Southeast Asia during the 1960s, he was a staunch opponent of communism, and was noted for a belief in the efficacy of capitalism and free enterprise.

Definition

Technology gap

Informal the gap between those people who have Internet access and those who do not.

Definition

Technology transfer

Technology transfer is the process of sharing of skills, knowledge, technologies, methods of manufacturing, samples of manufacturing and facilities among governments and other institutions to ensure that scientific and technological developments are accessible to a wider range of users who can then further develop and exploit the technology into new products, processes, applications, materials or services.

Definition

Third World

The developing nations of Africa, Asia, and Latin American. Minority groups as a whole within a larger prevailing culture.

Definition

World Systems Theory

Theory originated by Immanuel Wallerstein and illuminated by his three-tier structure, proposing that social change in the developing world is inextricably linked to the economic activities of the developed world. The three-tier structure- The core, periphery, and the semi-periphery.

Definition

Bid rent theory

the price and demand for real estate changes as the distance towards the Central Business District increases.

different land users are prepared to pay different amounts, the bid rents, for locations at various distances from the city center.

Definition

Assembly line production/Fordism

industrial arrangement of machines, equipment, and workers for continuous flow of work pieces in mass production operations, each movement of material is made as simple and short as possible

Definition

Air pollution

Concentration of trace substances, such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and solid particules, at a greater level that occurs in average air.

Definition

Agglomeration economies

Economy in which like things are put together to their benefit all businesses. But bringing all people to one area increases congestion.

Refers to benefits or advantages (savings, cost reductions, etc.) resulting from the spatial clustering of activities and/or people

Definition

Acid rain

tiny droplets of sulfuric acid and nitric acid in the atmosphere that dissolve in water and return to Earth's surface

- a growing environmental peril whereby acidified rainwater severely damages plant and animal life; caused by the oxides of sulfur and nitrogen that are released into the atmosphere when coal, oil and natural gas are burned, especially in major manufacturing zones

Definition

“Stages of Growth” Model

linear theory of development that developed countries go through a common pattern of structural change (1Traditional Society, 2Transitional Stage, 3Take Off, 4Drive to Maturity, 5High Mass Consumption)

Important because it explains the development experience of Western countries and is a general model for many others.

Definition

Stages of Growth Model: Stage 1

The traditional society-mostly subsistent agriculture-activities that don't help with development such as military and religion

Definition

Stages of Growth Model: Stage 2

Pre-Conditions for take-off: Initial Investment-limitied few ivest in tech. and infreastructure, transportation, water supply, dams (irregation)

Definition

Stages of Growth Model: Stage 3

Take-Off: Initial Success-Limited # of industries become succeessful and competitive globally. Generally, textiles and food production. -Remainder of economy is still traditional.

Definition

Stages of Growth Model: Stage 4

Drive to Maturity: Technology diffuses-Technology expands to many other businesses=> rapid growth-Labor becomes more skilled and educated

Definition

Stages of Growth Model: Stage 5

Age of Mass Production: Shift to Consumer good production-Economy shifts from heavy indusrty in steel, energy to consumer goods (i.e. cars, fridges)

Definition

Aluminum industry

Massive charges of electricity are required to extract aluminum from its processed raw material, aluminum oxide. Electrical power amounts for between 30% and 40% of the cost of producing the aluminum and is the major variable cost influencing plant location in the industry. The Kitimat plant on the west coast of Canada or the Bratsk plant near Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia are examples of industry placed far from raw material sources or market but close to vast supplies of cheap power--- in these instances, hydroelectricity.

Definition

Cities & Urban Land Use

Agglomeration

- a process involving the clustering or concentrating of people or activities. The term often refers to manufacturing plants and businesses that benefit from close proximity because they share skilled-labor pools and technological and financial amenities

Definition

Barriadas

Squatter settlements found in the periphery of Latin American cities.Definition

Bidrent Theory

the price and demand for real estate changes as the distance towards the Central Business District increases.

Definition

Blockbusting

A process by which real estate agents convince white property owners to sell their houses at low prices because of fear that black families will soon move into the neighborhood.

- rapid change in the racial composition of residential blocks in American cities that occurs when real estate agents and others stir up fears of neighborhood decline after encouraging people of color to move to previously white neighborhoods. In the resulting outmigration, real estate agents profit through the turnover of properties

Definition

Central Business District (CBD)

The downtown heart of a central city, the CBD is marked by high land values, a concentration of business and commerce, and the clustering of the tallest buildings.

Definition

Census Tract

Small country subdivisions, usually containing between 2,500 and 8,000 persons, delineated by the US Census Bureau as areas of relatively uniform population characteristics, economic status, and living conditions.

Definition

Centrality

The functional dominance of cities within an urban systemDefinition

Centralization

Is the process by which the activities of an organizationDefinition

Christaller, Walter

created the central place theory which displayed the ideas that central places would provide services and goods to the surrounding areas

Definition

City

- a conglomeration of people and buildings clustered together to serve as a center of politics, culture, and economics

Definition

Cityscapes

an urban landscapeDefinition

Colonial City

a city founded by colonialism or an indigenous city whose structure was deeply influenced by western culture

Definition

Commercialization

- the transformation of an area of a city into an area attractive to residents and tourists alike in terms of economic activity.

Definition

Concentric Zone Model

- CBD-(Burgess Model) divides the city into five concentric zones, defined by their function

Definition

Counterurbanization

a demographic and social process whereby people move from urban areas to rural areas

Definition

Decentralization

the tendency of people or businesses and industry to locate outside the central city

Definition

Deindustrialization

process by which companies move industrial jobs to other regions with cheaper labor, leaving the newly deindustrialized region to switch to a service economy and to work through a period of high unemployment

Definition

Early Cities

Definition

Economic base

the manufacturing and service activities preformed by the basic sector; functions of a city preformed to satisfy demands external to the cirty itself, earning income to support the urban population

Definition

Edge city

distinct sizable nodal concentration of retail and office space of lower that central city densities and situated on the outer fringes of older metropolitan areas

Definition

Emerging cities

a city currently without much population but is increasing in size at a fast rate

Definition

Employment structure

Number of people employed in various basic and non basic jobs.Definition

Entrepot

a trading center, or simply a trading warehouse where merchandise can be imported and exported without paying for import duties, often at a profit

Definition

Ethnic neighborhood

a neighborhood, typically situated in larger metropolitan cities and constructed by or comprised of local culture, in which a local culture can practice its customs

Definition

Favela

the brazilian equivalent of a shanty-town, which are generally found on the edge of the city

Definition

Femaleheaded household

a household in which the most powerful person is a femaleDefinition

Festival landscape

a landscape of cultural festivitiesDefinition

Gateway City

serves as a link between one country or region and others because of its physical situation.

Definition

Gender

- Social differences between men and women, rather than the anatomical, biological differences between the sexes. Notions of gender differencesùthat is, what is considered "feminine" or "masculine"ùvary greatly over time and space

Definition

Gentrification

A process of converting an urban neighborhood from a predominantly low-income renter-occupied area to a predominantly middle-class owner-occupied area.

Definition

Ghetto

During the Middle Ages, a neighborhood in a city set up by law to be inhabited only by Jews; now used to denote a section of a city in which members of any minority group live because of social, legal, or economic pressure.

Definition

Globalization

growth to a global or worldwide scaleDefinition

Geographic Tools

Distortion

disadvantages for maps depicting the entire world of the: shape, distance, relative size, and direction of places on maps

Definition

Geographic Information System (GIS)

a computer system that can capture, store, query, analyze, and display geographic data. Uses geocoding to calculate relationships between objects on a map's significance

Definition

Global Positioning System (GPS)

system that accurately determines the precise position of something on Earth, which includes several satellites in predetermined orbits and tracking stations to code the precise location of objects and reach a certain point

Definition

Grid (N/S poles, equator, latitude/longitude, prime meridian, international dateline

Definition

Map scale

Size of the unit studied (local, regional, or global scale); Map scale (mathematical relationship between the size of an area on a map and its actual size on earth)

Definition

Projection

the system used to transfer locations from earth's surface to a flat mapDefinition

Map types

Definition

Thematic

Map that zeroes in on one feature such as climate, city, or size.Definition

Statistical

A special type of map in which the variation in quantity of a factor such as rainfall, population, or crops in a geographic area is indicated; such as a dot map

Definition

Cartogram

The size of a location is based on a particular defined characteristic. Distortion is evident.

Definition

Dot

Dot maps represent quantities or occurrences. They are placed on the map in the approximate location of the occurrence. They are the best maps to use if you want to show distribution.

Definition

Choropleth

On these maps, each unit area is shaded or colored to suggest magnitude of the event or item within its borders. Patterns or colors are used o show magnitude or intensity. Recommended: only 3-5 colors.

Definition

Isoline

Map line that connects points of equal or very similar values.Definition

topographic

Maps that use isolines to represent constant elevations. If you took a topographic map out into the field and walked exactly along the path of an isoline on your map, you would always stay at the same elevation.

Definition

Mercator projection

a map projection of the earth onto a cylinder

Invented by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator for ships navigating across the Atlantic Ocean in 1569. The map is meant for direction. However, the projection distorts sizes of areas, particularly as you get closer to the North and South poles

Definition