Thinking Geographically
This type of map distorts size but keeps shape or direction accurate.
What is a projection? (e.g., Mercator)
This demographic model’s Stage 1 is characterized by high birth and high death rates.
What is the Demographic Transition Model?
The process by which a cultural trait spreads from a central point outward.
What is expansion diffusion (or hierarchical/contagious depending on phrasing)?
A state with a centralized government and very little regional autonomy.
What is a unitary state?
A map showing data using shading to represent density.
What is a choropleth map?
The geographic concept that describes how the farther apart things are, the less they interact.
What is distance decay?
The number of people supported by a unit area of arable land.
What is physiological density?
A boundary of language difference that can separate cultural regions.
What is a linguistic boundary/isogloss?
The redrawing of districts to benefit one political party.
What is gerrymandering?
The type of diffusion used when hip-hop spreads globally through media.
What is hierarchical diffusion?
This type of region exists because people believe it exists (like “the South”).
What is a vernacular/perceptual region?
A population pyramid that is very wide at the base suggests this kind of growth.
What is rapid population growth?
The process through which foreign ideas are adopted but adapted to local culture.
What is stimulus diffusion?
A country with several small, distinct regions that hold strong power (e.g., Belgium).
What is a federal state?
The type of state shape that can hinder communication due to long, narrow form.
What is an elongated state?
The theory that the physical environment shapes human behavior.
What is environmental determinism?
Migration in which people are compelled to move due to factors like natural disasters.
What is forced migration?
The belief in multiple gods, typical of many early world religions.
What is polytheism?
A boundary drawn with straight lines, usually by colonizers, ignoring cultural divisions.
What is a geometric boundary?
A demographic transition stage where birth rates decline due to women’s empowerment.
What is Stage 3 of the DTM?
The term describing the decreasing importance of distance due to technology.
What is time–space compression?
A migration pattern in which people move through a series of stages toward a destination.
What is step migration?
A cultural trait found in a large, heterogeneous society that changes frequently.
What is popular culture?
A supranational organization focused on political/economic integration in Europe.
What is the European Union (EU)?
The concept explaining why a migrant stops at a closer, acceptable opportunity rather than their intended destination.
What is intervening opportunity?