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92 Cards in this Set
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geography
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"description of the earth", literally, best definition is study of the earth as the home of humankind
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ethnogeographies
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systems of geographic knowledge used by indigenous peoples who have not had written languages
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What are the six essential elements of geography?
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the world in spatial terms, places and regions, physical systems, human systems, environment and society, uses of geography
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Element--the world in spatial terms
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geography studies the relationships between people, places, and environments by mapping information about them into a spatial context
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Element--places and regions
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the identities and lives of individuals and peoples are rooted in particular places and in human constructs called regions
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Element--physical systems
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Physical processes shape earth's surface and interact with plant and animal life to create, sustain, and modify ecosystems
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Element--human systems
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people are central to geography; human activities, settlements, and structures help shape the earth's surface, and humans compete for control of the earth's surface
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Element--environment and society
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the physical environment is influenced by the ways in which human societies value and use the earth's physical features and processes
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Element--uses of geography
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knowledge of geography enables people to develop an understanding of the relationships between people, places, and environments over time--that is, of the earth as it was, is, and might be
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human agency
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humans' role in changing the face of the earth
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landscape
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the collection of physical and human geographic features on the earth's surface
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culture
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a shared, learned, symbolic system of values, beliefs, and attitudes that shapes and influences perception and behavior
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regions
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8 spatial subdivisions of the world--human constructs, not "facts on the ground"
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formal region
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(also uniform or homogeneous region) region in which all the population shares a defining trait or set of traits (county, state, where regional boundaries are defined and explicit on a map)
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functional region
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spatial unit characterized by a central focus on some activity, (also nodal region) often economic (example--newspaper delivery region, at the center, activity is intense, outer regions not so much)
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vernacular region
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(or perceptual region) region that exists in the mind of a large number of people and may play an important role in cultural identity but does not necessarily have official or clear-cut borders (ex: Bible Belt, Midwest, etc.)
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uniform region
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formal region (or homogeneous)
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homogeneous region
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formal region (or uniform)
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nodal region
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functional region
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perceptual region
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vernacular region
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space
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the precise placement of locations on the face of the earth
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place
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the physical and cultural context of a location
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spatial
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pertaining to space--refers to the distribution of various phenomena on the earth's surface
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cartography
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the science of making maps
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scale
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part of a map that shows the actual distance on earth as represented by a given linear unit on the map
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large-scale map
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map with a relatively large representative fraction (ex: 1:10,000 or 1:100) SMALL AREA
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small-scale map
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map with a relatively small representative fraction (such as 1:1,000,000) LARGE AREA
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relative location
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defines a place in relationship to other places
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absolute location
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(mathematical location) gives each place its own unique location or "address"
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mathematical location
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absolute location
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coordinate systems
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grid systems used to determine absolute location
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latitude
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denotes position with respect to the equator and the poles, measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds
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degree of latitude
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made up of 60 minutes, is about 69 miles; each minute of latitude is roughly a mile apart
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equator
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the parallel of latitude that circles the globe east and west midway between the poles
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north latitude
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describes places north of the equator
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south latitude
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describes places south of the equator
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90 degrees N or 90 degrees S
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the highest latitude a place can have (N and S Poles)
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low latitudes
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places near the equator (Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn)
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high latitudes
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places near the poles (Arctic and Antarctic Circles)
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middle latitudes
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places occupying an intermediate position in respect to the poles and the equator
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Northern Hemisphere
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the northern half of the earth between the equator and the North Pole
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Southern Hemisphere
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the southern half of the earth between the equator and the South Pole
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statute mile
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land mile--5,280 feet
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nautical mile
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sea mile, based on one minute of arc of a great circle and equal to 6,076 feet
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meridian of Greenwich
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prime meridian, the meridian most used as a base or starting point, running through the Royal Astronomical Observatory in Greenwich, England. 0 degrees longitude
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east longitude
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places east of the prime meridian
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west longitude
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places west of the prime meridian
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International Date Line
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the meridian of 180 degrees, exactly halfway around the world from the prime meridian
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Eastern Hemisphere
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all of the earth's surface eastward from the prime meridian to the International Date Line
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Western Hemisphere
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all of the earth's surface westward from the prime meridian to the International Date Line
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map projection
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a way of depicting the curved surface of the earth (which can be represented accurately only on a globe) on a flat surface such as a piece of paper
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azimuthal projections
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projections onto a plane, typically used for maps of the polar regions
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cylindrical projections
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mostly used for areas around the equator or to depict the entire world; regular cylindrical projections have straight meridians, while pseudo-cylindrical variants have curved ones
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conic projections
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common for middle latitudes; polyconic can be used for larger areas
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compromise projections
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(also mathematical projections) not based on developable surface geometry; attempt to create a balance of distortion among the 4 metric properties to create an aesthetically pleasing map
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mathematical projections
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compromise projections
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Robinson projection
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(used for all world maps in the textbook), a compromise (or mathematical) projection, which attempts to create a balance of distortion among the 4 metric properties (area, shape, distance, and direction) to create an aesthetically pleasing map
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What are the 4 metric relationships or properties of objects on a globe?
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area, shape, distance, and direction
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equal-area projections
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preserve areas consistently across an entire map; each area on the map is proportional to the area it occupies on the earth's surface
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equidistant projections
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show accurate distances, but only from the center of the projection (ex: NY is the center, all distances to other places are accurate but not the distances between other places to one another)
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conformal projections
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keep the map's scale the same in every direction from any given point, preserving shapes in very small, localized areas. Sizes are usually distorted, especially toward the edges. Best known = Mercator projection, designed for navigation--indicates true direction
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Mercator projection
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best-known conformal projection, designed for navigation--indicates true direction
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rhumb line
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a straight line drawn on a map between 2 points that indicates true direction
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reference maps
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concerned mainly with the locations of various features on the earth's surface and their spatial relationships with each other (eg: highway maps)
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thematic maps
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also show spatial relationships but they have a more specific purpose: they often show the distribution of just one phenomenon; sometimes called statistical maps because they typically show distributions of numeric data, such as population density
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statistical maps
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thematic maps showing distributions of numeric data, such as population density
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choropleth map
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most common thematic map in the textbook--each political unit is filled in with a color or pattern representing some derived value, such as per capita income or # of college students per 100,000 people
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isarithmic maps
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use lines to join points of equal value across a mapped area
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graduated symbol maps
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use a simple symbol, such as a circle, square, or bar graph, where the symbol is scaled proportionally to the quantity of data being mapped (China's circle would be 4 times the size of the US circle, when mapping population)
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cartogram
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a graduated symbol map that scales the often highly generalized outlines of political units to the data
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geographic information systems (GIS)
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the growing field of computer-assisted geographic analysis and graphic representation of spatial data. It is based on superimposing various data layers that may include everything from soils to hydrology to transportation networks to elevation. Computer software and hardware are steadily improving, enabling GIS to produce ever more detailed and exact output
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dot maps
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use dots to represent a stated amount of some phenomenon within a political unit. Using a scale equating one dot with 1,000 people, 12 dots = 12,000 people in that area
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flow maps
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use arrows to detail the movement of people or goods from one area to another
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mental maps
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a collection of personal geographic info that each of us uses to organize spatially the images and facts we have about places, both local and distant (like a vernacular region)
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remote sensing
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uses various kinds of satellite imagery and photographic coverage to assess land use or other geographic patterns
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regional specialists
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geographers who specialize in certain regions
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systematic specialists
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most academic geographers practice this type of specialty, many of whom use GIS, remote sensing, and other technical tools
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geomorphology
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the study of landforms and a field in which geography intersects with geology
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climatology
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the study of climatic processes and patterns
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biogeography
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study of the geography of plants and animals
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environmental studies
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large interdisciplinary field, closely related to physical geography, concerned with reciprocal relationships between society and the environment
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medical geography
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a geography specialty focused on spatial associations between the enironment and human health and on locational aspects of disease and health care delivery
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economic geography
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studies spatial aspects of human livelihood, concerned mainly with major occupations and products
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marketing geography
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small but active applied offshoot of economic geography that is for particular utility in commercial planning and zoning
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agricultural geography
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concerned with the productive management of soil and waer resources
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manufacturing geography
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concerned with networks and hierarchies of economic production
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urban geography
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considers the locational associations, internal spatial organization, socioeconomic characteristics, and functions of cities
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cultural geography
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concerned with spatial and other aspects of cultural regions, origins, diffusions and interactions, and the cultural forces behind changing landscapes
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political geography
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considers topics such as spatial organization of geopolitical units, international power relationships, nationalism, boundary issues, military conflicts, and regional separatism within states
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social geography
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deals with spatial aspects of human social relationships, especially in urban settings
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population geography
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assesses population composition, distribution, migration, and change
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historical geography
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examines the geography of past periods and the evolution of geographic phenomena such as cities, industries, agricultural systems, and rural settlement patterns
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