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GEOGRAPHICS TERMS

TERM/PHRASE CLASSIFICATION DESCRIPTION
Analogy Chart is a graphic organizer which is used to show similarities
Bearing is an angular compass direction which is determined by measuring the number of degrees clockwise between north and the required direction, and is always expressed in degrees
Cardinal Points is a general term which refers to the four main directions- north, south, east, west
Climagraph is a type of graph that combines a line and bar graph to show the average monthly temperature and precipitation figures for a location
Concept Map is a type of diagram which shows various relationships among concepts
Contour Line is a line symbol which joins points of equal elevation above sea level
Co-ordinate is a reference number &/or letter which is assigned to a grid on a map
Equirectangular Projection is a representation of the earth which represents land masses in their correct shapes but distorts their areas, including 90 degrees N and/or 90 degrees S: has a range of 180 degrees latitude
Flow Lines are arrows which are drawn on a map or plan to show the movement of people or things
Gazetteer is an index which shows the location of places and physical features in an atlas
Geographic Center is the center point of a country which is measured from the north to the south, and the east to the west
Geographic Information System (GIS) is an integrated software package which is used for the input, management, analysis, and display of spatial information
Geographic Inquiry is the process in which geographic information is collected, organized, analyzed, and communicated
Geotechnologies are types of technologies which are used to carry out geographic studies
Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite navigation system which is used to compute positions in three dimensions
Gradient is an indicator of slope which is obtained by measuring how much a slope drops over a certain distance , usually expressed as a percentage and calculated by dividing the vertical interval by the horizontal distance and multiplying the result by 100
Great Circle Route is a line drawn on the surface of a globe which shows the shortest distance between two places
Grid is a series of lines which are drawn on a map, usually crossing at right-angles, to create reference areas for location purposes
Grid References are a system of grid lines in which the vertical lines or eastings are numbered from west to east and the horizontal lines or northings are numbered from south to north , to create references for location purposes
Hythergraph is a type of graph which has monthly temperatures plotted on a grid against monthly precipitation
Isodemographic Map is a type of map which is drawn to a size representative of the size of the population
Isopleth is a type of line which joins points of equal value; isoline
Isotherm is a type of isoline which joins points of equal temperature
Lambert Projection is a representation of the earth which represents the mid-latitudes of the northern and southern hemispheres: has a range of 80 degrees latitude
Land-Use Map is a type of map which is color-coded to show how land is being used
Line of Latitude is an imaginary line which runs parallel to, and is measured in degrees north and south of, the Equator
Line of Longitude is an imaginary line which runs from pole to pole, and is measured in degrees east and west of the Prime Meridian
Linear Scale is a line on a map which gives equivalent actual distances
Logarithmic Scale is a type of scale in which a series of numbers increase by the multiple of its base, commonly logarithms to the base 10
Map Projection is a representation in which all or part of the earth's surface is projected on to a flat piece of paper
Map Scale is a ratio which compares a measurement on a map to the actual distance between the locations identified by the map ( Related Activity )
Mercator Projection is a representation of the earth which represents land masses in their correct shapes but distorts their areas, excluding 90 degrees N and/or 90 degrees S: has a range of 160 degrees latitude
Polar Projection is a representation of the earth which covers the polar regions of a selected hemisphere and always contains the North or South Pole, acting as the "true" for the projection: has a range of 140 degrees latitude
Population Pyramid is a type of graph which shows the distribution of a population according to age and sex . The two main types are expansive and stationary
Prime Meridian is the 0 degree line of longitude which circles the earth from north to south
Remote Sensing is a study in which pictures and data about the earth obtained from aircraft and spacecraft are used
Representative Fraction Scale is a type of map scale which is expressed in a fraction or ratio form, such as 1:50 000, and which indicates the number of times that a distance on the ground is greater than the same distance on a map
Scattergraph is a type of graph which relates two variables by means of plotted points
Statement Scale is a type of map scale which is written in words and numbers, such as 1 cm to 0.5 km
System is a general term which refers to a collection of things that forms a whole
Telematics (Informatics) is the process which combines modern communication technology with the computer to process and transmit information
Thematic Map is a type of map which shows a particular topic or theme, such as climate
Topographic Map is a detailed, large-scaled map which represents the surface features of a place or region, and gives the features' relative positions and elevations
Topographic Profile is an outline of the landscape which is seen from the side
Trend Line is a line on a graph which shows the general relationship between two variables being graphed
True Latitude is a map projection term which specifies a particular area on a map that has no distortion
Vertical Exaggeration is an indicator expressed as X (Times) which shows the number of times that the vertical scale is greater than the horizontal scale on a cross-section profile

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