Geographic Terms in Skills Handbook (S1)
Terms
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- Define Globe.
- a scale model of Earth useful for looking at the entire planet or at large areas of its surface
- Define grid.
- the pattern of lines that circle the planet in east-west and north-south directions
- Define latitude.
- a measure of distance north or south of the prime meridian.
- Define longitude.
- a measure of distance east or west of the Prime Meridian.
- Define Equator.
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the imaginary line of latitude that lies halfway between the North and South
Poles and circles the globe. - Define Meridians
- synnonomous with longitude lines which measure distance east and west but run north and south and connect at the poles.
- Define degree.
- a unit of latitude and longitude; 1/360th of a great circle. A degree is composed of 60 minutes with a minute having 60 seconds
- Define hemisphere.
- half the earth; divided north and south by the Equator and east to west by the Prime Meridian.
- Define island.
- a body of land surrounded by water. It may be small ( as in coastal islands) or as large as a continent ( Australia and Greenland)
- Define ocean.
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the entire body of salt water which covers approx. 72% of earth's surface.
It is subdivided into 4 main bodies: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic and their extensions into Antarctica - Define map.
- a flat diagram of the Earth's surface that has two main types: Physical & Political
- Define atlas.
- an organized collection of maps in one book.
- Define map projection.
- the various ways Cartographers present our round planet on flat surfaces. All types have some distortion of scale. The Robinson Projection type has the least distortion.
- Define Great-Circle Route.
- an imaginary line which is the shortest route between any two points on the planet. Used by airplanes and ships for navigation.
- Define directional indicator.
- shows which directions are north, south, east,and west. The primary directions are called "Cardinal" with secondary directions called "Intermediate" ex. northeast
- Define scale.
- an element of a map that indicates distances between points on the map.
- Define legend.
- an element of a map that explains what the symbols on the map represent; also called the "key"
- Define compass rose.
- a directional indicator that has arrows pointing north, south, east, and west.
- Define Mental Map.
- a map that we create and see in our minds to help us make sense of the world.