KEY TERMS
Aciddeposition Su lfu r oxi des and nitrogen oxides, em itted by burn ing fossil fuels, enter the atm osphere- w here the y combine with oxygen and wa ter to form sulfuric acid and n itric acid-a nd return to E art h 's sur face. Acid precipitation Conve rsion of sulfur oxide s and nitroge n oxid es to acids that retu rn to Earth as rain , snow, or fog . Active solar energy systems Solar energy syste m th at co llects energy through the use of mechanical devices like photovolta ic cells o r flat-pl ate collec tors. Agribusiness Commercial agriculture characterized by the integration of different steps in the food-pro cessing industry, usua lly through own ership by lar ge corpor ations. Agricultural density Th e ratio of th e nu mber of fann ers to the to tal amoun t of land suitable for agriculture . Agricultural revolution T he time when human beings first domesticate d pla n ts and an im als and no lo nger relied entirely on h un tin g and ga th ering. Agriculture The de liberate effort to modify a portion of E arth 's su rface thro ugh the cul tivati on of crops and the raising of livest ock for suste nan ce or economic gain.
Biodiversity The number of species with in a spe cific habitat.
Biomass fuel Fu el that derives fro m plant material an d anim al wast e.
Blockbusting A process by which real estate agents convince white prop
erty owners to sell the ir houses at low pr ices because of fear that persons
of color will soon move into the n eigh bo rhood .
Boundary In visible line th at marks the extent of a state's territo ry.
Brain drain Large-scale emigration by tale nted people .
Branch (ofa religion) A large and fu ndament al division with in a religi on .
Break-of-bulk point A locati on where tran sfer is possib le from one mo de
of transportation to another.
Breeder reactor A nuclear pow er plant tha t creat es its own fuel from
pluto nium .
British Received Pronunciation (BRP) T he dialect of English associated
with uppe r-class Britons living in th e L ondo n area and now considered
standard in the United Kingdom.
Bulk-gaining industry An ind ustry in which th e fina l produ ct weighs
more or comprises a greater volume than the inputs.
Bulk-reducing industry An industry in which the final product weighs
less or comprises a lower vo lume than the inp ut s.
Air pollution C o ncentratio n of tra ce substances, such as carbo n monox ide, su lfur dioxide, n itrogen oxides, hy droca rb ons, and so lid part icu lates, at a greate r level tha n occur s in average air.
Business services Services that primari ly mee t th e needs of other busi
n esses, incl uding pro fessi ona l, fin ancial, an d transpo rtati on services.
Animate power P ower supplied by people or animals.
Cartography The scie nce of making maps.
Animism Belief that objects, such as plan ts and stones, or natural events, like th understorms an d earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.
Caste The cla ss or dis tinct here ditary o rder into wh ich a Hind u is
assig ned according to rel igio us law.
Annexation L egally addin g land area to a city in the United States.
Census A complete en umeration of a popula tion.
Apartheid Laws (no longer in effect ) in South Africa that physically sep ara ted different races into differ ent geographic areas.
Census tract An area delin eated by the U .S. Bur eau of the Census for
which statistics are pu blished ; in ur banized areas, census tracts co rr e
spond roughly to neighborhood s.
Arithmetic density The total numb er of peop le divided by the tota l land are a. Autonomous religion A re ligion that do es n ot have a cen tr al authority but shares ideas and coopera tes infor mally. Balance of power Condition of rou ghly equ al stre ngth be tween oppos ing cou n tries o r alliances of cou ntries. Balkanization Process by which a state brea ks down throu gh conflicts among its e rhniciries. Balkanized A sm all ge ogra phic area that could not successfu lly be organized into on e or more stable stat es because it was inhabited by many ethnicities with complex, long-standing antagonisms toward each other. Base line An east-west line designated un der the Land O rdinance of 1785 to facilitate the surveying and numbering of townships in the United States. Basic industries Industrie s that sell their prod ucts or servi ces primarily to consumers outside the set tlement. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) Amoun t of oxygen r equ ired by aqua tic bact er ia to decompose a given load of orga nic waste; a measure o f water pollution.
508
Central business district (CBD) The are a of a city where re tail and office
activities are clustered.
Central place A marke t center for the exchange of services by people
attracted from the sur rounding area .
Central place theory A th eory tha t explains the distribution of services,
base d on the fact that settlements serve as centers o f market areas for
services; larger settl e m en ts are fewer an d farther apa rt t han sm alle r
settlements and provide services for a lar ger numbe r of peo ple wh o are
willin g to tra vel farth er.
Centripetal force An attitude that ten ds to unify people and enhance
suppo rt for a state.
Cereal grain A grass yield ing gra in for food .
Chaff Husks of grain sep ar ated from the seed by threshi ng .
Chain migration M igration of people to a spec ific location because rel
atives or me m bers of the same na tional ity pre viousl y migrated th ere .
Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) A gas used as a solven t, a propellant in aeroso ls,
a refrigerant, and in plastic foams and fire extinguishers.
Key Terms
509
Circulation Sh o rt -te rm , rep et iti ve, o r cycl ical mo vem ents th at rec ur on a regular basis.
Custom Th e frequ ent re pe titio n of an act, to the exte nt tha t it becomes chara cteristic of th e grou p of peop le performing th e ac t.
City-state A sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate hinte rland .
Demographic transition The proc ess o f cha ng e in a society's po pu lati on from a condition of high crude birt h an d dea t h rates and low rate of natu ral increase to a co ndi tion of low crud e birt h and de ath rat es, low ra te of natura l in crease, an d a higher to tal popul atio n.
Clustered rural settlement A rural settlem ent in which th e hou ses and farm bu ild ings of each fami ly ar e situa ted close to each oth er and fields surrou nd the settlement. Colonialism Atte mp t by o ne co untry to establi sh se tt le me nts and to imp ose its po litical, econ omic, and cu ltura l pr incip les in another ter ritory. Colony A terr ito ry that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather th an co m pletely independen t. Combine A m ach ine tha t reaps, thresh es, an d clea n s gra in whil e moving over a field. Commercial agriculture Agricul ture und ertaken prima rily to ge ne ra te prod ucts for sale off the farm . Compact state A sta te in which th e d ist ance fr o m th e cen ter to any bou ndary do es not vary sig nificantly. Concentration The spread of somethi ng over a given ar ea. Concentric zone model A m odel of th e inte rna l stru ctur e of cities in which soc ial group s are spa tially arran ged in a ser ies of rin gs. Connections Relatio nships amon g people an d ob jects across the barri er of space. Conservation T he sustaina ble use and management of a natu ral resour ce, th rough cons um ing at a less rapid rat e than it can be replaced .
Demography T he scie nti fic stu dy of popu lation characteristics. Denomination A di vision o f a branch th at un ites a number of local co n grega tio ns in a single legal an d adm inistra tive body. Density T he freq uen cy with which somethi ng exists within a give n unit of area. Density gradient T h e ch ange in density in an urba n ar ea fro m the cen te r to th e per ip hery. Dependency ratio The nu mber o f peop le und er th e ag e o f 15 and over age 64, compared to the num ber of peo ple active in th e labo r force. Desertification D egradation of land , esp eci ally in semiarid areas, pr i mari ly because of hu man act ions like excessive cro p plant ing, animal gra zing, an d tree cu tting . Development A proce ss o f improvem en t in th e m aterial co nd itio ns of peo ple through diffusion o f kn owl ed ge an d tech nolo gy. Dialect A region al vari ety of a lan gu age d istin guished by vocabu lary, spe lling, and pr on unciation . Diffusion T he pr ocess of spread of a featu re o r tre nd fro m one place to ano the r over ti me .
Consumer services Busin esses that pro vide services pr imarily to ind i vidua l con sumers, includ ing re tai l services and educa tio n, he alth, and leisur e services.
Diocese T he basic unit of geogra phic o rga n iza tio n in th e Ro ma n Catholic C hurch .
Contagious diffusion T h e rapid, wid espread diffusion o f a fea tu re or trend th roughout a popu lation .
Dispersed rural settlement A ru ral settlement pattern char acte rized by iso lated farms rath er th an clustered village s.
Cosmogony A set of religious beliefs concerning the or igin of th e uni verse .
Distance decay The dim in is h in g in im po rtan ce and even tua l dis ap peara n ce o f a p heno meno n wit h in c reasi n g d is tan ce fr o m it s ori gin .
Cottage industry Ma n ufac turing based in hom es rather th an in a facto ry, common ly found be fore the In du str ial Revo lutio n . Council of government A co operative age ncy co nsisting of represen ta tives of local governments in a m etropolitan area in th e U n ited States.
Distribution T he arra nge ment of so mething across E arth 's surface. DOUble cropping H arvesting twice a year fro m the same field .
Counterurbanization N et m igratio n from ur ban to ru ral areas in more de veloped countrie s.
DOUbling time The n um ber of years nee ded to doub le a populatio n , assum ing a const ant ra te of natura l incr ease .
Creole orcreolized language A langu age that results from the m ixing o f a colo nizer's langu age with the ind ige no us langu age of th e peo ple being do min at ed.
Ebonies Dia lect spo ken by so me Afr ican Americans.
Crop Grain or frui t ga th e red from a field as a harvest dur in g a pa rt icu lar season. Crop rotation T he practi ce o f ro ta ting use of differ ent fields fro m cro p to cro p eac h year, to avo id exh au stin g th e so il. Crude birth rate (CBR) The to tal nu m ber of live births in a year for every 1,000 people alive in th e society. Crude death rate (CDR) T he to tal n umbe r of deaths in a year for every 1,000 people alive in th e society. Cultural ecology Geo g rap hic approach tha t emphasizes hum anenvi ro nment re lationships . . Cultural landscape Fashionin g of a natu ral landscap e by a cu ltura l group.
Culture The body of custo mary beliefs, social fo rms , an d ma te rial traits th at together con stitu te a grou p of people's distinct tr adi tion .
Economic base A commun ity 's coll ectio n of basic industries. Ecumene The portio n o f Ear th 's sur face occ upied by perm anent human se ttle men t. Edge city A large node of office and ret ail activities on th e edge of an ur ban area . Elongated state A state wi th a long, narrow sha pe . Emigration Migr atio n.fr om a lo cation . Enclosure movement The process of conso lidating sm all lan dh oldings in to a sma ller nu mbe r of larger farm s in England dur ing th e eighte en th cen tu ry, Environmental determinism A nine teen th- and early twentie th -centu ry ap proa ch to the stu dy of geogra phy that argu ed th at th e genera l laws sought by h um an geograp her s could be fou nd in the ph ysical sciences. Geogra phy was th erefo re the study of h ow the physical environ me nt caused hum an acti vities.
Epidemiologic transition Distinctive cau ses of death in each stage of the demographic transition.
Fusion Crea tion of energy by jo ining the nuclei of two hydrogel to form helium .
Epidemiology Branch of medical science concerned with the incidence, distribution, and control of diseases that affect large numbers of people.
Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) Compares the ability of, and men to participate in economi c and po litical decision rnakir
Ethnic cleansing Process in which a more powerful ethnic group forcibly removes a less powerful one in order to create an ethnically homoge neous region .
Gender-Related Development Index (GOI) Compares the leve l of de rnent of women with that of both sexes.
Ethnicreligion A rel igion with a relatively concentrated spatial distribu tion whose principles are likely to be based on the physical characteris tics of the particular location in which its adherents are co ncentrated. Ethnicity Identity with a group of people th at share distinct physical and mental traits as a produc t of common heredity and cultural traditions . Expansion diffusion The spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in a snowballing process. Extinct language A language that was once used by people in daily activities but is no lo nge r used. Fair trade Alternative to intern ational trade that emphasizes small busi nesses and worker owned and democratically run coopera tives and requires employers to pay workers fair wage s, permit un ion organizing, and comply with minimum environmental and safety standards . Federal state An internal organization of a state that allo cates most pow ers to units of local government. Ferrous Metals, including iron o re, that are utilized in the production of iron and steel. Filtering A process of change in the use of a house, from single-family owner occupancy to abandonment. Fission The splitting of an atomic nucleus to re lease energy. Floodplain The area subject to flooding during a given number of years according to historical trends . Folk culture Culture traditional ly practiced by a small, homogeneous, rura l group living in relative isolation from other groups. Forced migration Permanent movement com pelled usually by cultu ral factors. Fordist production Form of mass production in which eac h worker is assigned one specific task to perform repeatedly. Foreign direct investment (FDI) Inves tment made by a foreign company in the economy of another country. Formal region (or uniform or homogeneous region) An area in wh ich everyone shares in one or more distinctive characteristics. Fossil fuel Energy source formed from the residue of plants and an i mals buried mil lions of years ago. Fragmented state A state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory. Franglais A term used by the French for English words that have entered the French language; a combination of francais an d anglais, the French vords for "French" and "Eng lish ," respectively.
'rontier A zone separating two states in which neither state exercises iolitica! control. unctional (or nodal) reg ion An area organized around a node or focal oint. mdamentalism Literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic prin pies of a re ligion (or a religio us branch, denomination, or sec t).
Gentrification A process of converting an urban neighborhood f predom inantly low-income renter-occupied area to a predornir midd le-cla ss owne r-occupied area . Geographic information system (GIS) A computer system that organizes, analyzes, and displays geographic data.
SI
Geothermal energy Energy from steam or hot water produced fror, or molten underground rocks. Gerrymandering Process of red rawi ng legislative boundaries for the pose of benefiting the party in power. Ghetto During the Middle Ages, a neighborhood in a city set up by to be inhabited only by Jews; now used to denote a section of a cit w hich members of any minority group live because of social, lega l economic pressure. Globalization Actions or processes that invo lve the entire world and re: in making something worldwide in scope . Global Positioning System (GPS) A system that determines the prec position of something on Earth through a se ries of satellites, tracki stations, and receivers. Grain Seed of a cereal grass .
Gravity model A model that holds that the potentia l use of a service a particular location is directly related to the number of people in location and inversely related to the distance people must trave l ' reach the service . Green revolution Rapid diffusion of new agricultura l tec hnology, esp cially new high-yield seeds and fertilizers. Greenbelt A ring of land maintained as parks, agr iculture, or other typ of open sp ace to limit the sprawl of an urban area .
Greenhouse effect Anticipated increase in Earth's temperature, cause by carbon dioxide (emitted by burning fossil fuels) trapping some of tl radiation emitted by the surface.
Greenwich Mean Time The time in that time zone encompassing rl prime meridian, or 0° longitude.
Gross domestic product (GOP) The value of the total ou tput of goo I and services produced in a country in a given time period (n o rm al 1 year). Guest workers Workers who m igrate to the more developed countri of Northern and Western Europe, usually from Southern and Easrei Europe or from North Afr ica, in search of higher-paying jo bs. Habit A repetitive act pe rfo rmed by a particular individual. Hearth The region from which innovative ideas originate .
Hierarchical diffusion The spread of a feature or trend from one key pe son or node of au thority or power to other persons or places.
Hierarchical religion A re ligion in which a central authority exerci ses hig h degree of control. Horticulture The growing of fruits , vegetables, and flowers. Hull The outer covering of a seed.
Key Terms
511
Human Development Index (HOI) In dicator of level of development for each country, constructed by United Nations, combining income, lit eracy, education, and life expec tancy.
Latitude The n um bering system used to ind icate th e locati on of paral lels drawn on a globe an d meas urin g distance north and south of the equ ato r (0 0 ) .
Hydroelectric power Power genera ted from moving water.
Less developed country (LDC) Also known as a de veloping country, a coun try that is at a relatively early stage in the proc ess of economic development.
Ideograms T he system of writing used in China and oth er E ast Asian cou nt ries in which each sym bol represen ts an idea or a concept rather than a specific sound, as is th e case with letters in E nglish. Immigration Migration to a new location. Imperialism Co ntr ol o f terr itory already occupied an d organi zed by an indigeno us society. Inanimate power Power supplied by machines . Industrial Revolution A ser ies of impr ovements in in dustrial technology tha t tran sfor med the process of manu factu ring goods. Infant mortality rate (IMR) T he total n umb er of dea ths in a year amo ng infants und er 1 year old for every 1,000 live births in a society. Intensive subsistence agriculture A for m of sub sistence agri cultu re in which farmers must expend a relatively large amoun t of effort to produce th e maximum feasible yield from a par cel of land . Internal migration Per manent mo vement within a particu lar country. International Date Line An arc tha t for the mo st par t follows 180 0 lon gi tud e, although it deviates in severa l places to avoid dividing lan d areas. When you cross th e Intern ati on al D ate Line head in g east (toward Ameri ca), the clock moves back 24 hours, or on e ent ire day. When you go west (towa rd Asia), the calendar mov es ahead one day. International migration Perman en t movem ent fro m on e country to ano ther. Interregional migration Permanent movement from one region of a coun try to anoth er.
Life expectancy T he average number of ye ars an ind ivi dual can be expected to live, given curre nt social, economic, and medical conditions. Life expectancy at birth is the average nu mber of years a newborn in fant can expect to live. Lingua franca A langua ge mu tually understood and commonly used in trade by peo ple who have differ ent native languages . Literacy rate The percentage of a country's people who can read and write. Literary tradition A langu age that is written as well as spo ken . Location T he posi tio n of anythi ng on E arth's surface. Longitude T he num bering system used to ind icate the location of merid ians drawn on a globe and measur ing distance east and west of the prime meridian (00 ) . Map A two-dimen sional , or flat , repre sen tation o f Earth's surface or a portion of it. Maquiladora Factories built by U.S. comp anies in Mexico near the U. S. border, to take advant age of mu ch lower labor costs in Mexico. Market area (or hinterland) The area sur ro unding a cen tra l place, fro m which people are attracted to use the place 's goods and services. Medical revolution Medical technology invented in Europe and N orth Ame rica th at is diffused to the poorer countries of La tin America, Asia, and Africa. Im pro ved medica l practices have elimina ted many o f the tra dition al causes o f death in poorer countries and enabled mo re people to live longer and healthier lives.
Intervening obstacle An enviro nme ntal or cultu ral featu re of th e land scape tha t hinders mig ration .
Mental map An interna l represen tation of a portion of Earth's surface based on what an individu al knows abo ut a place, con taining personal impressions of wha t is in a place and whe re places are located .
Intraregional migration Permanent movement wit hin one region of a cou n try.
Meridian An arc drawn on a map betw een the North and South po les.
Isogloss A boundary th at separates region s in wh ich differ ent langu age usages predominate. Isolated language A langu age that is unr elated to any other languages and the re fore no t attached to any langu age family. Labor-intensive industry An in dustry for wh ich labor cos ts make up a high per cent age of to tal expenses. Land Ordinance of 1785 A law that divided much of the United States into a system of tow nship s to facilitate the sale of lan d to settlers. Landlocked state A state that does not have a direct outlet to the sea. Language A system of comm unication through the use of speech, a collec tion of sounds und erstood by a group of people to have the same meaning. Language branch A co llection of langu ages re lated th rou gh a co mmo n ances to r that existed several thousand years ago . D iffere nces are no t as extensive or as old as with language families, and archaeological evi dence can confi rm th at th e bran ches deriv ed from the sam e fami ly.
Metropolitan statistical area (MSA) In the United States, a cen tra l city of at least 50,000 po pulation, the co unty withi n which the city is located , and adjacen t coun ties me eting on e of several tests ind icati ng a func tional connection to th e cen tral city. Micropolitan statistical area An urbanized area of betw een 10,000 and 50,000 inhabi tan ts, th e county in which it is found, and adjace nt coun ties tied to the city. Microstate A state tha t enc om passes a very small land area. Migration Fo rm of relo cat ion diffusion involving a per man ent mo ve to a new location. Migration transition C hange in th e mig ration pattern in a society that results from industrialization, pop ulat ion growth , and other socia l and eco no mic changes that also pr oduce the demographic transition. Milkshed The are a surrounding a city from which m ilk is supplied. Missionary An individual who help s to diffuse a un iversalizing religion . Mobility All types of movemen t fro m one location to an other.
Language family A co llectio n o f la'nguages related to each o the r th rou gh a com mon ancestor lo ng before recorded history.
Monotheism The doctrine or belief of the existe nce of on ly one god.
Language group A collection of langu ages with in a branch th at share a common or igin in the relatively recent past and display relatively few dif fer en ces in gram mar an d voca bulary.
More developed country (MDC) Also kno wn as a relatively d eveloped country or a developed country, a coun try th at has progressed rela tively far along a cont inuu m o f development.
512
Key Terms
Multi-ethnic state St ate that contain s more th an o ne ethn iciry, Multinational state State that co n tains two or more ethn ic groups with traditi ons of self-d eter minat ion tha t agre e to coe xist pea cefully by re c ogn izin g each othe r as distinct nati onalities. Multiple nuclei model A mode l of the internal structure of cities in which soc ial groups are arra ng ed around a colle cti on of nodes of activities. Nationalism Lo yalty and dev otio n to a particular nation ality.
Photochemical smog An atm ospheri c condition formed through a com binat io n o f weath er conditi on s and pollution , esp ecially from motor veh icle e missions. Photovoltaic cell Solar ene rgy ce lls, usuall y ma de from silico n, th at col lect so lar rays to gen er ate elect ricity. Physiological density The nu mber of peop le per un it of area of ara ble land, whi ch is land suita ble for agri cultu re .
Nationality Identity with a group of people that share legal atta chment and personal allegia nce to a particular place as a resu lt of being born th ere.
Pidgin language A form of speec h that ado pts a sim plified gr ammar and limited voca bulary of a lingua franca, used for co mmunicatio ns am ong spea kers of two differ ent lan gu ages.
Nation-state A state whose territory corresp onds to th at occupied by a parti cul ar eth niciry tha t has bee n transformed into a nationali ty.
Pilgrimage A journ ey to a place co nsidere d sacred for re ligiou s purposes.
Natural increase rate (NIR) The perc entage growth o f a po pulatio n in a year, com puted as th e cru de birth rate minus the crude death rate. Netmigration The difference between the level of immigration and the level of emi gration . New international division of labor T ran sfer of som e typ es of jo bs, espe cially those req uirin g low-pa id, less-skille d wo rke rs, from mo re devel oped to less develop ed countries. Nonbasic industries Industri es that sell their products primari ly to con sume rs in th e co m mun ity.
Place A specific poin t on E arth dis tinguished by a particular cha racter. Plantation A large farm in trop ical and subtropical climates th at spe cializes in the pr oduction o f on e o r two cro ps for sale, usuall y to a more de veloped cou nt ry. Polder L and crea ted by th e Dutch by drain ing water from an ar ea, Pollution Addition of more waste than
;1
resource can accommod ate.
Polytheism Belief in or wors hip of more th an one god . Popular culture Cu lture found in a large, heterogeneous society th at shares cert ain habits despite differences in other personal ch aracteri stics.
Nonferrous M etal s utili zed to make products other than iron and stee l. Nonrenewable energy A sou rce of ene rgy that is a finit e su pply cap abl e of being exhausted.
Population pyramid A bar graph repres ent ing the distribution o f popu lati on by age and sex.
the co nduct of business and publication of documents.
Possibilism The theory that the physical environ ment may set lim its o n human actions, but peo ple have the ab ility to adjust to the physical en vironment and cho ose a cour se o f action from man y alterna tives.
Outsourcing A de cision by a corporation to turn over much of the respon sibil ity for produ cti on to ind ependent suppliers.
Post-Fordist production Adoption by co m panies of flexible work ru les, such as th e alloca tio n of wo rkers to teams that perfo rm a variety of tasks.
Overpopulation The number of people in an are a exceeds the capacity of th e enviro nme nt to support life at a dece nt standa rd of living.
Potential reserve The amoun t of ene rgy in deposit s not ye t identified but thou ght to exist .
Ozone A gas that absorbs ultra violet solar radiation, found in the strat osphere, a zone between 15 and 50 kilometers (9 to 30 mil es) above Earth's surface.
Preservation Mainten an ce of a resource in its pre sent co nditio n, with as little huma n impact as possible.
Paddy Mal ay word for wet ric e, com mo n ly but in correctl y used to describe a sawa h.
Primary sector Th e portion o f the econom y conc ern ed with the direct extraction of mat eri als from E arth's surfa ce, gene rally through agr icul ture, alth ou gh some times by minin g, fishing, and fores try.
Official language The langua ge ado pted for use by the govern men t fo r
Pagan A follower of a polytheistic religio n in an cient times. Pandemic Disease that occurs over a wide geogra phic ar ea an d affects a very h igh proportion o f the popu lation . Parallel A circl e drawn aro und the glob e p arallel to the equator and at ri ght angl es to th e me rid ians. Passive solar energy systems So lar ene rgy system th at co llects ene rgy without the use o f me ch ani cal devices. Pastoral nomadism A form of sub sistence ag ricultu re based on herding dom estica ted anima ls.
Primate city The largest settl em ent in a co untry, if it has more than twice as m any peop le as the second -ra nking settle me nt. Primate city rule A pattern of set tle me n ts in a country, such th at the largest sett leme nt has more th an twic e as many peo ple as th e second ranking settlem ent. Prime agricultural land Th e mo st productive farmlan d. Prime meridian The merid ian , design ate d as 0° lon gitude, tha t passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenw ich, England .
Pasture Grass o r other plants grown for fee din g grazing ani mals, as well as lan d used for grazing.
Principal meridian A north-south line designated in the Land O rdinance of 1785 to facilita te the surveying and numbering o f to wnships in the Uni tecl St ates.
Pattern The geometric or regu lar arr angement of something in a study ar ea.
Productivity The value of a particular prod uct co m pared to th e amoun t of labo r need ed to make it.
Perforated state A state th at co m pletely surrounds another one .
Projection The syste m used to tran sfer locat io ns fro m Earth's sur face to a flat map.
Peripheral model A model of N o rth American urban area s consist ing of an inner city sur ro unded by large suburban residential and business areas tied toget her by a beltway o r ring ro ad .
Prorupted state An otherwise com pa c t s tate with a lar ge project ing extens ion .
Key Terms Proven reserve The amount of a resource remaining in discovered depo sits. Public housing H ou sing owne d by the govern me nt; in th e United States, it is rented to residents with low incomes, and th e re nts are se t at 30 percent of th e fam ilies' incomes . PUblic services Services offere d by the governmen t to provide securi ty and protection for citizens and businesses. Pull factor Factor th at induces people to move to a new location. Push factor Factor that induces peopl e to leave old residences. Ouotas In referen ce to m igrati on, laws that place maximum limits on th e number of peo ple who can immi grate to a country each year. Race Id entity with a grou p of people descended from a comm on ancestor. Racism Belief that r ace is th e primary determinant o f human traits and ca pacities and that racial differences produce an inh er ent superiority o f a particular race.
513
Rush (or peak) hour T h e four consecutive I S-m inute periods in th e mo rn ing and even ing with the heav iest volume s of tr affic. Sanitary landfill A place to deposit solid waste, whe re a layer of ear th is bulld ozed over garb age eac h day to redu ce emissio ns o f gases and odors from th e decaying tr ash, to minimize fires, and to discour age ver mi n. Sawah A flood ed field for growing rice. Scale Generally, th e rel ationship betw een th e portion of Earth being studied and E arth as a who le, specifically the relationship between th e size of an object on a m ap and the size of th e actua l feature on Earth's sur face. Secondary sector The port ion of th e eco no my concerned with manu facturing useful produ ct s throu gh processing , tran sforming, and assembling raw materia ls. Sect A relatively small group that has bro ken away from an esta blished denomination.
Racist A person who su bscri bes to th e beliefs o f racism.
Section A squ ar e norma lly 1 mile on a side. The Land Ordinance of 1785 divid ed town ships in th e United Sta tes into 36 sections.
Radioactive waste Particles from a nucl ear reacti on th at emi t rad iati on ; contact with such particles may be harmful or leth al to peopl e; th erefor e, the particles mu st be safely sto red for th ou sand s of years.
Sector model A model of th e int ernal structure of cities in wh ich social groups are arranged aro und a series o f sec tors, o r wedges , radiatin g ou t fro m th e cen tra l business distri ct (C BD).
Ranching A form o f commercial agricultu re in whic h livestock gr aze over an extensive area.
Seed agriculture Rep rodu ct ion of plants th rough ann ual intro du ction o f seeds, which resu lt from sexual fertili zat ion.
Range (ofa service) The maximum dista n ce peop le are willing to tr av el to use a service .
Self-determination Co nce p t that ethniciti es have the right to gov ern themselves.
Rank-size rule A pattern of settle me n ts in a country, such th at th e nth largest settle me nt is 1/n the po pulatio n of the largest settle men t.
Service Any acti vity th at fulfill s a human want or nee d an d re tu rn s mon ey to th ose who pr ovide it.
Reaper A machine that curs grain standing in the field.
Settlement A permanen t collection of bu ildings an d inha bitants.
Recycling The sep ar ation , collection , processin g, m arketing, and reuse of unwanted mater ial.
Sex ratio The number of males per 100 females in th e populati on.
Redlining A process by wh ich banks draw lines on a map and r efuse to lend money to pur ch ase or im prove pr op erty within the boundaries.
Sharecropper A person who works fields r ented from a landowner and pays the rent and re pays loans by turning over to the landowner a share o f th e cro ps.
Refugees Peopl e wh o are forced to m igrate from th eir hom e country and can no t return for fear of persecuti on because of their race, religion, nationa lity, mem bersh ip in a soc ial group, or poli tical opinion.
Shifting cultivation A form of su bsistence agricultu re in whic h peo ple shift activity from one field to another; eac h field is used for cro ps fo r a relatively few years and left fallow for a re latively long peri od .
Region An area distin gu ished by a unique com bin ation of trends or fea tur es.
Site The physical character of a place.
Regional (or cultural landscape) studies An approach to geog ra phy th at em phasizes th e relat ion ships amo ng soc ial and physical p heno me na in a particular stu dy are a. Relocation diffusion T he sp rea d of a featu re or tre nd th rou gh bod ily move ment of peop le from one place to another. Remote sensing The acquis ition of data about E art h 's surface from a satellite orbiting th e planet or other lon g-d istan ce methods. Renewable energy A resour ce th at has a theo re tically unlimit ed su pply and is not depl eted whe n used by humans. Resource A su bsta nce in th e enviro nme nt th at is useful to people, is eco nomically an d techno logically feasible to access, and is socially accept able to use. Ridge tillage System o f p lanting crops on ridge top s in order to re duce farm production costs and promote gre ater soil conservation. Right-to-work state A U.S . sta te that has passed a law preventing a union and co mpany fro m nego tiatin g a con tr act th at req uires worke rs to jo in a un ion as a co ndi tio n o f employme n t.
Site factors Location factors related to th e costs of factors of produ ction inside the plant, such as land, labo r, and capital. Situation T h e location o f a place relative to ot her places. Situation factors L ocati on fact or s related to th e tr ansportation of ma te ri als in to and from a factory. Slash-and-burn agriculture Anoth er name for shi fting cul tivation, so named because field s are cleared by slashing the vegetation and burn ing the debris. Smart growth L egislati on and regu lations to lim it suburban sprawl and pr eserv e farm lan d. Solstice T ime whe n th e Sun is fart hest from the equa to r. Sovereignty Ability of a sta te to govern its territory free fro m contro l of its int ern al affairs by other states. Space The ph ysical gap or interval between two objects. Space-time compression The r edu cti on in th e time it takes to diffuse some th ing to a distant place, as a result o f improved com munication s and tran sportation system s.
514
Key Terms
Spanglish Combina tio n of Spanish an d English, spoken by Hispanic Amer icans. Sprawl Develo pment of new housi ng sites at rela tively low density and at locations th at are no t contigu ous to the existi ng buil t-u p area . Spring wheat Wheat planted in the sp ring and harves te d in the lat e summer. Squatter settlement An area within a city in a less developed country in which peop le illegally est ablish res idences on land th ey do not own or rent and erec t homemade structures. Standard language The form of a language used for official governmen t business , edu cation, and mass communications. State An area organized into a political uni t and ruled by an established government with control over its internal and foreign affairs. Stimulus diffusion The spread of an underlying pr inci ple, even though a specific charac teristic is rejected. Structural adjustment program Econo mic policies imposed on less develo ped countries by in tern atio nal agencies to create conditions encouragi ng interna tiona l trade, suc h as raising taxes, reduc ing government spending, con trol ling inflation, selling pub licly owned util ities to private corporations, and charging citizens more for services . Subsistence agriculture Agricu lture designed primari ly to provide food for direct consum ption by the farmer and the farmer's fami ly. Sustainable agriculture Farming methods that preserve long-term productivity of land and mini mize pollution , typically by ro tating soil restoring cr ops wit h cash crops and reducing inputs of ferti lizer and pesticides . Sustainable development The level of developmen t that can be main tained in a count ry withou t depletin g resources to the extent that futur e generations will be una ble to achieve a com parable level of develop ment. Swidden A pa tch of land cleared for planting through slashing and burn ing . Taboo A restr iction on behavior imposed by social cust om . Terroir The con tribution of a location 's distinctive phys ical features to the way food taste s. Tertiary sector The portion of the economy concerned with tran sporta tion , communications, and utilities, sometimes extended to the provision of all goo ds and services to peo ple in exchange for payment . Textile A fabric made by weaving, used in making clothi ng . Thresh To beat out gra in from stalks by trampling it . Threshold The minimum number of people need ed to support the service.
Transnational corporation A compa ny that conducts research, opera tes factories, and sells prod ucts in many countries, no t just where its head qua rters or shareholders are located. Triangular slave trade A practice, primari ly during the eighteenth cen tu ry, in which European sh ips t ranspo rt ed slaves from Africa to Caribbean island s, molasses from the Caribbean to Europe, an d trade goods from Europe to Africa. Truck farming Comm erc ial gardening and fruit farming, so named because truck was a Middle English wo rd meaning bartering or the excha nge of co mmodi ties. Underclass A grou p in society preven ted from parti cipating in th e material benefits of a mo re deve loped society becau se of a vari ety of social and economic characteristics. Undocumented immigrants People who enter a count ry without proper docu me nts . Uneven development The increasing gap in econom ic conditions between core an d periphera l regions as a resu lt of the globalization of the economy. Unitary state An internal organization of a state tha t places most power in the hands of central govern ment officials. Universalizing religion A religion that attempts to appea l to all people, not just those living in a particular location. Urban renewal Program in which cities identify bligh ted inne r-city neigh borhoods, acqu ire th e properties from private owners, relocate the residen ts and business es, clear the site, build new roa ds and utilities, and turn the land over to private developers. Urbanization An increase in the percentage and in the number of peo ple living in urban settl ements. Urbanized area In the United States, a central city plus its contiguous built-up suburbs . Value added The gross value of the product minus the costs of raw materials and energy. Vegetative planting Rep rod uct io n of plants by dir ect cloning from existing plants. Vernacular region (or perceptual region) An area that peop le believe exists as part o f th eir cultura l iden tity. Voluntary migration Pe rm anent movement undertaken by choice. Vulgar Latin A form of Latin used in dai ly conversation by ancient Romans, as opposed to th e standa rd dialect, which was used for official do cuments.
Toponym T he name given to a portion of Earth 's surface.
Wet rice Ric e planted on dryland in a nursery an d then moved to a deliberately flooded field to promote growth .
Total fertility rate (TFR) The average nu mber of chi ldre n a woman will have throughout her childbear ing years.
Winnow To remove chaff by al lowing it to be blown away by the wind.
Township A squa re no rm ally 6 miles on a side. The La nd Ordinance of 1785 divide d much of the United States into a series of townships.
Winter wheat Wheat plan ted in the faJ! and harves te d in the early summer.
Trading bloc A group of neigh boring cou ntries th at promote trade with each other and erect barriers to limit tra de with other blocs.
Zero population growth (ZPG) A decline of the to tal fertil ity rate to the point where the natural incr ease rate equ als zero .
Transhumance The seaso nal migration of livesto ck betw een mountains and lowlan d pastures .
Zoning ordinance A law th at limits the permitted uses of land and maximum density of development in a com munity.