Unit One Vocabulary

Region

• Region – an area of Earth’s surface with one or more shared characteristic.

Location

• Location – where something is. Absolute location defines the exact spot on Earth. Relative location describes the position of a place in relation to another place.

Place

• Place – can be described both by its physical location and by its physical and human feature.

Movement

• Movement – people and ideas moving from place to place (p 7)

Human Characteristics

• Human Characteristics of land – changes to the land that were made by people

Physical Characteristics

• Physical characteristics of land – describe the type of land in an area

Human-Environmental Interaction

• Human-Environmental Interaction – how people and their surroundings affect each other (p 7)

Hemisphere

• Hemisphere – halves of the globe. The equator divides the globe into 2 halves – northern and southern. The Prime Meridian and International Dateline divide the globe into 2 halves – eastern and western (p 5)

Latitude

• Latitude - imaginary lines that circle the globe and run east to west. Also called parallels because they are parallel to the equator (p 4)

Longitude

• Longitude – imaginary north-south lines that circle the globe and that pass through the north and south Poles (p 5)

Culture

• the beliefs, customs, practices, and behaviors of a particular nation or group of people

Ethnic

• a group of people who have the same language, culture, or religion

Cultural Diffusion

• the spread of cultural traits from one culture to another

Unitary System

• a central government makes all laws for the entire country.

Confederation

• system where independent states join together and give limited powers to a common government

Federal System

• system where power is divided among central, regional, and local governments

Autocracy

• a form of government in which all the power is held by a single person

Oligarchy

• Oligarchy – government ruled by a small group of people

Democracy

• a form of government in which citizens hold political power. VOTING

Monarchy

• a government headed by a king or queen