Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60density: the population or number of objects per unit area (e.g., per square kilometer or mile) distribution: the arrangement of items over a specified area E earthquake: vibrations and shock waves caused by the sudden movement of tectonic plates along fracture zones, called faults, in the Earth’s crust ecology: the study of the interactions of living organisms between themselves, their habitats, and the physical environment ecosystem (ecological system): a set of connected living parts formed by the interaction of all living organisms (plants, animals, humans) with each other and with the physical and chemical factors of the environment in which they live ecotone*: a zone of transition between two distinct ecological communities elevation: height of a point or place above sea level (e.g., Mount Everest has an elevation of 29,028 feet above sea level) environment: everything in and on the Earth’s surface and its atmosphere within which organisms, communities, or objects exist F flow map: a map with arrows and lines showing how something moves (e.g., migration or raw materials to industrial sites) fossil fuel: energy source formed in past geologic times from organic materials (e.g., coal, petroleum, natural gas) G geographic information system (GIS): a geographic database that contains computer hardware and software for creating, storing, retrieving, and analyzing information about the physical and human characteristics of places or areas; a technology-based mapping system geographic visualization: the process of viewing data that are associated with a particular location as tagged information on maps or satellite imagery (or both) enabling users to discover relationships and correlations between data sets (e.g., the ability to overlay multiple data sets on top of a geospatial map) geography*: the study of physical and human systems across the Earth’s surface, including the processes that shape distributions and patterns of phenomena in the natural and built environment geospatial data: information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or constructed features and boundaries on the Earth; information that describes the distribution of physical and human phenomena on the Earth’s surface geospatial technologies: computer hardware and software with which users analyze and represent geographic data at infinitely varied levels; includes technologies related to mapping and interpreting physical and human features on the Earth’s surface (i.e., global positioning systems (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing (RS), and geospatial visualization) geology*: the study of the composition, history, and chemical and physical processes of the Earth’s crust geothermal*: of or related to the heat produced inside the Earth glacier*: a mass of ice that is formed by snow over many years that moves due to gravity global positioning system (GPS): a satellite-based navigation system that allows land, sea, and airborne users to determine their exact location on the Earth’s surface globe*: a three-dimensional scale model of the Earth graticule*: a pattern of lines on a chart or map representing latitude and longitude, that helps determine absolute location and assists in the analysis of distribution patterns I igneous rock*: rock formed from solidified molten material (e.g., granite, basalt) Glossary of geographic terms 50