Cultural Geography Concepts Quiz

Vocabulary

• Sequent occupance: Successive societies leave cultural imprints on a place, contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape.
• Cultural landscape: The result of a cultural group's interaction with a natural landscape.
• Arithmetic density: Total population divided by the total land area.
• Physiological density: Population divided by the arable land area.
• Hearth: Region where innovative ideas originate.
• Diffusion: Spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time.
• Relocation diffusion: Spread through the physical movement of people.
• Expansion diffusion: Spread of an idea from one place to another in a snowballing process.
  • Hierarchical diffusion: Spread from nodes of authority to other people or places.
  • Contagious diffusion: Rapid widespread diffusion through a population.
  • Stimulus diffusion: Spread of an underlying principle, even if a related characteristic fails to diffuse.
• Absolute distance: Exact measurement of physical space between two places.
• Relative distance: Approximate measurement of physical space between two places.
• Distribution: Arrangement of something across Earth's surface.
• Environmental determinism: Geographic approach arguing that environmental laws determine human activities.
• Absolute location: Position on Earth's surface using coordinates of longitude and latitude.
• Relative location: Position on Earth's surface in reference to other features.
• Site: Physical characteristics at a location and its significance.
• Situation: Location of a place relative to other places.
• Space-time compression: Reduction in time it takes for something to diffuse to a distant place.
• Friction of distance: Notion that distance requires more effort, money, and/or energy.
• Distance decay: Diminishing importance of a phenomenon, increasing distance from its origin.
• Networks: Interconnected nodes without a central point.
• Connectivity: Relationships among people and objects across space.
• Accessibility: Degree of ease to reach locations.
• Space: Physical gap or interval between two objects.
• Spatial distribution: Physical location of geographic phenomena.
• Size: Estimation or determination of extent.
• Scale: Representation of a real-world phenomenon with reduction or generalization.
• Formal/uniform region: Area where everyone shares common characteristics.
• Functional/nodal region: Area organized around a central node/focal point.
• Vernacular/perceptual region: Place people perceive as part of their cultural identity.
• Age distribution: Population pyramid with males and females in 5-year age groups.
• Carrying capacity: Population level supported by available resources.
• Cohort: Population of specific age categories.
• Demographic equation: Formula for calculating population change (births - deaths + net migration).
• Demographic momentum: Tendency for population to continue growing after fertility decline.
• Demographic regions: Areas categorized by stages of demographic transition.
• Demographic Transition Model: Five stages of population change (low growth, high growth, moderate growth, low growth, negative growth).
• Dependency ratio: Ratio of dependents (young/old) to people in the productive years.
• Disease diffusion: Spread of disease, contagious or hierarchical.
• Doubling time: Years needed for a population to double.
• Ecumene: Proportion of Earth's surface occupied by permanent human settlement.
• Epidemiological Transition Model: Distinctive causes of death in each stage of the demographic transition.
• Infant mortality rate (IMR): Deaths of infants under one year per 1000 live births.
• J-curve: Population projection showing exponential growth (often represented as a J-shape).
• Maladaption: Adaptation that becomes harmful over time.
• Malthus, Thomas: Argued that population growth outpaces food production.
• Mortality: Rate of death (infant mortality rate, life expectancy).
• Natality: Rate of birth (crude birth rate).
• Neo-Malthusian: Theory that builds on Malthus's concerns about overpopulation.
• Overpopulation: Relationship between population size and resource availability.
• Population densities: Frequency of something in space. (Arithmetic, physiological, agricultural).
• Population distribution: Arrangement of a feature in space.
• Population explosion: Sudden increase in populations.
• Sex ratio: Number of males for every 100 females.
• Sustainability: Meeting needs of the present without compromising future generations.
• Underpopulation: Lack of enough people for economic or social needs.
• Zero population growth: When CBR = CDR, resulting in no natural increase.

Cultural & Political

• Acculturation: Process of adopting certain customs to advantage.
• Assimilation: Process of less dominant cultures losing their culture to a dominant culture.
• Cultural adaptation: Adjusting to a new cultural environment.
• Cultural core/periphery: Core regions have primary economic power, periphery regions have lesser economic ties.
• Cultural ecology: Geographic study of environmental relationships.
• Cultural identity: Belief of belonging to a certain group.
• Cultural landscape: Visible imprint of human activity on a landscape.
• Cultural realm: Large area with shared cultural characteristics.
• Culture: Customs, beliefs, and material traits of a group.
• Culture region: Area where everyone shares characteristics. (Formal, functional, vernacular).
• Diffusion types: (Expansion, relocation, hierarchical, contagious, stimulus).
• Innovation adoption: Study of how quickly new technology spreads.
• Maladaptive diffusion: Adoption of a process with negative consequences.
• Sequence occupancy: Cultural succession impacting a place.
• Religion: Faith in a spiritual nature (animism, monotheism, polytheism).
• Annexation: Incorporation of a territory into a geopolitical entity.
• Antarctica: Southernmost continent (no national claims).
• Apartheid: South African system of racial segregation.
• Balkanization: Fragmentation/breakup of a region into smaller regions.
• Border Landscape: Exclusionary or inclusionary boundaries.
• Boundary disputes: Conflicts over borders.
• Boundary origin: Borders often originated from old tribal lands and lands won in war.
• Boundary type: Many boundaries are natural boundaries, formed by rivers, mountains, etc. There are also political boundaries.
• Buffer state: Country between two powerful, hostile countries.
• Capital: Principle city in a state/country.
• Centrifugal forces: Factors causing disunity within a state.
• Centripetal forces: Attitudes that unify people and support a state.
• City-state: Region controlled by a city with sovereignty.
• Colonialism: Attempt by a country to establish settlements and impose control over another region/country.
• Confederation: Association of sovereign states for common purposes.
• Conference of Berlin: Regulated trade and colonization in Africa (1884–85).
• Decentralization: Relocating government power to regional authorities.
• Decolonization: Process of former colonies gaining independence.
• Devolution: Transfer of power from central to local authorities (often within a country).
• Domino theory: Idea that the fall of one country to communism would lead to the fall of others.
• EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone): Sea zone over which a state has special rights over marine resources.
• Electoral regions: Voting districts for elections.
• Enclave/exclave: Enclave – Area within another country/Exclave – Area part of a country but geographically separated.
• Ethnic conflict: Conflict between ethnic groups, often over resources or identity.
• European Union: Supranational political union of European countries.
• Federal system: Government power divided between national and regional levels.
• Forward capital: Capital city moved for strategic reasons.
• Frontier: Zone where no state exercises complete political control.
• Gerrymandering: Redrawing legislative boundaries to favor a political party.
• Geopolitics: Study of geography, history, and social science in relation to politics.
• Globalization: Worldwide patterns of economic relationships.
• Heartland/rimland: Heartland = central region; Rimland = coastal region.
• Immigrant state: A receiving state of many immigrants because of economic or social reasons.
• Intervening opportunity: Feature on a landscape that can cause people to stop migrating.
• Nation-state: State where the borders of a state match the territory of a particular nationality.
• Neocolonialism: Indirect domination/control by powerful countries over weaker ones.
• Political geography: Study of politics and how it affects spatial characteristics.

Agricultural & Rural Land Use

• Agrarian: People/societies that farm.
• Agribusiness: Commercial agriculture.
• Agricultural industrialization: Use of machinery in agriculture.
• Agricultural landscape: Land that is farmed.
• Agricultural location model: Principles guiding location of agricultural activity.
• Agricultural origins: Process of developing agriculture from hunting and gathering.
• Animal domestication: Process of raising and using animals for human benefit.
• Aquaculture: Farming aquatic organisms.
• Biorevolution: Use of biotechnology in agriculture.
• Biotechnology: Using living organisms to create products, services, or practices.
• Collective farm: Farm managed by a collective or state.
• Commercial agriculture: Agriculture primarily for sale. (Intensive or extensive).
• Core/periphery: Cores (MDC's) and Peripheries (LDC's) agricultural differences.
• Crop rotation: Rotating crops to maintain soil health (as opposed to continual planting of same crops).
• Extractive industry: Industry that extracts resources from the earth.
• Farm crises: Economic difficulties faced by farmers.
• Feedlot: Land used to fatten livestock for market.
• First agricultural revolution: Development of agriculture 8,000 years ago.
• Fishing: Skill or job in catching fish.
• Food chain: Relationship between organisms in an ecosystem based on eating/being eaten.
• Forestry: Science of managing and cultivating forests.
• Globalized agriculture: How global trade and relations affect farming and food production.
• Green Revolution: Rapid diffusion of agricultural technologies (especially high-yield seeds and fertilizers).
• Growing season: Time of year when crops will grow best.
• Hunting and gathering: Early human method of acquiring food.
• Intensive subsistence agriculture: Farming method expending considerable effort on a small plot of land to maximize yield.
• Intertillage: Tillage practices between rows.
• Livestock ranching: Raising livestock on extensive land areas.
• Market gardening: Small-scale production of crops sold locally.
• Mediterranean agriculture: Farming method associated with the Mediterranean climate.
• Mineral fuels: Natural resources like coal oil, and natural gas.
• Mining: Extraction of minerals from earth.
• Nomadic herding/pastoralism: Moving livestock to find pasture.
• Planned economy: State/government controls production & resource distribution.
• Renewable: Energy resources that can be replenished (solar, wind, hydroelectric).
• Rural settlement: Sparsely populated area outside cities.
• Rural-urban migration: Movement from rural to urban areas.
• Shifting cultivation: Farming method involving clearing land and moving to a new area as soil fertility diminishes.
• Staple grains: Important crops for food in the world (maize, wheat, and rice).
• Suitcase farm: Farmers who live in urban areas and only visit rural land.
• Sustainable yield: Amount of harvest that can be collected without harming the resources.
• Survey patterns: Methods for dividing land (long lots, township & range).

Industrialization, Development, & Urban Land Use

• Agricultural labor force: Number of people working in agriculture.
• Calorie consumption: Food consumption in a nation.
• Central business district (CBD): Heart of a city.
• Centralization: Population shifts to city centers.
• Central Place Theory: Explains the distribution of services in space.
• Census tract: Population and housing data for an area.
• City: Cluster of people & businesses.
• City-scapes: Urban areas' skyline and structures.
• City-state: Sovereign country consisting of a major city and its immediate surroundings.
• Colonial city: Cities founded by colonial powers.
• Commercialization: Businesses growing and becoming more significant in a community.
• Concentric zone model: Explains urban growth in rings around a CBD (Central Business District).
• Concentric zone model: Explains urban growth in rings around a CBD (Central Business District).
• Conflicting land use: Areas in a city where multiple demands on land or competing services and activities occur.
• Counterurbanization: Migration from urban to rural areas.
• Cultural convergence: Similarity of societies/cultures due to interaction and spread of ideas.
• Decentralization: Power shifts away from central government to regional/local authorities, often spurred by population growth or by decentralizing functions.
• Deindustrialization: Loss of traditional manufacturing jobs in an area.
• Developing countries/Developed countries: Countries based on levels of development (LDCs/MDCs).
• Devolution: Power transferring from central governments to local governments.
• Domino theory: Political theory where collapse of one country results in collapse of surrounding countries.
• Economic base: Industries upon which an urban or regional economy is dependent.
• EEZ: Special Economic Zone.
• Edge cities: New concentrations of jobs and population outside of central cities.
• Employment structure: Distribution of different employment sectors (primary, secondary, tertiary).
• Entrepot: Trading center that handles import/export without significant local manufacturing.
• Ethnic neighborhood/ghetto: Concentrated population of a particular ethnicity or race.
• Favela: Typically impoverished and unplanned neighborhoods.
• Female-headed household: Households headed principally by a female.
• Festival landscape: Landscape associated with festivals.
• Forward capital: Capital city relocated from its traditional place.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): Investments from one country to others and others, driven by the need.
• Frontier: Area of activity but unclear who possesses claim to the territory.
• Gender differences: Differences in economic activity, life expectancy, and literacy rate.
• Gentrification: Improving the quality of an area or city, often causing disruption to poor communities.
• Ghetto: Section of city separated socially.
• Geopolitics: Study of politics in interaction with geography.
• Globalization: Worldwide patterns of economic relations.
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Monetary value of goods/services produced in a country.
• Gross National Product (GNP): Similar to GDP, but includes income earned abroad.
• Heartland: Region in a major country or continent that serves as an important political or cultural center.
• Hierarchical diffusion: Spread of ideas from one level of class or authority to the next.
• Human development index (HDI): Index combining economic, social, and demographic factors to measure development.
• Immigrant state: A receiving state for many immigrants.
• Industrialization: Process of moving from an agricultural economy to a manufacturing economy.
• Labor force: Number of people economically active.
• Levels of development: (MDC's/LDC's) Based on measures of development.
• Long Lots: Land divisions close to a long lot used for access to a waterway.
• Market gardening: Small-scale farming close to the marketplace.
• Mechanization: Increased use of machinery in agriculture and other sectors.
• Mineral fuels: Non-renewable natural resources from the earth (coal, oil, or natural gas).
• Mining: Removing valuable minerals or other geological materials from the ground.
• Neocolonialism: Practice where MDCs indirectly control or influence LDCs.
• Nomadic herding/pastoralism: Moving livestock to find pasture or water.
• Nucleated: Settlements where buildings are clustered closely.
• Overpopulation: When population exceeds resources.
• Periphery: Countries with low levels of development and economic activity.
• Periodic movement: Movement that involves a return to the initial location, such as seasonal migration.
• Physical quality of life index: Development index measuring life satisfaction based on health, education, and income.
• Planned economy: Economic system operated by a central authority.
• Place utility: Value or desirability of a location.
• Planned economy: Economic system where a central authority controls production and allocation.
• Population projection: Prediction about future population.
• Population pyramid: Graphic representation of age and sex distribution of a population.
• Purchasing power parity (PPP): Adjusts GDP to reflect different prices in various countries.
• Primary sector: Involves extraction of raw materials.
• Regional scale: How phenomena and issues present themselves regionally
• Relative location: Location in relation to other places.
• Relative location: Position of a region in relation to other regions.
• Renewable energy: Refers to energy sources that are replenished naturally (solar, wind).
• Rimland: Region surrounding the Core in a country.
• Rural settlements: Sparsely inhabited regions.
• Rural-urban migration: Moving from rural to urban areas.
• Sacred space: Places revered for religious or spiritual significance.
• Scale: Representation of things in terms of its size and dimensions.
• Scale of analysis: Different levels at which a phenomena may be studied (local, regional, global).
• Secularism: Belief that human affairs should not be influenced by religion.
• Secondary sector: Manufacturing sector.
• Segregation: Separation of population groups by social characteristics (ethnic groups).
• Shamanism: Traditional method of healing/communicating with spirits.
• Sharia Law: Legal system based on Islamic principles.
• Shifting cultivation: Farming method that involves clearing land and moving to another plot as soil fertility declines.
• Site: Physical characteristics of a location.
• Situation: Location of a feature relative to other locations.
• Spatial distribution: Arrangement of features/activities across an area.
• Staple grain: Major cereal crops that are important dietary items for humans worldwide. (maize, wheat, rice)
• Staple grains: Most important crops.
• Step migration: Migration in stages, from one village to another to a nearby city, to another city and then finally to a major metropolitan area.
• Stimulus diffusion: The spread of an underlying principle, even though a specific characteristic itself fails to diffuse.
• Sustainability: Meeting present needs without compromising future generations' ability to meet their own needs.
• Suitcase farm: Farmers who live in urban areas and only visit their rural land when needed.
• Survey patterns: Methods for subdividing land.
• Tertiary sector: Service sector.
• Threshold: Minimum number of customers for a business to be successful, usually found in market areas.
• Township and range: Grid arrangement for dividing land in most of the United States.
• Transhumance: Seasonal movement of livestock between mountains and lowland pastures.
• Transmigration: Forced migration or movement from one area to another area.
• Truck farm: Commercial gardening (truck crops).
• Underpopulation: Fewer people than needed to support a given area or society.
• Universalizing religions: Religions attempting to appeal to all people regardless of background.
• Vernacular religion/region: Religion particular to a certain location or perceived as part of local culture.
• Von Thunen Model: Model explaining patterns of agricultural land use (crops based on price, distance to marketplace).
• Zero Population Growth: Equilibrium of a population (CBR = CDR).

Test your knowledge of key concepts in cultural geography with this engaging quiz. Explore topics such as place utility, transhumance, cultural diffusion, and the cumulative cultural landscape. Perfect for students studying human geography or related fields.