Human Geography Vocabulary Part 6
This comprehensive flashcard set covers key terms and concepts in human geography, focusing on agriculture, natural resources, economic activities, and cultural geography. Ideal for students preparing for exams or anyone seeking a deeper understanding of topics such as intensive and extensive agriculture, the Green Revolution, economic sectors (primary to quinary), cultural traditions, and models like von Thünen. Each card provides clear definitions to support effective studying and concept mastery.
extensive agriculture
a crop or livestock system characterized by low inputs of labor per unit area of land. May be part of either a subsistence or a commercial economy
Key Terms
extensive agriculture
a crop or livestock system characterized by low inputs of labor per unit area of land. May be part of either a subsistence or a commercial economy<...
extractive industry
primary activities involving the mining and quarrying of nonrenewable metallic and nonmetallic mineral resources
gathering industry
primary activities involving the subsistence or commercial harvesting of renewable natural resources of land or water. Primitive gathering involves...
Green Revolution
a term suggesting the great increases in food production, primarily in subtropical areas, accomplished through the introduction of very high-yieldi...
intensive agriculture
any agricultural system involving the application of large amounts of capital and/or labor per unit of cultivated land; may be part of either subsi...
maximum sustainable yield
the maximum rate at which a renewable resource can be exploited without impairing its ability to be renewed or replenished
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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
extensive agriculture | a crop or livestock system characterized by low inputs of labor per unit area of land. May be part of either a subsistence or a commercial economy |
extractive industry | primary activities involving the mining and quarrying of nonrenewable metallic and nonmetallic mineral resources |
gathering industry | primary activities involving the subsistence or commercial harvesting of renewable natural resources of land or water. Primitive gathering involves local collection of food and other materials of nature, both plant and animal; commercial gathering usually implies forestry and fishing industries |
Green Revolution | a term suggesting the great increases in food production, primarily in subtropical areas, accomplished through the introduction of very high-yielding grain crops, particularly wheat, maize, and rice |
intensive agriculture | any agricultural system involving the application of large amounts of capital and/or labor per unit of cultivated land; may be part of either subsistence or commercial economy |
maximum sustainable yield | the maximum rate at which a renewable resource can be exploited without impairing its ability to be renewed or replenished |
natural resource | a physically occurring item that a population perceives to be necessary and useful to its maintenance and well-being; also resource |
nomadic herding | migratory but controlled movement of livestock solely dependent on natural forage |
nonrenewable resource | a natural resource that is not replenished or replaced by natural processes or is used at a rate that exceeds its replacement rate |
planned economy | a system of production of goods and services, usually consumed or distributed by a governmental agency, in quantities, at prices, and in locations determined by governmental program |
plantation | a large agricultural holding, frequently foreign owned, devoted to the production of a single export crop |
primary activity | the part of an economy involved in making natural resources available for use or further processing; includes mining, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, grazing |
quaternary activity | the part of the economy concerned with research, with the gathering and dissemination of information, and with administration; often considered only as a specialized subdivision of tertiary activities |
quinary activity | a sometimes separately recognized subsection of tertiary activity management functions involving highest-level decision making in all types of large organizations. The most advanced form of the quarternary subsector |
renewable resource | a natural resource that is potentially inexhaustible either because it is constantly (eg solar) or periodically (eg biomass) replenished as long as its use does not exceed its maximum sustainable yield |
secondary activity | those parts of the economy involved in the processing of raw materials derived from primary activities and in altering or combining materials to produce commodities of enhanced utility and value; includes manufacturing, construction, and power generation |
shifting cultivation | crop production on tropical forest clearings kept in cultivation until their quickly declining fertility is lost. Cleared sites are then abandoned and new sites are prepared. Synonyms: slash-and-burn agriculture / swidden agriculture |
subsistence economy | an economic system of relatively simple technology in which people produce most or all of the goods to satisfy their own and their family's needs; little or no exchange occurs outside or the immediate or extended family |
technology | the integrated system of knowledge, skills, tools, and methods developed within or used by a culture to successfully carry out purposeful and productive tasks |
tertiary activity | those parts of the economy that fulfill the exchange function, that provide market availability of commodities, and that bring together consumers and providers of services; includes wholesale and retail trade, associated transportational and governmental services, and personal and professional services of all kinds |
tragedy of the commons | the observation that in the absence of collective control over the use of a resource available to all, it is to the advantage of all users to maximize their separate shares even though their collective pressures may diminish total yield or destroy the resource altogether |
truck farm | the intensive production of fruits and vegetables for market rather than for processing or canning; synonyms horticultural farming, market gardening |
usable resources | mineral deposits that have been identified and can be recovered at current prices and with current technology |
von Thunen model | model developed by vonThunen, German economist and landowner, to explain the forces that control the prices of agricultural commodities and how those variable prices affect patterns of agricultural land utilization |
built environment | part of the physical landscape that represents material culture; the landscape created by humans |
custom | body of traditional practices, usages, and conventions that regulate social life |
folk culture | body of institutions, customs, dress, artifacts, collective wisdoms, and traditions of a homogeneous, isolated, largely self-sufficient, and relatively static social group |
folklore | oral tradition of a group; includes proverbs, prayers, common expressions, superstitions, beliefs, narrative tales, and legends |
folkways | the learned behavior shared by a society that prescribes accepted and common modes of conduct |
material culture | tangible, physical items produced and used by members of a specific culture group and reflective of their traditions, lifestyles, and technologies |
nonmaterial culture | the oral traditions, songs, and stories of a culture group along with its beliefs and customary behaviors |
placelessness | the replacement of local variety with a homogeneous and standardized landscape (eg Walmart) |
popular culture | general mass of people primarily urban based, constantly adopting, conforming to, and quickly abandoning ever-changing common modes of behavior and fads of material and nonmaterial culture |
popular region | a region perceived and defined by its inhabitants, usually with a popularly given or accepted nickname; vernacular region |
vernacular house | built in traditional form but without formal plans or drawings |
vernacular region | a region perceived and defined by its inhabitants, usually with a popularly given or accepted nickname; popular region |
acculturation | the adoption by the immigrants of the values, attitudes, ways of behavior, and speech of the receiving society |
adaptation | natural selection - characters are transmitted that enable people to adapt to particular environment conditions such as climate |
amalgamation theory | formal term for the "melting pot" concept of the merging of many immigrant ethnic heritages into a composite American mainstream |
assimilation | two part process - behavioral (cultural) assimilation and structural assimilation |
behavioral assimilation | (syn cultural assimilation) integration into a common cultural life through shared experience, language, intermarriage, and sense of history; rough equivalent of acculturation |
chain migration | the assemblage in one area if the relatives, friends or unconnected compatriots of the first arrivals; attracted by both favorable reports and by familiar presences in specific locales of the New World |
charter group | the dominant first arrivals establishing the cultural norms and standards against which other immigrant groups were measured |
cluster migration | a pattern of movement and settlement resulting from the collective action of distinctive social or ethnic group |
colony | a settlement in a new territory that keeps close ties to its homeland |
culture rebound | the readoption by later generations of culture traits and identities associated with immigrant forebears or ancestral homelands |
ethnic enclave | cluster of an ethnic population |
ethnic geography | The study of diffusion, migration and mixing of peoples of different origins |
ethnic group | populations that feel themselves bound together by a common origin and set off from other groups by ties of culture, race, religion, language, or nationality |
ethnic island | the dispersed and rural counterparts of urban ethnic neighborhoods |
ethnicity | a shared ancestry and cultural heritage, the retention of a set of distinctive traditions, and the maintenance of in-group interactions and relationships |
ethnic province | entire regions of North America that have become associated with larger ethnic or racial aggregations |
ethnocentrism | tendency to evaluate other cultures against the standards of one's own |
first effective settlement | the culture that first moves into an area has a tremendous influence on the area no matter how tiny the initial band of settlers may have been. Work of Wilbur Zelinsky |
gene flow | acts to homogenize neighboring populations via interbreeding. No scientific basis for race |
genetic drift | a heritable trait that appears by chance in one group and becomes accentuated through inbreeding. Differentiates populations in non-adaptive ways |
ghetto | when a cluster is perpetuated by external constraints and discriminatory actions |
host society | the established dominant group |
natural selection | or adaptation - characteristics that are transmitted that enable people to adapt to particular environment conditions, such as climate |
race | population subset whose members have in common some hereditary biological characteristics that set them apart physically from other human groups |
segregation | the extent to which members of an ethnic group are not uniformly distributed in relation to the rest of the population |
social distance | how much social "space" is there between differing racial or ethnic groups in society, refers to the amount of space that operates between individuals or groups as a result of differences in race, age, culture, ethnicity, etc. |
structural assimilation | fusion of immigrant ethnics with the groups, social systems, and occupations of the host society and the adoption of common attitudes and values |
tipping point | a critical percentage of newcomer housing occupancy is reached which may precipitate a rapid exodus by the former majority population |
animism | belief that life exists in all objects, rocks, trees, mountains etc or that inanimate objects are the abode of the dead, of spirits, and of gods |
Buddhism | universalizing faith founded 6th century BC in India; moral philosophy that offered an explanation for evil and human suffering |
caste | birth structure of society; an expression of the eternal transmigration of souls |
Christianity | origin in the life and teachings of Jesus, a Jewish preacher of the 1st century; promised Messiah; salvation to all races not just Jews |
Confucianism | the importance of proper conduct; no churches or clergy; worship of ancestors encouraged |
creole | if pidgin becomes the first language of a group of speakers; may have lost their former native tongue; acquire more complex grammatical structure and enhanced vocabulary |
dialect | recognizable speech variants |
ethnic religion | strong territorial and cultural group identification; usually become a member by birth or by adoption of a complex lifestyle and cultural identity, not by simple declaration of faith |
geographic dialect | regional dialects |
Hinduism | oldest major religion (?); no common creed, single doctrine, or central ecclesiastical organization; caste system; aim is to conform to prescribed social rituals and duties for assigned caste |
Islam | "submission" to the will of God; springs from Judaic roots; many similar beliefs |
isogloss | the outer limit of the territorial extent of a dialect |
Judaism | belief in a single God laid the foundation of both Christianity and Islam |
language | organized system of spoken words by which people communicate with each other with mutual comprehension |
language family | group of languages descended from a single, earlier tongue |
lingua franca | an established language used for communication by people whose native tongues are mutually incomprehensible |
linguistic geography | the study of the character and spatial pattern of dialects and language |
monotheism | belief in a single deity |
multilingualism | societies in which two or more languages are in common use |
official language | the required language of instruction in schools, government business, courts, etc |
pidgin | amalgam of languages, usually a simplified form of one with borrowings from another local language |
polytheism | belief in many gods |
protolanguage | reconstructed earlier form of a language |
religion | unified system of beliefs and practices that join all those who adhere to them in a single moral community |
secularism | an indifference to or rejection of religion or religious belief |
shamanism | tribal religion; involves community acceptance of a shaman, religious leader, healer, and worker of magic who can intercede with the spirit world |
Shinto | The Way of the Gods; Japanese nature and ancestor worship; a structure of customs and rituals rather than an ethical or moral system |
social dialect | denote social class and educational level |
speech community | people who speak a common language |
standard language | the accepted norms of syntax, vocabulary, and pronunciation |
syncretism | a combination of different forms of belief and practice |
Taoism | an ideology whose central theme is the Way, a philosophy teaching that eternal happiness lies in total identification with nature and deploring passion, unnecessary invention; simple life of individuals |
toponym | place names |
toponymy | the study of place names |
tribal (traditional) religion | special forms of ethnic religions distinguished by their small size, unique identity with localized culture groups not absorbed into modern society, and close ties to nature |
universalizing religion | faiths that claim applicability to all humans and that seek to transmit their beliefs through missionary work and conversion |