Unit 1 Vocabulary: Native Texas and Its People

• Latitude: The angular distance north or south from the equator of a point on the earth’s
surface; measured on the meridian of the point.
• Longitude: The angular distance east or west on the earth’s surface, measured by the
angle contained between the meridian of a particular place and some prime meridian, as
of that in Greenwich, England, and expressed either in degrees or by some corresponding
difference in time.
• Region: An extensive, continuous part of a surface, space, or body: a region of the
earth.
• Physical features: Something that we can see with our eyes and that we can describe.
For example: a physical feature of a person’s face, appearance, etc.
• Key legend: Explains what the symbols mean that are used on the map.
• Scale indicator: Tells you the distance on a particular map or grid.
• Escarpments: A long, cliff-like ridge of land, rock, or the like, commonly formed by
faulting or fracturing of the earth’s crust.
• Basins: An area in which the outside dips from the margins toward a common center; a
shallow bowl-like formation.
• Plateau: A land area having a relatively level surface considerably raised above
adjoining land on at least one side, and often cut by deep canyons.
• Equator: The great circle of the earth that is equidistant between the North and South
poles.
• Meridian: A great circle of the earth passing through the poles and any given point on
the earth’s surface.
• Hemisphere: Half of the globe or sphere. One of the halves into which the earth is
divided (compare Eastern and Western Hemispheres; Northern and Southern
Hemispheres)
• Continent: One of the main landmasses of the globe; seven in number: Europe, Asia,
Africa, North America, South America, Australia, and Antarctica)
• Political map: A representation of a country’s territories, boundaries, and capital(s) on
paper or other material.
• Physical map: A depiction of identifiable landmarks.
• Map projection: A means of representing or a representation of the globe, sphere, or
part of it on a flat map, using a grid of lines (longitude and latitude).
• Geography: The study of spatial aspects of the earth and the people of who live on it.
• Precipitation: In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of
atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity, such as drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, and
hail.
• Agriculture: The process of growing plants and raising animals for food.
• Physical geographic feature: Any characteristic of the Earth’s surface that was created
by natural processes.
• Region: A spatial area of land that is unified by a common characteristic, such as
political unity, linguistic unity, or common climate patterns.
• Indigenous: Originating in a specific place or region
• Nomad: Someone who moves from place to place with no permanent home.
• Adobe: Sun-dried bricks made from a mixture of mud with a small amount of straw or
grass.
• Native: Living or growing naturally in a particular place.
• Natural resources: Materials or substances that occur in nature
• Climate: A pattern of the combination of precipitation and temperature over time
• Era: A period of time with distinct political, economic, and social characteristics
• Human characteristics: Manmade features of a region or place; features that do not
occur naturally.
• Physical characteristics: Naturally-occurring or created features of a region or place.
• Migrate: To move to a new, far-away place for the purpose of settling permanently.