AP Human Geography Unit 4 Vocabulary Notes

Political barriers drawn in an area with complete disregard for the cultural, religious, and ethnic divisions within the people living there.

Boundaries are drawn on a map and boundaries that are identified by physical objects, like walls, signs, and fences. Any boundary is also determined by either natural or geometric lines. Natural boundaries are based on physical features, like rivers, mountains, and coastlines.

Organization of three or more states to promote shared objectives.

The movement of power from the central government to regional governments within the state or breakup of a large state (balkanization) into several independent ones

The continued economic dependence of colonies on their former occupiers.

Boundaries/borders within a country.

A conceptual means of division of the water surface of the planet into maritime areas that are defined through surrounding physical geography or by human geography.

The political authority of a state to govern itself.

A sovereign state whose citizens or subjects are relatively homogeneous in factors such as language or common descent.

An ethnic group or nation that does not possess its own state and is not the majority population in any nation state.

Boundaries that used to exist and can still be detected on the landscape

The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

A boundary that already existed before the present settlement in that area occurred. The cultural landscape emerged and stayed in place while people moved in to occupy the surrounding area.

A political boundary that was created after two groups have already settled there. This type of boundary is often used to separate different groups of people based on their ethnicity or cultural background, and so it is often also called an ethnographic boundary.

A boundary that is imposed on the cultural landscape which ignores pre-existing cultural patterns (typically a colonial boundary).