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| geography | The study of the earth's landforms, its plants and animals, its climates, and the relationship of people to their natural environment. |
| absolute location | The location of a place on the earth as indicated by its latitude and longitude. |
| relative location | Where a place is in relation to another place (for example, Calvert County is just to the south of Washington, D. C.) |
| compass rose | The symbol on the map that shows which way north is on a map. |
| cardinal directions | The four major directions on a compas--north, south, east, and west. |
| intermediate directions | The directions halfway between the cardinal directions--northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest. |
| map symbols | A symbol is anything that stands for something else. Map symbols may include dots, squares, circles, triangles, lines, letters and numbers. Small drawings may also be use. The map key or legend will explain what each symbol stands for. |
| legend/key | Explains the symbols used on a map. |
| scale | The part of a map that will tell you how much smaller map distances are than real distances. For example, a map may be drawn so that every inch on the map is equal to 1,000 miles on the earth's surface. |
| elevation | Height above sea level. |
| latitude/parallels | A line on a map or globe that extends east and west and shows the distance from the equator. |
| longitude/meridian | A line on a map or globe that extends north and south and shows the distance from the prime meridian. |
| hemisphere | Half of the earth. The Northern and Southern hemispheres of the earth are divided by the equator. The Eastern and Western hemispheres are divided by the prime meridian. |
| axis | A straight line about which an object turns or seems to turn. The North and South poles are the imaginary ends of the axis around which the earth turns or rotates. |
| rotation | The spinning motion of the earth, like a top on its axis, as it travels through space. |
| revolution | One complete orbit of the earth around the sun. |
| Equator | An imaginary line that circles the globe at its widest point. |
| Prime Meridian | An imaginary line of longitude that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole through Greenwich, England. |
| Tropic of Cancer | An imaginary line around the earth at latitude 23° 27' N. This line marks the northern most latitude of tropical climates. |
| Tropic of Capricorn | An imaginary line around the earth at latitude 23° 27' S. This line marks the southern most latitude of tropical climates. |
