Merriam Webster's Geographical Dictionary

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White, Robert C. (1968). "Early Geographical Dictionaries". Geographical Review. 58 (4): 652–659. doi: 10.2307/212687. JSTOR 212687. pl.) pampas In parts of South America, a vast, fertile, grassy plain; or the temperate lowland region encompassing these plains. pan Any shallow, generally rounded basin or hollow, which may seasonally capture and hold water from rainfall or snowmelt, especially one occurring in an arid or semi-arid region; more specifically, the flat central part of such a depression, which may be temporarily or seasonally flooded. [3] panhandle See salient. panhole Also topographical relief or simply relief. The vertical and horizontal dimensions of a land surface, usually as expressed in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation of geographical features. terrestrial 1.Consisting of, living on, or relating to land, as opposed to water or air; e.g. a terrestrial animal lives primarily on land surfaces rather than in the sea. [3] 2.On, of, or relating to the Earth, as opposed to other planets or to celestial phenomena occurring outside the Earth's atmosphere. [3] territorial waters 1.A concept of the Law of the Sea defined as the belt of coastal waters extending no more than 12 nautical miles (22km) from a designated baseline (usually defined as the mean low-water line) for a coastal state and regarded as the sovereign territory of the state; or more generally any area of water over which a state has legal jurisdiction, including internal waters, the exclusive economic zone, and potentially others. territory A specific area or portion of the Earth's surface, especially one claimed or administered by a particular country; similar to though distinct from a region. [4] tertiary sector That portion of a region's economy devoted to service activities (e.g., retail and wholesale operations, transportation, insurance). [4] thalweg

Also GIScience. The scientific study of data structures and computational techniques for capturing, representing, processing, and analyzing geographic information. geographic information system (GIS) Any system of computer software tools designed to allow users to record, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present large sets of spatial or geographic data. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) A digital public-domain database developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names which contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States and its territories. Each feature recorded in the database receives a unique feature record identifier called a GNIS identifier. geographical inertia Also geospatial data, georeferenced information, and geoinformation. Any data or information having an implicit or explicit association with one or more locations on the Earth, especially that used for georeferencing in GIS databases. geodesic geodesy In Japan, there were also local gazetteers in pre-modern times, called fudoki. [71] Japanese gazetteers preserved historical and legendary accounts of various regions. For example, the Nara-period (710–794) provincial gazetteer Harima no kuni fūdoki of Harima Province provides a story of an alleged visit by Emperor Ōjin in the 3rd century while on an imperial hunting expedition. [72] Local Japanese gazetteers could also be found in later periods such as the Edo period. [73] Gazetteers were often composed by the request of wealthy patrons; for example, six scholars in the service of the daimyō of the Ikeda household published the Biyō kokushi gazetteer for several counties in 1737. [74] World gazetteers were written by the Japanese in the 19th century, such as the Kon'yo zushiki ("Annotated Maps of the World") published by Mitsukuri Shōgo in 1845, the Hakkō tsūshi ("Comprehensive Gazetteer of the Entire World") by Mitsukuri Genpo in 1856, and the Bankoku zushi ("Illustrated Gazetteer of the Nations of the World"), which was written by an Englishman named Colton, translated by Sawa Ginjirō, and printed by Tezuka Ritsu in 1862. [57] Despite the ambitious title, the work by Genpo only covered Yōroppa bu ("Section on Europe") while the planned section for Asia was not published. [57] In 1979 the 50 volume gazeteer Nihon rekishi chimei taikei ("Japanese Historical Place Names") series was launched [75] and it is currently also available online with "200,000 headings with detailed explanations of [each] place name". [76] South Asia [ edit ]Also curvimeter, meilograph, or map measurer. An instrument used to measure the lengths of arbitrary curved lines, especially the distances of rivers and roads on a map. ordinal directions See intercardinal directions. ordnance datum (OD) Any vertical datum used by the British Ordnance Survey as the basis for reporting elevations on maps. In modern Great Britain, the standard ordnance datum is the ODN, defined as the mean sea level calculated from hourly observations of the tidal gauge at Newlyn, Cornwall, between 1915 and 1921. All heights shown on British maps are measured from this benchmark. [3] orientation The position of or the act of positioning a person or object with respect to the directional points of a compass, especially the placement of a map or surveying instrument in the field so that a north–south line on the map or instrument lies parallel to a north–south line on the ground. [3] Determining one's orientation at a given time is the chief aim of orienteering, and is generally of critical importance in navigation. orienteering orographic rainfall Precipitation that results when moist air is lifted over a topographic barrier, such as a mountain range. [4] orography A branch of physical geography and geomorphology concerned with the scientific study and description of the topographic relief of the Earth, particularly of mountains and hills, and more broadly of any elevated terrain. [3] orthodrome See great circle. orthodromic distance See great-circle distance. orthophotograph Also water hole. A hollow or depression in the ground, natural or artificial, in which water can collect, either from precipitation or fed by a spring, especially in savannas or deserts where water is otherwise scarce; or a pool in the bed of an intermittent stream. Waterholes may be permanent or ephemeral. [3] watershed Another name for a drainage divide, or for the entire catchment area of a drainage basin. waterway Any body of water that is deep, wide, and slow enough to be navigable by watercraft. wave-cut platform Although better known for his work on the Gujin Tushu Jicheng encyclopedia, the early-to-mid Qing scholar Jiang Tingxi aided other scholars in the compilation of the "Daqing Yitongzhi" ('Gazetteer of the Qing Empire'). [55] This was provided with a preface in 1744 (more than a decade after Jiang's death), revised in 1764, and reprinted in 1849. [55] Brown, Ralph H. (1941). "The American Geographies of Jedidiah Morse". Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 31 (3): 145–217. doi: 10.1080/00045604109357224. ISSN 0004-5608. Also physiography or geosystems. The branch of geography that studies processes and patterns in the natural environment, such as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and biosphere, as opposed to the cultural or built environment. Along with human geography, it is one of the two major sub-fields of geography. physiographic region A portion of the Earth's surface with a common topography and morphology. [4] physiography Another name for physical geography. [4] piedmont

Hall, John Whitney (1957). "Materials for the Study of Local History in Japan: Pre-Meiji Daimyō Records". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. 20 (1/2): 187–212. doi: 10.2307/2718525. JSTOR 2718525.

a b c d e f g h i j National Soil Survey Center (2018-02-01). "Part 629 – Glossary of Landform and Geologic Terms". Title 430 – National Soil Survey Handbook. Washington, DC: Natural Resources Conservation Service. OCLC 851204093, 681768549 . Retrieved 2018-10-07. Taryō, Ōbayashi; Taryo, Obayashi (1984). "Japanese Myths of Descent from Heaven and Their Korean Parallels". Asian Folklore Studies. 43 (2): 171. doi: 10.2307/1178007. JSTOR 1178007. All About Glaciers". National Snow & Ice Data Center. https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/glaciers/gallery/ogives.html#:~:text=Ogives%20are%20bands%20that%20form,collects%20on%20the%20glacier%20surface. Continuing an old tradition of fangzhi, the Republic of China had gazetteers composed and created national standards for them in 1929, updating these in 1946. [62] The printing of gazetteers was revived in 1956 under Mao Zedong and again in the 1980s, after the reforms of the Deng era to replace the people's communes with traditional townships. [63] The difangzhi effort under Mao yielded little results (only 10 of the 250 designated counties ended up publishing a gazetteer), while the writing of difangzhi was interrupted during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), trumped by the village and family histories which were more appropriate for the theme of class struggle. [64] [65] A Li Baiyu of Shanxi forwarded a letter to the CCP Propaganda Department on May 1, 1979, which urged for the revival of difangzhi. [64] This proposal was sponsored by Hu Yaobang in June 1979 while Hu Qiaomu of the CCP Politburo lent his support for the idea in April 1980. [64] The first issue of a modern national journal of difangzhi was issued by January 1981. [64] Korea [ edit ]