Geography, like all academic disciplines, has its own nomenclature and terminology. Those learning about the field for the first time may be bewildered by the many specialized terms and concepts that geographers use, a feeling frequently compounded by the broad interests that geographers pursue and the many subfields that make up the study of geography as a whole. But it is the very diversity of geography that gives the discipline depth and strength, and allows us to think in integrative and complex ways about the myriad spatial processes we encounter on a daily basis. Almost everyone carries a “mental map” that allows us to organize the world into an order that we recognize and expect—we are by nature all geographers. Geography is the science of location, and the entire world is the laboratory of the geographer. To appreciate the wide body of knowledge that geography offers, a mastery of the language of the field is essential.