The most basic concept is that of location, and the first question that a geographer studying some phenomenon will typically ask is "where"? We might, for example, examine the location of London.
Distributions may be thought of as sets of individual locations. We might study, for example, the distribution of population in China.
A region is an area that is distinguished from other areas by some characteristic(s). By creating a region a geographer is able to generalize and simplify. We might identify a region in which Islam is the most common religion, thereby helping us to understand a distribution that could otherwise be quite complex.
If we have two different spatial distributions that appear to be similar, we have spatial association. Perhaps one phenomenon such as birth rates is high in the same places as another such as infant mortality. A spatial association between two phenomena does not prove a cause and effect relationship, but may give us reason to attempt to understand why the association exists.
Movement from one place to another is also something that is inherently spatial and may be portrayed on a map. Because of the "friction of distance," much movement tends to cover shorter rather than longer distances. The travel of shoppers is one form of movement that is of interest to economic geographers.
Finally, diffusion is the process by which something spreads. Television has now diffused to much of the world's population.
