Chapter 1: The North American Realm Flashcards
North America and Canada
physiographic regions
a region within which there prevails substantial natural-landscape homogeneity, expressed by a certain degree of uniformity in surface relief, climate, vegetation, and soils
continentality
the variation of the continental effect on air temperatures in the inferior parts of the world’s landmasses; the greater the distance from the moderating influence of an ocean, the greater the extreme i summer and winter temps. Tend to be dry when the distance from oceanic moisture sources becomes considerable
rain shadow effect
the relative dryness in areas downwind of mountain ranges resulting from orographic precipitation, where moist air masses are forced to deposit most of their water content as they cross the highlands
First Nations
name given Canad;a’s indigenous peoples of American descent, whose U.S. counterparts are called Native Americans
Cultural Foundations
language and religion
unitary state
centralized state; delineations
federal state
power is shared; central government represents the various subnational entities within a nation-state where they have common interests, yet allow these entities to retain their own identities and have their ow laws, policies, customs in certain spheres
aquifers
underground reservoirs of water contained within a porous, water-bearing rock layer
Natural Resources
Water, minerals, oil, natural gas, hydraulic fracking, coal
fossil fuel
energy resources of coal, natural gas, and petroleum, named collectively because they were formed by the geologic compression and transformation of tiny plant and animal organisms
urban system
a hierarchical network of grouping urban areas within a finite geographic area, such as a country
American Manufacturing Belt
North America’s near-rectangular core area, whose corners are Boston, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Baltimore
primary sector
involves the extraction of raw materials from nature
secondary sector
uses the input of raw materials and manufactures them into finished products
tertiary sector
entails all kinds of services to support production and consumption (banking, retail, transport)
Both the secondary and tertiary sectors were overwhelmingly concentrated in….
cities
distribution center
a centralized focus of economic activity specializing in the distribution of goods; a major hub on its regional transportation network
What is a distribution center in this realm?
Atlanta, Georgia; outstanding highway, rail, and air-freight connections to surrounding southeastern US
intermodal connections
facilities and activities related to the transfer of goods, from one mode of transportation to another (e.g. loading containers from a ship directly onto a truck or rail car)
outer city
non-central city portion of the American metropolis; no longer “sub” to the “urb”, as it’s become a full-fledged city
deindistrialization
process by which companies relocate manufacturing jobs to other regions with cheaper labor, leaving the newly-deindustralized region to convert to a service economy while struggling with the accompanying effects of increased unemployment and meeting the retaining needs of its workforce
central business district (CBD)
the downtown heart of a central city; marked by high land values, a concentration of business and commerce, and clustering of the tallest buildings
information economy
the new, incresingly dominant, postindustrial economy of maturing in the most highly advanced countries of North America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim; traditional industry here is being eclipsed by a higher-technology productive complex focused on information-related activities
GPS
orbiting satellite-based navigation system that provides locational and time info, anywhere on the Earth;s surface where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites
