Discover Your World Flashcards
What is traditional geography?
Traditional Geography is a study of the world and its destinations, presenting what is relevant and practical to the travel professional.
What is tourism geography?
Tourism Geography is a study of the world and its destinations as seen through the eyes of a travel agent, what is relevant and practical to the travel professional.
Name the seven Continents
North America
South America
Europe Asia
Australia
Africa
Antarctica
Why is learning about land formations so important to the travel professional?
Much of what we sell involve land formations of the earth.
Some examples: ski and summer sport activities in mountains; cruise vacations through fjords; trips to national parks and canyons, etc.
Mountains and Examples
Massive elevations that profoundly affect travel due to their effect on climate.
Alps (Central Europe)
Rockies (western US)
Andes (South America)
Himalayas (Asia)
Volcanoes and Examples
Mountains that have openings from which heated solid, liquid and gaseous matter is ejected.
Active Volcanoes to visit:
Kilauea (Big Island of Hawaii)
Mt. Tena (Sicily, Italy)
Canyons and examples
Deep, narrow valleys having high, steep cliffs.
Grand Canyon (Arizona)
Copper Canyon (Mexico)
Fish River Canyon (Namibia)
Peninsulas and Capes
Land projections extending out into the water; peninsulas are generally longer than capes.
Peninsulas:
Baja, California
Iberia (Spain and Portugal)
Capes:
Cape Camaveral, Florida
Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Islands
Land that is surrounded by water and smaller than a continent. Those that are formed by coral are called atolls, and others may be volcanic.
Bermuda (Atlantic)
Tahiti, Galapagos (Pacific)
Jamaica, Martinique (Caribbean)
Santorini, Sicily, Balearic Islands (Mediterranean)
Cays
Pronounced “keys”, they are small, low islands composed of sand and coral.
Cayman Islands
Florida Keys
Ambergris Cay (Belize)
Reefs
Ridges of land that rise to or just. Slow the surface of the ocean, just offshore. They are composed of sand, rock, and coral and often provide excellent diving opportunities.
Great Barrier Reef (Australia)
Cayman Trench (Cayman Islands)
Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles)
Deserts
A portion of the earth’s surface where there is little to no rainfall.
Sahara (North Africa)
Gobi (China and Mongolia)
Sonoran and Mojave (southwestern US)
Oceans
Largest bodies of water
Atlantic
Pacific
Indian
Artic
Seas
Much smaller than oceans. Usually open into an ocean but that are at least partially enclosed by land boundaries.
More than 50 seas.
Most popular are:
Caribbean
Mediterranean
Black
Baltic
Gulfs and Bays
Large area of ocean water that penetrate into a land mass. Bays tend to be smaller and less enclosed by land.
Gulf of Mexico
Bay of Naples (Italy)
Persian Gulf
Gulf of California
Fjords
Inlets from an ocean or sea that cut deeply into the coastline. They are narrow with steep cliffs.
Countries that offer majestic fjords include:
Norway, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and United States (Alaska)
Rivers
Large natural bodies of flowing water.
Mississippi (US)
Rhine and Danube (Central Europe)
Amazon (South America)
Nile (Africa)
Yangtze (China)
Lakes
Bodies of water surround fed by land, generally smaller than seas. They usually contain fresh water because most lakes are geologically “young” and haven’t had time to accumulate the quantities of minerals that create salinity or “saltness”. Salt lakes, like Great Salt Lake (western US) are ancient lakes.
Great Lakes (northern US)
Lake Geneva (Switzerland)
Lake Victoria (Africa)
Lake Biwa (Japan)
True or false
Mountains are ridges of land that lie just offshore and rise to or just below the surface of the water.
False
A peninsulas is?
Land projection extending out into the water; not entirely surrounded by water.
True or False
Oceans are the largest bodies of water.
True
Lakes are…
Bodies of water completely surrounded by land.
A “cay” is…
A small land formation surrounded by water that is small, low lying, and composed of sand and coral.
Narrow inlets with steep cliffs that are deeply indented into the coastline are called…
Fjords
True or False
A reef is a series of small islands formed by coral
False
Reefs are ridges of land that lie just offshore and rise to or just below the surface of the water.
An atoll is/are
Small islands formed by coral
True or False
Seas are large bodies of water that open into oceans and are partially enclosed by land.
True
Latitudes
Latitude Lines are always equidistant from each other
Parallel lines drawn east to west between the equator and the north and south poles.
Northern Hemisphere
North of the equator.
Tropic of Cancer 23.5 degree north
Southern Hemisphere
South of the equator
Tropic of Capricorn 23.5 degrees south
Longitude
Lines of longitude are not equally distant from one another because they converge at the poles.
Lines that are drawn north to south, all converging at the pole’s.
Longitude measures the location of places east or west in relationship to the prime meridian.
The Prime Meridian
Is a line that runs through Greenwich, England and represents zero degrees.
Western Hemisphere
Longitude position to the west of the prime meridian
Includes:
North and South America
Greenland
Plus All adjacent islands, including Hawaii
Eastern Hemisphere
Longitude position to the east of the prime meridian.
Europe
Asia
Africa
Australia
One-half Antarctica
Majority of the islands in the Pacific Ocean
GMT
Greenwich Mean Time
Serves as the basis of all world time.
IDL
International Date Line
Located halfway around the world from the prime meridian at which the date changes.
Explain why many resorts are located in the western or leeward coast on most of the Caribbean Islands.
The western side of the islands face away from the wind (leeward). When it reaches here, the wind has already lost most of its moisture; thus, less rainfall and more sunshine along the western or leeward coastline.
In addition to latitude and longitude, list four factors that influence climate.
Elevation
Topography
Ocean currents
Prevailing winds
Would Mexico City, located at a high elevation, be hotter or cooler than the land surrounding it? Explain your answer.
Mexico City is cooler. The higher elevation the cooler the temps. For every 1000ft of elevation the temp drops in average 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit
Globes
Type of map that represents the earth in the dimensions.
Locator maps
Maps that are generally found in reference books, visitor guides and online.
