Exam 2 review Flashcards
3 main biomes of the region (sub Saharan africa)
Tropical forest = lots of rain
Savanna = season rain
Desert = very little rain
Population rural or urban (ch6)
Rural
Swidden agriculture
(also called “slash and burn”), in which
natural vegetation is burned to fertilize the soil and plant crops. Swidden agriculture
should be practiced on rotation to give vegetation and soil time to recover, as overuse
of the technique causes environmental degradation.
South Africa- the three capitals
Pretoria, Bloemfontein, cape town
Desertification
The conversion of fertile lands to desert
Sahel- what is it and why is it important
A transition zone between the Sahara and the tropical savanna’s below it.
Pastoralism
Living nomadic lifestyles, moving their animals to different areas throughout the year
Political/cultural boundaries and conflict
Impacts of slave trade and colonialism
Transhumance
the movement of animals between wet and dry season pastures
Kleptocracy
in which government leaders use their positions to improve their own wealth
Population growth
Animistic religions
a sort of ”catch-all” term for religions that worship nature and/or ancestral spirits
Animals in the region ch6
Zebra lions etc
Human landscape modification ch7
Physiological density vs overall pop. density Ch7- which is high and which is low
Physiological is high , overall is low
Salinization Ch7- vocab
(the buildup of salts in the soil) caused by intensive irrigation
Old, Islam-influenced cities (#1) Ch7
Old, Islam-influenced cities (#2) Ch7
Map picture
Culture hearth Ch7
the location where a given culture originated before spreading
Islam: Sunnis and Shiites Ch7
*Main division between Shiites and Sunnis after Muhammad’s death in 632 AD
*Tension and conflict between Shiites and Sunnis, especially among more extreme and/or fundamentalist groups
Today, about 73% of Muslim people are Sunni, and about 23% are Shiite.
Importance of fossil fuels to economies Ch7
Saudi Arabia is using fossil water to support huge agricultural fields in the middle of the desert.
It’s not renewable on human time scales
Arable land Ch7
land that is capable of growing crops
Bedouin people Ch7
They’re nomadic and live in the desert
Why are some countries rich and others are poor? Ch7
Richer- becuase of oil and or natural gas, stable governments
Poorer- low fossil fuel access, political instability, economic instability.
Political conflict in the region Ch7
Sunnis and Shiites and Kurds
Desalination Ch7
Conversion of salt water to drinkable freshwater
European Lowland Ch8
a region of broad, relatively flat plains with lots of rivers and ample rainfall
*(Also called the North European Plain)
*Highly modified by farms, towns, and cities
Size and landscape diversity of Europe Ch8
Small but large biodiversity
Religion in Europe Ch8
*Christianity is the dominant religion in Europe, but there are important divisions within Christianity
▫Great Schism between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy in 1054 AD
▫Protestant Reformation in the 1500s AD
Schengen Agreement Ch8
allows for open travel without border control between participating countries
▫Also includes Norway and Switzerland (not in EU)
Iron Curtain Ch8
a figurative and later literal boundary between the Soviet Union and the West
European Union
Ch8
Green map on Ch8 slides
Ethnic cleansing Ch8
the mass expulsion or killing of one ethnic group by another
Xenophobia Ch8
fear/dislike of people from other countries
Shifting political boundaries Ch8
During the past 100 years, Europe has been characterized by shifting political boundaries
*There are recent trends toward political and economic cooperation
*But there are also lingering tensions and disputes
Political devolution Ch8
the decentralization of power away from a central authority (Catalonia, Scotland, Brexit)
Flood management in the Netherlands Ch8
Dykes/ damns/ leeves
Migration within the region Ch8- where are they coming from and where are they going to
Moving from poorer countries in Eastern Europe to richer countries in central and Western Europe
Fjords Ch8
narrow, steep-sided inlet carved by a glacier
Political conflict resulting from misalignment of political and cultural boundaries- give an example from one of the chapters and describe
Sunnis and Shiites and Kurds in Iraq fighting for control of Iraq since the country gained independence in 1932
Influence of physical geography on human settlement patterns in Southwest Asia and North Africa
The coasts usually have a Mediterranean climate so warm dry summers and cool wet winters. This makes more more fertile soil and prosperous areas.
Urban primacy, infrastructure, and access to education and healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa
Urban primacy is most countries having one site that is much larger than any other in the country which limits rural peoples access to formal education and healthcare. Infrastructure or lack of roads in a large area makes it harder for people to get to the large cities.
Roots of socioeconomic challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa
Slave trade
*Colonization
*Corruption
▫Many countries are kleptocracies, in which government leaders use their positions to improve their own wealth
Why are Western European countries wealthier than Eastern European countries?
Becuase of their involvement in regional and global economy
