Geography Flashcards
Physical region
Identified by physical characteristics
Easy to tell where one region begins and ends
Functional region
Serves as a location for a service
Ex: Washington, D.C. Is the functional government region for the US
Cultural region
Shared human characteristics such as language, religion, tradition, and Economy
More unity than diversity
Does not have to have only one characteristic
Physical processes
Shape the patterns of earths surface
Internal and external forces
Internal forces
Plate tectonics : converging, diverging, transform
External forces
Chemical weathering, erosion,weather and pollution
Earth and sun relationship
Earth dependent on sun for energy
Photosynthesis
Evaporation process in water cycle
Earths inclination, rotation and revolution around the sun help to understand weather, climate and seasons
Strength of incoming solar radiation
Angle of rays and length of daylight
Temperature determined by
Angle of Suns rays and number of daylight hours
Biomes
Plant communities
Fine equilibrium with natural environment
Change in vegetation can cause change in atmospheric conditions
Biodiversity of a region
Reflection of interaction of the various components that make up a biome
-components: location, food chains, temperature, average precipitation, flora, fauna, human interactions and soil characteristics
Interconnected and interrelated
Butterfly effect
Small change in the environment in one place has profound changes in other places
Climate
Average weather for a given place
Climate controls that have direct effect are:
Latitude, mountain barriers, land and water distribution, cold and warm currents, temperature, precipitation, air pressure and wind speed
Elevation and climate
Distance above sea level
Elevation ⬆️ atmosphere less dense and thin air allows temp to drop through radiation loss
Lapse rate
One degree for every 300 feet