Social Studies - Geography Flashcards
5 themes of geography
- location
- place
- region
- human - environment interaction
- movement
- can be absolute or relative
location
describes the place in reference to others
relative location
describes where a place is situated without reference to other places (done primarily through a grid system)
absolute location
- includes the study of place
- small units of earth’s surface- composed of multiple places - that have more similarities than differences
Regions
Three types of regions
- physical
- functional
- cultural
share similar physical features
physical regions
serve as a central location for a service
functional regions
identified by shared human characteristics such as language, religion, tradition, and economy
Cultural regions
regions do not have firm borders, instead they have ______ ____ which exhibit characteristics similar to multiple regions around it
transition zones
physical processes that shape the patterns of the earth’s surface are the results of two actions or forces
internal and external forces
shape the earth’s surface through the constant movements of plates (plate tectonics)
internal forces
cause major changes on or above the surface of the earth; include erosion from wind and chemical weathering; severe weather and pollution
external forces
every 3-6 years, the surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean near the equator becomes warmer than normal which changes weather patterns around the world
El Nino
strong warm current in the Atlantic Ocean which accelerates as it tracels up the East Coast of North America, and shoots out into the open ocean towards Europe ; effects weather on East coast of US , canada, and western and northern europe
Gulf Stream
- Built between 1817 and 1825
- cuts across New York State, creating a navigable water route from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean
- quickly became a central trade route in US
Erie Canal
- Cuts across Isthmus of Panama
- connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans
- finished in 1914 and greatly decreased the time it took to cross between two oceans as boats no longer had to travel all the way around the tip of south America
Panama Canal
- Completed in 1869 in Egypt
- Connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea
- ships not longer had to sail around Africa to travel between Europe and South Asia
Suez Canal
average weather for a given place or location, temperature and precipitation are the two defining characteristics
climate
distance above sea level, increases, the atmosphere becomes less dense, resulting in greater heat loss
elevation
as wind is forced up and over high mountains, it loses the ability to hold moisture. precipitation falls on the windward side, leaving a dry air mass in the descending winds, therefore, desert like conditions exist on the lee side of the mountain
orographic lift or rain shadow effect
intense sun and rain everyday, high humidity, temp is always high but rarely exceeds 90
Tropical Rainforest
Receives rain seasonally with little to non in the winter and up to 30 in in the summer, temp does not exceed 990 in the summer or 80 in the winter
Savannah
Receives less than 10 in of rain in a year, temp are extreme with intense heat during the day and intense cold at night ; small pockets of vegetation called an oasis
desert
