Unit 2 Flashcards
What is a census metropolitan area (CMA)?
A census metropolitan area is an area where the population is heavily concentrated. Examples include Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary.
Distinguish between a continuous and discontinuous ecumene.
Continuous Ecumene refers to areas with continuous, permanent settlement, while Discontinuous Ecumene has significant patches of settlement with gaps in between.
How is Canada’s transportation network related to the ecumene and non-ecumene areas of the country?
Canada’s transportation system connects both populated and less populated areas, facilitating the movement of people, goods, and resources, contributing to the economy and maintaining connectivity.
Distinguish between dispersed, concentrated, and linear population patterns in rural areas.
Dispersed patterns involve scattered households, concentrated patterns gather in specific areas, and linear patterns form along transportation routes like rivers or roads.
What are plate tectonics?
Plate tectonics explains the movement of Earth’s lithospheric plates, interacting with each other and causing geological phenomena like earthquakes, volcanic activity, and mountain formation.
Describe divergent, convergent, and transform tectonic plate movement.
Divergent plates move apart, convergent plates collide, and transform plates slide past each other horizontally, causing faults and earthquakes.
What is subduction?
Subduction is when one tectonic plate slides beneath another plate at a convergent boundary.
How do weathering, erosion, and deposition differ from one another?
Weathering breaks down rocks, erosion moves weathered material, and deposition is when eroded material is dropped or deposited in a new location.
What is the rock cycle?
The rock cycle involves weathering, erosion, sedimentation, lithification, metamorphism, and melting and solidification, transforming rocks through various geological processes.
Describe the relationship between glaciation and Canada’s landforms.
Glaciation shaped Canada’s landforms by carving valleys, creating lakes, and smoothing the Canadian Shield, influencing the country’s landscapes.
What are Canada’s landform regions? Provide distinguishing characteristics.
Canada’s landform regions include the Canadian Shield (ancient rocks, lakes), Interior Plains (flat and fertile), Appalachian Mountains (rolling hills, dense forests), Western Cordillera (mountain ranges, glaciers), and Arctic Lowlands (flat tundra, permafrost).
What factors determine climate? (remember: LOWER Near Water)
Latitude, Ocean Currents, Wind and Air Masses, Elevation, Relief, Near Water.
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather refers to short-term atmospheric conditions, while climate is the long-term average of weather patterns in a specific region.
What is a soil profile and how is it organized? What is humus? What is loam?
A soil profile is the arrangement of soil layers. Humus is organic material, and loam is soil with a balanced mixture of sand, silt, and clay.
Describe Canada’s various natural vegetation regions.
Canada’s vegetation regions include Boreal Forest (coniferous trees), Deciduous Forest (broadleaf trees), Grasslands (prairies), Tundra (low-growing plants), and Alpine (hardy plants in mountainous regions).
