World Geo Final (9th) Flashcards
Tungsten
An extremely rare heavy-metal element essential in high-tech industry
Iberian Peninsula
A mountainous region in southwestern Europe that is included as one of the 3 major peninsulas. It is located in Spain and Portugal and separates the Atlantic Ocean for the Mediterranean Sea.
Pollution Hot Spot
A location where pollution and other human activities have led to the degradation, or even death, of an ecosystem.
Continentality
Effect of extreme variation in temperature and very little precipitation within the interior portions of a landmass.
Pesticide
Chemicals used to kill crop-damaging insects, rodents, and other pests
Radioactive Material
Material contaminated by residue from the generation of nuclear energy and weapons.
Massifs
A body of mountain ranges formed by fault-line activity.
City-State
An independently governed community consisting of a city and the surrounding lands, notably present in Ancient Greece.
Chernozem
Rich, black topsoil found in the Northern European Plain, especially in Russia and Ukraine.
Privatization
A change to private ownership of state-owned companies sand industries
Czar
Ruler of Russia until the 1917 revolution; originally from Latin word “Caesar”, title of Roman Emperors
Permafrost
A permanently frozen layer of soil beneath the surface of the ground.
Karst
Terrain dominated by limestone bedrock and characterized by rocky ground, caves, sinkholes, underground rivers, and the absence of surface streams and lakes
Black Market
Illegal trade of scarce or illegal goods, usually sold at high prices
Renaissance
Rebirth; the period in European civilization characterized by a surge of interest in classical learning and values
Over Farming
Situation in which land is repeatedly farmed on, so the soil nutrients are depleted
Escarpment
A steep cliff or slope between and higher and lower land surface
Lingua Franca
a common language used among people with different native languages
Fault
A crack or break in Earth’s crust
Domesticate
To adapt to plants and animals from the wild for human use
Indigenous
Native to a place
Rift Valley
A crack in Earth’s surface created by the shifting of tectonic plates
Carrying Capacity
The population that an area will support without undergoing deterioration
Habitat
Area with conditions suitable for certain plants or animals to live
Desertification
The destruction of land in arid and semi-arid areas, often caused by variations in climate.
Delta
An often triangle-shaped section of land formed as the waters of a river slow down and split into many channels as they deposit sand and silt that has been carried downriver
Poaching
Illegal hunting
Transition Zone
An area in which the properties of tee land undergo a radical change
Drift-net fishing
the use of fishing nets of great length and depth
Aquaculture
the cultivation of seafood
Acculturation
Cultural modification of an individual, group, or people by adapting to or borrowing traits from another culture
Islet
a very small island
Loess
Fine, yellowish-brown topsoil made up of silt and clay, carried by the wind
Coup
An overthrow of the givernment
Typhoon
A cyclone that occurs in the western North Pacific Ocean (west of the International Date Line)
Archipelago
A group or chain of islands
Tsunami
A huge wave resulting from undersea earthquakes or volcanic activity that gets higher and higher as it approaches the coast
Ideogram
A pictorial character or symbol that represents a specific meaning or idea
Clan
a famiy group
Cultural Divergence
A separation of people or societies, with regard to beliefs, values, and customs due to a division under different political systems
Commune
A collective farming community
Sustainable Development
Technological and economic growth that doesn’t deplete the human and natural resources of an area
Shifting Cultivation
A form of agriculture in which an area of ground is cleared of vegetation, cultivated for a few years, and then abandoned in order to move to a new area
Biodiversity
The diverse life forms in a habitat or ecosystem
Shatter Belt
A region where political alliances are constantly splintering and fracturing based on ethnicity
Buffer Zone
A neutral area serving to separate powerful countries or those that are hostile to each other
FreePort/Free Market
A place where goods can be unloaded, stored, or reshipped free of imports duties
Cyclone
A spiral-shaped tropical storm with winds of at least 74 miles (119 km) per hr. and with heavy rain; occurs in the western South Pacific or Indian Ocean
Why is the Ebro River notable?
It is Spain’s longest river and has been dammed to provide a significant portion of Spain’s hydroelectric power
How is flooding controlled in Venice, Italy?
The city has built a complicated system of dikes and canals to help control the river’s outflow
What river is the primary source of water for Rome?
The Tibet River
What are the 3 main mountainous peninsulas in Southern Europe?
1) Iberian Peninsula
2) Italian Peninsula
3) Balkan Peninsula
What is “Baltic Gold” and where can you find it?
It is Baltic Amber found in Poland
What is the weather like during the winter in Southern Europe? What is it like in the summer?
Summer: warm and dry
Winter: mild and rainy (most of the rainfall occurs in winter)
What part of Europe did the Soviet Union dominate after World War II?
Eastern Europe
What are Romance languages?
A group of related languages that originates from Vulgar Latin
Ex: Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Where do the Romance language come from?
The language of the Roman Empire
Why has the service sector increased in Southern Europe in the last 30 years?
Because there was a decline in manufacturing sectors.
Why did people move to the cities in Eastern Europe in the 1900s?
Due to industrialization which led to urbanization. As more economic production moved to urban areas, more people moved there for employment.
How did industrialization affect Eastern Europe’s population during the 1900s?
It allowed more people to leave rural areas and move to major towns and cities
What is Balkanization?
The division of a region into smaller regions
What characteristics would you normally see in an area that has undergone Balkanization?
Division of countries
What is grown in chernozem?
Rice, wheat, sugarcane, and cotton
What is the climate of Russia’s northern border?
Tundra (or subarctic)
What happened at Chernobyl?
Why was there so much pollution during the Soviet Union?
