GEO 115 Test 1
About what percentage of the U.S. population lives in poverty?
13-16%
In migration, what is a pull force?
A social, political, economic, or environmental attraction to a new area that draws people from a previous location.
In migration, what is a push force?
A social, political, economic, or environmental force that drives people from a location
What world regions are MOST likely to suffer food shortages?
Africa and South Asia
Define the Demographic Transition.
As a country goes through industrialization, its population moves through these 5 stages that track death/birth rates over time. 1. Population growth is low because high birth rates are offset by high death rates. 2. Rapid growth takes place as death rates decline. 3. Decline in birth rates occurs. 4. Balance occurs with low birth rates and low death rates. 5. Negative growth rate can occur here if the death rate exceeds the birth rate.
What region of the United States contains the country's densest population settlement?
Atlantic Coast
Which of the following statements is most accurate?
Canada is slightly larger in land area than the United States, but its population is only about 10% that of the United States.
What are the characteristics of culture?
Culture is learned, and is behavior held in common by a group of people empowering them with what is commonly called "a way of life."
An element that might define a formal region is ?
Dominant vegetation, Mountain range, Climate, Valley, Ethnicity, Language, Religion
Define plate tectonics?
Earth's outer layer consists of large geographic platforms, or plates, that move slowly across its surface. Driving these plates is heat exchange deep within Earth.
In what world region is Swahili a lingua franca?
Eastern Africa
Which term refers to the situation in which a group of people with a common background and history identify with one another?
Ethnicity
What happened to the more than 4 million Native American populations after the arrival of Europeans?
European diseases and disruptions reduced their numbers by more than 90%.
Wheat, cattle, and horses are common sights in North America today. Why?
Europeans deliberately brought them to the region during their 400 years in North America
This process involves the displacement of lower-income residents of central-city neighborhoods with higher-income residents, the rehabilitation of deteriorated inner-city landscapes, and the construction of new shopping complexes, entertainment centers, or convention centers. __________________
Gentrification
Which North American region was hit by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005?
Gulf of Mexico (Southeast)
What are some possible effects of climate change?
Major shift in agricultural areas: Wheat belt could become warmer and drier, lower grain yield, Canada and Russia could become warmer, Southern regions of the United States and Europe could become warmer and drier requiring irrigation
What term is used in the book to describe a group of people who share a common culture, language, and political identity?
Nation
What cultural homeland is home to the Inuit?
Nunavut, a self-governing territory in Canada
Researchers in which field of geography study the processes by which the physical landscape is shaped?
Physical Geographers
What world region is experiencing the highest RATE of tropical deforestation?
Southeast Asia
In which stages of the Demographic Transition is the rate of natural increase (RNI) low?
Stages 4 and 5
The simple definition of a perceptual (vernacular) region explains that it is a region because ________________________________________?
They have no formal boundaries but are understood in our mental maps of the world. EX: "The South," "The Midwest," or the "Middle East"
According to the core-periphery model, which of the following countries is part of the core?
US, Japan, western Europe, and Canada
What country dominates Canada's imports?
United States
What are examples of city structures in the USA?
Washington D.C., Seattle, Chicago, Houston
As climate is defined in the textbook, what reflects a climatic change?
a documented or predicted change in the temp., winds, and precipitation patterns that differs from the current or recent climate
What is an ethnic religion?
a religion that is identified with a specific ethnic, tribal, or national group. EX: Judaism and Hinduism
What type of pollution is the greatest cause of acid rain?
airborne pollutants (sulfur and nitrogen) from industries
What is a universalizing religion(s)?
attempt to appeal to all peoples, regardless of location or culture. EX: Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism
An assemblage of local plants, animals, and insects covering a large area such as a tropical rainforest or a grassland is called a ____
bioregion
What substance accounts for more than half of the human-generated greenhouse gases?
carbon dioxide from fossil fuels
What is an individual who relocates to a locality that is less vulnerable to global warming?
climate refugee
Which of the following resources is readily available in the United States and Canada?
coal (fossil fuels)/ natural resources
By what name do we know the place where two tectonic plates are forced together?
colliding plate boundary
What is the major trend in agriculture in North America in recent years?
conservation/ sustainable agriculture/ fewer farms but larger in size
The blending of popular culture with local cultural traditions is known as ____.
cultural syncretism or hybridization
What is the process of a colony's gaining (or regaining) control over its territory and establishing a separate, independent government?
decolonization
What countries are the percentage of its population living in cities probably less than 75 percent?
developing countries EX: Zimbabwe, Africa
Ninety percent of the world's population growth occurs in which part of the world?
developing countries of Africa, South and East Asia, and Latin America
Which of the following is NOT a reason why U.S. citizens have migrated to the Sunbelt South?
government incentives
With what bioregion is the term "steppe" associated?
grassland
A functional region is defined in terms of the relationship between a (usually urban) node and a ___________?
hinterland (service area surrounding it) EX: state or county, city and surrounding farmlands, school district
The grid system we use to determine absolute location.
latitude and longitude
An agreed-upon common language to facilitate communication on specific topics such as business is called a(n) ____.
lingua franca
What activities are most likely to occur in the informal economy?
low waged and untaxed work EX: shoe shining, street vending, artisan manufacturing, drug smuggling, prostitution
Tropical forests are not well-suited for intensive agriculture because ________.
most nutrients are absorbed by extensive tree root systems.
What is a stateless nation?
nation that does not have a defined state
Latitude, one element of the grid system used for absolute location, includes ______________.
parallels, run east-west
Anthropogenic emissions are caused by ________.
people
What form of transportation first opened corridors of development in the U.S., provided access to markets for commercial crops, and helped establish towns and cities across the country?
railroads
What migration trend was caused by the mechanization of farming?
rural-to-urban migration
What refers to the relationship between the distances shown on the map and the actual distances on the earth's surface?
scale
What is geography?
study of our planet's surface and the processes that shape it
What is shown in a population pyramid?
the % of a population that's male or female in different age classes from young to old
How do the authors of your text (Diversity Amid Globalization) define globalization?
the increasing interconnectedness of people and places through converging economic, political, and cultural activities.
What do we call the situation in which new suburbs emerge that include a mix of peripheral retailing, industrial parks, office complexes, and entertainment facilities?
urban realms model/ edge cities